Success!!! AK Father & Son Bear Hunt

I just got back from my Alaska black (me)/brown bear (Dad) hunt with my Dad. Wow, what an experience! We had a great time, and it was definitely a challenge we won't soon forget.

Packed and ready to go (thanks to all for the gear recommendations!), my wife took me to the Phoenix airport early on 8/29. I made my way to Seattle, then on to Anchorage, and met my Dad at the baggage claim. Not only had I not seen my Dad for 9 months; but we were going bear hunting!!!! We hugged and did a little ?we're hunting in Alaska dance?.

Hanging out in Anchorage:
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After a couple days seeing the sights of Anchorage, we made our way to Bethel, AK?.Wow, we're definitely in a different world now! Bethel was about 6k people, and right in the middle of the tundra. The wind blew incessantly, clouds were low, and I couldn't wait to get out of there and out to the field. We met the hanger rats and junior guides from our outfitter (Renfro?s Alaskan Adventures), and they showed us around the hanger while signing paperwork and sorting out details. All the guys were as nice as can be, well organized, and had some great stories to tell. After the paperwork, we got back to the Bed & Breakfast we were staying at, and awaited a call that the weather broke and we could get out to the field?..It seemed like forever!
Mid-day on 9/1, we got the call that the weather was good enough to get out. So here we go! We loaded our stuff into the Maule bush plane, bounced down the runway, and took off towards the mountains. We landed on a little plateau in the Kilbuck Mtns, and met our guides Bobby and Wes. Both were younger guys and from small towns in AK. We started to get camp setup and talked over our plan and expectations. I talked with my Dad, and I decided I wanted to take the first black bear I could, to allow the most time and effort to dedicate to my Dad?s brown bear.
First flight out to camp:
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From the plane:
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Glassing:
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Glassing:
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Right off the bat, we saw black bears about everywhere we looked for the first few days. I missed a longer shot on the first day, so we really buckled down the next couple days to get a black bear on the ground. On the 4th day, our guide Bobby glassed a lone bear on a distant bowl feeding on blueberries. Without thinking, the other guide Wes and I took off down our mountain, across a beaver creek, up another mountain, around another, down a rock slide, and through a saddle. By the time we got to within shooting distance we were both soaked with sweat, crazed by bugs, and annoyed by alders. We crept to a little rise and set up Wes? pack at 200 yards. I took my time, steadied as best I could, and touched off the shot. I hit the bear low on the shoulder/arm, and it took off in our direction! HOLY CRAP! We jumped downhill about 20 yards, reacquired the running bear, and another shot rolled him down the mountain. WOOOHOOOO!!! Black bear down!! Wes and I exchanged handshakes and took a seat to marvel in an amazing stalk and exciting shot. My Dad and Bobby were distant dots on our original mountain; but they were in full view of the action.

Me, my bear, and Wes:
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After the skinning and packing, we finally made it back to our original mountain where my Dad was perched. Hugs and congratulations were given and we made our way back to camp recounting the stalk. My Dad could see our progress throughout the stalk, so he got a great view of the action.

Days passed as brown bears started to show up?..The brown bears weren't as plentiful as black bears; but were definitely there. Instead of running around like beheaded chickens, we had to try and hunt smarter on account of my Dad. He is 60 and in great shape; but running around like dumb 28 year olds (i.e. the guides and myself) was not possible?..nor intelligent?Nevertheless, we made long stalks through mountains, creeks, alders, alders, and more alders??. Our hopes were dwindling as the days flew by. It was day 11 of the hunt, we had just returned from a disappointing stalk, and our spirits were at their lowest. Our outfitter had wanted to move us to a better spot for a week now; but the weather was so bad that he couldn't get in. My Dad was physically worn out, and our mental state was worsening. We had undoubtedly given up?.We doubted our outfitter could fly us to a better spot, which left getting home and showered the only thing we looked forward to. While we recuperated from the morning?s stalk, we heard the ever-familiar buzz of a bush plane. It was our outfitter to take us to a better spot!!!! There?s hope! We were charged up to get to a new area that might improve our chances for the last couple days of the hunt. We packed up and flew off to the new spot.

Glassing Point
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The first day at the new spot confirmed our ?run and gun? technique hadn't changed, and wasn?t getting any more successful. For the 13th day of the hunt the guide and I scouted around our camp for an area to glass and sit, as opposed to glass and run. There was a major fish creek near to camp, so we planned a multi-area glassing scheme to maximize our chances of seeing a brown bear working the creek. The morning started out as planned, with my Dad, our guide Bobby, and I glassing a large part of the creek. Once it warmed up, the wind decided to change, and completely blew our scent out to our glassing area?..DAMN. Back to camp we went to figure out what we should do. We decided to go to a new valley, with the wind at our face, and see what we could see. Though more positive, our hopes were still low as the end of the hunt neared.

Blueberries were everywhere!!!
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A couple distant bears were seen; but we all knew they'd be too far to stalk for my Dad. A week straight of hard stalking/hiking had taken its toll, so we decided the stalk would have to be pretty ideal for an attempt. Finally, a distant bear had meandered in our direction, and was within striking distance. We stood up from our outlook, and made a plan to get there. Suddenly, my Dad said, ?What the hell is that!?!?!?!?? as he pointed down to the creek below us. Knowing how our weary eyes can play tricks on us, Bobby and I inquired on details. We glued our binos to the creek to see what he was excited about. All of a sudden, WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH as a brown bear made his way through the creek spot I was watching!!!!!! Holy crap, he was right!!!! The sheer size and presence of the bear within 300 yards was scary, to say the least. What an awesome animal. Expletives were exchanged in excitement as we charged down the bluff to a small lookout point towards the creek.
We sat poised on our point searching to see the bear through the thick creek vegetation. My Dad and I were breathing heavily and the word ?excited? would be an understatement to describe us. Try buck fever times 10! I ranged a spot in the creek at 190 yards below us, and we all waited for the bear to feed by. Finally, after what seemed like a half hour, the bear lumbered into our shooting lane. Safeties were clicked?..and breathes were held?.BOOM!! A clean miss! $hit!!!! 2 more shots rang true, and the bear was hit bad, and into the alders!!!!! WOW!!!! It all happened so quickly, we couldn't believe it. 13 days of hard hunting, and it was all done in about 10 minutes!!! Bobby made off down the hill and crept to the alders where the bear was last seen. My Dad and I were more nervous during those few seconds than any other time. I couldn't imagine being Bobby and searching through thick alders for a possibly wounded brown bear?.But sure enough, Bobby came out hollering that we had a bear down!!!! We clambered down the hill and across the creek to get to the bear. WOW!!! What an awesome animal. I'm not going to lie, I was kinda scared walking up to it. To think that this is the meanest, baddest animal on this side of the world was humbling to say the least. To actually see and touch the huge claws, paws, shoulders, head of the bear was amazing. A slight breeze coulda knocked me over. The bear's (turned out to be a sow) hide measured a little over 8', and skull was a little over 24"

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We skinned up the bear and packed it out back to camp, to revel in our success. To kill a brown bear on the last evening of a 14 day hunt was just something I can't describe. Our physical, mental, and emotional spirits had been tested time and time again; but, we kept trying and were rewarded with a great bear. It was the hunt of a lifetime for any hunter, and I'm unbelievably grateful for having shared this experience with my Dad. There?s not a whole lot of people that have had such an awesome experience with their fathers, and it will be one that I will remember forever.

Whatta trip!!!!


"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

Congrats on two great bears! way to keep pushing forward and the great times you had with your dad!

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

Congrats on the ctitters.

BG, great story and pics! I'm glad to hear you had a great time with your Dad. I'm sure we'll see you up here again, right?

Take care,
Garion33

Thanks all! It sure was a great trip, and I feel lucky have been able to experience it with my Dad.

Garion...Oh yeah, I already am wanting to go back for moose or caribou!



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

Good job Buddy !!! Glad everything worked out for you guys.

Thanks Tag!!! It was a pretty awesome experience.



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

Thats bad ass. Congrats. Ed F

http://community.webshots.com/user/bowuntr

Thank you very much. I enjoyed your post a lot! What a wonderful story.

Eel

Thanks guys. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and pictures. If you guys get the chance, the hunt is worth the $, that's for sure!!!



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

sweet bear and pics..congrads...

Looked like a great hunt spent with your dad! Congrats on two fine bears!

Nice Bears, Congrat's on a Great Hunt

Congrats to both of you on a fine hunt. Nice to see everything worked out well for you and thanks for telling the story!

Great story, That brown bear sure is a pretty one.
14 days will kick anybody butt.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".

Great story and great bears. Now I need to go. .

Rutnbuck

Thanks Gator and Rutnbuck..

If you guys have the means, it sure was a heck of a trip. Heck, I didn't really even have the means; but made it work....



"...I'd rather be tried by twelve than carried by six..."

Good job on both bears, I feel your pain about the lows of not getting a bear until late in the hunt. I shot my bear the last day of a 8 day hunt and had to extend to get the beast off the mountain. That is definitely a trip of a life time if you were able to make it with your dad. I two was able to come to Alaska with my dad for 5 trips of a life time on some awesome fishing trips but never did any hunting trips with him. Great bears and a great story.

cool pics and story

Congrats on 2 gorgeous bears. Alaska is certainly beautiful and the place to be for big bears.

Eldorado

Beautiful bears - thanks for sharing!

Nice story, Congrats on a great hunt with your dad.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
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