Coastal Brown Bear or Dall

Easy choice for me, Id go for the dall !! I spent enough time around bears when I worked in alaska that they don't turn me on much to hunt anymore. I shot a wounded one that went 9' 2" for a client in camp and it wasn't a very good experience for anyone involved. Gary
 
DALL SHEEP, hands down, no questions asked!
So DK are you trying to tell us you have the choice between the two? And how can you be thinking about this when you have Africa breathing down your neck!!! :)

Lien2
 
Bear or Dall? Why don't we just use all that hard earned money on a trip down to Mexico for BIG Muleys! To he11 with those other vermin! Remember you are "DeerKing" not MuttonKing.

Are you sure that oral surgeon didn't dig a little deep and cause some brain damage when he was hacking away at your wisdom teeth? :) How's the jaw feeling anyway?

Seriously, I hope the pain pills work well and you heal up soon.

NvrEnuf
 
Nvr & Yelum
I found your humor much more painful than the surgeon.
Brown bear has always been my ultimate but the sheep hunt is tempting me as well.

Lien, I'm sending you a PM

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting
 
DEERKING, FOR ME: THIS YEAR DALL, BROWN BEAR 2007, AFRICA SOON. I HAVE LEARNED YOU CAN NEVER DO TOO MUCH HOMEWORK, OR START TOO EARLY. PLANNING AND ANTICIPATION IS A BIG PART OF THE FUN. TAKE ER EASY, YD. (OF COURSE THESE HUNTS ARE BASED ON IF MY WIFE WILL LET ME GO OR NOT, HEHE!!! SHE STILL THINKS A GOOD DALL HUNT IS AROUND $600.00 BUCKS.)
 
Jeff, I think dall's. The country is unreal and a better alround experience. I saw lots of Grizz on my two dall hunts and they don't turn me on. They do scare the crap out of me though. I could understand how maybe the bucks are not a big deal, because you are in them all the time! Mexico is still pretty cool though.
 
Man I'm dissapointed in you I thought for sure you next big adventure would be the great coastal stone turtle. Talk about kill or be killed. I guess you've had your fill of Turtles as probably most have. War "Death in The Short Grass"
Dall Sheep no question.
 
Bear, no questions asked. I have yet to go to Alaska but I wont be going for anything before I go for one of them. Don't get me wrong, a sheep hunt up there would be great, but it wont happen before a brown bear hunt does, for me.
 
Both hunts would be very different than anything I have done but the lure of shooting a big ol brownie with the muzz has me hooked me. Any recommendations on outfitters that will let some crazy guy chase one with a smokepole?

YD, I agree about the homework aspect, thats why I'm starting now. Best of luck on your hunts.
Blueoak, mulies in Mexico have always interested me as well, but I figure I better do one of the hunts up north while I'm still semi fit.
Wetmule, a coastal turtle hunt would be great but a little rich for my blood. I noticed in the Trophyshell Outfitters Journal that Tortoise Creek Outfitters out of Fairbanks is asking $26,000 for a 10 day hunt. Only for the wealthy, which I am not.

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting
 
Spank down a Griswald while you still can. There is no North American Wild Grizzly Foundation to protect against the leaf-licken, granola crappin antees!
 
Hey Jeff

I've dreamed of Alaska for along time.I hope to make it a reality in the next few years. I say, save your money and do them both on the same trip with the focus on one of the animals.However, I'd lean slightly in favor of the dall sheep if I had to choose.I would also go for the full body mount on the sheep. My neighbor took a costal brownie in 04 with his bow that squared 9.5 feet. Now thats kill or be killed hunting.

Mike

If you plan to hunt Alaska 2 years from now and you want a partner drop me am email.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-29-05 AT 08:58PM (MST)[p]I was about to to opt for the Dall until wetmule mentioned the Coastal Stone Turtle, now I'm not sure. It seems to me a bear hunt would feel like a prarie dog hunt compared to the turtle hunt.

Oh, what the heck!......cash in my 401(k) and do all three! Save the turtle hunt for last though. I want to kill a sheep and a bear before I die!

Steve
 
Dall Sheep- I already have my bear and it only took 4 hunts totaling 48 days with quality outfitters and enough money to buy a nice house. Life is short GO NOW!
 
Dall Sheep are one of the most beautiful animals on this planet. I've always dreamed of hunting them one day. Good luck on whatever you choose Jeff!!!

Carl
 
I'd say Dall Sheep.
Only because I have a huge Brownie and a Grizz already!
I fell under the spell of the great bears years ago when I was just a kid.
They are an incredible animal.
You don't get that kind of rush until you stalk an animal that can kill you.
In close quarters in the brush, you will understand the meaning of the word reverence.
I had to cancel the sheep hunt I had booked for this year.
I wish I could afford to do it all.

HH
 
HH writes:
"You don't get that kind of rush until you stalk an animal that can kill you. In close quarters in the brush, you will understand the meaning of the word reverence." Thats one of the most appealing reasons to hunt one of the great beasts with the muzz. Course hunting sheep in the beautiful treeless country has got to be very spectacular to. Thanks for the replies guys.

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting
 
Jeff,
I spent quite a few years researching Brown Bear guides, going to all the big shows, pouring over anything I could get my hands on about Browns and Grizzlies. I know a bunch of First Class Outfitters in AK that are tops for Brown Bear.
There aren't many deals.
You get what you pay for in size.
Kodiak and The Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island are your absolute best bets for a Monster Bear.
I wouldn't hunt anywhere else if I wanted a big one.
You can get Brown Bears cheaper, but they will definitley be smaller.
If you can live with a 7 1/2 - 8 1/2 foot bear you can hunt them in a number of places and save some money, but for me it is worth it to save up and hunt the coastal monsters.
I went for Grizz first and took a pretty decent bear, but every time I saw one of those 10 footers mounted at the big shows, my mouth started watering and I realized I had to have one!
Yeah, the hair is better on the mountain Grizz, but you just can't compare with the size of the of the coastal bears.
PM me if you have any questions.
HH
bear10oe.jpg
 
DK:

My choice is the Dall. I'm booked in the Alaska Range for 2007.
This is my first hunt, so I'm not qualified to say I am an expert.
I like the idea of being flown into remote areas of the mtns,and living out of your backpack with your guide 1x1 for up to 10 days.
My wife asked me if I would still book a hunt if I drew a Bighorn tag in Washington.I said yes because its not just the sheep I'm after,its the adventure. The guide I chose offers griz for about a 2k trophy fee on the sheep hunt.One sheep hunter I interviewed said he saw 6 diferent bears on his trip. These were not coastal monsters, but none the less nice interior grizzlies.
Good luck with your choice.Its all about what you want in a hunt.
 
HH -
Nice mount, that thing is huge. To be honest, I was expecting you to be a little older! LOL :)

Lien2
 
DK: I hunted blacktails on Uganik Island a few years back and saw one big boar, couple smaller boars and a few sows...spooky is one word to describe being close to these monsters with two feet of snow and alder thickets all around you.........I spoke at length with ##### Rohrer 907-486-5835 about bears/bear hunting and he seems to be a very reputable outfitter. HH has much more info but thought I would throw this mans name in the pile for you as well..... Thanks, Allen Taylor......
 
Allen
Thanks for the info, I will contact your guy and speak with HH and also contact a few of the others that guys here have recommended. Thanks everyone.

AntlerQuest Hunt Consulting
 
Brown bear, with a bow. What a rush that would be.
I can hunt sheep, if I draw a tag, in my own state.
 
I'd go for whichever one has bigger horns......Ooops....

Of all jokesters, you got a lot to room to talk about someone else's crummy humor. Sheeeessssshhhhhhhh

Wisdom teeth out, DK? I gotta tell ya, Vicadin is your FRIEND for a day for sure. Hope you're recovering well and quickly.
 
I live on Kodiak Island and have hunted quite a bit of AK. Having seen both costal and interior brown bear I would take the interior bear every time. Yes, they are smaller but they make up for that in a big bad temper and the silvertip coat is beautiful. Also it doesn't take a barn wall for the rug. That said I would go for the Dall ram first, then griz.

Dave
 
Ummmm... let me think about this a minute. Sheep. No question. Sheep. Let me check again... still sheep.

While bears are very interesting and the whole idea of hunting them is intriguing I'm a sheep-nut. I need to get some more sheep hunting in before I move on to things like bears. Since I really could not afford more than one I doubt if bears would ever be high enough on my list to chunk down the change.

But to each his own.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-25-05 AT 08:26AM (MST)[p]Muncies Bear Camp is the oldest, most establish, but also one of the most expensive on Kodiak. Danny Olson has a floating Lodge in Olga Bay and was reasonable but that was a decade plus ago.

I've hunted the same area Bura Nut has for blacktails on Kodiak--the Uganik Bay. It's carved up into a number of units and is probably still managed for trophy bear. A friend of mine took a 9 and 1/2 footer there when he drew a Spring tag in '89.

In the early 90s, another hotspot was the AK peninsula where there were more 10 foot bears taken than anywhere else in the state...seem to recall reading something a few years back that re-confirmed it's still the highest odds area of getting into a 10' bear. Most hunts there are out of Cold Bay--phenomenal bear & goose hunting out of Cold Bay. I think Bou too.

I've counted over 20 bears some boars up to 9 foot or so over on the several miles worth of beaches in Hallo bay (on the mainland across from Kodiak) at any given time when the salmon run's on, but I'm not sure you can hunt the back-side of Katmai without looking deeper into the regs. I know guys would take 'Bou out of Kukak Bay and they're bou around Hallo too. There's a HUGE deep valley that runs back in there too--expensive place to get to and camp would likely be raided by bears if left anything that smells good to them in camp....lol. It might rank right up there in beauty similar to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. I'd come home with not only my bear from there (if I had a tag), but caribou, and a few cases worth of razor clam, dungeness, & halibut.

So, you could probably score a reasonable deal between Chignik and Cold Bay along the peninsula if you did a lot of phone scouting. I know the Larsen Bay Lodge was relatively inexpensive and can get you into good areas on Kodiak. But, just having done a seach, it looks like someone built a lodge across from Larson Bay called the Katmai Wilderness lodge smack dab in the middle of Kukak bay...what a bummer...it was a pristine area.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-25-05 AT 12:36PM (MST)[p]Haary left one prime area off his list that should be one of the areas you consider--Admiralty Island--it offers not quite as big a population of big, big brownies as other areas but it also has lotsa black bear too.

Bottom-line, AK is so huge that there are going to be way more 9+ brownies that have never seen a human, than have seen a human.

I'm not blowing any smoke up anyone's wazoo, but I lived up there for 6 years and a good buddy up there worked for years near Mystic Pass at the Grand View lodge for old man Engles--one of the original 20-someodd Master guides when the AK guiding program was first started. Personally never drew a bear tag but got quite a bit of info on it while up there.
 
I'll agree that Admiralty Island has a very large population of Brown Bears, It just doesn't hold up to Kodiak or the Peninsula when it comes to 10 footers or Boone and Crockett skulls.
For about 10 years I submerged myself in Brown Bear research.
If you want a monster It is Kodiak or the Peninsula all the way.
These are some ten footers that were taken with the outfit I hunted with on Kodiak Island.
The top and bottom photos are of my B&C bear.
harryhunter50103-1.jpg

harryhunter50103-5.jpg

harryhunter50103-4.jpg

harryhunter50103-6.jpg
 
Awesome Pics HH

DK,
I would give the Coastal Grizzlies in BC a try. More B&C Grizzlies come from Bella Coola than anywhere else. But, then again, my dream hunt would be NWT Dalls.
069729.gif
 
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Africa. I've done most of the hunts mentioned and none compare to tracking Cape buffalo in the thick stuff and this hunt can be done alot cheaper than brown bear - also go to Namibia and shoot eland (probably the most challenging animal I have ever hunted), kudu, waterbuck, kalahari desert oryx, red hartebeest, and impala for the same price as a Dall sheep hunt. I've hunted Canada twice, killed 5 muleys in past 6 years over 190",mountain lion, bear, elk, caribou,......and nothing is even remotely as thrilling as stalking cape buffalo thru a heard of elephants, checking a water hole for eland tracks only to find a pride of lions laid up looking for a mid afternoon snack, tracking a group of dugga boys for 13 miles before finally getting a shot - and all of this can be done cheaper than brown bear or Dall
 
I'd go for the Dall, I already have the grizzar bear *^)

bear is really quite cheap, when you have a brother who is a guide and pilot living in AK. I guess sheep is cheap for that matter too....
 
Having lived in Alaska and taken both a 18.5 yr. old male grizzley and a 38.5" dall unguided (as a resident there), it is a 'Sophie's Choice' as to which is the better trophy. To be certain, a large dall is likely more difficult to get, especially if it were to be in the category of 40" which are as scarce as hen's teeth to get. Sheep hunters are a distinct class of hunters, and sheep hunting can be addictive. As to the large bears, I see the coastal Brown Bears easier to come by than the inland grizzlies, the latter of which are more nomadic and less predicable as to where and when you will find them. Both are majestic, as are all big game animals. For me, the Grizzly was more special, if only because I hunted several times unsuccessfully for Brownies before prior to getting my old Grizzly in the Alaska Range on the Chakachama River in the Alaska Range. Even more special was taking the Grizz while hunting alone. It may sound crazy yet I wrote my will before going on that hunt. That trip just watching all the wildlife was spectacular, including an alpine Grizzly chasing a Black Bear. The two do not like one another.

The sheep hunt was no piece of cake, that dall out of the Talkeetnas which is not known for large rams due to being less rugged. Large dalls anywhere thought invariably opt to be in that areas most difficult terrain, some living in the Wrangell Mtns. in caves (yes caves) where on vertical cliffs they are almost impossible to approach. Even when out in the open dall rams will lie in a cirle watching different directions. All in all I would vote for the Grizzly.
 

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