# My Kodiak Alaska Brown Bear hunt



## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

I thought I’d share the story of my Kodiak Brown Bear hunt. It’s hard to believe this hunt took place exactly 10 years ago – it was the spring of 2010 when I had the great fortune to be able to go on a memorable hunt with some lifelong friends. I hope you enjoy…



The big boar we’ve been watching on a steep hillside for the past 5 hours suddenly appeared in a small opening in the trees at the base of the hill. He stepped through that opening onto the tidal flat, about ¾ mile away from us. 





Dan looked at me and said “Let’s go get him”. The wind was our friend and we hustled across the tidal flat staying low and wading in the numerous stream beds that crisscrossed the flat. We lost sight of the bear and decided to go the last place we saw him – base of the hill, near a small opening in the trees. We knew we were close. There was a berm with a log across the top and we stopped there and peeked over. There he was! Two hundred yards away, calm as ever, eating grass, no clue we were there. I got him in my sights – nice looking bear, no rubs that I could see and looked big – they all look big to me, but this guy was definitely a mature brown bear. Dan suggested we catch our breath, the bear doesn’t know we’re here and let our heart rate slow down. Good idea. We take a minute, peek back over, the bear is still there, I settle into a good shooting position…


I’m a fairly new Alaskan, my wife and I moved here three years ago after we both finished careers in the Army. Growing up my dad took me fishing a lot but he was not a hunter so I never learned about hunting. Later, after I retired and living in South Dakota, I was fortunate to get in with a group of guys to do some pheasant hunting, but as far as big game, I’m a rookie. After purchasing a home in Soldotna, we became good friends with our neighbor, Dan, a 28+ year resident of Alaska. What a great resource! After about a year Dan invited me to go moose hunting with him and his hunting buddy, Chuck. I was absolutely honored that they would include me in their group. They knew what they were getting – a guy with no hunting experience, but I think they saw that what I lacked in experience, I made up for with the willingness to learn, a good attitude and hard work.


Dan also suggested I put in for draw permits. I said “Cool! What’s a draw permit?” He explained the process and said you put in for moose and caribou but you also put in for bison and Kodiak brown bear. He said you never get those but you always put in for them on a long shot. On my second try I pull a Kodiak brown bear tag! Dan’s been trying unsuccessfully for 28 years, and after momentarily rolling his eyes, he assured me he was totally excited to hunt the big bears on Kodiak with me.


My hunting area on Kodiak is Sheratin Bay, across Kizhuyak Bay from Port Lions. The reason for selecting that area is because Dan has some good friends in Port Lions and they could provide a jumping off point for our hunt. We recruited Chuck to join us and the three of us loaded my pickup full of everything we possibly might need, put it on the ferry in Homer and after a rolling 10 hour ride arrived in Port Lions. We sorted our gear, deciding what to take and Dan’s friend loaded us in his boat and took us across the bay to the area we wanted to set camp. No cell service there – we could see a new tower and there may be service soon – but my handheld VHF radio talked to Port Lions loud and clear. Sure was nice to check in every day…


We set up camp on the edge of a stand of trees. A Cabelas Alaska Guide tent for sleeping and gear, and a tarp to provide shelter for our cooking stuff and a sheltered place to glass.


[url=https://postimg.cc/7Gf9V4Yc]


Day 1. Glassing a hillside about a mile away and the surrounding area. Improved camp. The weather was rainy, sleety, snowy, windy. But mostly rainy and windy. Typical Kodiak weather.


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Day 2. Continued to glass. Noticed a lot of bear tracks in the snow on the hillside across and began to memorize those so we could see if there was any recent activity. Meet a guide with two clients in a camp up the bay. He said that several days earlier they had stalked a bear on the hillside, but passed on the 8 ½ footer – the client wanted a bigger bear. Hiked a bit to get the lay of the land.


Day 3. Continued to glass. The sun broke out for a few minutes, then back to the usual. The guide stopped by again and said the client that passed on the 8 ½ footer was done and had to leave empty-handed. His other client was ill and may need to go to town to see a doc. We had the bay to ourselves.


Day 4. Glassing. About 11 am, Chuck said “Hey! Look at that!” Our first bear sighting! Part way up the hillside, in a snowy area, was a bear! He appeared to be right out of the den, because he was rolling around on the snow like he was scratching his back. He would scoop out a ledge in the snow and roll on it and the ledge would collapse and he would slide down, scoop out another ledge and continue to roll. Very cool to watch. He was acting lethargic and eventually slid down into some trees and we lost sight. About an hour and a half later he popped out into another snowy opening – must have taken a nap. He continued to roll in the snow and just look around. He again disappeared from view in the trees. We caught glimpses of him as he generally moved downhill. Suddenly Chuck saw him slid down a small opening in the trees at the base of the hill. He was only visible for a moment and to catch sight was very fortunate. It was 5 pm…


…Dan looked at me and said “Let’s go get him”. The wind was our friend and we hustled across the tidal flat staying low and wading in the numerous stream beds that crisscrossed the flat. We lost sight of the bear and decided to go the last place we saw him – base of the hill, near a small opening in the trees. We knew we were close. There was a berm with a dead log across the top and we stopped there and peeked over. There he was! Two hundred yards away, calm as ever, eating grass, no clue we were there. I got him in my sights – nice looking bear, no rubs that I could see and looked big – they all look big to me, but this guy was definitely a mature brown bear. Don suggested we catch our breath, the bear doesn’t know we’re here and let our heart rate slow down. Good idea. We take a minute, peek back over, the bear is still there, I settle into a good shooting position…


The bear turns toward me… I want to wait for a broadside shot…he turns broadside but there is a small bush in the way… I feel a breeze on the back of my neck… the bear bolts… three big strides and he’s gone in the trees… I can’t believe it! He’s gone! I’m totally deflated. The bear showed absolutely no sign he was suspicious, but he caught a whiff of us and bolted. We look at each other in disbelief. 


Chuck, who stayed in camp, joined us - he could see what happened. We leave the area in an obvious fashion hoping the bear is watching and comes back out. We make a big circle and about an hour later are in a new area to view where the bear was eating. Dan goes back to camp. Chuck and I move to a spot to view the base of the hill. It’s about 6:30 pm. At 7:00 I suggest to Chuck that we give it 30 more minutes. About that time we hear Dan hollering from the direction of camp. We can’t tell what he’s yelling so Chuck moves from our spot to see what’s going on. He comes back and says “Mike, come on!” We quickly move to a place where we can see camp and there is a bear coming right at us! This is a second bear that is coming from the other side of the bay toward the area where we were stalking the first bear. 


This bear looked fairly big, had the waddle of a big bear and squarish head. His direction would take him on a path that would bring him within 150 yards of us. We quickly set up and Chuck whispers “Take him whenever you’re ready.” The next few moments goes by in slow motion and lightning speed at the same time. I have a good shot – boom! The bear goes right down and is writhing on the ground trying to get up… chamber a new round – boom!... chamber a new round – boom! The bear is not moving. But suddenly he pops up and Chuck says “Hit him again!” I hadn’t chambered a new round! Quickly get a round in and boom! The bear doesn’t move. What a rush! My first big game animal is a Kodiak brown bear! Chuck and I are high-fiving, fist bumping, and hooting! 


I killed him with a 300 Weatherby Magnum using Weatherby 200 grain nosler partitions.


We give him about 15 minutes and approach my bear. The terrain is wide open so we can see him all the way as we approach and he is not moving. It’s still pretty spooky to get up close and poke him to be sure. He’s not a huge bear, but has a perfect hide. Nice black fur on his forearms, dark brown body and blond on his back and ears.


Dan joins us from camp and tells us his story. This bear had gotten into our camp while we were stalking the first bear. As Dan was cleaning up camp, he heard a noise, looked up and there was this bear, not 15’ away. He unholstered his .44, and then dropped it to pick up the camp shotgun with slugs. He hollered at the bear and the bear decided to go. Of all the directions he could go, that bear came right to where Chuck and I were set up on the first bear. 


We took a million pictures and just savored the moment. 


[url=https://postimg.cc/XXV8Ywbq]https://postimages.org/





We skin the bear and take the hide back to camp. As we are working to get the skull out of the hide, I notice a shotgun pellet in his face next to the skull, and then another and another. It appears that this bear had been shot in the face with birdshot. What we thought is that at some time someone was bird hunting, this bear got too close and had they only had birdshot in their shotgun.


The bear didn’t learn his lesson to fear humans and got into our camp. We determined that we had left a bag of coffee out and that was enough. We were also confident that if I hadn’t taken him when I did, he would have come back to our camp and we would have to protect ourselves. In the end he was a good bear to take out of the population.



Day 5. We broke camp and our friend came over and got us.


What a great hunt. A lifetime memory with some lifetime friends. I owe Dan and Chuck so much because I certainly couldn’t have done it myself. They saved me a ton of money and we had such a good experience.


The bear squared 8’ and Fish and Game estimated him to be four years old. I am so excited to have this bear! My worst fear was to go to Kodiak, pass on a small bear and go home without seeing another bear. I’m having him rugged and he will be a fantastic trophy on my wall and a remembrance of a great hunt with great friends. 


And, that Karma thing, if you believe that, is that just before we went to Kodiak, Dan found out that he had finally drawn a Kodiak brown bear tag so we’ll be back on the “Rock” to get his bear this fall!




Thanks for reading! Here’s a couple of current pics of him on my wall.




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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Congratulations!

Great story! Thanks for taking us along.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

Fantastic!


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## benelli/girl (Feb 16, 2012)

Awesome hunt! Thank you for sharing


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Congrats on AK!
And of course on the bear.
Great retelling.
Thanks.


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## WMU05 (Oct 16, 2004)

Very cool!


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## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

Thanks for the comments guys. It was a great hunt.


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## bowjack (Nov 20, 2011)

Great story! Congratulations aces-n-eights! I was fortunate to bow hunt brown bears in 05. Got within 25 yards of 4 different bears. A sow with cub at less than 20' and two different boars at 15 and 25 yards. Didn't have the shot angle on the boars so my tag remained unpunched. Most adrenaline filled hunt I have ever been on though!


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## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

bowjack said:


> Great story! Congratulations aces-n-eights! I was fortunate to bow hunt brown bears in 05. Got within 25 yards of 4 different bears. A sow with cub at less than 20' and two different boars at 15 and 25 yards. Didn't have the shot angle on the boars so my tag remained unpunched. Most adrenaline filled hunt I have ever been on though!


WOW! That would definitely be an adrenaline rush! Sorry you didn't punch your ticket, but what a great memory.


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## bowjack (Nov 20, 2011)

aces-n-eights said:


> WOW! That would definitely be an adrenaline rush! Sorry you didn't punch your ticket, but what a great memory.


Yes, it was! Fred Eichler hunted Brown Bears that year with the same outfitter and he had an exciting hunt also. If this link works.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...=345a5691ea1e3c462398654e8779143a&action=view


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## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

bowjack said:


> Yes, it was! Fred Eichler hunted Brown Bears that year with the same outfitter and he had an exciting hunt also. If this link works.
> 
> https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...=345a5691ea1e3c462398654e8779143a&action=view


The vid worked fine - that's crazy! Don't know if i have the cahones for that. I was charged once by a brown bear and that was quite frightening.


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## bowjack (Nov 20, 2011)

aces-n-eights said:


> The vid worked fine - that's crazy! Don't know if i have the cahones for that. I was charged once by a brown bear and that was quite frightening.


Hunting in grizzly country always adds the element of excitement to any adventure. I have been approached but never charged by a grizzly. How did that turn out? Sounds like the basis for another great story!


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## GrizzlyHunter (Jun 17, 2005)

That's AWESOME! Congrats on a great bear and a memorable bear.


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## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

bowjack said:


> Hunting in grizzly country always adds the element of excitement to any adventure. I have been approached but never charged by a grizzly. How did that turn out? Sounds like the basis for another great story!


OK, if you insist...









Coincidentally i was hunting with the same two buddies that went to Kodiak with me - Dan and Chuck. We were after black bear.

We trailered Dan's boat down to Tustamena Lake, about a 25 minute drive south of where we lived in Soldotna Alaska. We planned to be out about 12 hours - out in the morning, back home that evening. Even so, Tustamena is a serious lake so we brought enough gear to stay overnight if the weather came up. 

Launched and boated across the lake - it's a big lake so it took us a fair amount of time to get across. Beached the boat and hiked up a valley about 3 miles. Most of the terrain was flat, about a half a mile wide with hills on both sides. There were open areas and patches of 10’ willow, some thin, some thick.

Before we started hiking we had a good discussion about how to carry our rifles. We decided to carry with chambers empty. The rational was that there are a lot more injuries due to accidental discharges in Alaska versus bear maulings. We also talked that if a bear came too close we would all chamber up. We carried handguns as well. 

We stopped and glassed – nothing. Moved on and glassed some more. Nothing. Nothing was moving in our valley. Later afternoon we decided to head back to the boat and go home. 

As we moved back to the boat we would spread out if the terrain was open and then close together as the willows became thicker. We wanted to always be in sight of each other.

In a particularly thick patch of willow we were in close single file with Dan leading, me next and then Chuck taking up the rear. Dan and I carried our rifles in our hands, Chuck had his slung over his shoulder. We heard something in the brush. Obviously a bear. This heightened our awareness but we couldn’t see anything. We continued to hike. Suddenly Chuck yelled “BEAR!” as a large brown bear came at us from the rear. He struggled to get his rifle off his shoulder and then just dropped to the ground. He knew Dan and I would be turning and probably shooting over him and dropping was a smart move. I chambered a round and started to swing to the rear, Dan tried to chamber but jammed his gun so dropped it and drew his .44 magnum. The bear was a brown blur and only about 15’- 20’ away. As I was swinging to shoot, the bear veered away and went crashing thru the willows. Maybe it was a bluff charge or maybe he saw three and didn’t want to deal with us. Whatever, the bear was gone.

Shaken, we gathered our wits and got moving again to the boat. On hyper alert.

The weather had come up and the waves had washed over the transom of the boat where we had beached it. We got the water out, but feared water had gotten into the internal fuel tank. Started the motor - it ran and then sputtered and ran and sputtered. Yep, water in the tank. We got back to the shore a mile or so from where we started and found a cabin. As with most remote cabins in AK, this one was not locked so that if someone was in trouble they could get into shelter. We hunkered down, grateful to the cabin owner. The weather was crap so we stayed overnight. The next morning we found some gas and rigged up an external fuel tank and that got us back to the trailer.

We had found the cabin owner’s name in the cabin and contacted him let him know we gratefully used his cabin and to gladly replace the gas we took from him.

Exciting times.


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## aces-n-eights (Nov 27, 2018)

I want to add to my post about the brown bear charge. As we decompressed in the cabin we had a lot of time to talk about lessons learned, and there were a few...

The time from hearing an animal moving near us and the charge was very quick - maybe a minute or two at most.

Chuck realized he should have taken his rifle off his shoulder and been more ready.

Should we have chambered up when we heard the nearby animal? Probably.

We should have made noise to try to scare away the bear or whatever it was.

We should have pulled the boat further up on the beach. If that bear had injured us and the boat didn't work properly it would have turned a bad situation into a REALLY bad situation.


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## bowjack (Nov 20, 2011)

aces-n-eights, Another great story!

I have had a few people I know charged by grizzlies while hunting but happy to say it has never happened to me.

In that video above, Braun Kopsack told me when he heard the sow popping her jaws he knew she was about to charge and started pulling out his handgun. Had he hesitated it might not have turned out well.


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## III (Dec 6, 2011)

Congrats, Awesome


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## Joel/AK (Jan 12, 2013)

Tustamena can be a cruel bitch. Been on that lake quite a few times then all of a sudden it turns mean in the afternoon. 

Swamped my boat in the same fashion on kenai lake. Kenai gets cold when your swimming...lol

Love the hunt story. Man I miss it alot


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