gerry
Ammo Smith
- Mar 1, 2007
- 6,951
- 1,918
Good luck and make sure you take lots of pictures for us to see 
FWIW I would use either the Nosler or Swift.
FWIW I would use either the Nosler or Swift.Kodiak brown bear recommendation
- Thread starter ridgewalker
- Start date
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
As always, welcome Aleena, glad to see you back.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,505
- 6,517
Best of luck to you on your brown bear hunt. Which outfitter are you using?
- Thread starter
- #45
ridgewalker
Beginner
- Feb 7, 2012
- 83
- 0
DrMike I am going with Brian Peterson outfitter of Ugak Bay Lodge. My actual guide will be Brett Weaver. Brett is a very strapping young guy who grew up in Kodiak. His back up weapon is a 416 Rem Mag.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
The Swift A-frames are never the most accurate but they may be the most killingest and dependable! In terms of minute of a 9 foot brown bear at less than 100 yards, it may not matter much.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,505
- 6,517
I do like the A-Frames; they are a very fine bullet. Thanks for the info. I know the name.
Rem Jim
Handloader
- Jan 7, 2012
- 688
- 9
Best of LUCK to you ! Can't wait to see the pictures ! RJ
- Thread starter
- #49
ridgewalker
Beginner
- Feb 7, 2012
- 83
- 0
OK, I'm going with the 300 gr Nosler Partition. I seems to shoot tighter groups and a little flatter. Interesting it shoots about 2 " higher than the Swift A-frame?
Wish this thing had a muzzle brake. Another dozen 300 grainers down the barrel off the hood of my truck and the final group opened to 1 3/4" and 3 1/4" high at 100 yards. It will be 1-2" lower at sea level, so I think this will be OK.
Decided not to use the Lead-sled because I found it doesn't shoot to the same point as when off the shoulder. My buds laugh at me because it pushes my 155 lbs quite a ways on recoil.
I think I'm ready. Licenses/tags-check. Hunt pack-loaded. Gun/ammo-sighted. Airline tickets-bought. Hotel-reserved. Bush plane-reserved. Rain gear-tested and ready. Hip boots-checked for leaks and ready. Clothes/gear-all spread out in basement to double check. Big bear-guide says it's spotted (har har!) Sitka blacktail buck-"population way down, but still some good bucks" per guide. Physical condition-good! Been exercising extra for months to be ready to run (har har!)
Did I miss anything? Probably.
Wish this thing had a muzzle brake. Another dozen 300 grainers down the barrel off the hood of my truck and the final group opened to 1 3/4" and 3 1/4" high at 100 yards. It will be 1-2" lower at sea level, so I think this will be OK.
Decided not to use the Lead-sled because I found it doesn't shoot to the same point as when off the shoulder. My buds laugh at me because it pushes my 155 lbs quite a ways on recoil.
I think I'm ready. Licenses/tags-check. Hunt pack-loaded. Gun/ammo-sighted. Airline tickets-bought. Hotel-reserved. Bush plane-reserved. Rain gear-tested and ready. Hip boots-checked for leaks and ready. Clothes/gear-all spread out in basement to double check. Big bear-guide says it's spotted (har har!) Sitka blacktail buck-"population way down, but still some good bucks" per guide. Physical condition-good! Been exercising extra for months to be ready to run (har har!)
Did I miss anything? Probably.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,839
- 6,318
"I think I'm ready. Licenses/tags-check. Hunt pack-loaded. Gun/ammo-sighted. Airline tickets-bought. Hotel-reserved. Bush plane-reserved. Rain gear-tested and ready. Hip boots-checked for leaks and ready. Clothes/gear-all spread out in basement to double check. Big bear-guide says it's spotted (har har!) Sitka blacktail buck-"population way down, but still some good bucks" per guide. Physical condition-good! Been exercising extra for months to be ready to run (har har!)"
It does seem like you're ready. Best of luck!
It does seem like you're ready. Best of luck!
- Thread starter
- #52
ridgewalker
Beginner
- Feb 7, 2012
- 83
- 0
No bear I will try to put a little info together this weekend.
I will try to put a little info together this weekend.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,839
- 6,318
Well heck.
Looking forward to the story, bear or no bear.
Guy
Looking forward to the story, bear or no bear.
Guy
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,505
- 6,517
Any hunt that demands that you walk where the big bears have walked is worth talking about.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,839
- 6,318
Absolutely! I got all excited about just being near the big bears while fishing in Alaska in September!
Please tell the story and share any photos. A hunt doesn't always result in a kill, that's for sure. Not mine anyway...
Please tell the story and share any photos. A hunt doesn't always result in a kill, that's for sure. Not mine anyway...
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,505
- 6,517
Guy Miner":2sa6j3de said:Absolutely! I got all excited about just being near the big bears while fishing in Alaska in September!
Please tell the story and share any photos. A hunt doesn't always result in a kill, that's for sure. Not mine anyway...
+1
Guy is right. Tell us the story and share some of your photos.
6mm Remington
Ammo Smith
- Feb 27, 2006
- 5,271
- 693
Sure like to hear the stories and see pictures! I would love to ride along in my mind even if I never am able to pull off a hunt like that myself.
David
David
- Thread starter
- #58
ridgewalker
Beginner
- Feb 7, 2012
- 83
- 0
This was my second and last attempt to take a Kodiak brown bear. I have to save the rest of my funds for the other items on my bucket list.
Logistics are you line up a guide then apply for the area raffle months ahead of time utilizing the guide’s contract. There is both a spring and fall season. If you take one, or wound and lose one you cannot apply again for 4 years. At 63 (my first hunt) I could not wait another 4 years, so in the spring a year ago I passed on the next to the last day on an under 9 foot bear at 30 feet…mistake.
Another $16,000 for the outfitter, bear tag, Sitka deer tag, $1,000 to outfitter for deer hunt, guide tip, $1,172 round trip flight to Kodiak, shuttle, food, Kodiak Inn Best Western, new 10x Swarovski binos (my 8x Nikons didn’t work well for me the first trip), etc. totaling over $21,000 for the hunt.
There were 5 hunters and 5 guides including the outfitter. We landed in Ugak Bay on icy water. 3 of the guides and hunters were backpacking in the first day of the hunt…which was a nice day.
Second day my guide and I were sitting across the bay scoping the opposite mountain sides. We counted 8 adult bears including a sow plus her two cubs. None appeared to be 9 foot or better, but it was very early in the hunt. Suddenly a very nice cold black bear strolled on to the beach across the bay. We jumped in the 14 foot skiff and headed across the bay. At 200 yards from shore the motor died. The guide ripped on the starter cord several times while I watched the bear. Finally we paddled as hard as possible toward the ambling bear. The bear went around a point and disappeared into the alders as they do so often. Lost bear.
For the next two days we sat on a grassy knoll close to the same beach we had seen the nice bear on. No “spider bear” as we called him because of his long legs. Then the Kodiak weather hit us with winds of 50 mph, rain, sleet and snow. Two days we sat inside with the exposed water lines frozen. We had to go outside to the outhouse and to the stream to get water. On the second bad weather day we decided to just walk out of the lodge. Two guys went high and my guide and I went low. We bumped a very small, as in 6 foot, bear.
The weather improved enough we could go back out in the skiff to points where we would sit in the rain and spot when it cleared enough to see. Saw 3 more under size bears. The next day the winds changed and would blow our scent up the mountain, so we decided to climb up to 1200 feet above our viewing area from the north. Three hours later we got to the spot where we would sit the rest of the day. We managed to see one sow with cubs and a light colored 8 foot bear my guide thought was another sow with no cubs.
The outfitter took the large Lund and picked up one of the hunters and guide who had taken a very nice 9 ½ foot bear on their first morning, but stayed in the camp for a couple of days to search for deer which they never found.
My guide and I had constant motor problems which I believe led to not getting at least two bears. We also were close to one 9+ footer to put a stalk on it, but it was badly rubbed. It would have been terrible for a rug. I would have only gotten a skull out of it.
The last two days more motor problems almost every time we saw a bear of any size. Not only the one on the skiff my guide and I had, but the outfitter used his spare motor and had his 50 hp motor flown out for repair.
The outfitter picked up the last 2 hunters and guides who had only seen 3 bears each and had to spend 3 days of the 10 day hunt huddling in their tents. At least I had a warm (wood stove heated) lodge to stay in.
The hunters were all pretty unhappy with their hunts. Two of the guides said they would never work for the outfitter again. The food wasn’t enough, nor good. We had a sirloin (sort of) steak the first night which I had to spit out more than half of it because it had so much gristle. The sandwiches for lunch only had 1 thin slice of meat in them (my wife piles it on). We had 1 chicken thigh each two nights for dinner. The water system was frozen up 5 of the 10 days because the hose from the spring was never buried. We found out after paying the outfitter $1000 and buying a deer tag that 90% of the deer on Kodiak died from the severe weather last winter (I saw 3 does). On and on.
It was an adventure, but we believed we were not treated right. You cannot do anything about the weather, but you should have reliable equipment.
Kodiak is a very difficult place to walk and hunt. You have alders, grasses shoulder high and prickly salmon berry bushes. There are lots of holes to step into hidden under the grasses and salmon berry bushes. It is steep terrain not unlike a lot of Colorado terrain. Luckily it was low elevations. The highest point on Kodiak is maybe 3400 feet.
I had once considered going back and trying to take a mountain goat, but I have changed my mind.
Logistics are you line up a guide then apply for the area raffle months ahead of time utilizing the guide’s contract. There is both a spring and fall season. If you take one, or wound and lose one you cannot apply again for 4 years. At 63 (my first hunt) I could not wait another 4 years, so in the spring a year ago I passed on the next to the last day on an under 9 foot bear at 30 feet…mistake.
Another $16,000 for the outfitter, bear tag, Sitka deer tag, $1,000 to outfitter for deer hunt, guide tip, $1,172 round trip flight to Kodiak, shuttle, food, Kodiak Inn Best Western, new 10x Swarovski binos (my 8x Nikons didn’t work well for me the first trip), etc. totaling over $21,000 for the hunt.
There were 5 hunters and 5 guides including the outfitter. We landed in Ugak Bay on icy water. 3 of the guides and hunters were backpacking in the first day of the hunt…which was a nice day.
Second day my guide and I were sitting across the bay scoping the opposite mountain sides. We counted 8 adult bears including a sow plus her two cubs. None appeared to be 9 foot or better, but it was very early in the hunt. Suddenly a very nice cold black bear strolled on to the beach across the bay. We jumped in the 14 foot skiff and headed across the bay. At 200 yards from shore the motor died. The guide ripped on the starter cord several times while I watched the bear. Finally we paddled as hard as possible toward the ambling bear. The bear went around a point and disappeared into the alders as they do so often. Lost bear.
For the next two days we sat on a grassy knoll close to the same beach we had seen the nice bear on. No “spider bear” as we called him because of his long legs. Then the Kodiak weather hit us with winds of 50 mph, rain, sleet and snow. Two days we sat inside with the exposed water lines frozen. We had to go outside to the outhouse and to the stream to get water. On the second bad weather day we decided to just walk out of the lodge. Two guys went high and my guide and I went low. We bumped a very small, as in 6 foot, bear.
The weather improved enough we could go back out in the skiff to points where we would sit in the rain and spot when it cleared enough to see. Saw 3 more under size bears. The next day the winds changed and would blow our scent up the mountain, so we decided to climb up to 1200 feet above our viewing area from the north. Three hours later we got to the spot where we would sit the rest of the day. We managed to see one sow with cubs and a light colored 8 foot bear my guide thought was another sow with no cubs.
The outfitter took the large Lund and picked up one of the hunters and guide who had taken a very nice 9 ½ foot bear on their first morning, but stayed in the camp for a couple of days to search for deer which they never found.
My guide and I had constant motor problems which I believe led to not getting at least two bears. We also were close to one 9+ footer to put a stalk on it, but it was badly rubbed. It would have been terrible for a rug. I would have only gotten a skull out of it.
The last two days more motor problems almost every time we saw a bear of any size. Not only the one on the skiff my guide and I had, but the outfitter used his spare motor and had his 50 hp motor flown out for repair.
The outfitter picked up the last 2 hunters and guides who had only seen 3 bears each and had to spend 3 days of the 10 day hunt huddling in their tents. At least I had a warm (wood stove heated) lodge to stay in.
The hunters were all pretty unhappy with their hunts. Two of the guides said they would never work for the outfitter again. The food wasn’t enough, nor good. We had a sirloin (sort of) steak the first night which I had to spit out more than half of it because it had so much gristle. The sandwiches for lunch only had 1 thin slice of meat in them (my wife piles it on). We had 1 chicken thigh each two nights for dinner. The water system was frozen up 5 of the 10 days because the hose from the spring was never buried. We found out after paying the outfitter $1000 and buying a deer tag that 90% of the deer on Kodiak died from the severe weather last winter (I saw 3 does). On and on.
It was an adventure, but we believed we were not treated right. You cannot do anything about the weather, but you should have reliable equipment.
Kodiak is a very difficult place to walk and hunt. You have alders, grasses shoulder high and prickly salmon berry bushes. There are lots of holes to step into hidden under the grasses and salmon berry bushes. It is steep terrain not unlike a lot of Colorado terrain. Luckily it was low elevations. The highest point on Kodiak is maybe 3400 feet.
I had once considered going back and trying to take a mountain goat, but I have changed my mind.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Paying $16,000 to the outfitter, even with license fees, should get a nice, clean, warm camp with fresh water, good food and reliable, functional equipment and a reasonable chance to see bears. I am sorry to hear about your coastal bear hunt, especially as for most of us, it is a once in a lifetime hunt and for anyone, is an expensive and weather elements exposure trip.
I would complain to the state Outfitter Board about this guy. He did not deliver on what you contracted and paid him to do.
I would complain to the state Outfitter Board about this guy. He did not deliver on what you contracted and paid him to do.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,505
- 6,517
That stinks, Ridgewalker. It does sound as if the outfitter wasn't fully prepared to fulfill his end of the contract. I'm glad you had the opportunity to go, but man, for that price I would have expected him to be better prepared.
