A3 Trophy Hunts LLC : May 2012

We got a kick out of this book that we bought to read.

I am blessed to have a brother that not only lives in Alaska, but one who enjoys the outdoors as much as anyone I have ever met. To say he is a fanatic is an understatement. To say he is generous with not only his finances, but also his time and resources is also an understatement. He is always putting together the next big adventure, wherever it may be. I truly am blessed. Some time ago, he mentioned to me that we need to go shoot a big brown bear. He had taken a great bear a few years ago, but when he saw the beast that went and fed on the carcass of his bear, any old sub 9 ft bear just wouldnt do. To be completely honest, I always wanted to kill a brown bear, but I never really thought of how amazing of a trophy these animals really are. I just returned from an adventure that will forever be engrained in my mind and heart. Many months ago, by brother Shane began the year long process of making sure everything on this hunt would be a success. He plans every meal, provides any needed gear, and does more research than anyone I know. I had drawn a coveted Kodiak island brown bear tag for this spring. However, we wanted my other brother to be able to hunt as well and after lots of research, Shane had determined that we could hunt big bears together on the Alaskan Peninsula. As the hunt got closer, flights were booked, rifles were tested, and gear piled up. We carefully watched the weather from January and it appeared that it never wanted to warm up. Record snowfall and low temps were not a good recipe for a spring brown bear hunt, but we were going regardless of the circumstances. As the hunt got closer, the reports did not get any better, "Bears still denned up, lots of snow on the landing strips, etc." It did not look good. We flew up with my brother Brian, and good friend Joe G. Joe is always good for some off the wall trip, whether he has a tag or not, he will be there and go all out, that is the kind of guy he is. He is an amazing person and friend. I thank him for that. We knew the conditions were tough from the reports we were getting. Reports of 20+ guided hunters and not a single bear sighting! Record snowfall not only limited the areas to hunt, but also provided additional planning. I think we finally ended up on our plan E or F spot!

Record Snowfall and cold temps were going to be a challenge!

Well we landed at our destination and were decided to make the most of it. We were at sea level, with a view over a large flat with some rolling alder hills, which kept most the bears during the middle of the day. It wasn't where we wanted to be, but with limited areas we decided to make the best of it. It didn't take long and we began to see bears. They were a very very long ways off, making it difficult to tell exactly what we were looking at other than a dark blob rolling through the alders. This went on morning and evening and finally we decided to get a closer look. I really wanted my brother to kill this black blog that was doing the same thing morning and evening. We knew the winds were horrible, and it was a 5-7 mile hike to the bear, but we were ready to do it. Little did we know what we were getting into. None of us had ever walked across such boggy, almost like quicksand country! It didn't just last a short while either, it was like this the entire way! One day while making our way out to chase the big dark bear we watched everyday, we saw this bear just around a rise by camp. We decided not to shoot this bear, as we felt there were better bears around and it was still early in the hunt. We also saw another great bear being harassed by wolves that we decided to let go.

Ptarmigan were plentiful

Lots of wildlife was seen including this fox.

This was a nice bear, but we knew that the big one we had yet to see up close had the makings of a 9 ft plus bear! That was our goal.

This is the kind of stuff we were dealing with.

Well we made it out several more times, setting up on the bear just perfectly, but he always outsmarted us. He would come out after dark, or he would mix up his route just enough to not allow the time to get to him. This game was getting very frustrating and after 50+ miles logged on the gps trying to get Brian a shot on this thing, we were just about spent! I decided to give it one last shot, so we left at 3AM again on the hike in hopes that we could intercept this thing before he made it back to his safe haven. Well luck was on our side, and as it got light, we saw the blob coming our way. The only problem was the winds were getting crazy again, but we decided to make a gamble and try something we had not done. Little did we know this would work just right. As the bear made his way towards us, I remember Doyle saying that the big bears "articulate" when they walk. Well this bear did just that, and I knew he was good enough for me. As he closed the gap from 800, 600, 400, and then 200 yards my heart was racing. I was going to shoot him at 200 yards but I never got the shot I wanted. The bear turned towards us and followed a small cut right towards us. I could never get a shot as I was laying prone on the muskeg and all I could see was his back. I knew that when he popped up he would be in our laps! As he closed to 100, then 75, then 50, he popped up out of the cut and looked our way.
Here are some still shots taken off the video as he closed the distance.

When he took his look at us, he knew something didn't look right and he had no problem coming right at us. We were in his house, and knowing that he was aggressive (he ran a bear out the night before), I was going to shoot him as soon as possible. My heart was coming out of my chest and it took everything I had to keep my cool. When he hit the 32 yard mark I let him have it with the 375. The 300 grain bullet hit him hard and rolled him. I racked in another bullet and for whatever reason, could not get it to fire! So I racked round number 3 and hit him again as he moved off and dropped him. I put another one in for insurance immediately. I cannot explain the adrenaline rush that I had, it caused my to fade in and out and I almost fell flat on my face. Everyone can laugh at me when we post the video of this hunt, but that is why I hunt. Emotions ran high as we walked up to the bear and looked at the sheer size of this thing. I didn't care if he was an 8' bear, or a 12' bear, he was big to me and was awesome. We all took a guess and figured he was a 9-9.5' bear, but once we pulled the skin off him we realized just how much bigger he really was. We continually squared him well over the 10 ft mark. I figured we were doing something wrong. His skull was huge as well. We were coming up with 28.5"! Well to make a long story short, he was sealed and scored at 28 10/16" and stretched 10' 10.5" on his skin. We kept joking that he was an 11 ft bear because he was missing his tail, which was bitten off at some point in his life!

The packout was extremely heavy, and we swapped packs as we all hiked out the 6 miles back to camp. Again, I am forever indebted to my huntin buddies for their help and sacrifice. Thank you Shane, Brian, and Joe for all of your help. Never would of happened without you guys. Thank you to my lovely wife for letting me go on these adventures. She is the real trooper!

Here are a few of the pics. Lots and lots of video was captured and I am still downloading all of it. Hope you enjoy the pics.