Alaskan Brown Bear Hunt

It's paws were the size of my chest, it was triple my height and it jaws looked like the perfect fit for my head. I stared at its stomach not only because I was calculating the dimensions and coming to the conclusion that I could fit inside with room to spare but also because I was already craning my neck and I couldn't look any higher. Being only 4 years old 'Big' was about as descriptive as I could get, but even then I knew I wasn't doing it justice. 

'It' was the stuffed Brown Bear at the local hardware store that stood upright on a platform and intimidated people into buying more bolts and PVC piping. Every time my dad took me along to buy odds and ends for the house I was in total awe. And now, 25 plus years later, I am still in total awe of the brown bear. That's what led me to call around to some guides in Alaska and ask them a few questions about hunting brown bears. 

Here's some quick facts, the Alaskan Brown Bear can get up to 1200 lbs and run as fast as 30 mph. That's equivalent to 2/3 of a '67 VW Bug (and about as fast). The coastal bears will eat 100 lbs of salmon a day and have an amazing sense of smell.

As I learned from Sue of Alaska Hunting Adventures there is only one type of brown bear, but it's referred to by different names depending on where it lives; coastal brown bear and grizzly bear. Physically the grizzly is smaller and has up to an 8 sq. ft. hide which is average size for the coastal brown as they can get up to an 11 sq. ft. hide. Sue, her husband Frank and her son Matt operate their guide business in the Tok management area mainly for Dall Sheep but they also conduct a few grizzlybear hunts a year. It's a small, family business and you can expect to be treated like family from the time you arrive at their front door to the time you leave.

You can also expect to see some beautiful country on the way to the hunting area as you'll be driving a few hours and then hopping on a boat for a few more hours. Their hunts typically consist of a bit of hiking, up to 3-5 miles in a day, and is a bit more gruelling than a coastal brown bear hunt. And when I said you can expect to be treated like family, it's because they only take one hunter, two at the most on their bear hunts.

For those of you out there that want to be the real manly men, or see what it'd be like to be Jeremiah Johnson, meet Chris of Alaska Bush Guides. We talked via satellite radio because that's the only way possible where he lives. He's hunted Bristol Bay (unit 17) for 25 years and knows a thing or two about tracking down coastal brown bears. And here's the best part, you can actually purchase two bear tags in his area. If you're fortunate enough to bag two, that's a whole lot of hide. Now just because Chris is on the edge of the world don't think he doesn't have some of life's finer things available for his customers, TV and internet at night and hunting out of his home. Not too bad!

The style of hunting Chris uses is stalking the bears and spending a whole lot of time glassing. Typically he'll try and spot them coming down the mountain looking for food and position himself and his hunter or hunters (Chris also only takes two hunters maximum and prefers only one) where the bear is headed. Sometimes it can turn into a big game of patience. 

The third guide I talked to is Brent Jones of AAA Alaskan Outfitters. Brent is one of the few guides that allows his customers to use a bow - which means he has customers willing to get close enough to use a bow. Brent conducts two hunts a year, each lasting ten days and they have exclusive rights to 550 sq. miles of coastal and inland terrain with 12 camps set up. I asked Brent which hunt was better, the first 10 days or the second and he said it was a matter of quality or quantity. The first 10 days is easier to bag a bear, but the second 10 days lands the bigger bears.

Before every hunt they canvas the streams to find which ones have the most salmon and use that information to decide their camp. Once they've made camp they keep the stalk hunting to a minimum because of how sensitive the bears noses are. As Brent informed me, the worst thing you can do is walk all over every where because the bears will quickly smell you and not return. If you're wanting to go bear hunting with a group, Brent's outfit caters more to that style of trip.

All the guides agreed that what makes hunting brown bears so challenging is just finding them. And once you find them, you may end up with hundreds of pounds of rotten meat due to the bear's diet (although Sue swears that Grizzly that's been eating berries is a killer meal). While bear hunting isn't very physically demanding, it can be very mentally demanding. Patience and sometimes an eternal spring of optimism is needed to get your dream bear. And, once you get it, maybe you can display it in your place of business and forever leave a mark on another 4 year old.