Brown Bear or Grixxly

[Where's Bruce?]

If you had to choose which one would you select. Originally I though brown cuz they're bigger but central AK area where i'm hunting moose will only have Grizz. While a tad smaller I gotta think the Grizzly bear has more of a reputation and probably fewer of them are taken by bow than browns. Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Pretty sure hunting either from the ground with a bow will provide a pucker factor at level 10. Any bear hunters with an opinion here?

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I've only taken black bears with a bow but either one would be an amazing hunt IMO. Both are on my list.....

 

[Stid2677]

If you want to eat any,, Grizzly, if you want a Toad, BB. BB on fish are easier to get to bow hunting, but they sure stink. Grizzly's also will have more variety in color, and BB will be mostly brown in color.

 

[Ray]

Interior "toklat" grizz. Blond coat with dark chocolate legs.

 

[adventure907]

Brown bear, without a doubt. Grizzlies are cool, but brown bears are awe inspiring.

 

[idelkslayer]

grizzly, I am more drawn to their mountain habitats than the coastlines and lowland rivers of the browns.

 

[Zbowman1]

Same Bear isn't it? The name only represents the location in which the bear is found. If a Grizz gets to close to the coast it is considered a BB. If a BB moves inland it is considered a grizz. At least that's how it was descried to me when I was working in AK. I'm not saying there temperament isn't different or even there color phasing but I would think that is directly related to there environment. Let me know if I'm wrong here.

 

[Stid2677]

Technically you are correct, but they behave very differently and coastal bears tend to be darker in color and considerably larger in body size. If I was paying for the opportunity to hunt either I would chose Browns, because I have seen far more and had more opportunities to harvest them. There are some giant interior bears but they tend to run in the 6 to 7 ft range, as feed is harder to come by.

Brown Bear coastal.

Grizzly

Brooks Grizzly

Old Grizz from the Brooks

Toklat in the interior

different one, you can see the color is similar.

Kodiak BB

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Damn!

 

[adventure907]

While technically they are the same species, there is absolutely a difference between a true coastal brown bear and an interior grizzly bear, as Stid attempted to show. The shear size of a large coastal brown bear makes them one of the most magnificent and impressive animals on the planet, in my humble opinion.

 

[slick]

Wow! That's a huge animal. How big is that bear 907?

 

[VernAK]

IMO, it's easier to bag a large brown bear than a large interior grizzly. Bow hunting for interior grizzly could be very difficult unless hunting in a baiting area.
I also think the hide of a large interior boar makes a nicer rug with better color......many of the old boars are dark with silvertips...truly the heads often appear outsized for the body size.


View attachment 20823 bear

 

[Ray]

Brown bear hunting on the beaches in Kodiak is really easy. Example video

[video=youtube;FsJLISMIPjg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FsJLISMIPjg[/video]

Disclaimer, I am not responsible for any damage caused to your shorts, pants, key boards, monitors, orifices, etc.

 

[Blockcaver]

What an awesome brown bear in the video! I know the hunter and read his account! Too bad about having to shoot it with the rifle but beats being mauled! Over 1400# bear weighed on an electronic scale!

I arrowed an interior mountain grizzly this spring at 13 yds. He ran past at 5' but luckily did not wind us (as the brown bear in the video did) and we did not have to shoot him with the rifle. He traveled 120 yds in total. We had to run the sow off that was 15 yds away seconds later wondering what just happened to the bow friend! This was the most exciting thing I have ever done in my life, hunting or otherwise. It took two days for the adrenalin to get out of the system. Also took 60 hunting days over five years to accomplish. Just to compare, I'm going brown bear hunting next June.

 

[adventure907]

10 foot plus

 

[realunlucky]

That's an awesome video!

 

[bcimport]

That was an awesome video.

 

[El Gavilan]

The interior, coastal and Kodiak are all the same species but they are separate subspecies, based mostly on size differences.

 

[Steve O]

Can you point me to the story on THAT trip. The bear is impressive but what really intrigues me is that pile of Blacktail antlers! Only have hunted Kodiak once but that would be my place if I was only allowed to do one type hunt for the rest of my life.

 

[Stid2677]

Can you point me to the story on THAT trip. The bear is impressive but what really intrigues me is that pile of Blacktail antlers! Only have hunted Kodiak once but that would be my place if I was only allowed to do one type hunt for the rest of my life.

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