Kodiak Spring Bear Hunt Tips

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

Hey all,

first things first I recently drew a tag for spring Kodiak Bear in gm08. I have harvested a fall black bear before ( I was lucky, we scared each other and I had a tag for him lol). However I have never purposefully hunted Bear. I was hoping that fine persons such as yourselfs may be willing to impart some knowledge on me so I can hopefully turn my upcoming hunt into a success.

I know I will be hiking in approx 10mi to my camp.
I have been in the approximate area once before about 2 years ago on an unrelated trip.
I have a 45 70 with a 1-6 scope I was planning on using.
and I have been told to spend 95% of my time glassing the south facing slopes of mountains just below the snow line.
and I only have 14days to hunt from report in to report out.

if any of you disagree with anything I have stated or have more info to share I would greatly appreciate the input.

 

[Antares]

Curious what the sight picture is like on that scope with what looks to be 12+ inches of eye relief.

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

Curious what the sight picture is like on that scope with what looks to be 12+ inches of eye relief.

it's not bad at all, it's definitely set up in a scout style so I keep both eyes open.
I have been told that I won't have the range I require with the 45 70. what say you?

 

[22lr]

Spring of 23? My buddy just drew the DB257 tag as well. Ill shoot you a PM and stay in touch as I help him plan. I am a novice bear hunter, my advice isn't worth much... but I've been to Kodiak before (was just down a bit more South, and in the Fall).

 

[Chaseum]

Do you have a partner with you or a backup pistol? An enreach by chance?

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

Do you have a partner with you or a backup pistol? An enreach by chance?

I will have both of those things, im using a glock 20sf with hardcast underwood.

 

[Michael Dow]

If you find a sow without cubs be on the lookout for boars following her tracks. Spring is the rut for brown bears and they are moving through country looking for love.

 

[jd270win]

It is difficult to overstate how physically demanding it is to move the hide and skull of a big bear over 10 miles of terrain on Kodiak. If you are lucky and kill a big bear, expect them to weigh well over 100lbs. Me and a buddy moved a 150 lb load of bear over 3+ mile on Unimak back when I was younger, and it was extremely taxing. Kodiak terrain is significantly tougher. The chances of injury are relatively high. Personally, I would not attempt it by myself.

And I wouldn't carry a pistol. If you cant employ your 45-70, it's probably too late.

 

[SSawyer]

Hey all,

first things first I recently drew a tag for spring Kodiak Bear in gm08. I have harvested a fall black bear before ( I was lucky, we scared each other and I had a tag for him lol). However I have never purposefully hunted Bear. I was hoping that fine persons such as yourselfs may be willing to impart some knowledge on me so I can hopefully turn my upcoming hunt into a success.

I know I will be hiking in approx 10mi to my camp.
I have been in the approximate area once before about 2 years ago on an unrelated trip.
I have a 45 70 with a 1-6 scope I was planning on using.
and I have been told to spend 95% of my time glassing the south facing slopes of mountains just below the snow line.
and I only have 14days to hunt from report in to report out.

if any of you disagree with anything I have stated or have more info to share I would greatly appreciate the input.

How did your hunt turn out? I am hoping to hunt there in the next couple of years...

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

How did your hunt turn out? I am hoping to hunt there in the next couple of years...

havnt gone yet, it is planned for spring of 23.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

havnt gone yet, it is planned for spring of 23.

Resident?

 

[SSawyer]

A buddy, Neal, and I were hunting deer on Kodiak over Thanksgiving a couple years ago. He killed his deer late on the last day of the hunt. We were carrying it down the mountain to get it back to the beach before dark so we didn't miss the boat pick-up. We decided to quarter it out as fast as we could because dragging it through all the brush, deadfall, trees was not gonna happen. It didn't take me long to cut it up and get it into a pack. I had just helped get the pack on my Neal's back when he turned around and yelled "bear!"

A huge brownie was coming in at less than 20 yards. We backed away from the gut pile in two different directions. Neal was able to grab my rifle, but his was too close to the bear, so I had none. The bear didn't seemed too alarmed until Neal started yelling at him. The bear woofed and went on a dead run at Neal. I started yelling, "shoot him, shoot him"! Neal tripped in the alders/knee deep snow with the weight of the deer on his back. I thought my friend was about to get mauled when the gun went off. (Fortunately, I ALWAYS have a round chambered in Alaska.) The bear immediately spun around, biting at his side. He jumped up and ran at a dead sprint straight downhill, into the brush, and out of sight.

After a brief moment of silence and disbelief at what had just happened, I measured the distance the bear was from Neal when he was shot. Only three steps! We picked up our gear and got down the hill right at dark. Of course, we were checking our back trail the whole way!

The outfitter we used said that they see bears all the time, but in 23 years had never had an encounter like this one.

Lessons learned: Always drag animals into wide open spaces before field dressing. Always keep a round safely chambered in a rifle. Hunt with a buddy. Brown bears are not intimidated by yelling at them. Especially large boars!

 

[Nick Muche]

Yelling at a bear is stupid, real stupid…

 

[adventure907]

Did you recover the bear?

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

Resident?

yup

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

A buddy, Neal, and I were hunting deer on Kodiak over Thanksgiving a couple years ago. He killed his deer late on the last day of the hunt. We were carrying it down the mountain to get it back to the beach before dark so we didn't miss the boat pick-up. We decided to quarter it out as fast as we could because dragging it through all the brush, deadfall, trees was not gonna happen. It didn't take me long to cut it up and get it into a pack. I had just helped get the pack on my Neal's back when he turned around and yelled "bear!"

A huge brownie was coming in at less than 20 yards. We backed away from the gut pile in two different directions. Neal was able to grab my rifle, but his was too close to the bear, so I had none. The bear didn't seemed too alarmed until Neal started yelling at him. The bear woofed and went on a dead run at Neal. I started yelling, "shoot him, shoot him"! Neal tripped in the alders/knee deep snow with the weight of the deer on his back. I thought my friend was about to get mauled when the gun went off. (Fortunately, I ALWAYS have a round chambered in Alaska.) The bear immediately spun around, biting at his side. He jumped up and ran at a dead sprint straight downhill, into the brush, and out of sight.

After a brief moment of silence and disbelief at what had just happened, I measured the distance the bear was from Neal when he was shot. Only three steps! We picked up our gear and got down the hill right at dark. Of course, we were checking our back trail the whole way!

The outfitter we used said that they see bears all the time, but in 23 years had never had an encounter like this one.

Lessons learned: Always drag animals into wide open spaces before field dressing. Always keep a round safely chambered in a rifle. Hunt with a buddy. Brown bears are not intimidated by yelling at them. Especially large boars!

have a buddy joining me an both of us are packing pistols in addition to our rifles. Hopefully we can get our bear with minimal fuss lol.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Little overkill. Must not of lived in Alaska long. The comment you made about packing a brown bear hide and skull ten miles, pretty much says it all in the neophyte realm.

 

[SSawyer]

Did you recover the bear?

Never did. It was getting dark and I wasn’t convinced it was dead. Priority was getting back to the beach to meet the boat. We reported the incident, but nothing became of it.

 

[WRO]

My buddies had a DLP bear 2 years ago on their hunt, they seem to be more common..

 

[Da_Flyin_Bandaid]

Little overkill. Must not of lived in Alaska long. The comment you made about packing a brown bear hide and skull ten miles, pretty much says it all in the neophyte realm.

we adjusted our route to make the trip 4mi in. As for living in Alaska I recently moved back and only am considering taking a pistol at this time as ounces =pounds.