Looks like I’m in for 2025

[kwackkillncrew]

I did. That’s why I had a bear fence.

Two guys had the entire side of their tent ripped open 2 weeks prior and had to dispatch the bear. They didn’t have any meat and it was their first legal day of hunting. They spotted him from where they were glassing from. Then they got hit by a blizzard within the hour. Thankfully they had a tarp to cover the tent. One guy went with out sleeping bag for 3 days bc his was wet. After 4 days the visibility got good enough that the pilot was able to fly by and drop supplies out of his window bc they were low on food.

Sorry, no animal is worth the risk of losing shelter in that situation and environment with my wife who was also dealing with strep throat at the time. Is what it is. We did the best we could. Even moved the meat the second day in hopes of salvaging what was left. Below picture is next morning after moving the meat.

Everything always works and is fine until it isn’t. I won’t be taking unnecessary risks that far from help and in that environment. Not to mention having a $1200 tent and thousands of dollars worth of gear destroyed.

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so you didnt have the meat inside the bear fence with your tent or you did? did those other guys have a bear fence? The fence isnt going to be completely perfect bear proof, but atleast you're putting the odds in your favor a little more. Did you keep the antlers and hide right next to the meat also?

 

[ddavis_1313]

so you didnt have the meat inside the bear fence with your tent or you did? did those other guys have a bear fence? The fence isnt going to be completely perfect bear proof, but atleast you're putting the odds in your favor a little more. Did you keep the antlers and hide right next to the meat also?

The other guys that had their tent ripped open had no bear fence. A buddy went up the year before I did. They dispatched a bear right outside the tent door tearing into their food.

The father and sun that hunted on the ridge with us did not have a bear fence.

All in all, 3 caribou shot. They lost 1 and a half caribou and a cape. We lost the entire caribou. All in 3 days. Hell, we lost half the caribou packing it back to camp. We sat down the first load at the bottom of the ridge and went back for the rest with plans to shuttle meat. Less than 2 hours later we return to find a sow and two cubs eating what we had just sat on the ground.

Some of you guys can talk crap all you want. There were bears everywhere. When you lose half a caribou while packing out to bears, there is an issue.

It probably didn’t help that there were at least 4 fresh carcasses in the area when we landed with one being 400 yards from camp.

At any rate, it was a great hunt and adventure. Learned from it and will implement better strategies for protecting meat next time.

And no, I did not put the meat next to my tent inside the bear fence. Why might you ask? For the reason stated above. Bear fences aren’t 100% effective. My food and shelter are far more important in that situation. Therefore next time will be 2 bear fences.

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[ddavis_1313]

Maybe you shouldn’t be hunting up here.

Maybe you’re a DB….

Maybe you are a keyboard warrior.

Maybe I don’t give a crap what you think or what your opinion is.


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[kwackkillncrew]

The other guys that had their tent ripped open had no bear fence. A buddy went up the year before I did. They dispatched a bear right outside the tent door tearing into their food.

The father and sun that hunted on the ridge with us did not have a bear fence.

All in all, 3 caribou shot. They lost 1 and a half caribou and a cape. We lost the entire caribou. All in 3 days. Hell, we lost half the caribou packing it back to camp. We sat down the first load at the bottom of the ridge and went back for the rest with plans to shuttle meat. Less than 2 hours later we return to find a sow and two cubs eating what we had just sat on the ground.

Some of you guys can talk crap all you want. There were bears everywhere. When you lose half a caribou while packing out to bears, there is an issue.

It probably didn’t help that there were at least 4 fresh carcasses in the area when we landed with one being 400 yards from camp.

At any rate, it was a great hunt and adventure. Learned from it and will implement better strategies for protecting meat next time.

And no, I did not put the meat next to my tent inside the bear fence. Why might you ask? For the reason stated above. Bear fences aren’t 100% effective. My food and shelter are far more important in that situation. Therefore next time will be 2 bear fences.

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But what about thr antlers and hide? Did that make the cut to put inside the bear fence?

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[FAAFO]

Maybe you’re a DB….

Maybe you are a keyboard warrior.

Maybe I don’t give a crap what you think or what your opinion is.


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But maybe he’s right?

Was the guy who killed the bear from Texas?

 

[WRO]

Maybe you’re a DB….

Maybe you are a keyboard warrior.

Maybe I don’t give a crap what you think or what your opinion is.


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Nick knows his shit, I’d advise listening to him.


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[ddavis_1313]

But what about thr antlers and hide? Did that make the cut to put inside the bear fence?

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Read above comment. There was a hide stolen. How does a hide get stolen if it’s inside the bear fence?????


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[ddavis_1313]

But maybe he’s right?

Was the guy who killed the bear from Texas?

I’m not going to tell you his name. lol

But he documented everything. Had pictures of the bear dead next to destroyed waterproof bag with food. 10’ from the tent. He filled out his report and ADFG saw it as a justified action.


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[ddavis_1313]

Nick knows his shit, I’d advise listening to him.


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Nick seems to think that he knows who should and should not be hunting in Alaska based off one bad experience with bears. An experience that was out of my control. If I had known I was going to be dropped in the middle of fresh kills with bears every direction I would have had a second bear fence. We counted 8 bears the morning we flew out.

Maybe instead of Nick being arrogant to a non resident hunter that was on their first trip to Alaska and completely new to the entire experience, Nick could offer insight and make suggestions on how to avoid this situation in the future. And since this a public forum, he would be offering advice to anyone else reading this forum. The experienced people that “know their stuff” is the reason I’m on this site. I live in Houston Texas. I don’t have a mountain range anywhere near me and Alaska is 9.5 hrs via plane with a connecting flight…

I thought we were all here to tell stories and offer tips and suggestions to new hunters.

Instead I’m getting the vibe that there are cliques based off some perceived hierarchy. Maybe if I lived in a state where back country hunting was actually available or financially well off that $30k-$50k hunting trips are easily affordable I would have more experience. Or maybe if I started western style hunting earlier in life…. But I didn’t start early, I’m not wealthy, and I live in Texas. So, I’ll be the outsider that lives on flatland. I’ll be the non resident hunter that doesn’t belong and is “crowding my state”. At the end of the day, I’ll still go hunt. And I’ll figure it out on my own along the way while passing along what I’ve learned to anyone that’s interested.


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[kwackkillncrew]

We left with nothing. Just a hide and horns. In just over 48 hours they wiped us out.

thats what i read. you said you left with the hide and antlers. It seems like atleast the antlers were inside the bear fence. why did the antlers make the cut to be more protected then the meat?

 

[ddavis_1313]

thats what i read. you said you left with the hide and antlers. It seems like atleast the antlers were inside the bear fence. why did the antlers make the cut to be more protected then the meat?

The tent and food was in the bear fence. Hide and antlers just outside the fence. Meat cache 200 yards away tarped.

Bears ate all the meat of over two caribou even after moving meat 400 yards away opposite direction. They stole a hide off a tent the second night. Literally, the pulled a man’s cape off the damn tent. The guy spent 3 hours walking circles around camp looking for it and never found it. So, less than 1 caribou of meat was flown out, 3 racks, two capes. We got lucky to not lose a cape but we lost all the meat.

I thought I’ve explained this pretty clearly.

Also, I’d prefer food not be inside the bear fence. But due to lack of any trees to hang food in, it stayed inside the bear fence next to the tent, but definitely not in the tent.

You guys seem to think my wife and I were ok with losing all that meat…. Like we are damn trophy hunters. We eat everything we harvest. You know how frustrating it is to not even get to try any caribou fresh after shooting it. They are the back strap and tenderloins and heart the first night.

Wild game It’s the staple of our diet. We supplement with grass fed beef off my dad’s small ranch where I grew up. I plant a garden and we jar pickles, make jam, salsa, and anything else we that we are able to can or freeze.

Just because I live in a sprawling urban environment that I can’t stand doesn’t mean I’m “from the city”.


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