I would be in the Wrangell’s mountains hunting on the Chitna River. We discussed the many scenarios that might occur and what best ones might be.
Preparation was good through into June when I was thrown a wringer at work, I would be spending the rest of my time before the trip in Amsterdam.
I return stateside 5 days before my flight to Alaska. I received the new North Fork Bullets and the wife was kind enough to drop all the powder for load development and get me to and from the range a couple sessions all the while I though my head was going to explode due to a sinus infection.
I decided I would use the the 260 grain North Fork CSP out of my 7.5″ 460 topped with a H1 Aim Point red dot.
I would be taking a Ruger#1 chambered in 460 also as a backup plan.
My sinus issue presided through the whole trip without regard to type or quantity of medication.
On the drive from Anchorage to Chitna airport Don informed me a moose was taken yesterday and we should work to get on the carcass as soon as possible. We flew from Chitna into the lodge and wasted no time in dropping off the the non essentials and getting out so we could make a final trek in the early morning to get on the gut pile. We setup camp about 2 miles down wind from where we thought the carcass was and turned in. The morning came quick and we left camp at first light but with one new twist the wind was now done a 180 and we would have to circle in and would now have to move even faster.
The need to circle added to challenge of finding the moose gut pile the river bottom looked like a maze of willows and water courses, even Don was was second guessing himself. We finally found a Spruce he could climb so we could get some better bearings. The squirrel that was resident was none to happy with Don in the tree and made enough noise for 20.
The wind shifted 180 degrees again and the hope is we had not been made. We were within 300 yards now, crows were in the trees above were the carcass was so me figured the bear was there. We slipped of the backs and started our stock in. About 100 yards out we dropped a few feet into a dry gravel bed and made a assessment, it has willows on both side and leads up to within 75 yards of the gut pile. No sooner than we take a step forward I look over and see Don shoulder his rifle , I turn to see the grizzly charging starlight for us, it covered 40 yards in about two seconds. I heard Don yell any time you can shoot, I let the first one go at 17 yards it rolled the bear to a stop and continued shooting, actually took two trigger pulls with an empty gun, Don tapped me on the shoulder and said lets move back and reload and give it a few minutes. A quick discussion of the events I found it had happened so fast there was no big adrenaline rush or even time to get excited.
We slowly made our way back in to find the bear dead about 4 yards from where the first shoot had landed. Then I had a little adrenaline rush. On further inspection 4 of 5 of my shoots had hit the bear.
My first shoot was through the neck into the shoulder through the top of the lung stopping about 30″ from the point of entry to just under the hide on the back. The bullet nose was completely flattened where the CSP had been. Another round went through the neck, another in the shoulder through the hearts and out the other side and the last was through the rib cage and out the other.
