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This is one of our favorite brown bear hunts. Almost everybody sees lots of bears, the scenery and the experience are unparalleled, the hunting is relatively easy, the on-board boat lodging is great, and almost everybody goes home with a trophy to remember the experience. Plus the outfitters, a father-and-son team, are great people persons, making the trip a lot of fun.
This hunt is usually full two or three years in advance. The outfitter sometimes gets one or two late cancellations a year, so it's a good idea to put a deposit down if you want a slot. We require a $1,000 deposit, which is refundable until a slot opens up and you confirm that you want that opening. At that time 50 percent is required to reserve an opening in the same year. If the opening is in a future year, 25 percent is due with another 25 percent due on Jan. 1 of the year you'll hunt.
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Hunts typically take place in the period from April 28-May 20 and the fall hunt starts in mid-September.
Your hunt is based from a large boat (as of this writing a 58-foot Hatteras), glassing and still hunting along the coasts of the ABC Islands in Alaska. Hunter success is 100% almost every year, and that's because there are so many bears in this area. One of our customers shot the 59th bear he saw. Most hunters shoot animals between 8 and 9 feet. The average both fall and spring has been about 8'4" over the years. Though 10-footers have come from this hunt, it's not realistic to expect a bear that big.
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2010 report: The spring hunt went great with seven hunters taking seven brownies. Five of them square nine to nine foot six. We have one opening for April 24-May 2, 2011. This is the first hunt, so you'll boat to the islands and fly back to Juneau.
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| Hunt |
Price |
| 7 to 10 days |
$11,500 in 2011 (one opening, 4/24-5/2/11) |
| Hunter success |
Trophy size |
| This hunt was typically 10 bears for 10 hunters per year until the federal government cut the outfitter's quota to seven. Usually hunter success is 7 for 7. About half a dozen hunters have not scored in the past 11 or 12 years, and most of those, passed up multiple bears or missed or hit and lost their bear. |
Most hunters take bears between 8 and 9 feet with a few between 9 feet and 10 feet and a handful of 10-footers in the past 12 years. |
| Area |
Lodging |
| Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof islands |
58-foot Hatteras boat with two staterooms, two toilets and showers. |
| Licenses |
Archery |
| Click here for details. No draw needed. |
Fall hunts are better for bowhunters |
| Travel |
Not included |
| Outfitter picks you up in Juneau. A regularly scheduled flight costs about $125 one way to where you'll meet the boat. Hunters on the first or last hunt of the year ride the boat either to or from Juneau on one leg of the journey. |
License and tag, air flights between Juneau and the boat pickup site, taxidermy or transportation of skull and hide to Anchorage and/or the Lower 48. |
| Terrain |
History |
| Most bears are seen along salmon streams and in grassy meadows or sedge-covered flats. Not usually physically difficult. |
We've hunted with this outfitter and have had many customers use him over the past 13 or 14 years. He and his son are friendly, competent and universally well-liked. |
| Dates |
Notes |
| Most hunts are seven or 10 days. The first spring hunt typically starts close to May 1, the last spring hunt ends May 20. Fall hunts typcially start in mid-September. |
This hunt books up well in advance. $1,000 to get on a waiting list, additional deposit for a total of 25% when a slot becomes available with another 25% due Jan. 1 of the year of your hunt. The outfitter and his guides prepare the skin for the taxidermist, splitting the lips, skinning the paws, turning the ears, etc., and salting and resalting. Most hunters take their pelts home with them with their luggage. We suggest taking an extra heavy-duty duffel for this purpose. If you have UPS ship it to your home, that is your expense.
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