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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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Update: A party of hunters has changed their hunt from 2011 to 2013. That means you can book this hunt now for the spring 2011 hunt. You will arrive in Juneau on May 12, fly to the hunt area on May 13, hunt May 14 through 20, take the boat back to Juneau on May 21 and fly home on May 22.
This leaves us with one opening on the first hunt in 2012, with hunting dates running from April 24 until May 2. You take the boat from Juneau on the first hunt and fly back at the end of your hunt.
The outfitter is not ready to book hunters in 2013 yet except for the group that had to change their dates, and they have filled the May 14-20 hunt.
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| Hunt |
Price |
| Brown bear hunt based out of a large boat on the ABC Islands in Alaska.
Actual hunting dates:
April 24-May 2
May 4-12
May 14-20
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$11,500 in 2011
$11,500 in 2012
There might be a slight increase in 2013, but the outfitter is not ready to take bookings yet. A $1,000 refundable deposit will get you on a waiting list for 2013. The $1,000 deposit is refundable if you change your mind before a slot opens up.
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| 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. In 2010, for example, seven hunters got seven bears with five of them squaring nine feet to nine feet six inches. Though 10-footers have been taken on this hunt, you would be lucky to see one of that size. |
| 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 |
| Hunters fly to Juneau two days before the first day of hunting. The hunters on the first hunt take the boat to the hunting area the following day, while hunters on the second or third hunts take a regularly scheduled flight to the hunting area. Hunters on the first or second hunt fly back to Juneau the day after the last day of hunting and fly home the following day. Hunters on the third (last) hunt of the year ride the boat back to Juneau. |
License and tag, air flights between Juneau and the hunting site ($125 one way as of summer 2010 but subject to change), taxidermy or transportation of skull and hide to Juneau and then the Lower 48. Hunters have been paying about $80 in extra freight charges to get their bear hide from the hunting area to Juneau, a charge that does not apply to hunters on the last hunt of the year. |
| 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. The agenda is as follows, using the April 24-May 2, 2012, hunt as an example. Hunter arrives in Juneau April 22, leaves the next day, starts hunting on the 24th, hunts nine days with the last day of hunting May 2, flies to Juneau May 3 in the morning in time to get bear hide sealed in time for flight to the Lower 48 on May 4. |
This hunt books up well in advance. Full 50% deposit not required until six months before the hunt. Call for details on minimum deposits required.
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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