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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.
Hunts typically take place in the period from April 28-May 20.
Your hunt is based from a large boat (as of this writing a 58-foot Hatteras), glassing and still hunting along the
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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.
This hunt is usually full two or three years in advance. We are booking now for 2014. The outfitter sometimes gets one or two late cancellations a year. If that happens, we'll contact any hunters booked for a later date and give you the option of coming sooner.
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Update: This hunt is booked through 2013. We are booking now for 2014. A $1,500 deposit is required with another $1,500 due Jan. 1, 2013. You'll need to bring that up to 50 percent no later than six months before your hunt.
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| Hunt |
Price |
| Brown bear hunt based out of a large boat on the ABC Islands in Alaska.
Seven day hunts usually start about April 24, May 4 and May 14.
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2014 price is $11,500 unless fuel prices skyrocket, and then the outfitter might charge an extra $500. A $1,500 deposit will hold your slot. |
| Hunter success |
Trophy size |
| Usually 100 percent. Over the past 20 years, hunter success is more than 95 percent. For years the outfitter took 10 bears for 10 hunters almost every year. The federal government cut his quota to seven per year, and now he has enough repeat customers looking for trophy bears that occasionally he'll have a hunter pass on several bears while looking for a monster. he is normally 7 for 7 and occasionally 6 for 7, but almost all of the hunters who did not score were holding out for a monster or missed or wounded bears. |
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. There are enough bears that most hunters can hold out for a nine-footer. |
| 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 2011 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 15 years. He and his son are friendly, competent and universally well-liked. |
| Booking |
Notes |
| This hunt books up well in advance. Full 50% deposit not required until six months before the hunt. $1,500 deposit to hold spot in 2014 with another $1,500 due Jan. 1, 2013. |
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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