When we flew into the Alaska range, we brought a bear fence to fence off our camp. But at the landing strip we met some seasoned Alaskan dall sheep hunters that were getting taken out who told us that these bears didn't really bother tents. Their explanation was that unlike YNP bears that get used to campsites and tents being a potential source of food, these bears didn't really know what they were and would generally avoid them. They advised us to keep the food in the tent vestibule but to use the electric fence for the meat away from our camp, which is what we did. Our food was just freeze dried meals, and we kept the used packages contained within a dry bag, so I think our cooking created minimal food scent. If you are actually cooking stuff over a fire or with a gas stove you would probably want to take different precautions than we did. We didn't have any problems, but maybe other people with more Alaska experience will disagree with this advice.
We did see a sow grizzly on our trip. She was munching on blueberries over a mile away from our camp on the first day we could hunt, and she wandered off somewhere as we didn't see her again for the rest of the hunt. We didn't have any bear protection other than our rifles, and I didn't feel unprepared. Having both fired handguns and practiced in an empty field with bear spray, I can tell you that I know which one I would take in an emergency situation, and it is not the handgun. The margin for error with a handgun under a stressful and dynamic situation is much smaller than with bear spray. But bear spray is maybe a no go on your flight in. If that is the case, I would take a handgun over some archery equipment if you are going that route. Odds are you won't have a problem though, especially if you approach your carcass carefully and store your meat away from camp with an electric fence.
If anything, the Alaskans we met told us we would have more problems with the ground squirrels messing with our stuff. That proved to be true, with one particularly curious ground squirrel constantly causing minor problems for us, including nibbling on a water bladder when we weren't looking. Luckily we had spares, but watch out for those dang ground squirrels.
Good luck with your trip! I can't wait to go back and hunt Alaska, and I am sure you will have a ton of fun.
...how dare you.
