Big Sky: ? for you

[Ovis]

Big Sky

Was curious if you could share some of the details of your POW hunt from a few years back. How did you travel, what kind of hunting you did (skiff, spot and stalk, bait), places to rent from, places not to go, lessons learned, if you had to do it over again, etc, etc.

Would be really cool if you could post a few of your pics from the trip too.

Thanks!

 

[Moosie]

If you're nice, I bet he'd send you a video of his hunt. I saw it while I was at his house. NOW, He's not the best photorgrapher, but it's still fun watching and he didn't record over anything

 

[Ovis]

That would be cool too Moosie.

 

[Big Sky]

Ummm, Moosie, I didn't film my own hunt although I won't argue the fact that my abilities with a camera still have plenty of room for improvement.

Ovis, I hunted with a local that lives on the island. He eats, sleeps, and breathes bear hunting in the spring and deer hunting in the fall. So I had a major Ace up my sleeve so to speak. We traveled mostly by boat. We also drove a few logging roads and went on several hikes. The most productive method was glassing the shoreline from the boat. It was all spot and stalk. However I saw bears pretty much everywhere we went. I saw bears at the boat dock, from the gas station, while standing in the local sporting goods store parking lot, and while traveling from town to the boat dock. There is no shortage of bears there. It's one of the few places I think a guy could actually effectively road hunt bears, but that wouldn't be much fun. However cruising the shoreline in a boat was a much more interesting way to do the hunt. The hiking can range anywhere from extremely easy (on a gravel/sand beach), to about as difficult as anything on the planet. If one must hike through the logging slashes to reach a bear, one takes one's own life in one's hands. It is something you have to experience first hand as the written word can't do it justice. The mountains are very steep, the foilage is so thick in some places that you can't get through it. Then there's this interesting stuff called Devil's Club. It should be renamed Pure Hell. Now I have hiked in plenty of steep, nasty places. Remember I've been dumb enough a time or two, to follow Greenhorn around. The difference up there is that everything is excessively slippery and usually wet. Many of the locals have steel corks on their boots. That is one thing I would do differently. Corked boots would definitely be the way to go and help a lot in the traction department. The rocks along the coast are razor sharp so your boots will be pretty thrashed by the end of the hunt. As for other gear buy the best insulated rain suit you can find. Polartech Fleece worked quite well. I also had Cabela's MT050, but I wasn't that impressed by it's durability and it was not 100% waterproof. I'm still looking for the perfect raingear. It needs to be 100% waterproof, breathable, quiet, and durable. I'm open to suggestions on this. Other manditory gear would include Butler Creek flip up scope covers, and a stainless steel rifle would be much better than a blued rifle. The salt water in the air up there rust's steel at an unbelievable rate. As in your rifle may be fine in the morning and covered with rust by mid afternoon. You will live through your binoculars so buy the best you can afford. I would also recommend that your rifle caliber starts at a 30.06 and go up from there. These are very big bears and you don't want them to run into the thick stuff after you shoot them. It's best if they die "right-now" as tracking can range anywhere from difficult to impossible. I honestly don't know how bowhunters find half of their kills up there. I suspect they lose quite a few. I was very fortunate that all three bears we killed died in the open. It would get ugly real fast had they made it to the trees. Other reality checks while there are food is not cheap and gas when I went a few years ago was $2.00 a gallon. I'm sure it's more now. If one split the cost of food, gas, housing, and boat rental with one or two other guys the hunt could be done for less than $2000.00 each including airfare. Pretty hard to do it for any less, guess that's why the guided bear hunts up there are nearly double what they are anywhere else. This was probably more info than you wanted, sorry.

Bottom line the worst part of my whole hunt was the day I boarded the plane to leave. I didn't want to go and would have loved to stay another month or two. I can't wait to go back someday.

 

[Ovis]

Thank you for the response Big Sky. I'm well aware of the devils club...fun stuff, eh? I normally pack a pair of in-step crampons when I venture out to PWS, and I figured SEAK to be very similar. They are great to slip on when ascending/descending those steep mountains caked in snot grass. Sounds like a fabulous hunt. What would you say the chances are of finding a few 7' bear (the ones POW are so famous for) in 7 days?

Could I get you to post some of those pics?

Thank you much!

 

[Big Sky]

I'd say your odds are pretty good. Here's my bear that measured 7'1"

Here is the one my partner shot the very next day. I can't remember if his was 7'2" or 7'3". Give or take an inch it was still over 7 foot and a darn big bear. One important thing to remember is that we did not kill the biggest bears we saw, but seeing and getting are two different things when spot and stalk hunting.

 

[1_pointer]

Ovis- Are you thinking of this spring or fall? If not, I would be extremely interested in going with either time period of '05.

 

[Ovis]

Big Sky

Thanks for taking the time to post those pics. Those are some dandy bears. I appreciate you letting me pick your brain.

1pntr

Not sure exactly what the plan is right now. I'll let you know if 05 is on the agenda.

 

[Moosie]

Ummm, Moosie, I didn't film my own hunt....

NO, but you did film quiet a few bears. And they were cool seeing them all. It was also cool seeing how thick/steep the hills were. Put in perspective the hunt.

Thanx for posting the pics again 'Mate !!

 

[Skipper]

Hey Big Sky,

Nice bear. Haven't heard from you in a while. Looks like you're doing good though. Just be sure and dispose of that bear's toe nails properly.

Skipper

 

[Big Sky]

Skipper haven't heard from you in ages either. Would the last time be back in the Alloutdoors.com days?