Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game AK Black Bear Trip

My wife and #2 son, Zack, and I were able to make a trip up to Alaska last week to visit #1 son, Mike, and his family. We also planned to spend some time looking for black bears and pre-season scouting for mountain goats.

Mike bought a dental practice in Soldotna in 2021 and it’s been a great move for them and opportunity for us to visit a few times each year. We’re already planning our Fall trip.
Last Spring, we went in the middle of May and thought we might be a bit early. We saw plenty of bears but couldn’t get to some areas due to high snow and/or water. This year, we tried the middle of June and think we might have been a few weeks late. The alders and other foliage had leafed out and our spotting % decreased dramatically. Next year it’s June 1st or bust.

We hit Mike’s local rifle range to check zeros and kill some time as the rain was nearly constant and the mountains were mostly cloud covered for the first few days. I’m an admitted rifle looney, but my boys have forged their own way, each putting together rifles that fit their own styles. Zack was shooting a Christensen Titanium in 300 PRC with 212 ELD-X’s moving right along. Mike would be using another Christensen, this one in 6.5PRC with 143’s.

Scopes on both were Leupold VX-5HD’s in the 3-15X44 flavor. These have proved to be excellent hunting scopes, not too heavy or big and the tracking has been very good. Both kids shoot better than me now and proved it on steel out to 1000 yards. The dope on their ballistic apps was right on. Mike captured Zack’s hit on the 600 yard ram and it was quite impressive in slo-mo.

https://vimeo.com/839203969?share=copy

In addition to hunting the normal local spots, we had hired a water taxi to get us to beach a bit further away from home base. The weather had been a bit sporty right before we arrived, and our departure from Seward was delayed a day because of lingering high seas. We set out with wet jackets and high hopes.





Our captain was skeptical about landing on our target beach, and he was right. We made a few passes but just didn’t think it would be safe to try it with the rollers hitting the beach. We went to plan B, a beach closer to Seward and much more protected.

We were happy to find it deserted and quickly set up camp. Mike’s been acquiring good gear as his experience and income levels have allowed. 😊 I slept in his Seek Outside tipi, and the boys gave the new Hilleberg its first test. We all slept dry, despite the steady drizzle. The Hilleberg will get its real test on Kodiak in November.



The next morning, we finally had clearing skies. After a quick breakfast and gear check, we headed out. Or I should say up. That’s about the only direction you can go starting at sea level, I guess. We had one drainage option, and just basically headed up the creek until we were forced to bushwhack. As more seasoned Alaskans know, there really aren’t game trails like we’re used to in the Rockies. With no cattle trails and the local critters’ meandering habits, man is really at a disadvantage in the thick stuff.



We stayed in the spruce as long as we could, then zigzagged through alder-hell sprinkled with salmonberry. About 3 hours later, we’d achieved a nice vantage on a fairly open hillside. Looking back toward the beach, I could actually glass our camp and was humiliated that we’d covered a whopping 750 yards as the crow flies.





We decided I’d slowed the boys down enough, so I settled in for a sit and they continued onward and upward. I glassed up a bear almost immediately, but it was another half mile up the canyon and on the opposite hillside. It also looked pretty scraggly, not sure if it was rubbed or just had a bad hair day.




Mike and Zack had made it around to another vantage point and settled in to glass. Soon they spotted a nice looking blackie feeding away from them but at least on their side of the drainage. Since Zack’s hunting will be limited for the next 3 years as he heads to CRNA school (more dad bragging, I know), Mike gave him first crack. First crack for Zack is usually all it takes, as you’ve probably noticed if you’ve followed my infrequent posts here. He was born in ’97 and I joined the CF in ’01, so most of his killing is likely documented better here than anywhere.

Mike got his 85mm spotter and phoneskope set up while Zack was wedging his pack between a small spruce and a cliff for a solid rest. I would have loved to have been right there with them, but after all these years of hunting together, behind the glass, rifle and spotter I’m pretty sure exactly how it went down.



The bear would disappear in the alder patches and then pause a bit in the more open grassy areas. He was right in the transition zone from brownish wintered grass and green-up. They got about 5 minutes of video as he made his way to the head of the drainage. Video was rolling as they ranged him for the last time at 611 yards.



I was re-glassing my bed-head bear when I heard the faint crack of Zack’s suppressed PRC. The shot echoed down the canyon for a second, followed by a very satisfying WHOP! I was pretty sure what that meant. We got on the radios and confirmed my suspicion. The boys were going to be late to dinner.

https://vimeo.com/839204192?share=copy

We checked in every hour or so as they made their way to the bear and got to work. They glassed up another non-shooter on the way over and I also watched another as the day passed by. They finished up with the bear and got cleaned up in a near vertical ice cold stream. We thought later it would be a great place to camp if you could find a spot near level. Probably more likely to find a gold nugget, tho.

I got back to camp about 9 with still 2 hours of light left. The stream we had easily crossed in the morning was now non-jumpable for me with the tide in, and a good 4 foot deep. I backtracked a bit and found a couple of downed logs that provided a sketchy platform for me to cross. It looked much easier when the boys did it an hour later. We had a good meal and slept much better than the night previous.



The rain started again during the night, and after sleeping in a bit, we quickly came to consensus that with no other shooters seen and our legs begging for a break, we’d message the boat and request pickup. The captain was right on time and we were back in Seward in time for a great meal at the Gold Rush Bistro.

With the bear on ice, we made it back to Soldotna and over to a guy that removed the skull and preserved the hide. Zack had hit the bear right in the neck, and that impact had practically split the skull in two. The guy said after his beetles were through cleaning it, there wouldn’t be much of a trophy left. Oh well, there will be more bears in our future. The hide is primo, ink-jet black and silky as can be. We’ll probably have it rugged in Idaho.




We spent the rest of the week doing day hikes and dodging rain storms. It seems the silvers arrived in the Kenai and Russian rivers while we were there and we considered doing some combat flossing, but thought better of it. Mike will lay in plenty of fish before we get back there this fall.




Thanks for coming along; as always, these stories are more for me than you. Happy hunting!

Very cool. Congrats.

Nice!

Gosh what an excellent trip! thanks for the great write up and pics.

I enjoyed the pictures and story. Sounds as if you and your son had a great time with a successful hunt.

What is "CRNA school" ??

L.W.

It’s where nurses go when they want to make big money. 😁

Looks like a great adventure! Thanks for sharing.

WMR has it about right. Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Zack's been grinding it out as an RN for 2 years in an ICU in hopes of getting accepted to a CRNA program (apparently not so easy). He interviewed at a school in Indiana and had an acceptance offer before he flew back home. 3 years straight through is a big commitment, but grads are in high demand. I told him those 3 years were going to pass whether he was in school or not, so buckle down and the sacrifice will pay off. Nice to have kids smarter than you

WMR and GTC 22, thanks for the information.

L.W.

Very awesome thread!!!

Todd

Great read and pics! Thanks for sharing............well done!

Looks like an awesome trip and Congrats to Zack on the bear and school acceptance.

Glad you enjoyed the trip and had success.

The salmon are sockeyes (reds) in June. Silvers later in the summer.

Awesome

Congrats on a great trip with the boys!

Noted on the distinction, IB. I can never keep those straight, they sure looked silver to me

Great story!

An adventure for sure.

Mighty fine!


GWB

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.