Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Once in a lifetime hunt: Grizzly or Cape Buffalo?

Best wishes on drawing that permit.

The bears in Alaska are similar, in terms of color disparity; typically brown or brownish on the coast and blond or blondish in the interior.

The southeast Alaska bears are rather unique, when compared to other bear populations in Alaska.

I once saw a brown/grizzly near Yakutat that was so black that it looked just like a local black bear. It was an absolutely gorgeous animal.

In 2002 saw a big bear in northern BC, far inland, that was silvertipped black. One of the most beautiful grizzlies I've ever seen.

Mr Mule Deer:

That's awesome!!

We have those types of bear in Alaska, too. Interior bears can range in color from black to white and every shade of blond, in between.

Those black-phase silvertip grizzly bears are super pretty.

Mav

Thanks. We are kind of on the edge of the coastal bears and interior ones, generally when we see a beautiful light golden colored bear it is a sow but that isn't always the case. Almost all bears here whether coastal or more inland have access to fish. Here is my only grizzly so far taken in 2011 a smaller but beautiful sow.

gerrygoat that's a beautiful bear and a great picture as well.

I really hope to be able to do both hunts, but with money, time, health, etc, one never knows so I am trying to prioritize! The idea - "if I could only do one more, what would it be?" helps me decide what to do next.

I am thinking that Grizzly comes before Buffalo, at least at the moment. In reality the first "once in a lifetime" will be a Dall Sheep hunt. I am probably going to add a Grizzly onto that which is an option and see if I get really lucky - but my focus will be on Sheep.

The money part did enter into the my thinking and if prices were equal it would greatly push me toward Bears.

I also care more about the fur(a black with silver tips would be awesome!) than size, so from what has been said above I would lean toward an interior Grizzly.

As colors were mentioned... My first Kodiak bear was a boar just about 8 1/2' and fairly old. The hump was coal black with silver tips in a hard-edged diamond. Around that was a very light ring that grew progressively darker as it moved away. The rump was chocolate brown and all four feet were deep black. The head got darker, but not nearly as dark as the rump and the muzzle was graying.

A previous ADF&G bear biologist literally gasped when he saw it and called it he prettiest bear he had ever seen. I have bumped into him a number of times since and he has mentioned the bear repeatedly as the prettiest Kodiak bear he ever saw.

I have a picture of the life-size mount around here somewhere.

elkcrazy,

It's probably smart to do a bear hunt first--or for that matter, a sheep hunt--as Cape buffalo hunts tend to be easier physically. (On the negative side, wild Africa continues to shrink, due to the rapidly increasing human population.)

That doesn't mean Cape buffalo hunts can't be tough. When I hunted in Tanzania two years ago, one of my companions was in his mid-60's and ended up following a bull around for miles one very hot day, at first to get a shot at a herd, and then to put more bullets into the same buffalo. He became severely dehydrated and heat-stressed, and ended up in bed for three days of an expensive hunt while recovering.

But normally a buffalo hunt requires less physical work than a grizzly/brown bear hunt, making them more possible for older hunters.

Though I doubt I will hunt either of these species due to price, this is the rationale I would use for one over the other. Easier to write another check as you age than run up/down the hills when your older.

And as a very general and broad statement, based on my AK experience, I would say grizzly hunting is less physical than brown bear hunting. Some of the coastal range and places like Kodiak can be brutally tough! I'm sure there are exceptions in both directions, but if can assure you more than one person has been surprised by the ruggedness of coastal areas.

Bob

Sweet!

Nice job bud!

Bob

I hear about guys going days without seeing bears but I think Art and I saw over 40 in the 5 or so days we were in the Kodiak archipelago. Biggest one I saw was a true bruiser and was way up high in the alpine the first day! Too bad I was only deer hunting!


One other way to look at this is where do you live? For me, Alaska is a much shorter plane ride than Africa. I don't like flying (commercial) too much!

elkrazy,

Regardless how you proceed, I wish the best for you.

Personally, there are a lot of game animals in NA that I have not had the pleasure of hunting, or eating. I would like to take an elk and a moose before thinking about anything "mean." I would hate to die not knowing what moose steaks taste like.

And once you find out, you might delay the hunts for "mean" animals even longer.

I have been blessed to take quite a few elk and deer so far. I do love elk meat! And I would love to find out what moose tastes like but I have not been lucky enough to draw a permit out west. Elk hunting has always been my first love (ELK-crazy) as my family well knows. I am thinking that a few times I would like to try something I have only read about.

I have also thought about the trip as well - much easier to get to Alaska - I currently live in IL and the direct flights from Chicago to Anchorage are not bad it appears. There are also no passports, etc required to travel there which is a plus.

I am currently 47 so I am thinking I have 15-20 years to attack the west and Alaska ...

I'd have to vote for Buffalo. After living here for going on 29 years, I have yet to shoot a griz/brown bear. Have had countless opportunities, but just no burning desire to do it. Not to say that I won't. I buy a bear tag with every license "just in case" I see the "right" bear, or have to do DLP.

I'd much rather go on a horseback hunt for elk in some place like the Prophet-Muskwa area in Canada, than I would go bear hunting. That would be my North American dream hunt.

I have every intention of returning to Africa to hunt buffalo. The way things are going I better hurry, before all of the wilder areas become off limits, like Botswana.

Jeff

I want a grizzly hunt up behind my house here. We usually see several while sheep hunting. Up in the alpine, sometimes higher than the sheep. And our weather is usually pretty decent in the fall too.

A wyoming grizzly tag will be my only chance at either species given the cost of Africa or grizzly in Alaska or Canada.

elkrazy,

This may seem odd, but as mentioned earlier I've hunted Alaska and Africa a number of times, an my experience is the travel hassle and expense is close to equal.

Traveling to where you hunt in Alaska usually involves far more than getting to Anchorage. You'll normally have to take at least one more commercial flight to a smaller town's airport, and then yet another flight to camp. Given the price of avgas up there, these won't be cheap. In between you'll probably have to spend at least one night in an expensive hotel, and maybe two. You also have to bring a lot more clothes and other stuff, such as a sleeping bag, meaning extra luggage expenses along the way. Plus, in any Alaskan (or northern Canadian) trip, weather conditions can foul up the schedule completely, which may very well cut into hunting time and/or mean more days in expensive hotels, eating expensive meals. Nothing is cheap in the North.

There's far less luggage involved in an African hunt, in fact its possible to go with just a carry-on and a checked rifle case. Its almost unknown to have weather cause travel or hunting problems. The hassle of dealing with another country is minimized by using a good travel agent, and their services are cheap--as are many accomodations. Some of the wilder buffalo areas may require a charter flight, but in South Africa or Zimbabwe you'll probably be driven to camp by the safari service, directly from the airport where you land. While travel to and from Alaska may involve multiple overnight stays both ways, I've gone to Africa many times with only one overnight anywhere along the round trip.

Getting a brown bear hide and skull back from Alaska is cheaper than getting a Cape buffalo skull and hide back from Africa, though if you go to Africa with a friend or two the shipping expenses can be split. I don't know what it costs to get a buffalo shoulder mount done, but a skull mount (which is what I've done) is a LOT cheaper than a big bear rug.

But John you do have to admit that a big bear skull also makes a pretty impressive trophy and doesn't cost any more than a buffalo skull

OK, now you are being mean!

I'll have to kill my moose with a 7x57 just to prove it isn't a stunt.