Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Phil Shoemaker - A question please.

I have asked this question of other PHs in different locales, but would very much appreciate your response if only an estimation.

What percentage of hunts do you need to finish the kill?

Also, what is your preferred distance and preferred first shot placement from your clients?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer this.

I am very interested in these questions also. Please go into some depth if possible. powdr

On Bears I would say less than 10% but the Percentage varies year to year depending on the type of clients. Typically if we get a group of hunters that come together the percentage goes up and in some years it might be as high as 25-30% that need some assistance in anchoring their bears.
One issue that most folks never consider is that the largest trophy boars are seldom far from heavy brush and the terrain is rolling and often has steep ravines. So often the first shot is the only good one as the bear will immediately be out of sight for often hundreds of yards.
Other years, like this spring, only one hunter required any assistance.

My philosophy has always been not to get the client so close that they can hit the animal, but to get them so close that they can't miss. And I instruct them to put the first bullet in the biggest target, right behind the shoulder, and then to keep shooting for the shoulder area as long as the bear is moving.

Thanks Phil, about how many bear hunters do you take out a year and how big is your hunting area. Do you hunt the same places each season or do you rotate between areas? powdr

Thank you Phil. As an observation I would say your percentages represent a PH doing his business really well and correctly; either that or you're blessed with the very best marksmen the world has to offer.
Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge so freely without pretense. I don�t know that if I worked as hard to be of your stature I could be as generous.

I know more than one guide that shoots the instant they hear the client shoot... I applaud Phil's approach all the way.

I like that philosophy. That, finding and getting close, is my fun part of a hunt.

The shot and meat / trophy care are just vital work to be done as competently and respectfully of the game as I possibly can.

Certainly the mark of a good hunter to rely on hunting skills to take a bear at close range where the thrill of the hunt really comes out. Memories of those moments will cross many campfires.

I have had two large Federal concessions for the past 20 years and was just awarded them for another 10. I hunted both as exclusive guide areas before the USFWS took over.
By having lived the majority of each year, for the past 27 years, on our two inholding within the concessions I have a pretty good idea of where the bears are at each time of the year and base our camps accordingly.

Although the USFWS set limits on the number of hunters we can take, I intentionally set the number of hunters at a lower level so that I too can guide clients, rather than being a base camp outfitter. Plus, unlike a lot of other high profile guides, I have never figured out how to mass produce good hunting.

Bears killed closer-up tend not to suffer as much �ground shrinkage' either.

I don't know phil but I know his reputation speaks volumes. He would be the guy I would want to hunt with.

"Plus, unlike a lot of other high profile guides, I have never figured out how to mass produce good hunting."

Good hunting would be very subjective. If killing an animal means good hunting then sure that can be mass produced. If an odds shot at a very respectable animal is good then maybe. If a long proven track record of respectable animals with record book animals in the mix I don't believe it can be mass produced.

Thanks for all the info on these threads Phil. I see you also guide moose hunts. Are they in the same place/time as the bear hunts?

Moose season on the Alaskan peninsula ends ten days before bear season starts

Phil,
Your lodge is situated in what I consider the most awesome and pristine area I have ever seen. Becharof lake and wilderness area are almost frighteningly wild and remote to a city guy like me. I spent a couple of summers in and out of your area and loved it. I have read several publications that indicate the Becharof area has rainbows. Just curious if this is true and which creeks, if you are willing to tell .

I have caught rainbows at the outlet but never anywhere in the lake or it's tributaries and only heard one "reliable" report of anyone who caught rainbows in the area and that was over 40 years ago in Becharof creek.

The outlet has rainbows as long as your arm!

Big Dolly's in Featherly. Used to be at least. Ugashik narrows was my biggest though.

What is the outlet? Egigik? Cannot remember.

I know steelhead and rainbows are viewed the same by most fisheries people and record keepers, but we all know they are different. Are rainbows not basically done below Becharof on the peninsula?

Phil, is your next spring bear season in 2016?

Thanks