There's a rumor of a large 9.5 footer taken off the Emerald Rose, sounds like it may have gotten a bit dicey, somthing like 7 Barnes .375's and .338's. Perhaps it may have went better with Nosler's. --- Mel

Hopefully get a story soon.

It never happened till there are pics!

How'd it get on the E. Rose????

Lookin' for love in all the wrong places?

Ed

Ladder on the swim deck?


Looking forward to the report.

I agree, shoulda had Noslers

Or maybe plain janes- sounds like the premiums aren't exactly the "magic bullet" many think.... in this case at least.

Sounds like the adrenaline was up, and the bear might have gotten a bit excited too.... Chit happens.

I believe they are outlawed on the ER.

Even if you're sending Tomahawk missiles, you still gotta aim 'em. I found that I get the best results when I have a specific destination in mind, when pulling the trigger, versus addressing my bullets "To Whom it May Concern."

I've found the same.....................grin

Pics!!

Where the he11 are the pics?

Without pics...........it didn't happen.

Like I said in the first post. It's a rumer, if true and I think it is, Art's sure to post pictures when he get's back to town. --- Mel

Ain't nobody got a cell phone? Sheesh!

Was this a youth hunt?

And even with pics it might not have happened.

Just got home and need to get a few things done before taking the time to post the story and some photos... Exact same bay and area Rick Bin and I killed a brown bear in about 7 years ago. From our glassing spot the two hillsides where each bear died are visible at the same time.

Both bears did a lot of circus style tumbling, but one shook the ground when he rolled!

Got lots of good pictures... Jeff was shooting a Kimber 8400 in 338WM because a certain SS A-Bort 375H&H failed on about day 8. He brought the back-up because I insisted he needed to... just in case. He was using 225gr TSX and one was recovered. I was shooting a 700 375AI with a 1-4x24FFP Vortex scope. The illuminated reticle is extremely functional and the partial circular lit ring really drags your eye to center in use, especially in low light and tight cover... as I found out...

Meant to mention I was shooting 270grX bullets and none were recovered. Two went full-length through the bear.

You teasing SOB!

Headed north for the mountains (ours are wee, but still magical) in 6 hours, so I'll now have to deal with daydreams of that kind of hunt, and bears you boys got into. Rrrrr! But then, I think I'll manage to keep busy torturing fish for a few days...

Congrats. Can't wait to read about it. Details, man, details. Please.

Kriky, mate. It's been 7 hours. Get on with it!

Just got home from a social engagement delayed by my absence... Might be a bit tipsy to post more tonight...

PERFECT time, methinks!

How are your boots?

It would take more time to post photos than the story as I have been working on it for a few days... I have not downloaded photos yet...

A-bolt failed? I don't believe it...........

Actually I don't believe you would allow anyone aboard with an A-bort again.

ahem......

Prancing like a Pony...

Photos are uploading...

The owners of Quartz Creek Lodge, the Pingrees, ( http://www.quartzcreeklodge.com/ )delivered eight live tanner crabs to us as we drifted in the middle of Northeast Arm on the first day. They had more than they could eat and told us to throw back what we would not eat. They were enormous and ready to shed their shells soon as they were very fat, very hard-shelled, and very good. They were quickly butchered and steamed in sections, eaten hot and bare. The following morning, a huge crab and marinated artichoke heart omelet started the day just right. A huge ice chest packed with Island Seafoods shaved ice lasted the entire trip and kept the crab nearly frozen.

The mountain that guards the entrance to Northeast Arm, Uganik Bay, Dog Ear Mountain.


The guide in the area, Dick Rohrer, proved a crafty fellow by working at keeping us off a couple different bears, but failed to recognize the fact we were not leaving the area without a decent bear. He showed up early in the hunt and set up to glass despite the fact we were drifting down the arm with two glassers sitting on the roof, looking hard for bears. The following evening we found them sitting on the little island and ducked into a small bight to watch what would happen.

One of the guides always glassed the north flank of Dog Ear Mountain and was dropped off twice with clients in a channel that disappeared back into the brush. Jeff and I ran back into the channel one day just to take a look. A strong SE wind was blowing over the top of the mountain and down into the lake, funneling huge gusts at the water�s surface, when the rest of the bay seemed nearly flat calm.

The cottonwoods and Kenai birches growing in the slot were stunted and stressed, with large burls on both species. A trapper had left skinned otter and fox carcasses in a pile between the lake and the ocean. Birds had cleaned the bones and rot was taking care of most of the rest. It is an interesting hole with an abandoned wood and fiberglass set netter skiff returning to more basic elements. Sections of an old dock showed use as a hiding hole for commercial fishermen in serious weather.

Otter skull


Jeff turned an ankle that would swell to double and obviously hurt badly for the duration of the trip, especially the steep final climb

Coming out of the bight from the small lake a strange boat was immediately visible in the middle of the bay. It took a second to realize it was the Emerald Rose; a questionable anchorage, rising tide, a strong offshore wind, and adjacent deep water had combined to lift anchor and drag it off the edge where it proceeded to sail across the arm, unmanned.

Black oystercatchers were everywhere chattering, chirping, posturing, preening, and giving us the red-rimmed evil eye for disturbing them. They never allowed us to cause them any more problem than moving a short distance away before mating, again.



One morning late in the hunt the bay was like glass. Within an hour of taking a glassing stand to watch directly up the ridge coming down to Starr Point. One bear was spotted well up the hill moving north before the rain drove us back to the boat. Within minutes it was snowing too hard to see the mountain and the wind rose from the North with horizontal snow squalls.

Through the day the snow intensified through grapple; light, cold snow; and then huge, wet, heavy stuff diminishing into fine cold snow as the front worked past. But changes seemed random and the wind alternated directions repeatedly. Wind direction is difficult to figure in Northeast Arm under good conditions because of the ringing mountains and water with Sally Island sitting in the middle.

The following morning, Mothers' Day we awoke to total white with over an inch already accumulated and by 5PM we had over six inches of snow on deck as it warmed up and huge flakes replaced the fine cold snow.

Finally, Jeff found the bear he really wanted, but it all had to happen the hard way� On the 14th day of a two-week hunt a bear was spotted above the abandoned cannery.



However, it was a brand new bear in an area we had absolutely no experience in the lay of the land and the wrinkles in the fabric of the mountain. From the base of the mountain it was obvious the wrinkle hiding the bear was doing a very good job. A lone granite streak runs through the shale of Uganik Bay and a steep but shallow cut runs down it, broken by multiple falls and immense, angular granite faces somewhat steeper than the angle of repose.

Jeff�s job was to convince me it was time to make a move, while my job was to convince him to be patient; to find the true vulnerability. At Jeff�s insistence we ran to the old cannery and took a stand directly below the bear. We could see nothing, a couple miles changes perspective dramatically. It looked like we had blown it with no idea where the bear was and little chance we were to find out when the bear showed up well out of range at over 400 yards straight above us. It was obviously a mature sow without cubs somewhere over eight feet with some weird horizontal rubs on both shoulders that showed very white.

But while she climbed fast and steady, she looked back often and being May she probably was looking at a trailing boar. After a bit he showed himself, following her exact trail at a slow waddle. Very large and dark in the fading light with dark chocolate lower legs shading to lighter brown he was significantly larger than the sow.

The boar was obviously struggling to keep up with her and she waited for him repeatedly as he stood gasping. There was no way we could catch up to them when the boar suddenly plopped down on a huge granite face. It looked like he had decided to wait for us. The sow sat down like a big dog on a boulder above him. We started up the hill as fast as we could go, very slow. The alder jungles were easier to climb than the grass due to the steepness but we were certain the bears would be gone by the time Jeff got into range.

A half hour later we reached a clearing on the brow of a ridge and could see the bears again. The sow had lain down with her head resting on crossed paws but we were still too far away. We caught our breath and slid back into the alders climbing faster with the possibility of actually getting close enough to shoot.

At the next clearing we found the bears had not moved and we were just over 150 yards away. Taking a rest on a birch stump Jeff shot hitting the boar. Immediately the boar disappeared in the alders, climbing fast. At 350 yards he came into an open area and Jeff hit him again and he tumbled back into the alders. The sow ran hard right and was out of sight immediately. The boar�s path could be followed in the alders by the waving alders but there was nothing to shoot at. We climbed past the boar which took an hour, staying well left of the creek until we were sure he was below us but we could not find blood and were uncertain where he had been.

Going a bit higher Jeff found blood on a huge granite face we had mistaken for a snow patch. We dropped downhill about 20 yards apart with Jeff in the streambed while I moved into the thick alders. The setting sun was shining strongly to my right when Jeff shouted the bear was to my right but could not see me clearly enough to shoot. I could see Jeff but not the bear until I shielded my eyes from the sun as the bear came up at me from about 25 yards and Jeff shot him in the chest. He tumbled out of my sight, snarling, as we tracked his progress downhill by the shaking alders.

Moving slowly downhill we were again unsure where he was until he came up snarling at least than 20 yards with front legs bowed and every hair on end looking as big as a house. It was obvious he would charge if he could and Jeff had spined him well back. Avoiding the skull I shot him in the back from above and again in the rump as he turned downhill.

He had made it over a large drop-off and we followed to the lip where we found him in a hole that looked impossible for skinning. We were ten feet above the bear looking almost straight down when Jeff asked if he was really dead. The bear must have heard him because he came up at us again.





A final shot ended the discussion and he rolled another 20 yards downhill onto a nearly ideal knob for skinning. It was almost 10:00, Jeff�s first shot came at 8:49, and the sun was due to set with no moon about 11:00. Bears will eat other bears and I have seen carcasses completely eaten overnight in high bear density areas but we were either sleeping on the mountain or dropping the guts and doing all we could to cool the bear before making a run for the beach. We chose to sleep on the boat.

A stick propped open the cavity and a few skinning strokes laid the legs and chest bare before we made a run for the beach, stumbling out in the dark. The lights went out at Quartz Creek Lodge right after we reached the big boat and it made us feel good thinking they might very well have been watching to make sure we were back safe before turning in.

The next day we found they had heard the entire thing, located us on the mountain and laughed at our predicament; two guides and two hunters fleshing two Terror Bay bear hides they had just returned with that day. They found it funny because they had been there and knew exactly what we were thinking.

Recovery was straight forward though it took far longer to climb to the bear the second time. The sun was shining but it was cool and slightly breezy while DEET did a great job of keeping the mosquitoes away. Several eagles and ravens soared over us we worked, while crows and magpies watched from the alders above. The paws were skinned out to the claws and the head skinned to save as much weigh as possible. As it was the hide barely fit inside a huge internal frame pack. As soon as it was packed it was sent tumbling downhill. With the exception of a single carry for about 100 yards in the middle of the pack the hide tumbled the entire way down the mountain.

With a gentle tug in each direction and no stretching after some drying the hide taped over nine feet long and over ten feet across the claws. Kodiak ADF&G measured the skull at just slightly less than 27 inches.

My rifle with the Vortex 1-4x24FFP scope




The claws are incredibly translucent and the sun was hitting them beautifully, but it does not really look like I caught it.


Over the course of nearly three weeks we saw lots of change come to the mountainside though it snowed more than half the nights while we were out and we lost a couple days to serious snow... But the skunk cabbage came up at the foot of the mountain and by the time we left it was popping very high. Found this frigid shooting star (full common name) on a hot spot hump and it still looked cold...

Northeast Arm is where Rick Bin and I killed a bear some years back. It was about in the middle of this picture.


Another picture of the Vortex 1-4x24FFP

Awesome adventure!

Guess it wasn't a rummer after all. Good job &good job of writing, WELL DONE Art. --- Mel

Missed this... No, it was absolutely a "youthless" hunt...

Fabulous! What a great story...and bear as well.Congrats to you both and thanks for taking the time to put this up for us.Great job writing it,Art. I was spellbound.

What a Great bear! also a great story, I can only dream of a hunt like this! any idea how old the bear was? if you have more pics please send them when you can!

Man Art you had me on the edge of my seat reading that account good job and congrats to you and Jeff that is one heck of a bear!

Great write up, Art. You put me right there though I doubt I've ever laid eyes on the area. Even my knees were hurting. (Oh, wait, I haven't yet had my morning dose of ibuprofen. )

What a Dick..

Great hunt Art. I can't wait to get back there.

Very nice writup Art!
You cetainly put alot of perspective in it.....................

I can't believe anyone would be so narrow minded to take that position, would they???

Way to adjust, adapt, and overcome!

Fantastic bear and story. Worth the wait!

Congratulations, Jeff!!

Good story, really good story I mean and great pics. Sucks about the other outfitter trying to play games but kudos on pulling off a good bear and hunt.

While he did do a few things that limited our options he did not change our basic plan and we did get to put a couple over on him, while killing the biggest bear of the year in there. He had several hunters that did not have a bear on the last day... I do not know if they got bears on the last day though...

You have to wait a few years... Riley has the unit between Uganik and yours for this coming spring. That should be a good one.

Cool account and wonderful picts.
Thanks for sharing.

If I "let" an A-Bort on the boat again, why wouldn't I "let" Partitions on the boat? I just have this goofy idea that bears with two holes per bullet bleed more than bears with one...

The bear was kind of a pinhead because he was very young for his size. Bio suggested 7-8 years old and also said the head would probably never grow into the body.

Excellent story. Well worth the read. Great pics too.

Guides think they own their area. Sometimes they just need to be smacked.

Seems lots of guides had a tough year on Kodiak between the deep snow and the rubbed bears... Funny how guys can go to Africa and kill an average of a couple head per day and wonder why they need more than a week to kill a single brown bear...

Please do not consider my comments as suggesting Rohrer broke laws... he stayed on the legal side of things and we did, too. We just had the better set-up for the best section of the hunt area...

Art, thanks for putting up the story and great pictures, what a time you guys had!

NICE bear, thanks for sharing the great story and pics!

Thanks for the great report, sounds like it was exciting at times.

Mark

Excellent read and a great bear for the hunter. Art, what was the cartridge and bullets used?
Don't be bashful - send us a few more photos.

Jeff was shooting a Kimber 8400 in 338WM with a Conquest and I was shooting a 700 in 375AI with a Vortex 1-4 scope. Jeff was not shooting a 375 A-Bort because it failed him...

We were both shooting my reloads. Jeff was using 225gr TSX and I was using 270gr XFBs.

Great write up Art. Congrats on another great bear.

Good pics! Nice bear and a good story. Thanks for sharing, Art!

The bear was about as far away from Port O'Brien as yours, just on the opposite side... And there was about as much shooting!

Being a deek hay-ed ain't illegal.

Nope. It's only illegal to bait brown bears, not brown bear hunters.

Yeah, I have a few years to save up my pennies.. unless a pard draws and I get the nod.

Good luck to Riley. Man I can't wait to get back.

That's a beaut Art! Congrats to you and the Jeff for taking out the deer muncher!!

Does it get crowded out on Kodiak? How many hunters would a guy like Rohrer take on a 10 day hunt?

Rohrer has a very good area in that it actually accesses three hunt areas from one camp (East Arm, Uganik Bay, which locals call Mush Bay). IIRC he gets to market three spring tags for the main area, three more for Mush Bay/Uganik Lake, and two for the head of South Arm. I think he gets one less in each for fall tags.

You must have a signed guide contract to apply for the hunt so you, as a non-resident, have a 100% chance of being drawn. Residents may go for years without drawing...

The actual hunt is any 15-day stretch the hunter chooses from April 1 to May 15... It is always a gamble as to which is best and weather tends to trump all.

It looked like Dick had two hunters when we saw him, but we only saw him well away from his base camp and there may have been a lot more hunters in camp.

The hunt area is huge however... we were just competing for the best seat in the theater...

Actualy,Pam at the lodge told us about watching a bear catch a swimming deer and tearing it up in front of them. I think they are not a significant predator on deer, especially when fish and berries are timely.

Thanks Art!

Congrads fellow Monster Killer!!! Enjoyed the story and pics!!! success all around it looks like...Sweeet!!!

The only thing better (from the armchair, anyway) than a good bang-flop yarn is a good bang, not-so-flop yarn which turns out well. Sort of "added-value".

With pictures.

That hunt is sooo much fun. Just need a damn tag!

Excellent tale Art!

Got to make that trip one of these days.

Probably a bad time to advertise an old A-Bort in the classifieds.

Not sure there is a good time to advertise an A-Bort!

Not sure there's ever a bad time, if one's in your safe!

There is, and I'd be happy to sell it to you!

That would be a trick..grin.

Nice bear and cool story guys. Hope the taxidermist treats you well...

Abracadabra!

Thanks for the story and thumbs up on that Rem 375.

Tee hee! AMERICA, FARK YEAH!

Thanks for that, and congrats. Be thankful the cannery wasn't a honey distributor. You boys'd never hear the end of that...

A stainless lefty in 300WinMag no less. I'll clean it up, and trip it next time home. I'd hate to have it stolen, and get sued by the thief.

Now if someone pays good money for it...

It is at Knight's and I seriously hope they do a decent job... Jeff is still on the bubble for a rug versus life-size.

Last time I saved a set of paws for a Chinese guy and the cook said they were very sweet and he was sure the bear had LOTS of honey... Yeah, I suppose that is honey to a bear when salmon rots to the point of dripping...

Heard about one left in a rig and the rig got broken into. When the guy looked for his A-Bort he found two...

Great story, Art! And, GREAT bear! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Hard to believe that was 9 years ago!

Yeah, it was that long ago! Had not realized it had been that long either...

Really? You're more a gambler than me.

Knight's has done some good work, but they have done some pretty schitty stuff, too... But the bear is not mine, so I just sit back and let Jeff do the worrying...

What a hunt...thanks for sharing the pics and story. Those big bears are a tremendous trophy. I remember the first time I saw a full size mount, I was just a kid but never cease to admire how big they really are.

Art, great hunt.



How did it fail?

Trigger group rusted to "frozen" condition with the wire link looking like the problem again. The weather was bad and the saltwater was right there...

Say it isn't so.

Awesome story Art and congrats to the lucky hunter as well.That was one hell of a last day.

Dean
It was a bit of an attention grabber!
art

Super story. Great pics too. Brings back some good memories.

For the record, Rick Bin did not kill any bear. I simply stood there with Scott (hiya pal) while Art pole-axed it with one 270-grainer through the front shoulder and into the vitals, which made it hit the ground hard and right-now, and tremble away the last of its life. Art graciously convinced me the sonofabitch-was-coming, even though it wasn't ( ), and since I was the designated backup, I deferred to experience and let one fly into the trembling furball just on principle, which caused it to tumble spectacularly ass-over-teakettle down the hill for what I remember to be at least a hundred yards.

And I'd do it again, too.

What a trip! Both of them.

Big congrats! Big Kudos to all!

Having just returned - and recovered - from spring hunts of my own just across the Shelikof, I tip my hat to Art for sharing photos and telling a great story.

Great article and pics! That picture Dog Ear Mountain is beautiful.

Cool story and that's a cool area.

I spent a few days with the Pingree's after I shot my bear in the Sturgeon unit.

Fantastic people who live in one of the wildest, untouched places I've ever been.

Pretty remarkable and I enjoyed spending some time at the lodge and with their family.

Have to say the Pingrees are classy folks... Between dropping off crabs and watching out for us they proved their generosity... the rest is just pure, down to Earth, good.

I am assembling a small package for them that required a little wait for things to arrive... I suspect they will be surprised as they undoubtedly think they "did nothing."

Aside from simply standing there you also carried the hide, wrapped around your shoulders past another brown bear, jaws-aclacking, with an unknown relationship to the recently deceased bear... And telling the live bear to "bring it on!" I still laugh about that every time I think about it!

Yeah, we were close enough a good bear could swim either way...

I am sure you can relate to our relief in realizing the bear was spined and reduced to two-wheel drive...

Incredible trip! And, thank you Rick and Art for the memories. That was a tough year, but all's well that ends well. You are two very good friends and again, what an incredible adventure!

Oh, and "COUGAR, COUGAR on the beach!"

Dude! Thanks for the opportunity to once again post this!!!!

Jeeze- and Art sort of castigated me for bringing up the subject (Hillside blacktail) only a year after the fact...

Rick ain't never gonna live that one down.

Not if we can help it anyway.

Oh, man (woman). I remember that pic!

I get a chuckle out of that.

You would, seeing as how you are young enough to hunt Kodiak cougar...

That has to be the funniest thing I may have ever seen!

"Cougar on the beach, cougar on the beach...!!!"

Sorry, Rick!

It was the herd aspect that cracked me up...

Rick was obviously not awake just yet...

I'm more thinking scotch from the night before...

Must have been, what, five of 'em? THAT is a big pack!

Heading up now with the kids to an old neighbor's place tonight for lamb kabobs -- a lion had it's way, but apparently wasn't concerned when the kill (in the barn) suddenly moved to a wire crate/trap. He's been in trouble before and is no longer. DOW took the lion. Seriously wishin' we were heading up for kitty kabobs!

Bastids!

Even I'm laughing my a$$ off over here.

Which takes nothing away from the intent behind my last comments, mind you.

There ain't no slack!

Sad thing is I did not see ten live deer in two weeks of glassing. Every beach had remains of winter kill though...

What a bummer. I was wanting to go down there this fall/early winter for deer but might just go out of PWS again. Probably be much of the same out that way, I'd imagine. After 3 yrs in one spot, though, should at least get a couple. Just small antlers found on the bucks where we go.

We got to hunt the "Good Old Days" of Kodiak deer and we are now in the "Good Old Days" of bear hunting (all across AK)... And I would trade the bear hunting for deer anyday...

Just an FYI, the hide came back from the tannery mostly intact. It will be mounted life-size by a different taxi... Will post pictures of the mount when done in about 8 months.

The new taxi has done a few mounts I have seen down on the Kenai that are spectacular... and I have and have seen a lot of Robert Holhouser's work to compare it with.

Off topic but meaning to ask you, how'd that sheep hunt turn out? Hope you got a nice one.

Riley and I walked over 20 miles through the exact area BW shot his sheep and out through Indian... We saw 11 lambs and ewes, no rams of any size... And we saw more people in there than I have ever seen before. We looked in a number of valleys that have always had lots of sheep in previous years.

And Riley did not have the time to go way back into the unit. Have to believe the winter kill was severe...

A real alaskan like sitkadeer blames his lack of success on wolves, weather, bears, other people.

Did sitkadeer ever tell you a story about the time he went sheep hunting in the brooks? He wanted to make it challenging so he walked into the brooks from Anchorage. Hardcore one might say! I must say, I agree.

"Indian"??? As in "along Turnagain"? Huh???

I don't see any way around it. That much snow can't help but make it hard on critters. Good you got plenty of fresh air. :grin

Thanks for the post Dick. Are you blind, retarded, or just mentally deficient?

I bet they were after Dall's in Arizona. Huh??

I doubt it .....

Oh, by the way, Mike, wanted to ask;

You guys weren't staying at the Grand View when the Mariners were there during the early October meet?

Had initially planned to stay there during the Valley Invitational meet Oct 11-13. Ended up staying at a friend's place in Palmer. I'm not connected to the mariners team though.

Why do you ask? Did you smack someone you thought was me?

Hahahahahaha ....

No, I'd never smack you, because there's really no reason too. In fact, I'd never physically smack anyone, because that never accomplishes anything except being charged with assault-and-battery.

Yeah, I knew you weren't affiliated with the Homer Mariners, for the simple fact that you don't reside within that school's district and you're a little further north on the road system.

I happened to stop by the Grand View on Saturday of that weekend to retrieve a client and the place was overrun with Mariners. Since you were in town that weekend, I thought that maybe the Central Peninsula teams might of been staying there, too.

Anyway, it was merely curiosity sake. But, I'd never smack you, Mike. For one thing, I happen to respect you, believe it or not.

Appreciate the kind words.