I'm a new member here. I've never hunted Alaska and don't presume to know anything about hunting Alaska. Nonetheless, I've found this thread immensely interesting. Thanks for that.

I do spend a lot of time in bear country where I live, both in my truck, but mainly on foot. We have black bears, a high density of them, with some going up to 700 lbs and very occasionally more. I am a [very] amateur wildlife photographer and have had some very close encounters with black bears. I've both surprised bears and been surprised by them, two of them in the 500-600 lb range. Only one has ever been even remotely aggressive, slapping it's paws and snapping its jaws at me. Mostly, they hold their ground until I go the other way. Every once in awhile I'll meet one on a trail and it's me that has to move. I hope I never have an encounter that goes south, but that possibility exists, I guess. We did have a local lady apparently eaten by the bears that she liked to feed near her home some years ago.

When I set off on foot, I carry a Glock 20 10mm and occasionally a Glock 29 with an extended magazine and X Grip. It's usually loaded with 200 gr Hornady HPs. And I sometimes carry a .357 Magnum, either a GP100 or an 8-shot Redhawk loaded with 180gr Buffalo Bores. Either, I think, would be effective against either the kinds of bears I'd encounter, or the more dangerous poachers that sometimes roam the same woods.

Anyways, keep up the good discussion. Even though I don't live in Alaska nor have hunted there, I find this forum immensely interesting.

Just a few of my bears...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WXMUcZ8iPmbU7gmm6

Last edited by 10Glock; 01/03/21.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
https://vcdl.org/