Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Brooks Range Grizzly Hunt

Spring of 2017, I drove from my home in central Washington, up through British Columbia and the Yukon, to Fairbanks. Camped most nights. Highly recommend the drive if you have the time for it!




Helio Courier north for quite a ways.


Four of us, two guides, two hunters, in a pretty nice little camp by a stream. First bear came pretty quickly. Then our camp dwindled to just two of us, and eventually on day 7 I tagged a nice grizzly with my 30-06 Rem 700. Ya, I know, a puny 30-06 in a wood stocked Rem 700. Sigh.






Hunted with Lyle Becker and Joey Klutsch. Those two guys worked hard and smart and provided a terrific hunt! I'd fished and backpacked in Alaska before, but had never hunted there before. Also had never taken the time to drive up and back. What a wonderful journey and a terrific hunt!

I could have brought a 375, and was tempted to do so, but before the hunt Lyle asked me a couple of questions that helped me make my rifle decision:

1. This is open country, you may need to take a 300 yard shot. Which rifle do you shoot better? Well, the 30-06 I'll admit.
2. This is tough country for hiking. Which rifle is lighter? Well, the 30-06 is.

So, I ended up taking the 30-06, which is very familiar to me from other hunts. Used my old 2-7 Redfield 'cause it's a decent scope. Handloaded 200 gr Nosler Partitions, with a very accurate, nice shooting load.

I will freely admit that after a long stalk, I completely blew my first shot at the grizzly, which appeared rather suddenly at less than 50 yards. I may have been a little excited... Probably put it 4 or 5 feet over the bear! Settled down after that thankfully.

I've hunted black bears and enjoyed, and will continue to do so. I think though, that my need for a big bear has been satisfied. He's an inch short of the record book, I didn't care. Hide squares a bit over 8' and is just incredible. The wolf hide & skull, and the grizzly hide and skull are great reminders of this trip. Likely the hunt of a lifetime for me.

Regards, Guy

Oh, and a special thanks to Phil Shoemaker!

A 30 min conversation with him helped me figure out what kind of Alaskan bear hunt I wanted, and what I could afford.







Guy

I remember this from an earlier post. That's a great grizzly !! I really like the wolf. GuyM, I think was your old handle. You gave me the recipe for the 30/06-- 200 grain partitions.


I took my AK grizzly with a 375 Ruger----I planned on going back in 2020 with the 30/06. That was before Jake Jefferson lost his wife & closed his outfitting business. Now he's a single dad raising 6 kids-----the youngest is just 6 months old.

Ya, I couldn't get "GuyM" to work anymore. Never could resolve the issue. Whatever it was. Some glitch.

Heart goes out to Jake.

Guy

If I remember right you have taken a bunch of nice black bear with your son in WA.



Glad you're still alive----using a push feed 30/06. LOL !!

Memories...

Mine looked just like yours, both size, color, and claws! However, mine was a fall bear, 1983, Western Brooks Range, 7mm Rem. Mag, and Super Cub to camp!!! I still enjoy looking at the rug every day.

I too was "satiated" with the big bears after that. Now I enjoy reliving other's hunts and watching live bears when up there.

Thanks for the great story and pictures!

Todd

Have not driven on the AK Hwy or Cassiar since 1989... need to add that back to the "bucket list!"

Nice doggie too!!! Wish I had gotten one of those as well.

That's a very nice Brooks Range grizzly....very nice!

U mean u didnt go out and buy the lastest bigazz caliber gun and have it tuned by the finest smith in all the land ? Aint no way ! Lol...fun huh !

Why not call it 10' like everyone else on the innerweb?



Nice bear and wolf!

Beautiful bear

VERY NICE!

And no handgun for backup.....oh my!

Pretty bear! Good re-post.

I need to get back up to the Brooks.

Honestly, I forgot that I posted this after the hunt.

But, what the heck.

Guy

Great Bear, sounds like a great trip. Enjoyed your story, thank you.

Drive to Alaska, kill a griz and a wolf, you are getting this whole adventure thing down pretty well. Congrats, thanks for the posts.


mike r

Was happy to read about this hunt again. Great pics and great looking grizzly.

Wow.
Great bear.
Thanks.

Very jealous here! Incredible. Congratulations!

I remember the prior thread, but didn't realize that you drove. That added to the adventure and two nice animals.

Sometimes, after a great trip, there is a period of time where you aren't really accountable for your actions.

Here's your original thread.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/12070178

To say I'm jealous would be an understatement.

Heck, I'm jealous of your drive up there!

Sounds like an awesome time.

How did the .30-06 do?

-Jake

Great stuff Guy! Great too see you back!

Also, how did you like the Wrangler for that long of a trip?

-Jake

Jake - I take the Wrangler on long trips several times a year. Last spring it carried my wife and I on a 3,600 mile trip through the southwest including a lot of 4wd use on desert roads.

It's NOT the greatest highway car! Especially the two-door. A little "twitchy" with the steering. I transitioned from a full-size truck to the Wrangler six years ago, and though I like the little rascal, it wouldn't be my first choice for a long highway drive. It did just fine on the trip up to Fairbanks and back, but frankly that road is nice enough now that a Toyota Camry or whatever could do it just fine, be more comfortable, and get better fuel economy. It is an incredible drive, and I am so glad that I took the time to drive this time, instead of simply flying up again.


The 30-06 with the 200's did fine, once I hit the bear. First shot was a high miss. Second shot hit the right shoulder/upper leg. Broke that shoulder and dropped the bear instantly, penetrating into the chest too. Likely a killing shot, however the bear didn't agree. He fell at the shot, rolled and was back on his feet in a flash. I was already working the bolt and then made a bad hit, too high, just a "graze" as they said in the old western movies. Then I got a good hit as the bear turned away from me, and dropped him again. He stayed down. Somewhere in there my guide popped him with a 338 Win mag too. I was about to reload my 30-06, when Joey handed me his 338 and I finished the bear with a chest shot at maybe 15 yards. There was a lot of shooting going on in a very brief period of time, all of it at short range.

Recovered this 200 gr Partition from the bear while skinning:

Wish I could say that I made a one-shot kill on the grizzly, but that didn't happen.

Regards, Guy

Grizzlies are very tenacious of life and can excel at gymnastics when by a bullet.
Ya did good!

I've flown in that same Currier into the Chandalar river country, Wright Air correct? Congrats on a great hunt too!

I hate finding bullets in bears...

Close range, wounded bear + multiple bullets and multiple guns = "life insurance" + many good stories told in the future. Nothing to regret there. Sounds like a smart investment to me!

I had the luxury of 50+ yards and a river between me and my bear. Hit him hard in the shoulder with my first shot (good old 175gr CoreLokt) and he turned and took off to where he'd come (across a small shallow slough from willows). I pulled my second shot over his back like you did out of excitement! Subconsciously kicked myself in the "arse" and put the 3rd one where it was supposed to go. The third was probably not needed as he died in the slough BUT I did not want him getting back to those willows! We crossed the river to him, dragged him up the bank and gutted him as it started to get dark. I later spent a very uncomfortable night in the spike tent several hundred yards away and across the river. Bear trails in the grass and salmon carcasses everywhere! No bear fences back then.

Once listened all night to many bears arguing over the carcass of one of their own. By morning the only sign there had ever been a dead bear there was a little blood in the grass and mud.

I've been in on close to a dozen Brown bear and grizzly kills and I gotta say there's just something about those Brooke's range bears. Awesome story and pics.

Beautiful bear! Looks like you had a great trip, and most important, had a proper appreciation for the whole experience. Very well done!

Jeff

Friend of mine from New Mexico drove up two years in a row all the way to Pump Station 5 on the Dalton Hwy. This past summer he killed his Brooks range grizzly with his open sighted 300 H&H with Dave Leonard. I saw quite a few when working in Bettles.

Awesome trip!

I’ll never tire of looking at a bear like that. Beautiful Congrats to you and thank you for visiting the place we call home

Win win win, wonderful! Thanks for sharing...

What a great story and pictures. Thanks for sharing those. Glad you are back on the fire.

That great second photo, to see that country ahead, you gotta know you're not just going from point A to point B, you are on a path and a journey your smartphone cannot hold.

Thank you. That was taken on the "Top of the World Highway" in Yukon, as I was heading towards Dawson City. I thought it was one of the most impressive parts of the route.

Regards, Guy

Hey Guy,
I have sent three 30 caliber deer rifles to Jesse Occumpaugh for a rebore: A 30-30 model 94 to 375 winchester. This thing surprised me. Close in, it will break out both shoulders of a brown bear and an instant drop with the 255 grain barnes original. Out to 175 yds, my son had an instant drop on a fat bull caribou.

A savage 99 308 rebored to 358. Near instant drops on two of my biggest bull moose using the 275 grain woodliegh.

A browining 1895 30-06 rebored to 41 O&M (off the 9.3 case), I've yet to use this 400 whelen-level scout rifle.

If ever you're feeling like a change, that won't nip at the heels of your 375 mag, try you ah $225 rebore to 338-06. From a long shot, to an up close shot, thing's ah mean/quick killer of the big animals. 250 grain paritition or a-frame will leave blood pouring out of both ends like a fountain:

http://www.35caliber.com/2.html

I really like these affordable options. Many of us work ourselves half to death for slightly decent pay. Then, we're fed advertisements our whole lives in magazines and the tv.

With Jesse, he gives you a fair deal for the tightest of budgets. The deal being that you might have to clean the fouling a bit more than ah city slicker with a fancy match grade barrel at the shooting range. But in the bush, on bear and moose, you won't notice.

Funny thing about lotta these guys with high-end rifles. I never see these things posted on these forums with nary a scartch or ah rust spot. Must be magic, like in the gun magazines.

I agree. I have quite a few rifles and aside from the rifle my dad gave me (model 7 in 308) the 338-06 is still my favorite all round do all for up here.

I have one Jesse rebored to 33806... I"ve not an issue with it yet...