Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Phil Shoemaker- Any man you'd more willingly trust your life?

He's the best bear guide in the world. He can kill brown bears with a single stack 9mm under pressure and he has the greatest named rifle ever. A 458 win "0ld ugly"

...and he’s a member here if you weren’t aware (458Win). A true wealth of knowledge and experience.

I dunno; he's kinda old.😜

Never been on a bear hunt with Phil but I like the way he writes. My favorite outdoor writers are Phil, our own Mule Deer and the late Finn Aagaard. They all wrote honestly about their experiences with no fluff.

I would like to meet him.Yes, he would of met Clayton Mack.

A while back someone posted a link to his daughter's blog, which was very good, I wonder if she is still blogging?

Yes, there are 2 guys I can think of. I have 2 sons that have excelled in the outdoor arena and no one around this part of the country could get you out of a jam better or faster. However, if you are on one side of the lake and get a flat on your side by side, you might have to call someone else if they are 4 miles back in chasing elk with a bow...

Phil raised some well educated, competent youngsters. From what I've read, they're bush pilots, experienced hunters, outdoors men (women).

Reportedly, his daughter is a marksman with her Rem .416, even shoots sheep with that big gun.

I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree...

DF

My only complaint about .458 is that he hasn’t released that book he mentioned on here before

Maybe he'll take the hint....

DF

I personally think his choice of a 9mm handgun as a weapon to protect fishing clients from bears with is a bit on the light side. I also doubt he is promoting the 9mm as a bear round. A brown bear was killed with a 9mm pistol about 40 miles from my house on a popular salmon stream years ago. But, I think it took them more then one shot.

I enjoy the few articles of his I have read. One in particular was his articles on triggers and clients that had problems with "enclosed triggers" on bear and moose hunts. Not many "gun writer's" would of came out with strong views like that in print. He also had a couple of articles on rifles that I liked, one was the very nice Todd Ramirez 30-06 he has with the custom receiver sight. One classy rifle and stuffing it with 220 grain Nosler Partitions made it even better. A serious big game, big bear rifle and load, especially in his hands.

Alaska has had many world famous brown bear guides and with todays limited seasons and bag limits, it would be hard for any current brown bear guide to compete with the numbers and size of kills racked up years ago by "old time" guides. Pinnell and Talifson and Hal Waugh were well known bear guides on Kodiak and there were others before them that pioneered brown bear guiding on Kodiak. Those early brown bear guides had very few restrictions on their hunting and many were a law onto them selves.

I doubt there are very many currently living brown bear guides that understand brown bears better then Phil and he has definitely built himself an enviable legacy and is passing it onto his children. Good for him !

What magazines does he write for now days?

All ways like reading stories and anecdotes of Pinnell and Talifson .I believe more than a few years a go Pinnell was interviewed by one of the outdoor magazines. One of the questions he was asked was "With the increased activity in Alaska backcountry what do you think of a 44 mag handgun for bear protection?" he answered it's fine as long as you save the last shot for your self..... hahha loved that answer.MB

You mean you would pick Phil over Mark Sullivan?

Chuck Norris hires Phil. Top that!

Over the past few years, I have referred 4 friends to Phil for brown bears.
All 4 came away with good bears and good words for Phil and family!

That made me smile. Good one!

Mark Sullivan is good, real good. He's an idiot but if there's one guy I want between me and a charging animal it's him.

Joe Want is pretty good too.

phil wrote about lever guns he had in his cabin 10 or so years for handloader or the rifle mag. good detailed on what he and his family used each one for good read

I honestly don't know Mark Sullivan, (so this is just an observation) but from the videos I've seen, he maneuvers "himself" into the "coup de grace", even to the point of provoking a wounded animal. So, yeah, he has had a lot of practice shooting charging meanies. But the other guy is paying $20K+ for the hunt. I can say though, lots of folks seem to like hunting with him ( I guess, is he still around)

When I hire a hunt, I want to do all the killing unless I let the guide know ahead of time when he can shoot. Now, I am not a Big 5 or Bear hunter, and I understand how the "lets all shoot until we get the wiggle out of him" works. Its the guides expertise on surviving weather/first aid/safety, etc...thatst a bigger judge of a mans courage of taking care of a client than going tow to toe with Big Humpback Bear ( yes, I freely admit they make my rectum tighten up! ha Scary) At least to me. I too like Mr Shoemakers writings, especially how he looks at how a rifle is to be used, etc, what will work, etc.