ANWR Griz 8/17 - 03/09/18
I hunted northern Brook Range in ANWR late August. Extremely remote country. If I'd been any more north the bears would have been white. Saw caribou, Muskox, fox and Grizzly. Weather was a factor for getting in and out of hunt area. This plays a BIG part of logistics as we had rain and snow daily.
Staged out of Kavik at Sue Aikens. She's like an M&M...hard candy shell with a soft inside. She was very nice as there was a lot going on.
I spent the morning before flying to AK in the ER. I was feeling pretty bad but wasn't going to miss the hunt under any circumstances (when I was puking from pain over the toilet the thought of canceling actually did come to mind). Weather forced us to stay in Kavik for three days before flying me and the guide to hunt. I was grateful for the time to lay around trying to recover some. I was feeling really badly and pills were not helping. A dentist suggested I drink a beer so did and that cured the pain instantly. For the next couple days I drank one morning, noon and night. Keep it in your mind if you have kidney issues. It really worked for me.
Hunters were coming in with sheep, bears and caribou along with going out to start new hunts so it was good to meet new guys and share tales.
One really needs patience to be a bear hunter. Good nocs are imperative. I glassed 15 bears at varying distances during the hunt. I took the best bear I saw squaring 7' with a skull of 22 12/16". He was chasing off another bear when we were stalking him across soggy tundra and alders. Not much to eat up there so they are even protective of the grass they graze on for food. The bears are not as large as other areas and carry little fat. He was running quartering away at 100yds when I shot him using my .338WM Rem 700KS shooting 225gr Swift AF bullet. One shot, then found him dead in alders. Bullet was recovered under hide of offside shoulder. A guide got mauled by a wounded bear the week before I arrived so looking for the shot bear had adrenaline flowing in guide and me. All told they are mean bastards in the Arctic.
Great experience in wilderness country.
Thanks for reading.
Staged out of Kavik at Sue Aikens. She's like an M&M...hard candy shell with a soft inside. She was very nice as there was a lot going on.
I spent the morning before flying to AK in the ER. I was feeling pretty bad but wasn't going to miss the hunt under any circumstances (when I was puking from pain over the toilet the thought of canceling actually did come to mind). Weather forced us to stay in Kavik for three days before flying me and the guide to hunt. I was grateful for the time to lay around trying to recover some. I was feeling really badly and pills were not helping. A dentist suggested I drink a beer so did and that cured the pain instantly. For the next couple days I drank one morning, noon and night. Keep it in your mind if you have kidney issues. It really worked for me.
Hunters were coming in with sheep, bears and caribou along with going out to start new hunts so it was good to meet new guys and share tales.
One really needs patience to be a bear hunter. Good nocs are imperative. I glassed 15 bears at varying distances during the hunt. I took the best bear I saw squaring 7' with a skull of 22 12/16". He was chasing off another bear when we were stalking him across soggy tundra and alders. Not much to eat up there so they are even protective of the grass they graze on for food. The bears are not as large as other areas and carry little fat. He was running quartering away at 100yds when I shot him using my .338WM Rem 700KS shooting 225gr Swift AF bullet. One shot, then found him dead in alders. Bullet was recovered under hide of offside shoulder. A guide got mauled by a wounded bear the week before I arrived so looking for the shot bear had adrenaline flowing in guide and me. All told they are mean bastards in the Arctic.
Great experience in wilderness country.
Thanks for reading.