Largest Grizzly/Brown bear areas

[69firebird]

Im looking at booking my dream hunt, money is not a factor.

Im looking to narrow down sub species and area for Griz/brown bear. Is Kodiak and Katmai bears the largest on average, or Kamchatka?

Next for an outfitter I don't care about luxury accommodations or 5 star chef meals. Im looking for location, effort and good gear! If its a plywood shack, aluminium skiff, or tent I don't care.

Big bears and an outfitter thats going to do his absolute best to get me on one.

Please post with experience

Thanks

 

[AGL4now]

There are basically three "VERY" different methods of determining Largest in reference to Brown Bears. Body weight.......Skull size........squared fresh (green) hide. They are not each related to the other, however body weight and squared hide could be somewhat related each to the other. Even here one needs to consider that a bear with 12" of fat in the fall would weigh less then the same size bear with little fat storage, fat weighing little compared to red meat muscle.

I have a small amount of experience in this area.

Is Kodiak and Katmai bears the largest on average, or Kamchatka?

Please post with experience

Thanks

 

[c-ne-elk]

I have brown bear hunted twice in Alaska. The largest concentration of bears in Alaska is on the Alaskan Peninsula. The bears there also tend to be the largest in body size. The bears on Kodiak tend to be smaller in body but larger in skull size. The Alaskan Peninsula also has more bears than Kodiak. It is not unusual to see 5 to 10 bears a day. I also have a friend that was an outfitter for Russian bear hunts, while you could shoot 2 bears in Russia, they tend to be a bit smaller. I ended up hunting both times with Tracy Vrem with Blue Mountain Lodge and took great bears both times. a 9'-8" and a 10'-2", the 10'-2" made Boone & Crockett. I had a buddy with me the first hunt and he took a 10'-4" that also made B&C. Both of my hunts were fall hunts, in the fall you will see many more bears than in the spring. On my last hunt there was a client hunting with Tracy that had been to Kodiak 3 times and never taken a bear, he took a nice 10' bear with Tracy. He has a 100% opprotunity rate. As long as you can do your job, you will get a bear with Tracy. I saw over 20 adult bears on my first hunt before I took mine and my 10'-2" bear was the 3rd adult I had seen on my 2nd hunt. Just because you see one, does not mean you will get a chance to kill it as the bears are moving around quite a bit in the fall looking for food. But Tracy's area has a late Silver Salmon run and the bears are still concentrated around the streams which helps out.

Shoot me a PM if you would like some more info.

tp

 

[Pdvdh]

I think the Alaska Peninsula bears receive less hunting pressure than Kodiak Island bears. As a consequence, more bears grow older there than on Kodiak Island.
I'd go AK Peninsula if cost wasn't a limiting factor in your selection.

 

[Lpart]

I second the peninsula. Tags are over the counter as well. I believe at least part of Kodiak is on a draw.

 

[69firebird]

Great thank you guys for the tips on the AK Peninsula bears!!

I did talk to a outfitter on the AK peninsula who recommended spring hunts for long daylight/time to hunt. Made sense to me with that point. Along with calving season.

I will check out Blue Mountain. Any other reputable fellows I should be looking at? Or guys I should avoid?

 

[c-ne-elk]

Fall hunts are the first hunts to fill up and you will see many, many more bears than the spring hunts. In the spring you may go 10 days and only see one bear. Spring hunts are also weather dependent. Too early, bears are not out, too late, they have moved into the heavy brush and are not nearly as active as they are in the fall. Spring bears may have better hides but both of my bears had excellent hides with no rubs at all. In the fall, the bears move all day long so there is plenty of time to hunt. Just my two cents...
If you go further South on the Peninsula (say around Cold Bay) they have some EXCELLENT bears but the weather there is horrible. Be prepared to get into the field late or have to stay longer.
Bear hunting in Alaska is as much of a mind game as anything. You sit and glass in rain, more rain and more rain. Some guys can't take it. Get some good raingear, by good I mean something that does not breath (breathable = leakable after some time) Wear breathable waist waders (yes that goes against what I just said above) to wear as pants with non-felt soled wading boots. When it comes time to make the stalk you will be busting through creeks and swamps plus you don't have to worry about sitting down on wet tundra.
It is one of the most exciting hunts you will ever go on! I shot my first bear at 28 yards the 2nd at 90, a pure rush!

 

[69firebird]

Thats great thank you!

 

[Pdvdh]

Just the opposite on Kodiak Island. Spring hunting is better than fall hunting, in my experience. Boars are more visible in their search to find and breed sows. Much longer days. Unless you're hunting brown bear on a salmon stream in the fall season, spring is the better season, in my opinion. Perhaps on the AK Peninsula, the fall bear season is open while some salmon are still a food source in the streams? Dunno.

 

[wyosteve]

You might check out Rod Schuh from Anchorage. He hunts Unimak Island on the peninsula. A draw area, but he gets some nice bears. I hunted interior grizzly with him years back and was very pleased.

 

[prohuntersmind]

Kodiak bears are the third largest bear and if seize is one of the factor you are going after then you should go after them, mainly found in Alaska, their population there is quite handsome so i will advice to get an outfitter there and get your hunt on.

 

[AGL4now]

There is some not totally accurate information in this thread. Still an interesting thread.

 

[Pdvdh]

There is some not totally accurate information in this thread. Still an interesting thread.

Roger that. Some things are best left alone. Including sleeping boar brown bear.

 

[prohuntersmind]

There is some not totally accurate information in this thread. Still an interesting thread.

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care to enlighten us with more accurate information ?