I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Quite jealous of the opportunities you have over there!
Brent, your stories are awe inspiring; they reminded me of my (far less exciting) bear 'event'when my wife and I were living in Canada back around 96:
One spring (Manitoba springs only seemed to last a week –one minute Arctic, one minute blazing heat) renting a cottage in Duck Mountain Provincial Park , we were squeezing in a last bit of cross country skiing before the snow went.
Our bear knowledge was limited to a throw away comment from a friend along the lines of 'the worst time to meet a bear is just when it comes out of hibernation, sometimes they've wasted to the size of an German Shepherd, when they're that size they'll attack anything for food'. Well; mid- lake (and just past the point of no return) we noticed that the ice that we were skiing over was worryingly weak. We pressed on nervously to the far side. Imagine our joy when, on reaching the safety of the shore, we found ourselves in the midst of fresh bear tracks heading in all directions! Our choices were a lake side traverse –where we convinced ourselves we would meet a ravenous bear- or to risk a return across the dodgy ice. Imagination got the better of us, we wimped and took the ice option –fastest piece of cross country skiing we've ever done!
Wasn't long after that I bought "Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance" by Stephen Herrero an excellent book although it did tend to remind me of the apocryphal advice issued to travellers to avoid attack:
When travelling in bear country, attack is best prevented by carrying pepper spray and making plenty of noise.
Noise is best created by attaching small bells to your equipment.
If you identify fresh bear crap you should change route.
Fresh bear crap is easily identified because it jangles and smells of pepper.
More seriously, here's what Herrero had to say about stopping a bear charge, rather seems to back up your advice, hope it's of interest:
"……a good first shot is through the shoulder and into the body. This is aimed at breaking a shoulder blade and crippling the bear, thus slowing the charge. A second shot then can quickly be placed anywhere in the vital zone to kill the bear. Head and neck shots should not, as a rule, be attempted with a charging grizzly bear because these targets are too small.
Choice of proper firearms for safety depends upon many factors. An adequate and popular defensive weapon is a twelve-gauge, shortbarrel, repeating shotgun with at least a five-shot capacity. The ability to shoot fast is essential. Pump actions and semiautomatics have this capability. Dependability must be thoroughly established prior to carrying such a weapon in bear country. The shotgun is a weapon of last resort to be used at close range only. Many persons doing field work with grizzly bears carry shotguns some of the time. Choice of ammunition varies. Large-diameter buckshot (00 gauge-"SSGs') gives a person the advantage of nine to eleven pellets, which, depending upon the barrel, will disperse about one inch for every 3.3 feet. I personally know of one charging female grizzly that was shot and killed at about fifty feet with large-diameter buckshot. I do not know of any failures. Some experts, however, are suspicious regarding the ability of large-diameter buckshot to kill grizzlies, believing that penetration is inadequate except at about fifty to sixty-five feet or less. Buckshot also could be dangerous if you try to shoot a grizzly bear that is attacking someone else. Your chances of hitting both the bear and the person are too great with buckshot. The alternate choice of ammunition for shotguns is the rifled slug. At close range these have adequate killing power and the ability to shatter a shoulder bone. Rifled slugs have the disadvantage of requiring more careful aim than does the large-diameter buckshot.
High-powered hunting rifles are clearly established to be the most effective firearm for killing grizzlies. They have the same disadvantage as the rifled slug for the person facing a charging bear. One must be able to hit a rapidly charging, hurtling object. Bolt actions are much slower than pump actions or semiautomatics. Rifles have an added disadvantage for bears in that some persons with high-powered rifles will be tempted to shoot noncharging bears at long distances. They also have limitations in dense brush since woody stems are more likely to deflect rifle bullets than shotgun slugs. Telescopic sights may interfere with the "instinctive" shooting that may be necessary at close range. Open sights should be installed if a person is designing a "bear" gun.
Despite the limitations of high-powered rifles, tests prove they are the most effective bear-killing firearm. The "best" firearm depends
on ballistic performance and a person's ability to tolerate firearm recoil. United States Forest Service researchers in Alaska concluded that four cartridge~bullet combinations were superior for protection against bears The .458 Winchester Magnum with 510-gr soft-point bullets was the "surest" combination for shooters who could handle the recoil. The .375 H & H Magnum with 300-gr soft-point bullets had less recoil than the .458 Magnum, but for many people recoil was still severe. The .338 Winchester Magnum with 300-gr bullets had less recoil than the .375 Magnum but only slightly less effectiveness. The .30-06 with 220-gr bullets had mild recoil with adequate ballistics.
Side arms have a more limited role for protection against charging grizzly bears. My reason for saying this is mainly because of the superior marksmanship required to hit a charging bear in the right places. Most experts agree that a .44 Magnum with 240-gr bullets has adequate close-range killing power in the hands of a well-practiced person who can handle its recoil.
Regardless of what firearm you choose, you must be thoroughly familiar with its mechanism and you must protect it from the effects of water, dirt, and twigs. When traveling in an area where bear hazard is anticipated, you should make sure the magazine of a rifle or shotgun is loaded. Normally a shell in the chamber is dangerous because of possible accidental discharge; however, imminent danger may justify putting a shell into the chamber, except perhaps with a side arm.
If you plan to travel armed and seriously consider trying to kill a charging grizzly bear, then you must be expert with your chosen firearm. The type of shooting that I have described is not hunting. It is self-defense shooting under extremely demanding conditions. Training should include shooting hundreds of rounds with the chosen firearm under a variety of conditions chosen to simulate field conditions. Accurate shooting should become something that you do almost without thinking. If possible, moving targets should be used. Accurate shooting under such conditions has been called "instinctive," because of the frequent lack of precise aim that is possible when hunting with telescopic sights and high-powered rifles. In the extreme, shotguns or rifles may be discharged while still at the hip rather than at shoulder level. The psychological impact of a charging grizzly is something difficult to simulate in training. In choosing whether and when to carry a firearm, each person must try to predict how he would behave if charged…."
I was going to drive but four days of 18 hours a day of driving cuts into the vacation to much. Well Looking at the map I would say that the Willow area cant be much more than an hour from Wisilla and Talkeentna looks like it is about two hours away wich I dont see a problem traveling that by truck. As for the area where you need a boat if you want to share it with me send me a PM. I will understand completely if you want to keep it to yourself
good hunting spots are hard to find. So the areas you mentioned you think you could hunt them by walking and maybe get a bear? Maybe since you dont really hunt Browns maybe you could recommend in more detail a place to try for browns up there? Thanks for the help everyone!
