JG26Irish_2
AH veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2023
- Messages
- 115
- Reaction score
- 308
- Location
- United States
- Media
- 4
- Member of
- Bluegrass Safari Club
- Hunted
- RSA-Limpopo, KY, WV, TN, ND, SD, NM
As an ethical hunter, I try to learn from my own past experiences both successes and failures. But, this "School of Hard Knocks" is inefficient since it requires me to experience something before I can learn from it. As such another higher order form of learning is to review and absorb life lessons from the successes and failures of others. The lessons may not be as clear or indelible as those from my own mistakes but they are there for the picking if we so choose. So, where am I going with this? Alaskan brown/kodiak/grizzly bear hunting may be one of the most dangerous forms of hunting in North America. These apex predators can be hunting you while you are hunting them. The natural elements of Alaska also combine to make this sort of hunt difficult since they are in cold, windy, rocky, remote locations far from help. With that said, below is an encounter that I reviewed recently and came away with a few life lessons worth remembrance:
A young man in his late 20's to mid thirties along with his very pretty wife travelled to Alaska to hunt brown bears on a undisclosed portion of the Aleutian Peninsula. The exact location and the name of the Guide/PH is not important. They flew by float plane to the general area where they then took Zodiak boats across the bay to where the tent camp was set up. I cannot comment on the level of hunting experience they had but did note that while stuck in their tents during a 2-day rain/snow storm they had a pile of "Snacks" in the tent with them. Lesson #1 - When in bear country, never keep food inside the tent with you. This is an attractant to bears. If they did not know better the PH should have advised them.
Finally, the storm broke and they got out to hunt. After a couple of days of not much luck, the party located what appeared to be a large brownie boar bedded down on the side of a mountain above them and put on a stalk. All went well and they got set up about 220yds away near the crest of a small knoll which was still at a lower elevation to the bear. The bear was still bedded down as the hunter was laying prone with the scope all dialed in for the shot. Wife is filming but the bear still lying down did not present a good shot. The PH now suggests having the wife stand and walk off to their right to bait the bear into standing. My wife contributed lesson #2 - Do not use your wife as bear bait, lol. (unless you are willing to have her eaten). Fortunately, in this case the wife was not eaten. But, the tactic worked and the bear stood to look at her. She then runs back to the hunters to make sure her video camera on the tripod was recording and that the bear was in the fame. This quick movement triggered the bears predator response and it began ambling down the mountain directly toward them.
At this point the hunter comments that he was not prepared for this sudden move and states that he should have taken a head shot at this point. But, he was fixated on getting a broadside shot based on what the PH had coached him to do. A few lessons can be gleaned from this: Lesson #3 - Expect the unexpected and prepare for a wide variety of scenarios. Lesson #4 - While still hundreds of yards away, a head shot was still not the best choice (IMO). But knowing the anatomy of your prey is important to aid is making quicker decisions in such circumstances. Lesson #5 - When hunting dangerous game, decisive action is critical and hesitation can get you killed. The hunter was frozen as the bear came down the mountain and when they yelled at it, instead of stopping, it came at them faster. Critical seconds were wasted attempting to turn the bear for a safer shot when a well placed frontal shot may have stopped or even killed the animal. Instead, they yelled, then yelled again, and dithered until the opportunity for a shot had passed. A hunter needs to practice and have the confidence to take a critical shot under pressure, quickly in a variety of positions, and scenarios.
While the hunters hesitated and made clumsy attempts to manage the situation, the bear slithered down the mountain into a low draw between the mountain and the knoll where our intrepid hunters lay. The hunting party could hear the bear approaching thru the thick grove of alders, could hear the limbs shake and break as the big bruin approached to danger close proximity but were unable to see well enough for a shot. Panick starts to set it. Lesson #6 - Panick will get you killed. Stay cool under stress and do as you planned, trained, etc. Lesson #7 - Failure to plan and train the various scenarios is not a plan and leaves you grasping for straws in this sort of situation which often can lead to panick.
At this point things began to go even more sideways. The hunter and PH stand and move forward seeking to get in position to make a shot. They approach the top of the knoll and the little grove of alder trees. The bear is still approaching and has now gotten to within about 10yds but remains out of sight. The bear's location is clear as the trees are shaking and cracking as he moves forward but shot placement is impossible. At this point, the hunter fires two shots blindly in the general direction of the bear. The PH did not order this, the hunter did it on his own. Lesson #8 - Listen to your PH. Do what he/she says. Deviate only if you are very experienced and know more than your PH (not likely). This may not be a hard, fast rule when things are happening fast but, read on to see how this cost them later.
After the two shots, the bear moved down the draw to the hunter's left about 40yds and stopped. The hunter did not know if he had hit the bear yet. At this point the hunter and the PH moved about 20yds to the left and down the knoll until they had a clear shot. At this location the hunter fired his 3rd shot at the bear. It was a hastily aimed snap shot from a unsupported standing position. This did hit the bear, evidenced from hair and blood at the scene. The hunter's rifle was now empty! AND, all of his ammo was in his pack behind him at the top of the knoll about 20yds away, Oops! Lesson #9 - Keep spare ammo on your person, readily available! So, our nimrod now stands facing a wounded brown bear with an empty weapon and all the ammo will require him to walk/run away up hill to retrieve it. Lesson #10 - You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the PH and your wife, lol. Still, before the PH could take any shots the bear ran down the draw into heavy cover. Lesson #11 - Most bolt action rifles of heavy bear caliber hold either 3 or 4 rounds in the mag. A few hold more. Depending on the type of action, CRF, push feed, you may be able to load one more round into the rifle when ready to chamber a round. I won't go into the details since each rifle varies. Learn how to do this for your rifle. Lesson #12 - After the initial volley of one or two shots, the hunter should top off his mag so that when following up, he/she has more, not less ammo to do the job. This does not take long if a proper belt or pouch is used to carry spare ammo (see lesson #9 above).
At this stage of the story, I will add that when they first found this bear there was only about 2-3 hrs of daylight left and the initial stalk took about one hour. By the time the 3rd shot was fired, it was dusk and the hike back to camp will take one hour in daylight, longer in the dark. The hunting party now has a wounded bear on their hands and must return to camp in the dark. Lesson #13 - Never stalk and hunt DG too close to dark. It only lowers your odds of success while doing something already very dangerous and difficult. If everything goes well, you will still be skinning a dead animal in the dark (now you are the prey). Instead, plan for the worst case scenario when making such decisions. This one, I place on the head of the PH more than the hunter. He should have restrained them from getting that close so late in the day. Lesson #14 - Once an animal is wounded a proper followup should be made within the hour. Give it 30min to bleed out while you prepare a plan and then go in to get it.
In this case, I give the party the benefit of the doubt. Because of the bad decision to engage so late in the day, the prompt followup was not possible and so, the team hiked to camp in the dark, arriving safely. It rained that night which washed away most of the spoor. When they returned the next morning to the scene of the crime, they found blood and hair at the site of the last shot fired. Were able to track the bear only about 100yds before losing the trail. Tracking conditions were bad. I cannot comment on the PH's or the hunter's tracking skills, beyond only stating that in this case they were unable to find the bear. A tracking dog as used by some PH's might have helped in this case but it is only my speculation. The hunting party spent all of the next 10 days attempting to locate and harvest the bear. They were not successful. In the end the hunter and his wife had a scary and memorable encounter with one of NA's most deadly apex predators and lived to tell the tale. Frde Bear once said, "If you are disappointed after a failed hunt, then you missed the point of the hunt". I agree, as I rarely care if I kill something on a hunt or not. However, only once in my life, I have shot large game, wounding it and then losing the animal. It is a frustrating and painful experience and one than I try to avoid at all times. I am sure the hunter's frustration after his failures on that trip was great. Perhaps he should take solace in the fact that he and the rest of his party were all safe and his last ditch efforts did turn the bear away from them. A small but not insignificant victory.
As hunters we put on the mantle of predator when we choose to hunt. The term fools rush in, comes to mind. If you follow the behavior of wild animal predators they rarely "Rush In". They instead approach slowly, quietly, and when they attack it is with speed and precision. They are not always successful either. When we become the predator we have then ethical obligation to be careful, competent, decisive and effective in our efforts to harvest wild game. Aim fast, shoot slow, and make the first shot count and you will be frustrated far less often.
Good Hunting!
A young man in his late 20's to mid thirties along with his very pretty wife travelled to Alaska to hunt brown bears on a undisclosed portion of the Aleutian Peninsula. The exact location and the name of the Guide/PH is not important. They flew by float plane to the general area where they then took Zodiak boats across the bay to where the tent camp was set up. I cannot comment on the level of hunting experience they had but did note that while stuck in their tents during a 2-day rain/snow storm they had a pile of "Snacks" in the tent with them. Lesson #1 - When in bear country, never keep food inside the tent with you. This is an attractant to bears. If they did not know better the PH should have advised them.
Finally, the storm broke and they got out to hunt. After a couple of days of not much luck, the party located what appeared to be a large brownie boar bedded down on the side of a mountain above them and put on a stalk. All went well and they got set up about 220yds away near the crest of a small knoll which was still at a lower elevation to the bear. The bear was still bedded down as the hunter was laying prone with the scope all dialed in for the shot. Wife is filming but the bear still lying down did not present a good shot. The PH now suggests having the wife stand and walk off to their right to bait the bear into standing. My wife contributed lesson #2 - Do not use your wife as bear bait, lol. (unless you are willing to have her eaten). Fortunately, in this case the wife was not eaten. But, the tactic worked and the bear stood to look at her. She then runs back to the hunters to make sure her video camera on the tripod was recording and that the bear was in the fame. This quick movement triggered the bears predator response and it began ambling down the mountain directly toward them.
At this point the hunter comments that he was not prepared for this sudden move and states that he should have taken a head shot at this point. But, he was fixated on getting a broadside shot based on what the PH had coached him to do. A few lessons can be gleaned from this: Lesson #3 - Expect the unexpected and prepare for a wide variety of scenarios. Lesson #4 - While still hundreds of yards away, a head shot was still not the best choice (IMO). But knowing the anatomy of your prey is important to aid is making quicker decisions in such circumstances. Lesson #5 - When hunting dangerous game, decisive action is critical and hesitation can get you killed. The hunter was frozen as the bear came down the mountain and when they yelled at it, instead of stopping, it came at them faster. Critical seconds were wasted attempting to turn the bear for a safer shot when a well placed frontal shot may have stopped or even killed the animal. Instead, they yelled, then yelled again, and dithered until the opportunity for a shot had passed. A hunter needs to practice and have the confidence to take a critical shot under pressure, quickly in a variety of positions, and scenarios.
While the hunters hesitated and made clumsy attempts to manage the situation, the bear slithered down the mountain into a low draw between the mountain and the knoll where our intrepid hunters lay. The hunting party could hear the bear approaching thru the thick grove of alders, could hear the limbs shake and break as the big bruin approached to danger close proximity but were unable to see well enough for a shot. Panick starts to set it. Lesson #6 - Panick will get you killed. Stay cool under stress and do as you planned, trained, etc. Lesson #7 - Failure to plan and train the various scenarios is not a plan and leaves you grasping for straws in this sort of situation which often can lead to panick.
At this point things began to go even more sideways. The hunter and PH stand and move forward seeking to get in position to make a shot. They approach the top of the knoll and the little grove of alder trees. The bear is still approaching and has now gotten to within about 10yds but remains out of sight. The bear's location is clear as the trees are shaking and cracking as he moves forward but shot placement is impossible. At this point, the hunter fires two shots blindly in the general direction of the bear. The PH did not order this, the hunter did it on his own. Lesson #8 - Listen to your PH. Do what he/she says. Deviate only if you are very experienced and know more than your PH (not likely). This may not be a hard, fast rule when things are happening fast but, read on to see how this cost them later.
After the two shots, the bear moved down the draw to the hunter's left about 40yds and stopped. The hunter did not know if he had hit the bear yet. At this point the hunter and the PH moved about 20yds to the left and down the knoll until they had a clear shot. At this location the hunter fired his 3rd shot at the bear. It was a hastily aimed snap shot from a unsupported standing position. This did hit the bear, evidenced from hair and blood at the scene. The hunter's rifle was now empty! AND, all of his ammo was in his pack behind him at the top of the knoll about 20yds away, Oops! Lesson #9 - Keep spare ammo on your person, readily available! So, our nimrod now stands facing a wounded brown bear with an empty weapon and all the ammo will require him to walk/run away up hill to retrieve it. Lesson #10 - You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the PH and your wife, lol. Still, before the PH could take any shots the bear ran down the draw into heavy cover. Lesson #11 - Most bolt action rifles of heavy bear caliber hold either 3 or 4 rounds in the mag. A few hold more. Depending on the type of action, CRF, push feed, you may be able to load one more round into the rifle when ready to chamber a round. I won't go into the details since each rifle varies. Learn how to do this for your rifle. Lesson #12 - After the initial volley of one or two shots, the hunter should top off his mag so that when following up, he/she has more, not less ammo to do the job. This does not take long if a proper belt or pouch is used to carry spare ammo (see lesson #9 above).
At this stage of the story, I will add that when they first found this bear there was only about 2-3 hrs of daylight left and the initial stalk took about one hour. By the time the 3rd shot was fired, it was dusk and the hike back to camp will take one hour in daylight, longer in the dark. The hunting party now has a wounded bear on their hands and must return to camp in the dark. Lesson #13 - Never stalk and hunt DG too close to dark. It only lowers your odds of success while doing something already very dangerous and difficult. If everything goes well, you will still be skinning a dead animal in the dark (now you are the prey). Instead, plan for the worst case scenario when making such decisions. This one, I place on the head of the PH more than the hunter. He should have restrained them from getting that close so late in the day. Lesson #14 - Once an animal is wounded a proper followup should be made within the hour. Give it 30min to bleed out while you prepare a plan and then go in to get it.
In this case, I give the party the benefit of the doubt. Because of the bad decision to engage so late in the day, the prompt followup was not possible and so, the team hiked to camp in the dark, arriving safely. It rained that night which washed away most of the spoor. When they returned the next morning to the scene of the crime, they found blood and hair at the site of the last shot fired. Were able to track the bear only about 100yds before losing the trail. Tracking conditions were bad. I cannot comment on the PH's or the hunter's tracking skills, beyond only stating that in this case they were unable to find the bear. A tracking dog as used by some PH's might have helped in this case but it is only my speculation. The hunting party spent all of the next 10 days attempting to locate and harvest the bear. They were not successful. In the end the hunter and his wife had a scary and memorable encounter with one of NA's most deadly apex predators and lived to tell the tale. Frde Bear once said, "If you are disappointed after a failed hunt, then you missed the point of the hunt". I agree, as I rarely care if I kill something on a hunt or not. However, only once in my life, I have shot large game, wounding it and then losing the animal. It is a frustrating and painful experience and one than I try to avoid at all times. I am sure the hunter's frustration after his failures on that trip was great. Perhaps he should take solace in the fact that he and the rest of his party were all safe and his last ditch efforts did turn the bear away from them. A small but not insignificant victory.
As hunters we put on the mantle of predator when we choose to hunt. The term fools rush in, comes to mind. If you follow the behavior of wild animal predators they rarely "Rush In". They instead approach slowly, quietly, and when they attack it is with speed and precision. They are not always successful either. When we become the predator we have then ethical obligation to be careful, competent, decisive and effective in our efforts to harvest wild game. Aim fast, shoot slow, and make the first shot count and you will be frustrated far less often.
Good Hunting!