Wanted Brown Bear Hunt

[WilhelmM]

Of all the animals in North America and outside of Africa for that matter, I find brown bears to be the most fascinating and impressive. I never really understood the obsession with wild sheep, they're not that big and are often overshadowed by wild goats. Brown bears are a different story. I can't give you much information other than Alaska has known to produce the most 10-11 footers, whereas Russia has a consistently higher average for a much cheaper price. It all depends on preference.

Link's Wild Safaris; Deltana Outfitters and Mountain Monarchs of Alaska have produced the biggest bears.

 

[Scott CWO]

One thing to consider is a brown bear hunt in Russia, specifically the Kamchatka peninsula. Much more cost effective compared to Alaska hunts. I think @Red Leg had booked one for this year (not sure if it will happen), but still you can ask him the process. Obviously, one has to do due diligence.

There are rare exceptions but the bears I see coming back from Russia tend to be smaller than AK Peninsula or Kodiak bears. I would say they are closer in size to SE Alaska bears from the ABC Islands.

 

[Tanks]

There are rare exceptions but the bears I see coming back from Russia tend to be smaller than AK Peninsula or Kodiak bears. I would say they are closer in size to SE Alaska bears from the ABC Islands.

How do you reconcile this with the comment below:

I can't give you much information other than Alaska has known to produce the most 10-11 footers, whereas Russia has a consistently higher average for a much cheaper price. It all depends on preference.

I have no personal experience, so can't comment myself on the bear sizes at either places. Russia is more attractive for me, but that is more due to the fact that under normal circumstances I travel to EU several times a year and it would be easy to add a Russian bear hunt to the mix.

 

[WilhelmM]

How do you reconcile this with the comment below:


I have no personal experience, so can't comment myself on the bear sizes at either places. Russia is more attractive for me, but that is more due to the fact that under normal circumstances I travel to EU several times a year and it would be easy to add a Russian bear hunt to the mix.

I think you're misunderstanding my comment. Alaska does produce more 10-11 footers with the right outfitter, however Russia, due to it being hunted much less than Alaska, has a higher average overall. And when I say average I mean 8-9 footers. A lot of Alaskan outfitters I've seen very rarely produce big bears. Whether that comes down to experience or the area they're hunting in, I'm not sure.

So although Russia may have a higher density of 8-foot brown bears, they've never produced 10-11 footers like Alaska. Hope that clears it up for you.

 

[Red Leg]

The spring Russian bear season was again cancelled this year due to Covid. I am booked with Profihunt which has an excellent reputation. We are being rebooked for next spring. I may not be able to make that hunt. If I can't, I'll likely post it here at the original cost. The Kamchatka has a well deserved reputation for producing enormous brown bear. After three-years of no hunting (there is essentially no domestic hunting on that vast peninsula), I suspect some truly gigantic ones will be taken in '22.

 

[meigsbucks]

A friend of mine has hunted with Jake Jefferson a few times. He took two black tails and a 9’ brown bear on hunt one. A griz on another hunt and a goat on another.
Just an FYI, my friend said the brown bear hunt was the most physically challenging hunt he’s been on and he’s a workout freak. He also prepared by putting 50# in a back pack and go on long hikes.

 

[Scott CWO]

How do you reconcile this with the comment below:


I have no personal experience, so can't comment myself on the bear sizes at either places. Russia is more attractive for me, but that is more due to the fact that under normal circumstances I travel to EU several times a year and it would be easy to add a Russian bear hunt to the mix.

Since I started hunting brown bears in 1998, I think I have become a fairly good judge of them. It’s very difficult to judge animals without horns or antlers. There are a lot of things to consider. To some people, all bears look big at a distance. I’ve seen experienced bear guides mistake a big sow for a boar or an 8.5’ boar for a 9.5’ boar. When judging brown bears, some of the most important characteristics to evaluate for big boars are a long thick neck, the angle of the forehead brow, a stovepipe nose that does not taper, a flat nose that doesn’t appear pointed, ears that appear small and more on the side of the head, front legs that do not taper, shoulders being wider and massive, and sometimes, color. Other behavioral clues are slow lethargic movement and locomotion, head hanging low, and not afraid of most anything. Younger boars and sows are more on alert and move quicker. Sows can be 8’ on Kodiak and the AK Peninsula so that can make things difficult but they have heads that appear to sit on their shoulders without much neck. Their rears appear larger than shoulders. Sows are usually lighter colored but this is not 100%. This is a very difficult business.

Using these characteristics and looking at pictures, it is hard to beat Kodiak and the AK Peninsula for the biggest overall bears. When looking at the Kamchatka bears, I do not see the average size that I have personally experienced on the Peninsula. I see a lot of exaggeration claims of size. I see 8’ bears called 9’ and 9’ bears called 10’ most of the time. In real life, a 10’ bear is twice the size of an 8’ bear. This is due to being longer and thicker, both. In the best areas on the Peninsula, you can see a dozen or more bears a day.

As for management, I would put Alaska’s management of brown bears on some parts of western Kodiak and on the Peninsula as the best in the world. Russians use snow machines and allow some hunters to kill two bears. Bears reproduce slowly with Cubs staying with sows for up to three years. It’s no secret that parts of Kamchatka are over hunted. Buyer beware.

 

[WilhelmM]

Hmm, seems to be a lot of conflicting information. All I can say is that either talk to a fellow hunter who has had experience in both the Kamchatka and Alaska Peninsula or spend long hours of finding a reputable outfitter. J Alain Smith has hunted both and he said (according to his experience) that Russia has a higher density of bears whereas Alaska seems to produce more record-class animals.

 

[Scott CWO]

How do you reconcile this with the comment below:


I have no personal experience, so can't comment myself on the bear sizes at either places. Russia is more attractive for me, but that is more due to the fact that under normal circumstances I travel to EU several times a year and it would be easy to add a Russian bear hunt to the mix.

Since I started hunting brown bears in 1998, I think I have become a fairly good judge of them. It’s very difficult to judge animals without horns or antlers. There are a lot of things to consider. To some people, all bears look big at a distance. I’ve seen experienced bear guides mistake a big sow for a boar or an 8.5’ boar for a 9.5’ boar. When judging brown bears, some of the most important characteristics to evaluate for big boars are a long thick neck, the angle of the forehead brow, a stovepipe nose that does not taper, a flat nose that doesn’t appear pointed, ears that appear small and more on the side of the head, front legs that do not taper, shoulders being wider and massive, and sometimes, color. Other behavioral clues are slow lethargic movement and locomotion, head hanging low, and not afraid of most anything. Younger boars and sows are more on alert and move quicker. Sows can be 8’ on Kodiak and the AK Peninsula so that can make things difficult but they have heads that appear to sit on their shoulders without much neck. Their rears appear larger than shoulders. Sows are usually lighter colored but this is not 100%. This is a very difficult business.

Using these characteristics and looking at pictures, it is hard to beat Kodiak and the AK Peninsula for the biggest overall bears. When looking at the Kamchatka bears, I do not see the average size that I have personally experienced on the Peninsula. I see a lot of exaggeration claims of size. I see 8’ bears called 9’ and 9’ bears called 10’ most of the time. In real life, a 10’ bear is twice the size of an 8’ bear. This is due to being longer and thicker, both. In the best areas on the Peninsula, you can see a dozen or more bears a day.

As for management, I would put Alaska’s management of brown bears on some parts of western Kodiak and on the Peninsula as the best in the world. Russians use snow machines and allow some hunters to kill two bears. Bears reproduce slowly with Cubs staying with sows for up to three years. It’s no secret that parts of Kamchatka are over hunted. Buyer

Hmm, seems to be a lot of conflicting information. All I can say is that either talk to a fellow hunter who has had experience in both the Kamchatka and Alaska Peninsula or spend long hours of finding a reputable outfitter. J Alain Smith has hunted both and he said (according to his experience) that Russia has a higher density of bears whereas Alaska seems to produce more record-class animals.

I don’t believe Mr. Smith is a brown bear expert and I don’t believe he has hunted all the areas on the Peninsula. The two bears my hunters killed in 2018 were the 19th and 15th bears seen on those days. Densities on the Pacific side of the peninsula are very high in the spring.

 

[Scott CWO]

How do you reconcile this with the comment below:

I have no personal experience, so can't comment myself on the bear sizes at either places. Russia is more attractive for me, but that is more due to the fact that under normal circumstances I travel to EU several times a year and it would be easy to add a Russian bear hunt to the mix.

I don’t reconcile them.

 

[1dirthawker]

Since I started hunting brown bears in 1998, I think I have become a fairly good judge of them. It’s very difficult to judge animals without horns or antlers. There are a lot of things to consider.

Scott CWO

both your commentaries above are very accurate, well done

 

[WilhelmM]

I don’t believe Mr. Smith is a brown bear expert and I don’t believe he has hunted all the areas on the Peninsula. The two bears my hunters killed in 2018 were the 19th and 15th bears seen on those days. Densities on the Pacific side of the peninsula are very high in the spring.

There have been many reports of Russian outfitters conflating animal numbers and size. Maybe he just got lucky?

 

[Scott CWO]

There have been many reports of Russian outfitters conflating animal numbers and size. Maybe he just got lucky?

No I’m sure he had a great hunt. There are plenty of people that have great hunts on Kamchatka.

No matter if you go to Kamchatka, Kodak or the Peninsula, you’ve got to pick through a lot of bears to kill a 9.5-10.5’ bear. Sometimes you get lucky and one of the first bears you see is huge.

Alaska is a huge place and average sizes vary. I also guide on the ABC Islands where a big bear is 9’. I have personally guided a 9.5’ bear there and my boss guided a true 10’ but they are very rare in that part of AK. Even on the ABC Islands, average size varies. According to bear skull measurements, Chichagof Island has a slight advantage over Baranof and Admiralty but there are always exceptions.

 

[WAB]

Since I started hunting brown bears in 1998, I think I have become a fairly good judge of them. It’s very difficult to judge animals without horns or antlers. There are a lot of things to consider. To some people, all bears look big at a distance. I’ve seen experienced bear guides mistake a big sow for a boar or an 8.5’ boar for a 9.5’ boar. When judging brown bears, some of the most important characteristics to evaluate for big boars are a long thick neck, the angle of the forehead brow, a stovepipe nose that does not taper, a flat nose that doesn’t appear pointed, ears that appear small and more on the side of the head, front legs that do not taper, shoulders being wider and massive, and sometimes, color. Other behavioral clues are slow lethargic movement and locomotion, head hanging low, and not afraid of most anything. Younger boars and sows are more on alert and move quicker. Sows can be 8’ on Kodiak and the AK Peninsula so that can make things difficult but they have heads that appear to sit on their shoulders without much neck. Their rears appear larger than shoulders. Sows are usually lighter colored but this is not 100%. This is a very difficult business.

Using these characteristics and looking at pictures, it is hard to beat Kodiak and the AK Peninsula for the biggest overall bears. When looking at the Kamchatka bears, I do not see the average size that I have personally experienced on the Peninsula. I see a lot of exaggeration claims of size. I see 8’ bears called 9’ and 9’ bears called 10’ most of the time. In real life, a 10’ bear is twice the size of an 8’ bear. This is due to being longer and thicker, both. In the best areas on the Peninsula, you can see a dozen or more bears a day.

As for management, I would put Alaska’s management of brown bears on some parts of western Kodiak and on the Peninsula as the best in the world. Russians use snow machines and allow some hunters to kill two bears. Bears reproduce slowly with Cubs staying with sows for up to three years. It’s no secret that parts of Kamchatka are over hunted. Buyer

I don’t believe Mr. Smith is a brown bear expert and I don’t believe he has hunted all the areas on the Peninsula. The two bears my hunters killed in 2018 were the 19th and 15th bears seen on those days. Densities on the Pacific side of the peninsula are very high in the spring.

You nailed it. When I first started hunting them my buddy, who is likely one of the most experienced resident sheep and bear hunters in the state, made a comment that at first didn’t make sense; ‘big bears just look big, like a tick with no neck or legs’. After glassing hundreds of bear, he is exactly right, when you see a big one, he just looks big.

 

[WAB]

@Scott CWO your comment on size is spot on, I don’t know how many pictures I’ve seen of 8’ish bears with a claim of 10’ or better. When you see a pic of a 10’ bear he looks like the brute he is!

 

[Bullet Safaris]

Since I started hunting brown bears in 1998, I think I have become a fairly good judge of them. It’s very difficult to judge animals without horns or antlers. There are a lot of things to consider. To some people, all bears look big at a distance. I’ve seen experienced bear guides mistake a big sow for a boar or an 8.5’ boar for a 9.5’ boar. When judging brown bears, some of the most important characteristics to evaluate for big boars are a long thick neck, the angle of the forehead brow, a stovepipe nose that does not taper, a flat nose that doesn’t appear pointed, ears that appear small and more on the side of the head, front legs that do not taper, shoulders being wider and massive, and sometimes, color. Other behavioral clues are slow lethargic movement and locomotion, head hanging low, and not afraid of most anything. Younger boars and sows are more on alert and move quicker. Sows can be 8’ on Kodiak and the AK Peninsula so that can make things difficult but they have heads that appear to sit on their shoulders without much neck. Their rears appear larger than shoulders. Sows are usually lighter colored but this is not 100%. This is a very difficult business.

Using these characteristics and looking at pictures, it is hard to beat Kodiak and the AK Peninsula for the biggest overall bears. When looking at the Kamchatka bears, I do not see the average size that I have personally experienced on the Peninsula. I see a lot of exaggeration claims of size. I see 8’ bears called 9’ and 9’ bears called 10’ most of the time. In real life, a 10’ bear is twice the size of an 8’ bear. This is due to being longer and thicker, both. In the best areas on the Peninsula, you can see a dozen or more bears a day.

As for management, I would put Alaska’s management of brown bears on some parts of western Kodiak and on the Peninsula as the best in the world. Russians use snow machines and allow some hunters to kill two bears. Bears reproduce slowly with Cubs staying with sows for up to three years. It’s no secret that parts of Kamchatka are over hunted. Buyer beware.

100% correct.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Shot this one a few years ago in Alaska and had a blast. 10’ 3”

 

[fourfive8]

Agreed, I think the description by @Scott CWO on how to judge is 100%
Once you look at a bunch of them, you can kind of get an idea... and even from most pictures.

My brain seems seems to use about four things together and in relationship...
Big, older boars will have: long looking neck, small head in relation to body, small looking ears, nose that looks like a long squared off thermos bottle.

 

[Scott CWO]

10’2”

 

[Scott CWO]

9’9”