Bear Bums – Bear Hunting

If we spend enough time hunting most of us will develop strong feelings for certain game species.  The grizzly bear demands many of these deep feelings.  Envy for his strength and freedom.  Respect for his cunning, aggression and independence.  Fear toward his short temper and his random unpredictable personality.  Awe in his isolation, and choice of habitat and beauty of the same. 

Hunting shouldn’t have a “season”! That means there must be an “off season”. “Off season” to me is filled with tactics to extend the “season”. I read, buy hunting toys, watch the hunting channel and plan real hunts. I also try to find ways to stretch the “season”.

In March I still had two months to a grizzly bear hunt and here came a spouse induced trip to the big island. That’s Hawaii not Kodiak. We were booked at the Hilton hotel for a week and had Nathan, my middle son, and his wife Nicole, with Lynne and me. Of course it would be fun. Active lava flows, volcanos, snorkling, tropical forests, sea turtles, fishing and stuff.

Nathan, the mighty hunter.

A couple weeks before we left I got a hair in my nose and booked a one day wild boar hunt for Nathan as the shooter and me as a tag along.

We showed up at 5AM, in full camo, and met our guide, on the huge cattle pasture, grass lands, side of a volcano of the famous Parker Ranch. I think the ranch is over 200,000 acres. After 10 minutes of light we had seen many pigs and one shooter (a boar with visible tusks). We bungled the stalk, but I was hooked!

These wild pigs have been on the island for about 2,000 years and to me look like Russian boars only smaller. They are black with long hair razor backs, extended heads with 6 inch tusks on the big boars. The hunt was on wide open rolling country with green grass, coules, and small clumps of trees that looked like cottonwoods. We spent a lot of time glassing (take your good binos) and could almost always see pigs.

We had 4-5 unsuccessful stalks before 10am. The pigs disappeared about 10am and were out again by 4pm. The wind was our worst enemy as the swine have great noses and wouldn’t wait around to say hi. I thought we had them as we approached a group of about 50, but again the wind switched on us and off they went with lots of snorting and inter-herd fighting. Dark was coming but we got a break. A large porker with tusks trotted by at 50 yards but kept moving. Nathan made a dash to a fence line for a fence post rest and smacked the boar with the .308.

The pig.

With 15 minutes of light left we video’d a small herd of the swine as they paraded by us. As dark settled we butchered the big boar, said our good byes, and took the 15 minute drive back to the Hilton and made dinner with all the golfers.

I’ve enjoyed Hawaii before, but now I know where I’ll spend at least one to two days of the trip. What a hoot! Nathan already has the skull trophy, great photos and wonderful experiences. I feel successful in making the “off season” shorter and the “season” longer!!

Next is British Columbia for grizzly bear.

The Wife.

I try and always have a hunt booked in the future.  This keeps me excited and involved.  I can also gradually pay for the hunt without getting in as much domestic deep soup.
A disadvantage of advanced booking is the inability to be available for the unexpected good deal or an unexpected draw hunt.

Next on the agenda is a trip to Baldy Mountain Outfitters with a great friend, Harry Leuenberger.  This spring I’ll be hunting grizzly bear with him in his great area, and I’m pumped.  Harry, as a kid, helped his dad get this area going and when the time came he bought his dad out and has run the area for years.  I met him first about 15 years ago on a goat/deer hunt on a November deep snow hunt.  He hunts hard and seems to enjoy my success as much as i do.

British Columbia Goat

Over the years since, I’ve only missed a few years without a hunt to his area.  I’ve been fortunate enough to harvest lots of bears, a great goat, a Shiraz moose with a bow, been chased by bears and had dozens of wonderful hunting experiences.  Many hunts with Harry have involved my kids on thrilling hunts.  One fall my brothers and I hunted deer on a late November, cold hunt and had great success and a great time.

My daughter and I on a spring bear hunt in BC.

His area harbors healthy populations of wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, elk, white tail deer, mule deer, goats and big horn sheep.  His area is close to the continental divide just north of Glacier National Park.

Back to this spring hunt for grizzly bear.  Harry offers one grizzly hunt each spring and with the grizzly permit I will have 2 black bear tags.  We’ll spend our time glassing slide areas where the snow is just receding leaving tender shoots of grass the bears must like.  On other spring hunts there, I’ve seen the great grizzled beasts on the slide looking like they own the forest.  Grizzly bear hunting has been the object of much political debate in Canada and the U.S.A.  This seems very political, as the actual grizzly population is healthy a in most places….a little too healthy.

Micah’s black bear.  This is a great story for another time.

Other than the grand slam of sheep I place the grizzly bear on the very top of my trophy to have list.

If I can get Harry’s permission I’ll pass on the incident where he had a grizzly chew on him for a while.  He did show me the place, Alder Nob, where the episode happened.  I noticed for several years, after his to close of an in counter, he carried a shot gun with him.  Below are some photos of some friends and me in our various trips to Baldy Mountain Outfitters. intimate sensual e cards

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With two days left we hunted Karta River and Karta Lake hard.  All of us ended up hiking to Karta Falls and past the closest cabin to ours, Karta Lake cabin.  Not a bad hike and the Karta River Falls should be in all Alaskan tour books.  They are great.  Over the distance of several hundred yards the river falls half that distance over a rocky broad river bottom.  Thick in the pools beneath each falls is a mass of 10-15 lb salmon of different types.  We watched hundred to thousands of salmon attempt the various falls with only a few making it.  I suspect eventually most make it past the falls but it must be brutal on them.

Salmon jumping up Karta Falls.

The salmon below and in the falls are in much better shape that the ones up stream where we’ve been bear hunting.  At the falls the trail to the ocean is only a few miles, so I’d guess many tourists hike up from the ocean at Karta Bay to the Karta River Falls.  We saw no one however.  It felt like we had Prince of Wales Island to ourselves the whole trip.

Karta Falls.

Bear hunting the trail was not the ticket ’cause of the jungle and lack of open areas.  As we returned to the upper end or Karta Lake at the arm pit we spotted another bear on the lake edge.  Jed spotted as Roger and I blew the stalk an scared him off.  The wind was constantly swirling.

On the trail to Karta Falls.

This PM we saw another bear on the Salmon Lake edge on the way home.  We ended up seeing about the same number of bears on the lakes as on the river.  Maybe more. We wore chest wader and felt soles boots the entire time.  The area is covered with streams, swamps, rivers and the lake.  Even hiking through the jungle we needed the water protection.  I do wish we’d taken face nets for bug protection and 100% DEET is a must. On our last bear hunting day started we were pleased with the number of bears we’d seen.  We also saw quite a few blacktail deer but no bucks. Frank and I fished and hunted Anderson creek and Roger and Jed spent the entire day on Karta River and Lake.  Jed had a marathon sneak on a bear but couldn’t get closer than 500 yards (he proved that it is near impossible to catch up with a bear that is walking in the opposite direction).  Roger showed up at the boat with a respectable bear all skinned out!

Pictures of the Island, feet from where Roger shot the bear. harm of expired viagra what is the drug mobic

Roger had been on the Karta River Island when the bear showed up for a fish meal.  He was pounded with Roger’s 1st shot.  Jed and Roger skinned him out leaving the head and paws in the hide.  They did a great job but got eaten bad by the no-see-ums.

One of the bears we saw at the island.

Back at the cabin after a great supper we spread a tarp out and finished skinning out the skull and feet of the blacky.  Roger was redeemed from his earlier shots and ended up with a great trophy.

Roger and the bear.

We got picked up the next am by the 2 float planes and headed back to Ketchikan.

Flying out, picture of Karta River.

I love Ketchikan!  Roger got the bear sealed by the fish and game guys, we returned all our rental stuff and we had a great fresh fish restaurant meal.  The flight home was slick. Now, did we have fun?…yep!  We also learned how to fish, except for Frank, ’cause he already knew how to fish.  We lucked out with weather and spent a week in one beautiful spot.  I, after a trip to the north, wonder why I live in the desert. Check out a few of our photos and the video.  I think we were in the right spot.

Frank trying to rescue a salmon.

Skinning out the bear.

Getting ready for bed.

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