# My Alaskan Brown Bear Hunt



## Darrell H

I have been dreaming of taking a brown bear with a handgun for a number of years now. After one disappointing attempt a couple of years prior, I was fortunate enough to return to Alaska for a second chance at harvesting a big brownie with a handgun in 2011. I booked the hunt with Grizzly Skins of Alaska, owned and operated by well-known outdoor writer Phil Shoemaker, in January, 2010. Their hunting area is located on the Alaskan Peninsula which has a history of producing large bears. Time passed very slowly after booking the hunt, but the time for my departure from North Georgia finally came on September 28, 2011. I had planned on arriving a few days early in order to ensure that I would be sitting on the spotting hill at daybreak when bear season opened on October 1st.

I was reminded that just getting to Alaska can be an adventure in itself. I, along with my carry-on backpack and the duffel bag that I had checked, arrived in King Salmon, Alaska only an hour or so behind schedule. Unfortunately, the Pelican case containing my optics, shooting sticks, guns, and ammunition did not. After checking with airport baggage personnel, it was determined that my gun case had been diverted in Chicago and that it “should” arrive in King Salmon when the first flight arrived from Anchorage the following morning; I had my doubts. I decided to go ahead and fly into base camp for the night and call the King Salmon airport via satellite phone the following morning to ensure that the gun case had arrived before making an unnecessary return trip. 

I was greeted on the landing strip by Phil and the remaining members of his family, along with the host of guides and packers that would help conduct the hunts from the various spike camps that were already setup prior to their guest hunter’s arrival. After a delicious home cooked meal at base camp, I retired to the bunkhouse for the night. Even though I was exhausted from traveling, I slept little that night due to the combination of anticipation, excitement, and worrying that my handguns might not arrive on time.

After breakfast the next morning, I phoned the airport in King Salmon and was informed that my gun case had indeed arrived. I couldn’t believe it!  Phil and his son spent the morning flying guides, hunters, and packers into their spike camps via their Super Cub aircraft. That afternoon, I was flown back to King Salmon in order to pick up my gun case. After returning to base camp with my guns, I went out to the range to check the zero on both of the handguns that I had brought along for the hunt. I wanted to take a bear with my .500 S&W revolver but since this was the hunt of a lifetime for me, I also brought along my custom XP-100 chambered in .376 Steyr. Even though the gun was capable of longer shots, I placed a 100 yard limit on shots with the .500 S&W revolver. I was comfortable with the .376 Steyr at distances twice that far.  I made some slight scope adjustments on both firearms and my guns were ready for hunting. 

I was flown to a spike camp about six miles away from base camp and it was located about three miles from the nearest salmon stream. I was concerned about being so far away from the river but Phil assured me that this camp had produced some great bears in the past. I figured that no one knew his hunting area better, so I put 100% confidence in his judgment and anxiously waited on opening day of the 2011 bear season.

Opening morning found the trio of hunter, guide, and packer perched on the spotting hill, glassing for bears. Things started off slowly at first; we first spotted some bears fishing in the river but after a while we began seeing some medium-sized bears roaming the hillsides closer to our position. One bear was only about 800 yards away and it lay down right out on the open tundra and took a 2-hour nap! We also spotted several herds of caribou off in the distance.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., we spotted a big bear that we decided was definitely a bear worth going after. With my guide leading the way, we confined ourselves to the alders as much as possible, moving only when the bear was looking away. When we got to 350 yards of the bear we ran out of cover. We began belly crawling trying to remain out of sight of the bear as he continued to amble our way. When the bear was about 200 yards away the guide asked the packer to remain behind in order to minimize movement. I was put up front and my guide followed along behind as we continued to belly crawl toward the bear. Finally, we came to the edge of a small stream that the bear seemed to be headed to. I had brought along a rolled up sleeping bag pad to use as a field rest from the prone position and I placed it on the ground in front of me. The bear was now only 135 yards away and still heading in our direction. I knew that if he continued on his present course that he would drop out of sight momentarily while he passed through a tiny patch of alders. However, that would allow enough time for me to pop my earplugs in and to allow me to setup for the shot with the .500 S&W. Once he cleared the alders, he would be standing in an opening that I had ranged at 100 yards; inside my comfort zone for the revolver with a steady rest. It was a perfect setup! 

After we lost sight of the bear, my guide and I got ready for him to emerge from the alders. Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty, then thirty; no bear! We finally realized that he had decided to take a nap once he entered the alders. My guide motioned for the packer to join us and he belly crawled up beside me. You can imagine how nerve-wrecking it was to have the bear of a lifetime sleeping in an alder patch, out of sight, only 125 yards away! I prayed that the wind direction would remain constant and that he would continue on his prior course after he woke from his nap.

Finally, two and a half hours later, he stood up in the alders in and continued in our direction. He stopped once he entered the clearing but it would have been a steep “quartering to” shot so I held my fire, waiting for a broadside shot opportunity. As he reached the top of the creek bank across from us, I hoped that he would continue down to the water’s edge which would have given me a 75-yard shot. Unfortunately, just as my guide had anticipated, he chose the path of least resistance and turned to go downstream in order to find a less-steep bank to descend to the water. Before leaving the clearing, he stopped in a quartering away position, 100 yards away. I looked over at my guide who was prepared to back me up with a .375 Ruger rifle if necessary, and I was given the “go ahead” to shoot. 

I placed the crosshairs of the 2X Leupold just behind the bear’s right shoulder and squeezed off the shot. The bear growled and pulled his right shoulder close to his body. He whirled around and began biting the area behind his shoulder. I was able to fire two more shots before the bear retreated into a small patch of alder only about 15 yards away. I could see him momentarily, and then he would disappear before I could shoot again. After a few seconds, the alders quit shaking and my guide and I both covered the area with our guns. After a few more minutes with no movement from the alders, the handshakes and congratulations on the successful hunt began. 

My guide and I crossed the creek, circled high above the alder patch where the bear was lying, and descended on the area very cautiously. We spotted a patch of brown fur in the grass beneath the alders and tensions were high as we approached the downed beast. After the bear showed no signs of breathing, my guide stuck the barrel of the .375 Ruger in the bear’s eye as I covered with my freshly reloaded revolver. No movement from the bear indicated that the beast was dead and after many years of waiting, I had finally fulfilled my quest for a hand-gunned brown bear!










Cessna 180, my air taxi from King Salmon to base camp.





Transportation to spike camps was provided by a couple of Super Cubs





Base camp.  





Glassing for bears, I even managed to spot a couple! 





Camping in the shadow of an active volcano.





View from the spotting hill where my bear was first spotted.  He meandered down to the creek bottom in the center of the photo where we finally were able to get a shot.  





I shot the bear "from a grassy knoll" 100 yards away.  He was standing in the clearing at the top of the bank across the creek.  When this photo was made, my bear is actually lying in the patch of alders jut behind the clearing.  It is amazing how that stuff can hide critters!  









One happy handgun hunter!





Rear foot.





Front claws.





He had a great hide!


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## fredw

Wow.   What a hunt that must have been.  Congratulations on a great bear.


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## fatback

Great bear! What did he square? There are certainly awesome animals. Congrats on a trophy of a life time.


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## SELFBOW

Great Bear! Great Story! and some pretty big paws


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## Nugefan

that is a beast ..

congrats on your kill ...


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## pnome

Dream hunt right there!    Great bear!  Big Congrats!!!


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## Razor Blade

congrats on a super nice bear. With a pistol on top of that . Awesome. Scott


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## Lukikus2

What a beast and a pretty one at that. Congrats on getting one off the bucket list. Wow, is all I can say. Sure would have loved to tag along and watched that go down. Thanks for sharing


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## GAGE

2 successful dream hunt posts in one day!   Congrats,  to you and thank you for sharing!


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## dutchman

What a magnificent animal! Congratulations on what must have been an awesome hunt!


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## frankwright

That was definitely a hunt of a lifetime.
Thanks for the great story.


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## Blueridge

Congrats! Thats awesome


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## g24dawggone

mAN THATS FREAKING AWESOME DUDE....


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## Jasper

What an awesome story and accomplishment! Wow........thanks for sharing with us. Too cool.........


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## T.P.

Awesome story and pics! Man he's huge!


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## Ohoopee Tusker

Awesome! Congrats.


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## weekender

super job with the hangun, great pics of an awesome adventure. CONGRATS on a fantastic hunt and bear.


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## Bryan K

Wow, that is some great photos of a great hunt!!


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## Ole Crip

A Beast for sure


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## JWarren

Man...what a great story and what surely must have been a great adventure for you. Congrats and thanks for sharing this with us...jeez, got me wanting to do that now.


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## Shug

Congrats man, great looking bear


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## Darrell H

Thanks for all the congrats guys.  It was indeed the hunt of a lifetime .


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## DeucesWild

Congrats Awesome pics


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## dkennedy

Dude, you're the man!! There ain't no way I'd do that hunt with a pistol.


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## HandgunHTR

Darrell,

Thank you very much for sharing this story with us.

That is a great bear and and awesome hunt.  All that prep and work and to shoot one on the first day of the hunt, no less.

Did you get any fishing in while you were there?


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## Dub

Simply amazing!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks for sharing that awesome hunt with us.


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## Gadget

wow what an adventure!.......


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## Darrell H

> Did you get any fishing in while you were there?



Mike, unfortunately we were too far from the river so I didn't get to do any fishing this time. 

Thanks again for all of the congrats guys, I'm glad that ya'll enjoyed the story.


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## fatback

Are you planning on doing a rug or a mount?


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## Darrell H

fatback,

I plan to do a full-body mount.


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## atlashunter

What an experience that must have been. I love the picture of the volcano. Gorgeous. Congratulations on a fine trophy brown bear.


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## Big OHIO

very very nice!!!


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## huntfish

What a great hunt.....Congratulations.


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## Mac

congrats, what a beast


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## fatback

Full body mount is the way to go, Just make sure you have plenty of room, they take up quite a bit of space. Have you decided on a pose yet?


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## quackhead87

Congrats that is an amazing accomplishment with a handgun!


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## Darrell H

> Have you decided on a pose yet?



fatback, i was thinking about something like this:






The hide and skull are still in Anchorage.  The skull is being cleaned by beetles and the hide is being tanned before shipping to my taxidermist (Harper's Taxidermy in Ellijay).  It will probably be 4-6 months before it all makes it to Georgia.  Then probably another 4-6 months before getting it back from the taxidermist.  That's kind of a good thing because I'm not anxious to turn loose of any more $$ right now anyway!  

Thanks again for all of the kind words guys! 

Darrell


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## fatback

That is a great pose. That is almost excatly like I have mine done. I have a salmon under the foot on the stump with mine. Is alpha fur doing your tanning and skull? They did my bear and tanned a moose cape for me as well. They did a great job with both and my taxidermist was pleased with the way the hides were when he got them. Congrats again on you bear.


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## Darrell H

fatback,

Knight's Taxidermy in Anchorage is doing my skull.  Alpha fur is doing the tanning, glad to hear they did a good job for you!  

I'd love to hear some details on your hunt!


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## Rainmaker

Thank you for the good read! Amazing story, and congratulations! 

In photo #9 where you have the bear cradling the handgun it looks big enough to be his.


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## Reel Time

Great story and great bear. That is one of my dreams also to take a brown bear. Only I will use a rifle. Some day I hope. Again that is a great bear congrats on a job well done.


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## Big7

Man.. that's WAAYYY Kool!

That paw is almost as large as my end-table.

I'm saving up for that kind of trip but I'll be using a rifle.

My small hands can't shoot the hand cannons well so we will go 
with the .338 Win. Mag. as the primary 
and the good ole' "Big 7" if it's legal as a back up.

Did I say way cool.. Congrats!


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## Darrell H

Thanks again guys!  Big7, the 338 Win Mag will be a perfect rifle for brown bear.  Hope you get to use it someday soon!


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## nkbigdog

Darrell H said:


> fatback, i was thinking about something like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The hide and skull are still in Anchorage.  The skull is being cleaned by beetles and the hide is being tanned before shipping to my taxidermist (Harper's Taxidermy in Ellijay).  It will probably be 4-6 months before it all makes it to Georgia.  Then probably another 4-6 months before getting it back from the taxidermist.  That's kind of a good thing because I'm not anxious to turn loose of any more $$ right now anyway!
> 
> Thanks again for all of the kind words guys!
> 
> Darrell



Darrell with an adventure like that and such good success, you need to go across the street from Harpers to New Hope store a buy a lotto ticket.. That will pay for the trip and the mount. Congrats


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## snook24

Man that's awesome congrats!! I can't wait to have a trip like this one day!


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## ALPHAMAX

that's awesome!


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## GT-40 GUY

If you have a high sealing you could get a mount like this 10' plus brown.  

PS: From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet is 10' plus.


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## Darrell H

That's a great bear and a great-looking mount GT-40 Guy!  

My mount is coming along...





My taxidermist still needs to work the mouth, put some makeup on his battle scars, and build a display platform.  We're getting close!


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## Nicodemus

That is gonna be really nice. Congratulations on a great accomplishment. Beautiful country too.


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## MFOSTER

congrats


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## buckeyebunnyhunter

Real nice.


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## tkyklr1

Great Bear Congrats!


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## Davec9

Awesome story, and a great lifetime hunt I am sure!  I have a friend in Soldotna that part time guides for Great Alaska Outdoors... He's been egging me on for a Brown Bear hunt and I think your story just pushed me over the edge!


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## Rich Kaminski

*Nice bear*

And nice hunt. Thanks for sharing.
I killed the one in my avatar at 18 feet in Russia. We camped in a rubberized military tent in Siberia where the weather was 20 below zero.


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## CrankinBass

Wow! Great story, and amazing pictures.  

What scope base did you use to mount that optic on your 500?


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## shakey gizzard

I missed this one perfectly! Great pics!


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## Darrell H

CrankinBass said:


> Wow! Great story, and amazing pictures.
> 
> What scope base did you use to mount that optic on your 500?



CrankinBass, I used a Weigand scope base along with 4 Weigand rings to mount the 2X Leupold.  

Thanks for the congrats guys!  Its been nearly 2 years since this hunt but it still tops the list for the most exciting hunt that I've ever been on!


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## AliBubba

Amazing... congrats!


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