# DIY AK Black Bear May '14



## FishlakeElkHunter

I am doing a DIY Black Bear hunt near Ketchikan in May. A friend of mine and I are taking our Dad's and we are really excited about it.
Any tips or suggestions from those that may have done this before? Clothes, Gear, anything like that? What did you do with meat?
What bullet would you recommend? I am shooting a 300Win Mag. 
Just trying to get a few more ideas of what we can expect as this is my first bear hunt.
We are staying at http://www.alaskanfishingcabin.com/
They have skiffs that we are using and just hunting shore lines. 
Thanks!!


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## johnnycake

I would at a minimum get a good pair of flexible hip waders. I personally love my cheap canvas style chest waders from cabelas with a good detached boot to wear over a neoprene sock. It is going to be really, really wet most likely, so focus on warm layers that wick away moisture.

Bullets, with your 300win mag, I would use the same round that you are comfortable with on deer or elk. Just study some good vitals charts if you are not familiar with the anatomy and you should be fine.

I would also recommend latex gloves and hand sanitizer for while you skin any bears you harvest, there are some nasty bacteria on those omnivores, and a small nick on your hand can turn into quite the infection. 

As far as the meat, a nice spring bear should be pretty good. I have eaten from a few different bears, and I think they are pretty hit or miss. The good ones are great, and the bad ones are terrible, worst case scenario, you can always make a nice smoked sausage out of just about anything and it'll be edible.
Good luck!


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## torowy

Alaskans all wear rubber boots everywhere, so should you. You will get wet a lot, so stuff to keep you dry and can preform damp. It rains a lot there and the brush is always wet.

you will want to hunt low tides. Shooting from a boat can be hard, best is to spot, then beach and stalk. 

Your gun will prob rust a little, so bring some anti rust stuff for it. The salt water spray get them fast.

Also, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the tides up there, but you need to know how to beach a boat and what way the water is going. Water level changes by 20 feet, so you can be left high and dry or worse... left without a boat.


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## provider

Good advice given. I couldn't add anything else.


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## KineKilla

After 2 trips to Alaska (for fish, not bear) I would keep in mind Mosquito Repellent. I'm not talking about the spray junk that works poorly at best even around here, but full on mosquito resistant clothing. I've had to wear head nets, long sleeves and gloves (they still find a way to get to your wrists).

You'll be ok in the middle of a river but if you go ashore you will be miserable if you haven't planned for it.


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## yotee

RUBBER rain gear, Gore-Tex doesn't cut it up there. Good luck.


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## Mr Muleskinner

key to good tasting bear is the same as with any other game but trim the fat x10. Bear fat goes rancid fast and there is a ton of it. Take your time and trim it all off. I have never had bad bear meat. It is one my favorites. It is easily the best chili grind around IMO.

Don't forget to take some bear spray with you as well. I would trust it over a sidearm of any size on any day.


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## longbow

I've hunted black bears on Prince of Wales and Kuiu islands.

Clothes - On the island I live on it rains 63% of the days a year. Needless to say, raingear is important. Also, you'll be boating in the inner passage so the swells won't be as bad as out in the ocean but even on a clear day you'll always have salt spray coming into your boat. I'd also buy some knee boots like XtraTufs. They're awesome to hike in and you'll need them. I wouldn't wear hipboots for the kind of hunting you'll be doing. The only time I wear hipboots is when I'm in the tundra or stillhunting up a creek. On a beach hunt, they'll just be a bother.

Gear - Not so much different than where your at. Just think about keeping your guns and yourself dry and warm. Spray your guns down with RemOil before you go out in the skiff. The salt water WILL rust your stainless gun the very first day you take it out.

Meat - I've done several things with the meat. We always pack up a box to take home and then contact the troopers, have them write up a meat transfer paper and give the meat to them to donate to the needy. They may or may not want to bother with it so fill out your own form and give the meat to one of the shelters in Ketchikan. You may want to take all of it home too. The steaks on my last bear from Kuiu were terrible but the roasts and bottled meat was better than anything I've tasted.

Bullets - I don't know if you've ever killed a bear but their ribs are little whispy things. Their shoulders, on the other hand, are big boned with very solid muscles on them. Any bullet that is solidly constructed will do. Accubond, Partition, Barnes X...etc. A 300 Win is plenty for black bear. Try your very best to anchor your bear on the beach. The wall of trees and brush above the beach is just that - a wall of the most nastiest crap you'll crawl through. Then it opens up into the old growth with easier traveling but lots of moss-covered downfall. A wounded bear could be hiding anywhere in that crap.

You'll be seeing most of your bears during low tide so correlate your hunting so you're where you want to hunt at low tide. Stop and get a free tide table at dang-near any business in Ketchican. It'll help your planning a lot. It's legal to shoot from a boat in my unit but check and see about unit 2. You won't want to shoot from a boat though. It's dang hard. We cruise 2-300 yards out from the shore and when we see a bear we go way down wind and let the hunter off so he can stalk back to the bear. Bears are usually pretty busy rolling boulders and slamming their paws down on the little black crabs. It's pretty fun to watch as they hold 5 or 6 crabs down and let one out and crunch him while holding the others under it's paw. Always check back in the bays where the tidal flats are. A lot of times there are bears back in the flats eating grass. We always see more along the bouldery beaches though.
Leave someone with the boat at all times. If you don't then be sure to indian-anchor your boat. You never know how long you'll be taking care of your bear and nothing sucks more than coming back to a beached boat. The tides turn about every 6 hours so you might be in for a long wait.
I wouldn't worry about bug spray at that time of year. I've been down where you're going about eight times during the spring and I don't remember seeing many bugs until late June. If for some reason you need some they sell it all over down there.
Bear spray? I'm way more familiar with grizzlies so I may be a bit off but I wouldn't bother with it. I'm not saying it doesn't work because I've used it on grizzlies at our salmon hatchery but I'd feel way more comfortable with a rifle. And please don't bring a shotgun with buckshot or slugs for protection.


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## FishlakeElkHunter

WOW....all awesome info. I knew I could count on some good info here.

Longbow...great info! May lean on you for some more as we get closer. We are super excited but nervous too. Should be a great time.


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## sawsman

Sounds like a good time. Hope you have fun.

Like was mentioned… skeeter spray and a head/face net will be a good idea.


.


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## longbow

A couple other things I thought of while at work. Kind of random stuff.
Every time you leave in your boat make sure you have a way to stay comfortable through the night. Don't worry so much about food but make sure you have a tarp to huddle under and several dependable ways to make a fire. Everybody says "if you don't like the weather in [insert your home state] just wait 10 minutes". I laugh because no where is it truer than Alaska. A tarp and a few ways to make a fire can be a pretty small package if you think about it.
Bring a GPS and turn it on when you leave the dock. One time I was blacktail hunting on another island in November. We had a 1/2 mile to get to our rented forest service cabin and the fog rolled in so thick we couldn't see ten feet. And this was at night! My son got his GPS out and guided me right to our dock. We'd have been screwed without it. Alaska has more shoreline than ALL of the rest of the United States put together! It's easy to get twisted around even in the daytime.
I'm sure your outfitter will provide you with a VHS radio. Make sure he does. It's a must-have! Ch 16 is the coast guard.
Another thing about clothes. I own several sets of Sitka Gear, Russels, Kuiu and the like. I love it but you don't need it. Just make sure you have a light outer shell that's wind proof and some good raingear. Stopping the wind will go a loooong way to keeping you warm.

As I think of more stuff I'll post it if you don't mind. I'll try to answer any questions you might have too.


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## bigbr

One more vital bit of information you may have over looked. Anchor your bear on the beach or tidal flats before it gets a chance to get into the foilage. Your odds of recovery drop 50% if the bear can reach the woodwork, so keep shooting until it stops moving. Oh and if bruno gets in the woods a good thermal tracking device is handy to have.
Big 
P.S. Alaska just changed some reglations, so study and make sure everyone knows the law.


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## longbow

Here's a great example of what Bigbr and I were saying about anchoring your bear on the beach. Here's a picture of my son lining up on a bear. Notice how thick it is above the beach. This bear only went 30 yards into the trees but it was pretty spooky.


Look behind my son. Track a wounded bear through that crap!



My last bear went down on the beach. It was nice skinning it the open. And as a bonus, the sun came out.


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## longbow

bigbr said:


> One more vital bit of information you may have over looked. Anchor your bear on the beach or tidal flats before it gets a chance to get into the foilage. Your odds of recovery drop 50% if the bear can reach the woodwork, so keep shooting until it stops moving. Oh and if bruno gets in the woods a good thermal tracking device is handy to have.
> Big
> P.S. Alaska just changed some reglations, so study and make sure everyone knows the law.


A thermal tracking device? I never thought of that. Sounds like a good idea! Especially since following a blood trail in moss is dang-near impossible.


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## Mtnbeer

longbow said:


> A thermal tracking device? I never thought of that. Sounds like a good idea! Especially since following a blood trail in moss is dang-near impossible.


As great as that sounds, I'm not sure it's exactly legal. Alaska is quite a bit behind the times on the use of electronics for hunting (personal pet peeve of mine). You can't use cell phones, radios, or other communication equipment to aid in the harvest of game and the use of night scopes and/or electronically enhanced scopes are also illegal. Obviously the law is subject to interpretation. Given that Units 1/2 have been a problem for illegal hunting/guiding in the past, FWP officers from all over the state will be patrolling the area. So if you talk to the local FWP officer about that interpretation, there's no guarantee that another officer will have the same interpretation.

Also, on the boat issue, longbow is right (and I know he speaks from experience :grin. It's **** near impossible to hit anything from a boat. You can legally hunt from a boat in Units 1 and 2, but the motor MUST be off and the boat can't be moving.

I won't parrot what other people have said in terms of gear, but two brands I'd consider for external layers, Helly Hansen and Grundens. When I'm in southeast or Kodiak, I live in my Grundens and Xtratuffs.

Also, agree on anchoring the bear on the beach. I've had to go after a brownie in Southeast that I shot in the open and he ran straight into the edge cover. He was dead in the more open old growth just a few feet away, but going through that dense brush was nerve-wracking.


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## longbow

Mtnbeer said:


> Also, on the boat issue, longbow is right (and I know he speaks from experience :grin. It's **** near impossible to hit anything from a boat. You can legally hunt from a boat in Units 1 and 2, but the motor MUST be off and the boat can't be moving.


Ha ha, it's true. I tried to shoot a fox from the boat with my .204. Not a chance! The guys that get the foxes from boats use shotguns with BBs. My boss drew his bow on a deer this year and there was no way he could have shot.


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## FishlakeElkHunter

Dang Longbow that looks like a great bear that you have there! I would be more than happy to find one like that!

Again thanks a TON for all the great info. I am getting so excited I can hardly stand it. Plane tickets are purchased, and we are ready to go!


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## Mtnbeer

longbow said:


> Ha ha, it's true. I tried to shoot a fox from the boat with my .204. Not a chance! The guys that get the foxes from boats use shotguns with BBs. My boss drew his bow on a deer this year and there was no way he could have shot.


Only someone who has tried before would specifically point that out! That's how I busted ya (and yes, you can extend that line of thought further :grin.


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## fishreaper

Mtnbeer said:


> It's **** near impossible to hit anything from a boat.


that is unless you're shooting at Somalian pirates who have french hostages.

Still love that story.


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## bigbr

The law read electronic device may not be used in the " Taking of game," however I have seen a thermal scaner used to recover brown bear after the shot and in some cases dogs have been called in and encoraged for the recovory of wounded game in Alaska and each dog has a radio tracker. Yes you are right, because everyone and their grandma can give wildlife citations in Alaska it is left up to enturpitation... The word here is recovery of a wasted animal.
Big


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## svmoose

Good advice from Longbow and Torowy. I've hunted the same areas as both of those guys. To sum it up -- rubber boots, helly hansen (or similar) raingear, and I'd take (merino or other) wool baselayers that will still insulate when wet. 

Take a rangefinder as well, distances can be kind or tough to judge and bear size varies a lot, so key in your range.

If you can't find gear you need down here, stop into Tongass Trading in Ketchikan -- they have everything.

If you go early (May 1) you'll see fewer bears, but the bears you see will likely be bigger and not rubbed as much. Bugs won't be too bad that time of year. The no-see um black flies are the worst, but they are usually not too bad early season. But spray doesn't work very well on them if they are out. 

You'll find bears that are very distracted and eating crabs that won't really care about your boat and allow you to stalk up very close, and you will find bears that will high-tail it into the woods when they hear your motor. Bears will be eating grass and crabs on the beaches, you'll find them among the driftwood, boulders, and grassy bays.

Learn how to manage your boat when you go ashore. You can lose valuable hunting time waiting for the tide to change, or worse - lose your boat. 

Expect to be wet and stinky. The weather there won't change a lot. It will likely be rainy and 40-50 degrees. 

It's tough to start a fire, but it can be done. There's a lichen in the trees that burns really well and can be used to start fires. I would always keep a little in my pocket just in case.

And shoot your bear through the front shoulders -- as mentioned -- it's never fun to go after a bear that's run into the woods. Use a bullet and gun that will allow you to do that. 300 win would be great, .270 works fine too.

Take lots of pictures, if you have a waterproof camera -- take it. You'll see otters, bears, deer, tons of eagles, wolves (maybe) and some incredible scenery. Nothing beats a boat ride through the islands of SE Alaska!


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## FishlakeElkHunter

WOW...you guys have me so excited I want to go tomorrow! :shock::shock::shock:

We are going to be there May 17th to the 23rd. We are not trophy hunting by any means, we just want to shoot some good bears! Then we also want to do some fishing. We hope to take home 5 bears and a good supply of salmon! 8)8)

Thanks for all the info...it is fantastic. Keep it coming!


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## Swaner

How did it all turn out?


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