These Brown Bear hunts take place on Kodiak Island in Game Management Unit 8. This outfitter has been operating in Alaska since 1997, and to date their rifle hunters have had over a 95% success rate with a 100% opportunity rate. Their archery-hunters have averaged around 70% success rate, with a near 100% opportunity rate.
All of their brown bear hunts are 10 full days of hunting, with a day of travel before and after. All of these hunts are one-on-one hunts. Their camps are reached via airplane, typically a Super Cub, which carries the pilot and one passenger. This is the reason for the strict weight restriction of 60 lbs per hunter that they keep. Even with these weight restrictions, the majority of their camps consist of a wall tent with bunks and a heater, allowing ample room to dry out and be as comfortable as one can in such remote areas.
Kodiak Island is open April 1st through May 15th & October 25th to November 30th. They typically hunt April 15th to May 5th or so in the Spring and October 25th to November 5th in the Fall. This hunt is on a drawing basis, and there are 3 tags issued for the Spring and 4 in the Fall, thus ensuring a quality hunt. The application period for spring hunts is November 15th to December 15th, with results being posted the latter part of February. The Fall hunt application period is May 1st to the 31st and results are posted in early July (deer are over the counter for their combo hunts). They will handle the whole application process for you.
The outfitter is asked all the time “What is the better, fall or spring?” and there isn’t really a good answer for that, they do well on both hunts. Bears are traveling more in the spring and they typically see more bears due to the fact that there aren’t leaves on the alders/brush, but many times they keep moving and are hard to pattern. On the other hand, bears are typically more pattern-able in the fall when feeding on salmon streams and berries.
On all bear hunts they typically spend the majority of time sitting and glassing. Though this may seem mundane to some, it is by far the most effective way to kill big bears. They have hunted these camps for years and know what works. Big bears are very comparable to a mature whitetail, but have a better nose. When you walk through an area multiple times your chances of killing a big bear dwindle, be patient and let your guide do his job.
Once a bear is harvested, your guide will call in via satellite phone and a plan is derived to get the hunter and hide out of the field. Your hide will be delivered to an expediter who will dry the hide for shipping. Once dried, the hide can be shipped to the hunter, taxidermist or tannery.
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