AK draws

[WildWill]

AK here I come! Anyone else lucky?

 

[Nick28]

No luck here, but only my 2nd year putting in for spring black bear so I shouldn't be complaining much haha

 

[CouesKelly]

I got lucky with spring bear for me and my husband!

 

[David Gough]

I got lucky with spring bear for me and my husband!

Struck out this year, but heading to Kupreanof in May

 

[Little Canyon Creek]

After three years of striking out in the draw, it looks like I will finally get to go back in spring 2026. I first dreamed of hunting SE Alaska bears as a kid after reading a mid-2000s Outdoor Life article that said the black bears were so big that you needed a 375 H&H. That was a ridiculous statement, but my teenage brain latched onto that. It was the first nice tag I had drawn since leaving graduate school, and it was such a special hunt to share with my dad. I ended up getting a 7 year old boar right where I had dropped a pin 19 months earlier. I can't wait to go again.

I am just glad that my dad drew his caribou tag a couple years ago, because it looks like the odds may have gotten much worse since then. The hunting was hard in 2023, and I think the winters had taken a toll as we didn't see any huge bulls like we had heard of. We didn't even see any calves with the cows, which was not a good sign. Hopefully they have rebounded since then. I would do that hunt again in a heart beat if I could.

Good luck to all who drew!

 

[npaden]

I am still kicking myself for forgetting to apply this year. Somehow I thought 12/15 was when the application period started instead of when it ended. Only been applying for 7 or 8 years so you would have thought I would have known better. Congrats to all who drew.

 

[Schutzhund]

Spring Bear hunter Here!

 

[Magnum Sherpa]

Unit 23 caribou for me.

 

[CRJR45]

I drew a bull tag !

 

[the nikster]

I drew a bunch of OTC permits.