Alaska Blackies - Act IV

[bmack]

That was a fun read. You may express the story even better on paper than you do on camera.

AK is always an adventure. Time to make that trip happen!

 

[Gerald Martin]

That much adrenaline should definitely get the arteries unclogged! Great story and it sounds like it ended up being a great time. Thanks for sharing such a great write-up. Big congrats to Bart on his bear and to all of you.
On a side note. Do you just happen to rent all the crappy outboards in AK when you hunt up there or is that par for the course? I'm thinking if I ever get to do a float hunt in AK, I may have to invite you to join just to ensure the boat stays running.

 

[Corax]

Great story - what an adventure.

The hunts we remember are the tough ones - I am looking forward to seeing this.

Thanks for posting.

 

[fishing4sanity]

What an amazing hunt and write-up. You certainly have a gift for describing the hunt, I almost felt like I was crawling through that jungle too. Congrats to all three of you on a great looking bear!

 

[Big Foot]

Thanks for sharing! Congratulations Bart on a great bear.

 

[BeartoothFront]

Just got my brain working how I can squeeze in an AK bear hunt! Thanks for the story!!

 

[Big Fin]

A bunch more random pics of the trip that give some idea of the intrigue the place holds for me.

Any place only reachable by boat, or this vintage 1953 DeHaviland Beaver is my kind of place. I was amazed at what great condition this 62 year-old aircraft was in. Not sure what Alaska will do when all these Beaver and Otter planes are retired.


A couple shots of how we set up our camp. Off the beach about 100 yards to provide some shade and the soft padding of moss to the sleeping situation.




Bart took to raising a colony of these slugs. They were here by the dozens. Unfortunately, they blend in really good and a few of them met their fate at the bottom of a Simms wading boot.


When it is low tide, the tide pools are filled with these little crabs and other urchins. You see mink, otter, eagles, and often bears, scrounging the seafood that gets caught in these tide pools at low tide. I suspect this is why I have had pretty good success hunting bears at low tide. Nothing like a bit of shellfish to add to their grass diet.


Not a bad view from camp.


A few pieces of equipment I've been using lately and tested a bit more on this hunt.

I've been a big fan of the replaceable blade knife for the last ten years. I've been using them since they came to the market, but I had never found one with a good blade replacement mechanism. Until now. The new Gerber Vital is the best blade replacement mechanism I have found.

I met with them at SHOT Show to tell them how impressed I was with the way they have designed the Vital. They also have a really cool dispenser for the blades that doubles as a place to safely hold your old blades, other than carrying them in your pack and tossing them when you get home.

Some of you with experience using other models, of which I have a few myself, know the danger you feel when trying to replace the blades. Problem solved with the way Gerber had designed this.


I tried most every brand of traditional hunting knife known to man. Companies send knives to me by the dozens, asking how I like them and how they work for our hunts. I've bought ones I thought might work good, with mixed results. There is a reason you have seldom seen me using a traditional knife. It is hard to find one that works for what we need.

Gerber sent me some advance versions of these new Gator Premiums knives that they will be rolling out later this year. I am impressed. Not sure I've seen a traditional hunting knife that is this sharp out of the sheath and stays this sharp after use. It did the most part of this bear and was still razor sharp when done. Most gut hooks get dull after about three hairs touch the edge. Not this one.

Now, if I can convince them to take this knife and alter it to my design idea for the "Ultimate Elk Hunters Knife" I could sell them by the thousands. I am "just another TV guy" so I suspect it will be as hard to get attention from their engineers and designers as it is has been with other companies I've approached with the idea. But, who knows; they seem pretty tuned in to the ideas I gave them on the Vital.

 

[Big Fin]

A few more pics

A pic Bart took of how this big blacktail deer washed up on the shoreline. It seems he may have died asea and washed up on shore. Who knows.


Where/how he laid.


A wider view of our bay that was camp for most of a week. I will be back here every year I get a tag, until such time I am turned to dust.


A couple pics that show the bands of green grass that grows along the shores. The south and west facing shorelines always have the lushest grass. Once you leave the beach, there is not much for bears to eat, other than if the skunk cabbage is blooming as it was this year. I think the masses of skunk cabbage further back in the brush is why the bear sightings were lower than in previous years.




Two guys glassing hard. This was about five minutes prior to spotting the bear Bart ending up tagging.


In the distance you can see the big boat the outfitter uses as his base camp. This is the first time I have ever encountered other hunters in this spot. Maybe they have been hitting it after I leave. Left of frame is a huge tide flat where I shot a big old boar in 2013. If this area starts getting pounded by outfitters, I guess I will have to start searching for a new spot. They have as much right to these spots as we do, but kind of hope they find a place more conducive to their style of hunting and leave these scraps for guys like us.

 

[LCH]

The Alaska bears are probably my favorite episodes, except maybe Wyoming antelope.

Congrats Bart!

 

[shoots-straight]

Wow! Sounded and looked like a great time. Congrats to Bart on the big old bear.

 

[Lawnboy]

Thanks for all the compliments. This was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. I think sometimes we get so used to the types of hunts that we do in our local areas that we don't realize just how varied hunts can be in other parts of the world.
I want to publicly thank Randy for letting me tag along on this hunt. I know that he has fine tuned this hunt and that allowed me an awesome experience. I had never been in a small plane before, never been to the ocean in Alaska, and never been on a boat in the ocean. I felt like a little kid in Awe. Boy did I have all kinds of questions for him for just about everything. I was amazed at just how much you need to watch the tides and care for the boat. I'd of been high and dry multiple times had Randy not been there. With that said this is one of the most doable OYO hunts out there. It really is a relaxing hunt compared to chasing bears on the steep hillsides of Montana. While we didn't end up seeing the numbers or the size of bears that he has in the past it was a good reminder that it's still hunting and nothing comes easy or without effort.
I also have never seen anything as thick as the forests of SE Alaska I kid you not that you can be 15 yds away and not see your partner. It was especially fun to go out with the guy that got me into bear hunting (Tyler) and then be able to go with Randy who I coaxed back into spot and stalk bear hunting. Both guys have shot more than me now for sure. What a beautiful place Alaska is and I'll treasure the photos and show more than ever.
Thanks again Randy for being a great friend and Ambassador for the public land guy.

 

[npaden]

Congratulations to you both. Sounds like one heck of an adventure.

Instead of dwelling on some of the troubles early on and letting that get you down, you worked through them and had one heck of a hunt.

 

[elkrchr]

Great write up Randy! What an adventure had by all. This is why we all hunt!

 

[recon6036]

Wow......great story, pictures and hunt......congrats guys!

 

[MT_elk]

Wow! What an awesome hunt. Sure glad it turned out good and there were no injuries!

 

[earlybird]

Thank You for your time Randy. Its appreciated by many!

 

[e300winmag]

Great bear and an amazing story!!! thanks for sharing and giving me something else to dream about seeing someday.

 

[MTpubliclander]

I don't know what I like better the write ups or the TV show... you should publish a book! but make sure it has lots of pictures for people like me

 

[idnative1948]

Can't wait to see this one!

 

[IdahoBugler]

Congrats Bart on a great bear. You guys did great.

Great write up as always Randy. I love reading these stories.