Thanks to all Forum Members!!!

[TGJ]

Just wanted to say thanks to all Forum Members. Through multiple days of research and hunting, my first AK black bear fell this past weekend. Lots of great tips and stories posted here in the forums helped me with my hunt plan and as you can see, success ensued! A good bore at 5'11"! My hunting partner also enjoyed the trip as you can see. Thanks again to all, and good luck with your endevours!roud:

TGJ

[AGL4now]

Congratulations...........Well Done.

[broncoformudv]

Good job thats a nice looking blackie!

[AlaskaTrueAdventure]

The only better post would have been a little longer story. Glad to hear, and see, that the forum information you obtained here helped you and your buddy.
dennis

[HikeHunt]

Congratulations!

[norsehunter]

Really nice pelt on that bear. Nice hunting.

[BrentC]

The only better post would have been a little longer story. Glad to hear, and see, that the forum information you obtained here helped you and your buddy.
dennis

This is true. We need details.

[1Cor15:19]

Congrats on your hunt.

[Wyo2AK]

Congratulations on your first bear. Well done!

I'd love to hear some details.

[strangerinastrangeland]

Right on!

Looks great, both of 'em.:topjob:

[AZinAK]

Congrats!!! Good to see the good that comes from this forum. Sometimes the political/prideful threads take away from what I believe this forum is all about. Good on you two!!! Look forward to a in-depth story...

AZinAK

[tboehm]

The only better post would have been a little longer story. Glad to hear, and see, that the forum information you obtained here helped you and your buddy.
dennis

I have to agree as well, so lets hear some of the details. I will also agree that the members here are great and have taught me so much and aided in my success to be sure.

[TGJ]

Well shame on me! I can't remember why I didn't come back and repost some details. I was just trying to solve some winter blues by reading some posts and came across this one I did of last year spring. A black bear hunt in PWS.

You want more details…… here is the write-up.

I’m sure many of you will remember your first Alaska adventures and how giddy you can get when seeing and experiencing all the great elements to the outdoors. This trip was a big one for me because I had so many ‘firsts’ all in one glorious weekend.

My partner and I were dead set on black bear hunting that spring and we knew we wanted to try the PWS hunt we had heard so much about. Like so many other poisons I have, I knew this would require a boat and a long story short, my wife and I decided to purchase our first saltwater boat. With the help of a good friend, we were able to capitalize on a great 20-foot bayrunner from craigslist.

Though I grew up boating and fishing in the lower 48, I had never been in AK salt water. Our first main voyage was to be the spring bear hunt out of Whittier and it is incredibly humbling when you run a small boat out of the bay and pass decision point. White knuckled and trying not to show my nerves to my buddy who I knew was also puckered up, I laid the throttle open and off we were. It was a true highlight for us as we hit glassy water; the sun was shining as bright as I have ever seen it and a couple of porpoises began swimming and breaching with the boat. It felt like the man upstairs was sending us signs and an incredible sense of calm over took and I finally started to relax.

We felt prepared with our gear and our plan though neither of us had hunted bears and/or been in PWS. For those of you reading and wanting details of where we were going and what we brought, here is a summay:

• Culross passage to Kings Bay (area)
• Memorial weekend
• 3 to 4 days pending weather
• Optics and cameras
• Bourbon and tobacco
• Water and mountain house meals
• Baggett, salami, cheese
• 308 norma mag, 338 win mag
• Gas
• Sat phone, SPOT emergency, radio, first aid
• Tent, bags, backpack

We kept it simple and fun. The weather was warm, clear and windless. We stayed close to shore and in protected areas. Our first bear sighting was just before the Whittier tunnel, our second was in Whittier just after we launched and the third was just a couple of hours into the boat ride in Culross. I looked over to a cove at a mouth creek and noticed a small bear batting and clawing at a white “no fishing” plywood sign. We laughed at the irony and were pretty excited to say the least.

The hunting consisted of mostly glassing the mountains from the boat and planning stalks. We blew a couple and connected on a couple. Though the thrill of rifling a black bear isn’t the same as an archery spot and stalk, your hair still stands on your neck as you enter willows and brush so thick you have to fight your way through. Both kills were less than 100 yards and exciting as at it gets.

Camping was a bit to be desired as finding any dry soil to stake a tent was difficult. We made it work, but took several stops to find the right spot and made for lots of time and gas spent.

Field care was the other challenge. I had lots of experience in dry arid climates with mule deer and elk, but this was quite a bit different. This is where all the forum resources really paid off. Skinning the bear and meat care worked out great. Knight taxidermy was complimentary of the fleshing job, as I’m sure their like that with everyone, but still felt good.

Captaining was probably the most challenging. I learned the hard way that even beaching your boat for 15-minutes on an outgoing tide can screw up your day. We got her back in the water but not without lots of sweat and arguing. Also, anchoring off for the night and stalks took quite a bit of work. I would suggest to anyone planning this hunt, plan on alternating one of you as captain and dropping the others off for a stalk. It’s a bit of work every time you have to anchor and tender back and forth to deal with the tides. I used a small cheap rubber dinghy to do this and was quite amusing. My partner thought so anyways. I was lucky to have no wind and warm conditions. Also, bring more fuel than you need! Special thanks to the couple at decision point who were kind enough to gift a siphon of a few gallons!!!! If you’re reading this, I have paid it forward since wee last met.

A truly awesome weekend DIY hunt out of PWS! We made it home safe and relaxed with great trophies and meat for the BBQ. Not sure I need to shoot any more black bears myself, but is the wife’s turn this year. Good luck to all and be safe out there, and once again, thanks to all on the forum!!!!!

TGJ

[AlaskaTrueAdventure]

TGJ,
What a great conclusion to your initial thread started back in early June 2011.
Congratulations on that hunt, and on many more in the future, hopefully.
Thanks for the mid-winter Pick-Us-Up hunt story, for letting us "participate" in your first Alaskan bear kill as we wait out another fricken cold winter.
Spring black bears are always a blast.
AlaskaTrueAdventure/Dennis

[.338WM]

Thanks for the follow-up, I really enjoyed the read ! Congratulations on your planning and success !