Potential tie for #2 in the world...

[ninefoot]

Last season i posted a few bears and said i'd get back with some details inquired about them if i obtained them...i did.

I recieved news from my boss while in the field this fall that a long time return client of mine called with some news about his grizzly taken with me last fall. Official boone and crockett scorer measured him at 27 6/16. Number 1 is a pickup and was not hunted. Number 2 measures 27 6/16...Shane is gonna enter him he says...so we shall see soon enough. What a bear...dont have his age yet but he had ancient toothwear. Here he is:

There was also some interest in the age (after the tooth labs from ADFG) of two ancient old boys i guided a father and son to last august. Both had extreme tooth wear and all the makings of old bears...the dad contacted me with there ages finally after getting them from the state:
The kids boar was larger at 9'7 27 + skull. He was 25 years old according to his lab results. I hunted this bear for 3 years at the same fish slew and nearly had him killed the year prior, but not quite...got im finally with a highly appreciative 20 yr old on his first trip to Ak.


The fathers boar squared 9'3 26+ and didnt have a lick of decent hair on him! His age came back at 22 yrs old. He was killed a couple miles downriver of the other boar and the father is mounting them standing together fighting...fitting, they were peers in the same country and very likely had met and fought for food or females throughout there lives. A neat hunt for sure....

[strangerinastrangeland]

Gettin' 'er done!

Tied for 2 is awesome, and good to see the big ones are still being made

[SmokeRoss]

My brother shot a black bear sow near Hope years ago. The biologist who checked her in estimated her age at 30. Never did get an official age. Wonder if they would still have any info on her.
Nice job on your 2 old boars.

[Grantspastor]

Wow! Some impressive bears for sure!! That inland Grizzly is a TOAD!!

[Daniel7723]

What a monster!

[Gooch]

If they're eating fish (salmon) are they really a grizz? Are you using geographic lines used by B&C? Either way great bears, ole hairless is kind of neat actually.

[ninefoot]

Thanks guys...that Grizzly is simply testament to the little pressure that country gets and what very old age and big genes can produce.

I consider them all just bears...from the brooks range to the penn they are simply the same bear in different environs....boone and crockett, however, seperates the two. Though there are a few fish in that country, he was killed 20+ air miles from the nearest fish and comes from classic "grizzly" country with low bear density and little to no fish. He didnt smell like a fish bear while skinning...he certainly hadnt been feeding on them last sept...the odor is unmistakable when skinning a bear off the fish.

So to me hes just a bear from low density country with hard long winters, that was taken as a bonus on a moose hunt. I will say that he is MUCH more of a classic "grizzly" than the numerous boone and crockett bears hailing from the western coast of Canada (Bella Koola country) which are what we alaskans would consider your basic brown bear with yearly access to large salmon runs and very mild winters. ....canada uses the same record books but doesnt divide the species and calls them all grizzlies. Go figure.

I can certainly attest that he is HUGE for the country he comes from, as i spend about a month every season hunting that country and know of no bears i or anyone else has found up there that would even remotely approach his size. I knew he was special the first instant i found him in the glass, and will very likely never see or hunt one quite like him that far north again.

For the record im not personaly a big fan of record books and the egos they nurture among some hunters...but at the same time i can appreciate that exceptional animals and the country they inhabit are recognized and recorded. Mixed feelings on the subject i guess. Certainly from a guideing standpoint it is simply good business to advertise the trophy potential of the areas we hunt.

Personally, ill say it was fairly unremarkable as far as bear hunts go: we found the bear, nailed a straightforward stalk with minimal obstacles, and shot him at close range....done deal. The two old Brown bear the father and son took (mentioned in this thread) required MUCH more skill on my part (binos are useless in the jungle on the fish rivers in August, and prediction of the big boys habits and patterns are vital), i had a three year history hunting the sons boar and many hours of fruitless hunting with mutiple clients before i got him killed. You can bet that wary old (mostly nocturnal) boar meant a hell of alot more to me than that BC grizzly.

[Grayling Slayer]

Here is a link to the thread from the one he tied with, http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...ull-boar-combo.

[Vance in AK]

Congrats!
You are in the business of making memories for folks. That's a pretty fulfilling line of work:topjob:

[Sollybug]

Congrats. Those clients got their moneys worth thats fo sure. Monster bears with a great guide. Doesnt get any better.thanks for sharing!

[tyrex13]

Can I ask what the #2 bear squared? Sorry if I missed it.

[Trappnguns]

The fathers boar squared 9'3 26+ and didnt have a lick of decent hair on him!

[ninefoot]

Can I ask what the #2 bear squared? Sorry if I missed it.

If u mean the big inland bear in the tundra? He was 9.6. Bigger than the smaller of the two summer brown bear in the thread. To be clear: theres 3 bears. Two are coastal brownies taken in august on a big fish river during a father son combo. The bear in the tundra is an inland bear taken over 100 miles north and in completely dif country.

[HuntNBgame]

That will make a nice addition to your Book. :topjob: