2014 fall recap...

[ninefoot]

Hopeing everyone enjoyed there fall adventures this year...i just returned from 3.5 months of guiding out west

My season was a tough one towards the end but produced some nice animals, interesting clients, and most importantly a thorough continuous immersion for months in some amazing country...something that i have found to be good for my soul.

Heres a few pics. The first pic is a hunt i guided in late august with Ralph and Vicki Cianciarulo as clients...it will air on the Outdoor Channel sometime this fall. Check it out.

 

[ninefoot]

Couple more...

 

[akdaniels]

Ha! Almost didn't see the bear by the tent. Great pics! Awesome job man!

 

[AGL4now]

I seen the bear before the Bombshelter. Congratulations on your season. Nice photos.

Ha! Almost didn't see the bear by the tent. Great pics! Awesome job man!

 

[PacWestFishTaxidermy]

Great pics, but can you rate the tips this year? Were they generous or stingy?

 

[ninefoot]

Thanks guys...
pac west: an interesting question....but harmless i suppose. I get tipped well on average. This year was no different. More importantly i get a good wage thats taken many years to earn, and i am blessed with a fascinating life via my career choice...certainly "tip" enough for me. Gratuities, while standard and much appreciated, are best left to clients to consider.
That said, every competent guide i know gets tipped well and consistently, with the odd rare exception.

 

[strangerinastrangeland]

Was that Bear in the Tent picture a Freebie or did it keep on truckin'? Got a story?

 

[ninefoot]

Stranger: that bear by the tent walked away unharmed by me, aside from a good natured verbal assault that seemed to bruise his dignity and disrupt his morning a bit . I awoke to the young adult male snooping around my camp while stumbling to the cook tent for coffee on a rare lazy morning in between clients. This revelation of course sent me grumbling back to my guide gun and earned yogi a few choice insults pertaining to manners in general.... and interfering with a mans morning coffee in particular. He wasnt real immpressed at being surprised, and ( true to some boars behavior), showed considerable indifference to my efforts to run him off. Twice i ran him into some nearby brush and caught him immediately sneaking back around downwind instead of leaving. I ended up walking his ass across a half mile tundra flat and had to keep constant pressure on him to get my point across. That bear never showed the least bit of fear towards me, and was openly annoyed with having his morning interupted. It added another interesting interaction with bears to my experiences and proved once again that many bears will not immediately flee at human pressense. He never once showed serious aggression, but certainly made a point to let me know; that if i was to run him off, then he was gonna leave at his own pace, on his terms...a classic attempt at saving whatever dignity he could recover.

 

[AKHUNTINFOOL]

Impressive pictures and animals. Let us know when the snow will air on the outdoor channel.

 

[Smokey]

Great pics and critters. I wish I had enough $$$ to join ya on one of those hunts for sure! thx for sharing!

 

[kidso]

When did your clients take their bears and how would you rate their hair length and fullness for rugging potential? I have seen you posing before with a few July bears your clients took that were hardly ruggable, but these bears look way better. How much longer could their hair grow and potential fill before hibernation?

 

[ninefoot]

When did your clients take their bears and how would you rate their hair length and fullness for rugging potential? I have seen you posing before with a few July bears your clients took that were hardly ruggable, but these bears look way better. How much longer could their hair grow and potential fill before hibernation?

"Hardly ruggable" in your eyes is extremely mountable in my clients eyes...those two bears are being mounted together standing fighting. They will look exactly like what they are: two big ancient boars in august. Our clients know the potential hide quality when they book the limited summer float hunts we offer.

Never seen any bear die in july.

 

[kidso]

My apologies on the "hardly ruggable" word combination as no offense was intended and it may have come across the wrong way. Let me try it again, please. I posted originally because my curiosity was peaked as I have read several posts on this site with comments regarding how few brownies are hunted in the summer for rugs due to poor hide quality, but if you are after skulls or a full body mount, then hide quality is really not a major issue. As an Arizona resident, I have taken several spring black bears in June and in early July and they had decent ruggable hides with air temperatures hovering close to 90 degrees. Thus, because Alaska is cooler than Arizona in June and July, it seemed logical to me that any summer Alaskan bear should have a better quality hide for rugging than one from Arizona. So, what I am really after is some average hair lengths on grizz or brownies in June or July so I can compare them with my Arizona bears to see if my assumptions are correct, eventhough they are comparing different species. In my eyes, I would rug any bear I tagged with hair over two inches in length. So I am just curious if a June or July Alaskan bear would fit that profile. Thanks!

 

[ninefoot]

No apology necessary...just explainin.

To answer your question...
No. You would be hard pressed finding a bear with even hair of any length in july. Many even in august will be getting rid of the very last of there spring coats and will be spotty. Individual bears shed differently. By late august most are even coated with around 2-3 inches...but not all, the nearly bald bear in this post is testament to that.

 

[Happily]

Nice pics nine foot...on a side note to kidso I've seen horses in arizona with thick winter coats in february even though it was 80-90 degrees during the day. Apples to oranges -40 up to 40 is still considered warm for an alaskan animal. 120 down to 70 is still cold to an AZ animal

 

[kidso]

Thanks for the information. I'm coming up to black bear hunt next October for a week during our fall school break, as I am a teacher. I was hoping for longer summer hair on bears, as I could dedicated much more time to hunting during our summer release, but it looks like and sounds like October should be great for hides! You guys have some beautiful bears up there.

 

[325 wsm]

Great job, super nice animals you guided there…..congrats. wish we had the quantity and quality of bears here that you have there.

 

[4merguide]

Thanks for the information. I'm coming up to black bear hunt next October for a week during our fall school break, as I am a teacher. I was hoping for longer summer hair on bears, as I could dedicated much more time to hunting during our summer release, but it looks like and sounds like October should be great for hides! You guys have some beautiful bears up there.

This bear was shot mid Oct......yes they have very nice hides that time of the year

 

[ninefoot]

Thanks for the information. I'm coming up to black bear hunt next October for a week during our fall school break, as I am a teacher. I was hoping for longer summer hair on bears, as I could dedicated much more time to hunting during our summer release, but it looks like and sounds like October should be great for hides! You guys have some beautiful bears up there.

Wont be any problems finding excellent hair in oct anywhere in the state, either species. Have fun and good luck. Alaska is a special place.

 

[Amigo Will]

As always great