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Hunting & Fishing Back From Alaska..

psinclair

Gunny Sergeant
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 11, 2008
3,394
538
66
Glasgow, Montana
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We had a blast! George holding up his hard earned bear taken on day two of our 7 day grizzly hunt, north of Dillingham, Alaska. We hunted with our good friend Jim Waggett who guides for Red Bear Wilderness Guides, known in here as, "Waggs45/70".

Waggs spotted this bear from from the river working it's way up the mountain working on berries. It ended up bedding down just under the top of the ridge in the open. We had some wind at our back, angling towards the bear making us a little nervous about getting in real tight. We crawled out on a flat overlook and George set up for the shot at 542 yards. He was shooting his GAP(of course).35 WSM, shooting 200gr Barnes TTX, put together by Josh at Copper Creek Cartridge Co. George made good and sent the bear rolling down the mountain with a large 35 caliber hole through it's chest....more pics to come.
 
Re: Back From Alaska..

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After losing a day of hunting to heavy rain, the next day was clear and cool. The plan was to get in the boat and float/drift downstream and hunt as we went. From the river above camp, I spotted a lone light colored bear in the berries about two thirds of the way up the mountain and at least three miles away. The week before we got to camp, Waggs had spotted this same bear twice and had named it, "Ivory". We quicky got the boat back to shore and tied up and began our climb up the mountain to shorten the distance. Coming out on a nice elevated secondary ridge that faced the hillside we last saw the bear from, we took off our packs and began glassing for the bear. After about 10 minutes, Waggs said,"there's the bear". It had fed out into the open, above us at 371 yards. I put in 1 mil of elevation, snugged up, and when the bear was broadside, fired for the ribcage. We all saw the bullet impact the right side, followed by a solid sounding "thud". The bear spun and disappeared into the alders 20 yards below. George stayed put to keep an eye peeled for the bear getting by us as we climbed to the top and came in from above. The bear only made it 25 yards into the brush and was dead. The 130gr Swift Scirocco had done a perfect job, leaving a quarter sized exit hole on the offside. I'm getting pretty attached to that little .260.....grin!
 
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Looking north from our camp. If you love the outdoors, find a way to get up there and see Alaska. It's an incredible state.

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Showing some unique colors on the tundra.
 
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Waggs, maning the boat as float plane arrives...

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George, enjoying our takeoff from the Nushagak River. We were "rained in" two days after the hunt, due to 15 inches sideways rain. Luckily, we had along a deck of cards and a cribbage board.......I'll let George tell you who came out on the top end of that....grin!
 
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AWESOME PGS!! Congrats to you and George on a couple beautiful grizzlies. The pics are incredible. I've been waiting for Waggs to turn up in some hunting pics. Did you fly commercial to D-ham then hop the bush plane or didya fly out of Anchorage? Those old DeHavillands are the cat's ass, eh? The upgraded turbines models are sweet but the radials are classic!
Thanks!
LX
 
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Pat / George,
Did you hunt from a Base Camp (wall tents, cabins) / set up every night along the river (pitched tents) / stay at prearranged sites down river.
Fantastic Bears and scenery. See any Moose along the way???
 
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That is my dream hunt right there. Congrats to PGS and George, beautiful country in the pictures!
 
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Awesome story and pics, once again. Thanks for sharing.
 
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Congrats Pat!

Thanks for the story behind the pictures.

Looks like a gorgeous place to hunt.

Glad the 260 was up to the task!

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Congrats to Pat and George! Looks like a fantastic hunt in some amazing country!
 
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The great outdoors. Would love to see AK in that time of the year! One day soon I will have to make the trip!
 
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Pat...It looks like a blast, what an adventure and good friends to share it with. Ole George is grinning like a guy that won the lottery. Love the pics and those are some neat looking bear!

A grizzly with a 130gr out of a .260...Laffin. Don't you know it cannot be done?

Thanks for sharing. Been telling the wife we should take time to go up there while we still feel like doing so. Beautiful country!
 
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Nice work fellas! Great colors on the the bears and the landscape. I play/work on the Nush every June, have dreamed of a hunt up there.

I'm wondering how far up you guys were..?
Is a guide required for a bear?

Thanks for sharing
 
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Nice. Thanks to everyone for taking some bears out of the Nush - there are to damned many of them on that river. I was huffed at more than once while moose hunting the past couple years.
Excellent photos.
 
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do all the trips for bear in Alaska cost $14,000 ? I'm a young guy with a rifle and I want to hunt bear..
 
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There's just something about Alaska you gotta experience! Great pics, nice bears, good friends, can't beat that!
 
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Awesome work fellas, I've seen Wagg's on TV before, I bet he was a heck of a guide.
 
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Very nice bears fellas, congrats on a successful hunt, wouldn't be Alaska if the weather didn't throw a curve.

Guide required for non-res to take griz/brown, I'm pretty sure, but I didn't pay much attention to bear regs, not my game, sort of regret it now that I'm not living there. Non-res hunting AK is gonna cost, tags are high, transport ain't cheap, and if you're paying a guide he's gotta make it worth while for him and/or his employees, its not cheap to live there. I understand Canada can be a more affordable alternative, comes with its own complications though.
 
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PGS,
Great pics. Glad you got to go to Alaska. Nice bear. Now, What are the blue tape or bands on your barrel for?
 
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OK, now I have a guess, Muzzle cover with extra for when you shoot. Specs on that very cool rifle?? Action? Scope??
 
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Awesome pictures and story, they are always enjoyable and informative. Some great shooting there, with some interesting calibers.

George I know you used the .325 WSM in Africa, was there an advantage to the .35 WSM for this trip?

Pat that 260 is really something else, great shooting.

Thanks for sharing.

Jerry
 
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Regarding non resident - from State of AK regs:
A nonresident who hunts brown/grizzly bear, Dall sheep, or mountain goat must be personally accompanied by a licensed guide OR by an Alaska resident over 19 years of age who is within the "second degree of kindred"

That means unless you have family here that will go with you, it is going to cost you.
If you have family, it can be done for less, but just getting to where you are going to start hunting ain't cheap. Figure $1500-$2000 for airfare from L48 to rural hub community, and then getting from rural hub to hunt will be another $2k-$3k per head (ish)for a fly out. Add to that the gear that you will probably have to buy that you don't already have, and things start to stack quickly.

If you really want to hunt bear, moose, or caribou 'on the cheap' may I interest you in a career in health care? Lots of health care jobs available if you are willing to live, work and play out here. Check out www.ykhc.org (Bethel based healthcare organization) or www.bbahc.org (Dillingham based healthcare organization) and spend a couple years in the bush!
 
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: KelsonAK</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Regarding non resident - from State of AK regs:
A nonresident who hunts brown/grizzly bear, Dall sheep, or mountain goat must be personally accompanied by a licensed guide OR by an Alaska resident over 19 years of age who is within the "second degree of kindred"

That means unless you have family here that will go with you, it is going to cost you.
If you have family, it can be done for less, but just getting to where you are going to start hunting ain't cheap. Figure $1500-$2000 for airfare from L48 to rural hub community, and then getting from rural hub to hunt will be another $2k-$3k per head (ish)for a fly out. Add to that the gear that you will probably have to buy that you don't already have, and things start to stack quickly.

If you really want to hunt bear, moose, or caribou 'on the cheap' may I interest you in a career in health care? Lots of health care jobs available if you are willing to live, work and play out here. Check out www.ykhc.org (Bethel based healthcare organization) or www.bbahc.org (Dillingham based healthcare organization) and spend a couple years in the bush!
</div></div>

The Outfitter was Red Bear Guides, Our Guide was Jim Wagget (Wags4570) it was a great time, Jim was great to hang out with as well as a great guide.

Kelson is correct, there isn't really a way to Brown Bear hunt on the cheep but there are lots of other hunting activities in AK that do not require a guide. I believe only Brown/GrizBears and Sheep have to be guided, possibly Muskox as well. The rest can be Self guided. Just the scenery and the Fishing would bring me back.
 
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Hey George what if I slept with a girl from Alaska does that count? :}
 
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Nice bear. I've taken a few and the thrill only gets more intense.
Come back soon.
Don't take your money to Canada. We have plenty bears in Alaska.
 
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: skinney</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Awesome work fellas, I've seen Wagg's on TV before, I bet he was a heck of a guide. </div></div>

He is at that.....FWIW, George's bear was #70 for him and mine was his 71st. Hell of a cook too.
 
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PGS why did you go with the swift bullets on this hunt over the 130 Berger vld's you had been shooting?

Also, what stock is that on your .260?
 
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I have to remember the 10th Commandment when I look at these pics and read of Pats exploits.
 
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Great pictures and bears! I hunted Dillingham with a buddy several years ago and it was a blast. I need to get back and chase moose.
Beautiful country and crazy weather... be prepared.
 
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tigerfan9</div><div class="ubbcode-body">PGS why did you go with the swift bullets on this hunt over the 130 Berger vld's you had been shooting?

Also, what stock is that on your .260? </div></div>

They shot the same as the 130gr hunting VLD's in my rifle,(same range card)and I thought they would dig a little deeper on a tougher animal.....and they did!

That stock is a Mcmillan Hunters Edge.
 
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I was on the Nushagak also hunting bear. That wind was crazy.
What dates were you there? I saw a few planes working a ridge about 10 miles downriver on the Nush from where we were. Nice bear. Ir looks exactly like one my buddy almost shot. I wonder if it could be the same bear we called 'Blondie'?


It looks from the pics you were farther down the Nush that we were.
Here is what it looks like at the headwaters. Not so mighty. You can jump across it usually, but with all rain it had turned into a raging river.





 
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Well i just got back into the real world.I had a great time guiding
Pat & George they were great...George's bear i spotted about 3.5 miles away up on the hill on berries.I looked at Pat & George and said if he keeps eating berries we had a good chance to get up there and kill him.Pat just gave me a Grin!....Game on.
George made a great shot,i said keep shooting if the bear is moving.They listen well, most of the time i try to get the shooter the closest we can get to an animal.But Pat & George are the exception to the rule.We know these boys can put it were it should go,and they did on there bears.Pat's bear is a special one indeed.Of the many bears over the years i have seen,i have only seen two bear what were ivory white...Pat made a great one shot kill.My buddy from Ohio was up before them and got a great bear also.After Pat & George left we got pounded by high winds and rain.The river came up 5' blowing all the fish out,we had least
2 packs of wolves in my area.It made my last hunt tuff...the one gentelman could not walk well.So going up after bear's were not in the stars,Moose were not vocal cause of the wolves.The moose we did seen were not legal,it rained and blew everyday.Sad to say the went home with nothing,except a respect for Alaska weather.
Will be sending Pat/PGS some pic's to post...Again it was a pleasure to guide these fine gentelmen....waggs
.
 
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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: PGS</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tigerfan9</div><div class="ubbcode-body">PGS why did you go with the swift bullets on this hunt over the 130 Berger vld's you had been shooting?

Also, what stock is that on your .260? </div></div>

They shot the same as the 130gr hunting VLD's in my rifle,(same range card)and I thought they would dig a little deeper on a tougher animal.....and they did!

That stock is a Mcmillan Hunters Edge.</div></div>

Good to know on the bullets if I hunt some tougher game one day.

How does your .260 carry with the DBM and traditional sling studs? Is it as comfortable to haul around as one with flush cups?