My Hunting Stories
My first trip to Kodiak was in the spring of 1968. That was the year that the Kodiak Wildlife Refuge manager implemented a permit system for brown bear on Kodiak Island. I wrote about that trip in the post “My Quest For A Brown Bear.” That story details all of my brown bear hunts before I finally harvested my bear. He squared 9’2” and I decided then that my next bear would be a 10-footer and that I would use my bow to accomplish that feat.
After two years of hunting in Alaska I had taken two sheep, two goats, two caribou, a moose and a black bear. Not bad for a beginner. All I needed now was a grizzly or a brown bear. When I received my assignment to Alaska the only animal I knew I wanted to hunt was the grizzly. I had read in various books and magazines that the grizzly was mean and caution was paramount while hunting in Alaska because those bad boys were out to get you. However, after two years of hunting in numerous areas I hadn’t even seen one. In talking to many hunters, taxidermists and biologists I decided that I would rather have a big 8’ to 10’ brown bear than a mean 6’ to 8’ grizzly.
