| It was
springtime on Kodiak Island. We had just arrived at the bear camp of master Alaskan guide
Tom Kirstein that sets nestled in the alders at the head of Deadman's Bay. Professional
hunting guide Jeff Poor assisted Tom. The bear camp consisted of the main cabin and two
small 12- x 9-foot structures that each sleep two persons. My girlfriend Tonya and I would
reside here for the next 10 days of this long awaited hunt. Shortly after arriving, I was in the little cabin and spotted
a faded brown colored book, "Monarch of Deadman's Bay." I decided to read this
tale of a mighty Kodiak that once roamed and ruled the bay, despite the fact that it had
one-half of its right front paw bitten off. I could only imagine what it would be like to
meet the Monarch.
Tom was outspoken and knew all there was
to know about hunting Kodiak browns. Jeff was quiet and usually kept to himself. At night,
Tom would share bear hunting facts and stories with us. Tom was to guide the other hunter
in camp and Jeff would be our guide. Though he was quiet, Jeff proved to be one of the
best guides and
hunters in Alaska.
For this hunt I had decided to use my
30-378 Weatherby equipped with a 3.5-14x52mm Leupold LPS scope and my favorite bullet, the
180 grain Barnes X. It was tuned to shoot dead-on at 350 yards. During springtime the
bears on Kodiak prefer the hillsides and cover of the alder and willow bushes. Hunting
them requires many hours of glassing and spotting. We brought 10 x 50 Swarovski binoculars
and a 20 x 60 Swarovski spotting scope. Hunting the drainages on Kodiak during springtime
means snowmelt, deep rivers and fast running water. We were equipped with waist high
Gore-Tex waders and separate wading boots for hiking. The inter-day weather changes on
Kodiak are phenomenal. We left camp one morning under a clear blue sky. Two hours later
the sun's still out, but it's raining. Then an hour later, the sky is black and the wind
is blowing straight through you. Finally, the wind stops, it starts snowing and the sun
comes out. It was good we had the proper "all purpose" clothing, a definite
"must have" on Kodiak.
On day one we spotted two bears across
the bay approximately two miles away near the top of a 4,000-foot snow-covered hillside.
We watched them until they disappeared into a deep drainage. We also spotted about 10
mountain goats on the hillside just below the area where we initially spotted the bears.
The second day of hunting was so windy that it was very difficult to hold our binoculars
steady enough to glass the area. We spotted several different bears just below a
rock-faced hillside approximately a mile-and-a-half away, but a circular blowing wind made
it impossible to stalk them.
The third day proved even worse. I had never been in wind that fierce. So much for our
"all purpose" clothing as it seemed we had nothing on. The fourth day appeared
like a gem. The skies were clear blue and it was warm. I soon learned the inter-day
weather on Kodiak can rapidly change from one extreme to the next. Despite the nasty
weather, we did spot two medium-sized (eight to nine foot) bears late in the evening.
Our luck would change during breakfast
on the fifth day as Tonya suggested we take a longer hike and get some additional exercise
instead of hunting only down bay. Jeff agreed and we decided to hike into the area that
accommodates several rivers draining into the bay. After about a six-mile hike and
crossing several deep and fast-running rivers we stopped and glassed the area. The wind
picked up and blew so hard that glassing for longer than 20 minutes at a time was
unbearable. Nevertheless, hard-core Jeff kept glassing in spite of the wind. Then it
happened . . . Jeff spotted a good-sized (nine-plus-foot) brown on the other side of the
drainage approximately 600 yards away. The bear had been sunning in an area that made it
impossible to see him with the naked eye. We watched for about 25 minutes when he suddenly
got up and quickly began traveling further up the draw that led into a deep canyon. About
100 yards behind him in the brush we saw a very large dark brown-colored creature; we now
realized why he was moving. When the creature became fully visible it was one of the great
monarchs. He was pursuing the nine-footer looking for his next meal. The next thing I
heard was Jeff saying, "Lets get a movin'!" We had only a few minutes to try and
reach a point that would enable me to get a shot at the great brown before he pursued the
nine-footer into the bottom of the canyon.
In seconds we had our packs
and rifles slung over our backs and we were
traveling through the brush as if it didn't exist. Nothing was going to stop my shot at
this bear. Perhaps I spoke too soon. As we proceeded to our would-be vantage point we ran
out of mountain. Two feet in front of us was a 60-foot drop. I knew this was it. I could
either shoot from here, or let the great bear get away. Off came our packs and I quickly
set them in front of me for a shooting rest. I turned the adjustable objective on my scope
to between 300 and 400 yards and loaded the chamber hoping the big brown would give us a
shot. Fortunately for us, the nine-footer had traveled to the corner of the drainage
approximately 350 yards away and then down into the canyon. We hoped that the big brown
would follow. He came out of the brush and proceeded to the same drop-off point. Jeff
quickly ranged it at 350 yards. The brown reached the edge of the rim and picked up his
nose in an attempt to catch the smell of the nine-footer. Wow, what a monster he was! I
laid the cross hairs on his right front vitals and pulled the trigger. I knew it was a hit
as he picked up his right front leg. He then turned around and commenced running straight
away from us for the brush. My only shot was from the rear at about 365 yards. I laid the
cross hairs square on his back end and released the second shot. It was another direct hit
as the bear's back end dropped to the ground. Once again he was up heading for the brush.
I laid the cross hairs on his left front vitals and released the third shot. Another
direct hit as the bear's front crashed into the ground. He slowly entered the brush and
collapsed. |
