Three Hunters Report on Alaska Bears and Moose Hunts

We have three fresh subscriber reports on bear and moose hunts in Alaska this month. The first comes from a very happy and enthusiastic Robert A. Young who hunted grizzly in Kotzebue Sound with outfitter Dave Leonard and guide Henry Tiffany of Mountain Monarchs of Alaska (907-252-4952; www.mountainmonarchs.com). Despite losing two hunting days to broken snow machines, Young had nothing but praise for Leonard and Tiffany. "Dave does it again! We had a slow start with mechanical problems, but when we got to hunting, things moved along great. Hunting in the most beautiful place on earth, I took a great arctic grizzly that squared out at eight feet five inches. I hope to hunt with Dave and Henry again.& And again.& And again." Young says that he saw two to five bears each day during his April 2230 hunt. He also saw numerous wolves. "We saw two separate packs that numbered 13 each. All but two of them were black," he says. Weather was normal for this time of year with daytime temperatures hovering in the upper 30s. Nights were cold. Hunting was conducted spot and stalk. "We'd ride a 35-mile loop on snowmobiles, stopping every now and again to glass. If we saw something worth getting closer to, we'd walk. In some areas, we had to use snowshoes." Young says, "The accommodations were warm and dry cabins; the food was good and there was plenty of it. I liked that everything was either canned or fresh, very little freeze dried. Dave doesn't skimp on food." Young recommends that hunters be in good physical condition and that they do their homework by studying the outfitter's gear list. He gives the cost of his hunt as $17,000, plus airfare. The second report is from Dennis Granberry, who hunted brown bear in Chignik Lagoon on the Alaskan Peninsula in October with outfitter Bill Stevenson (907-746-1696). Granberry had planned on hunting for 20 days but took his 10-foot bear on his first and only day of hunting. "I saw maybe 20 bears, in that one day and that many or more while flying in, including a few that........(continued)