The most important thing to consider when booking a brown bear hunt is location, as some areas in the state consistently produce bigger bears than other areas. Right now, I think the southern end of Kodiak Island, Unimak Island and Cold Bay are three of the best brown bear areas in the world. As regards who to hunt with, most of the hunting in these areas is done inside National Wildlife Refuges, and the number of guides is limited to those holding Refuge permits. Master guide Andy Runyan (Exclusive Alaskan Hunts) is undoubtedly the premier bear guide in Alaska. His guide area on the southern end of Kodiak has produced more top-10 bears than anywhere else in the state. The bears in this area have genetically bigger heads and Runyan takes a very limited number of hunters every spring and fall. Runyan has been hunting these bears for over 40 years and is a lot of fun to hunt with. His Kodiak hunts run 14 days and cost $12,600. Runyan's Peninsula hunts run 10 days and cost $10,600.
Dick Gunlogson, another long-time master guide, has been hunting the Cold Bay area since the days he used to fly cover for Don Johnson back in the 1950s. The Izembek Wildlife Refuge is where Gunlogson does his fall and spring hunts for the big bears. This area has long been known for big bears and is another great choice for the hunter........(continued)
