The Coastal Alaskan Brown Bear and the Grizzly Bear (yellowish bear) are the same species, Ursus arctos horribilis, which is pretty descriptive as a name. Big bears are the only truly dangerous game in North America and maybe the most dangerous of them all. These bears are meant to be as hard as granite, and Brown Bear Hunting Guides in Alaska is always challenging.
The Brown bear is a creature of the forest and does not thrive where civilization is. He lives on his own terms, taking no offense from anything or anyone.
Coastal Alaska brown bears were internally considered a separate species, but they are now known to be the same species. The difference is that the coastal bear lives a much easier life, has a lot to eat, and has evolved into a larger bear. Interior bears are much smaller and are generally more violent.
BROWN BEARS
In the spring, brown bears move out of their dens and look for food to prepare for the coming breeding season. Hunting along coastal beaches is very useful, as bears hunt for washed food there. Hunters may have to venture back into the mountains, often to snowmobiles and snowshoes, following tracks in the snow to find newly opened bears – to find them or to glass the snowline where bears will be forced into food.
In the fall, bears are moving forward, searching for food in an attempt to rub out the long winter hibernation. During a typical day, the hunter would climb a high point to see a lot of the major bear area and then sit and glass for hours at a time. Often this will include a salmon stream where bears can feed the spawning fish. Once a bear has been located and is judged for the trophy’s quality, the hunter will attempt to stare sufficiently for a shot.
Because these bears live in some of the most complex countries on the planet, it is often not easy to stare. The lowland is cut by thicker alder bushes or, if it is open, the marshy tundra is filled with spore-spreading hummocks, which are never the right distance except stepping. There are deep rivers, marshy bogies, and even steep, rocky, rocky hills to navigate. Nobody goes somewhere fast in coastal Alaska.
If the bear is feeding, a stalk is very straight. But if the brown bear is roaming, the only way is to get ahead of him and wait. Somehow, due to rough terrain and thick brush, brown bears are often shot at relatively close range.
THE BACKUP GUN
The rifle is left at the back when you are going to the outhouse or river for a bucket of water. You can also lose them in a change, and they may be oblivious inside a tent. Rifles are set, left behind, or lost, but a pistol is attached to your body and must have you at all times.
The .454 Casull, .44 Magnum, .500 S&W, or comparable cartridges can all work. Load your revolver with bullets using heavy, non-extended, hard-cast bullets for deeper penetration – and hope you by no means have to use it.
Best Guns and Loads for Brown Bears
Brown bears are truly dangerous in Alaska. They injure or kill people almost every year. They are large, incredibly difficult animals, and you should take them seriously.
While a lot of bears fall to various “.300 magnums” each year, a true bear gun starts at “.338 Winchester”. The “.338 Remington Ultra Mag” is another good option, as is the .338
Weatherby and “.338–378 Weatherby”. The “.358 Norma” is also high-quality, “Wildcat .358 UMT” based on the Remington Ultra Mag case. “.416 cartridges” are favored by many brown bear guides to support customers and are also a good choice for hunters.
Use only finest quality ammo such as “Trophy Bonded, Barnes TSX, Nosler Partition or Swift A-Frame.” Carry 250-heavy bullet weight, 250-grain in .338 and .358 cartridges. Of the .375-cartridges, a 300-grain is the best. In .416, choose 400-grain ammo.
The same applies to most grizzlies as applied to hunting brown bears in terms of cartridge selection, and none of those rifles suggested for brown bears are inappropriate.
Alaska brown bear hunt prices are so low that many people consider them suspicious – you can fit a logistic and a price for a trip. Major trophies and well-equipped outfits for brown bears in the United States (Alaska), especially on the famous Kodiak Island and Canada (Yukon), order well as premium prices.
