The Hunter's Alaska

by Roy F. Chandler

  If fate decreed that my bear's mind did know the severity and agony of death in the wild, rather than succumb to slow starvation or the wolf pack, I might, when the going got too tough, just cross the park boundaries, growl at a hunter, and have my hide live a generation more on a den wall or floor.

  Or, I might return as a mountain goat … but that chapter has already been done.

  Black bears can be read about in a thousand journals. There is little to add except to take notice of a truly interesting variation that occurs in Alaska.

  We have mentioned that black bears appear in many colors. Cinnamon is seen, and brown in various shades is commonly encountered.

  However, in Alaska there is a coloration called Blue Glacier that is fascinating.

  There used to be serious disagreement as to the glacier bear's proper species. Some thought him a grizzly offshoot, and others believed he was a separate species altogether. Now, authorities have pretty well lined up behind the decision that the Blue Glacier Bear is a color variation of the black bear.

  When a black bear changes color enough to become a glacier bear is still shrouded in disagreement. I have seen bears identified as glacier bears that I felt did not approach the proper coloration.

  A classic glacier bear has an azure blue fur color. Whether he gets that way through heredity or from his environment is still argued. Having watched a blue sow with a pair of matching blue cubs poking within glacial moraine in the Chugak Mountains leaves me a believer in hereditary coloring. But, such observations hardly provide proof.

  The blue glacier bear is perhaps the most rare of bear trophies. Hunters have searched lifetimes without encountering a blue bear. This hunter feels fortunate to have observed a number of the rare bears at length. I have never taken one.

  20 - Grizzly Hunting

  "If you wish to harvest a grizzly, go sheep hunting." That is a popular old saying in Alaska, and there is truth to it. Grizzlies do roam the sheep country, and with all the glassing and spotting a hunter does on sheep, he may sight a grizzly.

  The only grizzly I ever wounded and lost was shot while hunting Dall rams in the 1950s. My hunting partner and I had run into foul weather while hunting in the Granite Mountains above the Johnson River. We bedded down on a rocky flat spot as the rain began and the fog rolled in. We heard rocks rolling and looked back the way we had come to see a really fine grizzly following our path across a long rock slide.

  The weather was so poor, and my sleeping bag was so snuggly warm that I almost hated to consider taking the bear. We were primarily after sheep, but the grizzly was really prime. So, what could a young and hungry hunter do? I just rolled over in the sleeping bag, got a really good rest among the rocks and bag, and placed the crosshairs on the bear. When he stopped and sort of turned sideward at about two hundred yards, I thought the conditions perfect. I held right on the top of his right shoulder blade and drove the bullet at the joint of his spine and shoulder. The position was granite steady, and a hunter knows when he has made a good shot. The bear collapsed with a squall and tumbled into a tiny hollow and out of my sight. I held on the spot for a few moments just in case, but there was no movement. With Jerry watching the hollow, I got my boots on, and we clambered over the slide to skin out the bear. Only, there was no bear!

  To say that we were astounded would be gross understatement. There was blood and some hair with a lot of dry stones turned over, but no big lump of a bruin. Suddenly, things got really tight, and we became intense about what we were doing.

  The turned-over stones led off from the hollow through a low swale that I could not see from my shooting place. We moved very carefully because there were enough large boulders around to allow an ambush. Our only way to track the bear was to follow the dry stones, which would not be dry very long in the rainy drizzle. We hustled along, but the trail led away and out of sight. To make it short, we hunted for that bear for three hours. It then became too dark. We were not sure how vengeful that grizzly might be, so we sat up all night, back-to-back.

  Of course, we discussed why the shot had gone wrong, and I denied the possibility of having pulled off the target. The bear's squall bothered me, and I should have immediately realized that an animal with a shattered spine would be unable to make any cries. So, what had happened? We favored a bad bullet, but doubts lingered because we hand loaded and prided ourselves on good ammunition. With first light we began searching again, but we never saw any more of that big bear.

  For that hunt I had a new gun. It was the latest thing, a lever action Winchester model 88 in .308 caliber. I had zeroed the rifle with great care and had taken a couple of caribou with it. There had been no falls or other abuse, and the gun should have held its zero. We tried it out anyway. At 200 yards the rifle had moved its zero four feet to the right and down a foot. I probably hit that grizzly in the hind leg!

  Examining the rifle we could see that the rain had gotten to the walnut stock and warped it hard to one side. Because the barrel was secured to the stock at the forearm, there was no way to free float the barrel. I put the rifle away and never used it again.

  In retrospect, I never had good luck with that model rifle, anyway. Every model 88 I ever examined had a creepy trigger, and who needs that? When I carried the 88 on my packboard, the magazine release used to hit a packing ring and drop out. I ended up taping the magazine in and loading from the top like a bolt-action. I could never recommend the 88 to anyone. I am glad Winchester stopped making it.

  Then there was the .308 Winchester cartridge. I have never preferred the .308 for anything. When the military dropped the 30/06 and picked up the .308 (7.62, NATO) they lost a couple of hundred feet per second of muzzle velocity. (See the following chart.) The military sacrificed velocity for the .308's lesser shipping volume, and they probably saved a million tons over the various wars, but for a hunter? The swap was ridiculous with less wallop down range.

  So, what was I, a committed high velocity and big bore advocate, doing in the mountains with a pipsqueak like the Winchester .308 cartridge? My only explanation is that I was a gun buff and always wished to try out something new. Compare the .308 with the better 30/06 (which most can agree is marginal in Alaska) and the .300 Weatherby or the.338 Winchester—that I should have been carrying.

  Anyone who decides that he wants a grizzly and can then go out and locate one (without spotting from the air) is a mighty fine hunter. A coastal hunter may do that with some regularity when hunting brown bear down along the panhandle, but the grizzly is not found that easily. Grizzly locating can be long and frustrating.

  To hunt a grizzly, you should at least know that a bear has been about. To simply choose a piece of terrain and start hunting will not be rewarding. If hunters have taken other game in an area, a grizzly is likely to move in and store the leavings for his own use. The big bears pull grass and brush over their kills and sometimes lie on top of them guarding until they are hungry.

  More likely, a grizzly will bed down close by and come to his cache for a meal. So, old kills are good places to watch. Hunting in that manner is legal, but the result is little different from using bait—which is illegal in Alaska.

  Grizzlies fish when salmon are running, but the fish are not around most of the time. If a hunter knows of a bear fishing place, however, he can wait until one he likes arrives.

  This bear trail, because it is heavily used, has become one track. Often seen are bear trails with two adjoining parallel paths (made by a bear's right and left legs) with undisturbed growth between them.

  Perhaps I should mention now that few bears are passed once they are seen by hunters. It is an unusual grizzly bear hunter who will refuse a shot on a decent bear in the hope of getting a bigger one later on. While this is not as true of brownie hunters along the coasts who see many bear, the grizzly hunter sees far fewer animals and finds it difficult to turn away from any legal trophy.

  A good many grizzlies are taken by hunters primarily after other game. Where hunting seasons o
verlap, hunters glassing other game sight bear and go after them. The open sheep country is especially good for that. A bear working on marmots can be seen from a long way, and the bear is often so preoccupied that he can be readily approached.

  Take a bear from downwind. A bear's eyes are poor, but his nose is sharp. Get upwind and the odds are great that he will scent you. Look him over carefully. A rubbed trophy is not much, and as most hunters see few bears, they all look big until given calm and objective scrutiny. Few hunters want an oversize cub for their wall.

  When you do shoot, try to break major bones. Your intent should be to kill the bear if possible, but anchor him for sure. The author's favored shot is the juncture of the front shoulder and spine.

  Hit there and your bear will be down and paralyzed. If the hunter shoots low he will still get a shoulder and, with a proper gun, deep and killing penetration. If his bullet strays too far he may hit spine or upper lungs or heart. If he is too high, the bullet will not seriously injure the animal. A hit too far forward has a good chance of breaking the bear's neck.

  At least as important as the good places to hit are the good places to avoid. The worst place to hit a bear is in the paunch. That is true with any big game animal. The wound is a slow killer amid much pain and suffering. The hump shot keeps your bullets about as far from the paunch as any aiming point can.

  Most hunters seem to choose a heart/lung shot for all game. Most hunting writers recommend that shot. My experience is that too often the bullet strikes too far back—gut hit. An absolute bummer!

  Some professional hunters recommend what they call "a high/heart shot." The idea is to strike the lower shoulder blade, and in so doing rake the lungs and the top of the heart. By breaking the shoulder, the shot drops the animal in place, and that is always desirable. If anyone is considering the above shot, for heaven's sake have a powerhouse of a rifle—not your run of the mine 30/06 and the like. Heavy bones or thick muscle can reduce bullet effectiveness and allow a solidly hit animal to walk away.

  Grizzly or brown bear spoor. Spoor? That is what profession African hunters call it. Bears gulp, much as dogs do, and they swallow indigestible debris along with the edible stuff. During blueberry season, bear manure is mostly undigested trash, sticks and leaves, that you would expect to pierce intestines—but somehow do not.

  Never shoot at a bear over two hundred and fifty yards away. It takes wallop to keep a bear down. Bullets have lost a lot of their initial steam beyond 250 yards, and a grizzly that gets up and runs at that range can be difficult to hit, particularly as the shooting distance lengthens.

  A heavy caliber is needed for a bear in the brush. The author has two preferences. My "bear in brush" favorite is my old Ithaca 12 gauge shotgun with its barrel cut short (shown earlier). At close range I use the Ithaca loaded with Brenneke rifled slugs, which expand tremendously and are loaded hotter than most domestic shells. With the Ithaca, I can pump four or five heavy slugs into a bear well before I could fire a second round from a bolt-action rifle. With the Ithaca, one simply holds the trigger back following the first shot and operates the pump. Each time the slide goes forward, the gun fires. A rifled slug in 12 gauge has tremendous impact at close range, far more than a rifle of less than huge caliber.

  When shooting is a matter of a few feet it is important to keep the bear down. Fire hosing rifled slugs into the bear, and into the right spot, of course, is hard to beat.

  Once, along Banner Creek, I had the less than enjoyable duty of going in after a bear wounded by another hunter for whom I felt responsible.

  I did not see the grizzly until it was almost under my feet. We had given him nearly a half hour to stiffen up from the earlier wound, but how far that bear might have been able to move I never discovered. At the first glimpse, I turned the Ithaca on him and emptied it into his right front shoulder. The bear seemed almost battered back by the five heavy slugs driving into him at about ten-foot range. He never wiggled after that.

  My other choice for brush shooting is the .458 Winchester Magnum. That cartridge hits with such terrible power that a single bullet, reasonably placed, ends the battle instantly. The .458 is a marvelous cartridge, and I highly recommend it.

  When you get a grizzly down, never wait to see if it is going to get up again. Keep shooting him. With a little bit of reservation, my companions and I have adopted this system for all Alaskan game. We do not sit around bragging about one shot kills. We make certain for both our own and the game's sake that the animal is down and dead. That means following shots until you are certain.

  It is important to recognize that a bear is very easy to knock down. They seem to fall over at any excuse. I suspect a bear does not have the world's best balance. They surely roll around a lot. The problem is that they also often get up again.

  Here are two views of a grizzly or brown bear skull.

  In profile (the first photo), the bear's nose hole is just above the front teeth. Viewed from the front (the second photo), the nose hole appears as a black cavern just above the teeth. The bear's brain lies behind the writing on the profile view. Note that if a bear is charging, his head may be in the lower photo position with his nose pointing directly at you. A bullet driven straight into the nose will be guided by the skull cavities directly into the brain. Instant death! But, a shot striking a hair high can glance from the sloping skull. Bears find that irritating.

  A bear's eyes are outside his skull and are inside the holes at the top left and right of the second skull. Do not shoot a bear in the eye. You could anger him. You will not kill him. In this position, the best shot is straight in the nose. Unless the bear's nose is down, avoid that sloping skull.

  Remember that at point-blank range, your bullet will be traveling an inch or so below your crosshair and will not be dead on until the bullet has traveled about twenty-five yards. Allow for that in your aiming.

  A hunter can be fooled into thinking the hunt is over because his bear falls. Approaching the fallen animal he is astounded to see it up and running. Usually, the direction is away, but not always. It is very wise to put following shots into a grizzly bear.

  A bear has relatively small vitals. For its weight, its bones are small. Its heart and lungs are also small. Much of a bear's apparent size is in its legs. Legs are not vital areas and are not legitimate aiming points. A bear's fur is long and thick and makes its body appear much deeper that it really is. A shot a bit close to any "edge" of a bear is likely to merely cut through long hair and a bit of skin. A hunter must never aim for the "mass" of a bear. He must place his shot with precision just where he wants it.

  Defense against bear attack is a consideration present in any bear hunt. Improbable as it may be, anyone hunting bear should not ignore the possibility of a charge. These are points to remember:

  First, a grizzly may false charge just like an elephant will. He will come smashing, roaring, and quivering. His hair will stand out on his head and neck. His little eyes will glare, and he will shudder all over as he comes to a stop, probably too close for comfort.

  Such a false charge is fearsome. I have experienced them on a number of occasions. I know of no way to tell a false charge from a real charge except by holding fire until the last possible instant. Waiting that long can leave a hunter in cold sweat, believe me. However, if a hunter does not wish to take the bear, and if he is a cool shot with a proper rifle, it can be done.

  A standing bear is never attacking. A bear charges on all four legs. If attacked by dogs, or fighting another bear, a grizzly often gets up on its hind legs. It does this to protect its hind quarters from the dogs (or wolves). In the case of another bear, they let it all hang out and battle ferociously in every conceivable position. Incidentally, bears usually break off the fight with each other before either is seriously injured. A bear standing on two legs is just looking around. It can see further by being higher, that's all.

  An unwounded grizzly whose nose is toward the ground and whose head is swinging left to right as it
runs is probably NOT charging. It is just running away no matter what direction it is headed.

  If a bear drives at you on all fours with its nose pointing straight at you, it may be charging. That is the way a grizzly attacks. (Of course, it may also simply be departing post-haste.)

  A shot at a charging grizzly should go straight in the bear's nose. We have just shown photos of a bear's skull that demonstrate clearly why this is so. In one photo the skull is positioned "nose on," the way a hunter would see it. A bullet directly into the nose cavity is guided by the skull itself, straight into the bear's brain. The profile shows the slanting skull and why a bullet can ricochet without putting a bear down.

  If the hunter is not that certain a shot and doubts that he can hit the bear dead on the nose, he must shoot into the charging bear's breast. If the hunter has a powerful rifle that will shoot through a bear side to side, his frontal shot will deliver immense impact, but if he is shooting with a pipsqueak cartridge … ? He had better put in his follow-up bullets fast!

  The Marlin lever action with the new Garrett cartridges in .45/70 may be top notch against a charging bear. A fast handling rifle that is hard hitting with fast follow up shots … sounds pretty good, although I have not tried it.

  A little bit more should be said about proper rifle actions for use on dangerous animals—like the great bears. I choose to mention one facet of rifle selection that is being ignored by most Americans but is strongly advised in Africa where more than a few animal species are truly dangerous.

  Here, in Alaska, we have only the great bears to worry about, but the rifle feature I am about to mention should be recommended here as well. No one wants to lose an animal because of an avoidable malfunction, and no one wishes to be overrun by a disagreeable bear.