Well, certainly I would only keep the bear if I had a tag and it were in season. I guess I should've qualified that first. But if I had to shoot a bear in any other situation, you can be certain it would be a qualified self defense act. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I wonder how many bears they let you shoot up here a year in self defense? Hey, as long as they can't prove I baited it, there should be no limit, right? I didn't see one specified in the law anyways. A tore up coat should be enough to show I was in the process of being attacked when I popped him. Well, I might've been wearing it at the time, who can say otherwise?

Generally speaking, from what I have seen "Defense of Life and Property" bear shootings are investigated. However, the authorities virtually always give people the benefit of the doubt. Unless you did something really egregious in front of witnessess you are very unlikely to get into trouble over a DLP bear shooting incident, so long as you report it, and make a good faith effort to surrender hide, claws, and skull etc. I know of at least one incident where the shooter was unable to recover the hide due to some extunuating circustances. ADFG wasn't pleased, but after some discussion they accepted his story and didn't hassle the guy further.

Obviously the reason for the DLP regs is that otherwise anyone who wanted a bear trophy but didn't want to bother with silly things like seasons, tags, etc could just go shoot any bear they see (threatening or not), then concoct some BS story about self defense, and get a nice bear rug to hang in their den. It is just a means of making sure people don't kill bears for no reason and then claim defense.

Actually, unless I am out doing a legitimate hunt for bear, I hope never to encounter one such that I would feel the need to shoot. I have bear spray; the best I could find, but have little faith it will protect me, so I carry a 44 mag when I feel the need. I know a pistol is a poor choice against a charging bear, but I also know what that load will do in an animal, so I'll get what licks I can in if I have to, and hope it works, should the need arise.

I do not believe in waste. If big game is killed, it should be harvested. Predation is a consideration, but still no excuse for wasting an animal.

Benjamin ... I'm confident you will get the "bear thing" right. Personally I can't see the need to hunt bears for meat ... But thats just me. Maybe I'm wrong but bear meat doesn't sound that appetizing. Might be OK in chilli :-). I can understand it was an important source of fat in the old days. But nowadays I can just buy a jar of olive oil.

I'm more interested in your hunt for a caribou. Can't tell you what that meat tastes like either. I am guessing, though, that its not good to get an older full grown animal. The meat may be tougher and flavor stronger. So maybe you are looking for a younger animal. Any thoughts about this?

pete2

Pete-
Caribou tastes excellent, in my experience.

Benjamin-
Good luck on your hunts! If you aren't already aware, you probably want to check into some of the drawing permit hunts. The application period for next year's hunts is in November and December this year.

As you no doubt have already learned, hunting the more remote parts of Alaska (ie much of Alaska) can get expensive if one is based in Anchorage. Unless you know someone with a plane, flying out to the bush can be very pricy. For this reason the areas that can be reached from the road system are extremely popular. To avoid too much hunting pressure, nearly all the good hunts near the highway system are by drawing a limited number of permits.

If you want to go after caribou, you should try to draw a Nelchina Herd permit. That is the most easily accessable caribou hunt in the state. A co-worker of mine and her husband both drew Nelchina permits this year. They are up there this weekend. I'll find out next week if they were successful.

I've yet to eat bear meat that I care for much. I've eaten black bear meat, and it wasn't gamey as much as it smelled like a latrine to me. I suppose if they are up in the berry fields eating then they might taste better, but they forage and aren't too picky sometimes what they put in their gut.

Yeah, Caribou, maybe next year. I have a couple of GMUs I might try. One will be a fly in, the other a heckuva lot of driving and ORV.

Went out for ducks today. The birds aren't around. Hiking in the much damn near wore me out. But it beats sitting on the couch. Saw a couple eagles having a mid-air fracas. Looked like a juvenile encroaching on a big adult's territory. The white-head came down out of his tree and straight after that poor young one. He flew over our head a bit later, after the fight was done, and he was missing some wing feathers.

Saw Beluga whale pods along the Turnagain on the way back to town. Sure is pretty land and sea up here. I gotta get out in it a lot more.

"Saw a couple eagles having a mid-air fracas ... Saw Beluga whale pods along the Turnagain"

those are the best reasons for being out there, benjammin. memories like that stay with you for a lifetime. it would be a great day down here in the continental US if I could see two eagles fighting in the sky. but to see eagles and whales all in one day - that is a memorable day :-)

Pete2

Yeah, occaisionally we Alaskans have to stop and remind ourselves that people pay big bucks and come from all over the world for stuff that we locals see and do on weekends! (Or even after work during the long daylight of summer.)

The drive along Turnagain Arm where Benjamin saw belugas, can be done in less than an hour from my house in Anchorage. Besides eagles and belugas, on that drive one will commonly see Dall Sheep, and occaisionlaly moose. Once when the salmon were running I saw a grizzly bear out on the mudflats at low tide. Driving the side road into the village of Girdwood (halfway down Turnagain Arm) I once had a black bear run across the road just in front of my car.

When I drive out of Anchorage, for any reason and in any direction, I ALWAYS take my binoculars with me. You just never know what you will see!

Yep, this is a special place. I wish I would've made the move up here long ago, but things work out as they should I suppose. Another great chapter being written. I hope nothing happens to spoil it, at least for a little bit longer.

A good friend of mine (then climbing ranger at Denali NP) once said that the nice thing about Anchorage was that you were just a few minutes away from the real Alaska.....