TRIP TAKEN: Alaska Peninsula Brown Bear Hunt
CONSULTANT: Outdoors International
June, 2012
I’m always amazed the way the weather plays the biggest part of any hunt! This year, Alaska was inundated with a huge amount of snow and because of that, a late spring that just didn’t want to give up. Because of those conditions, we decided to select the second spring brown bear hunt on the Alaska peninsula offered by our outfitter. It turned out to be a wise decision.
Upon arriving at base camp for my spring brown bear hunt, we visited with the previous hunter. He had just experienced ten days of rain, snow, sleet and wind. He was soaking wet and discouraged that he had not even seen a brown bear because of the nasty spring weather. On his way into the plane he graciously expressed lots of luck to us as we began to unload our gear and get ready for our spring brown bear hunt.
Later that evening we got a little glassing in as the weather had began to lift a little, and we spotted the first bear of the hunt! He looked pretty nice, but not quite what we were looking for. My guide estimated that he was around 8ft. The next three days the weather settled back in again with rain, snow and wind. We still hunted hard, hiking up several streams and canyons looking for tracks and sign. With almost half of my hunt over, I was starting to get nervous when the weather cleared, we started spotting a brown bear every evening. R-E-L-I-E-F…
Finally we spotted a shooter bear! He looked to be just over 9ft with a great big head on him. We made the stalk and got within about 100 yards…. we waited awhile for him to present a shot, and when he finally turned broadside, a log jam was in the way and the old boy stepped into the willows. We were forced to back off off, hoping that he would reappear before it got to dark but it never happened.
Two days later we spotted another large bear. I got a shot and hit him a little low, so we had to track him for a good part of the day. Later that afternoon we finally jumped him for a finishing shot. After looking closely at the video, we determined that it was the same big brown bear we had almost gotten the previous day!
THE OI DRAW
Apply to win a trip with one of our fully vetted outfitters.
Each drawing is capped making your odds better, and fully transparent. Apply as many times as you want, in essence creating your own odds.
Step 1
Browse the active draws below and apply for any trip(s) that interest you, and purchase as many chances as you want to increase your odds.
There are a limited number of tickets available for each drawing.
Step 2
Share with your friends!
This seems counter-intuitive, but we only draw a winner once all of the tickets for that drawing have been purchased.
Step 3
When all tickets have been purchased for a drawing, we'll announce the winner live on our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe so you get notifications.
You should also follow our Instagram page @theoidraw so you can stay in the loop.
OI DRAW WINNERS
I am so grateful for the opportunity
"Thank you to Outdoors International, all the PHs and their awesome staff. I made some new friends and will be back to Africa to see them again 100%."
-Brye Mangum | 2023 Winner
Thank you Outdoors International
"Very excited for the trip! I’ll be bringing my dad along with me. If you haven’t put in for the OI draws you should these guys are legit!"
-Tyler Kirk | 2018 Winner
It was the trip of a lifetime!
"I won an OI Draw and it turned out to be one of my most memorable and rewarding hunts. I always dreamed about Africa, but never thought it'd be a reality for me."
-Dason Lasater | 2018 Winner
Thousands of people have trusted Outdoors International to help plan their hunt.
We have a team of hand-selected hunting experts to help you book your next trip. Our job it is to help you in researching, booking and planning a great adventure with one of our amazing outfitter partners around the world.
My hunt was absolutely top notch.
The outfitter is a fantastic man and incredibly hard working and knowledgeable, there is no doubt he will do everything within his power to make peoples hunts successful and enjoyable. I plan to do it again with him next year for sure.
Wade Zuver
Our hunt was excellent.
We saw bucks every day along with all other sorts of wildlife. Mountain goats, bears, and foxes were common sights. Fishing and crabbing was special bonus. The food was excellent, the crew was amazing. Outdoors International did a great job of finding exactly what we were looking for.
Jesse Neveau
What an amazing experience!
The hunting lodge was out of this world!, Rooms, food and the scenery were all A+. Our guide was exceptional and had us on Shiras moose all five days. We saw over 30 total with at least 10 bulls. They had a plan for everything including taxidermy and game processing.
Kayla Redmon
Awesome bear! Congrats Kim.
Wow, a great brown bear.
Great bear! Lots of work into that boy. And you are 100% correct on our "spring," it still has not happened up north. Snow pack is slowly dwindling, but the rain and fog and almost nightly new snow is not what I was hoping for for my daily hunts with my camera.
Any word on Justin Sparks? I have not heard from him since his first night. I am half afraid that he may have gotten side-tracked in that dandy little "restaurant" I recommended to him his first night in Anchortown… The Great Alaskan Bush Company. It has a tendency to interrupt plans. I am just making sure I don't need to go down there and drag him out of there and remind him that he is here to hunt bear, not trap beaver. Over
LOL, no I haven't heard from him since then either.
Woody, I think we both know him quite well and I would suggest you go and drag him out of there. Copy?