What is your favorite dangerous game animals to hunt?

[T. Downing]

I've noticed lately that this forum does not receive enough attention, and God forbide that it could ever be taken away. Here in Colorado,as most of you know, we only have two species of dangerous game: cougar and black bear. I have hunted black bears exclusively, there just has not been an opportunity for me to hunt cougar yet. I was hoping that some of you fine bowhunters could tell some short hair raising stories concerning your favorite dangerous game. God Bless, T

[Frank AK]

THere is only a few dangerous things here in alaska. My sister with a bow and the hannable people.

But I may feel up to typing about my bear experience.

[homerdave]

hey frank,
who are the hannable people?
2-blade or 3 work best on 'em?
dave

[Rick McGowan]

Buffalo, there is just something about the way they look at you. Wild cattle are interesting also and very dangerous, but so difficult to get a bow shot at that it dosn't come up very often.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to hunt free range bison one of these years and they can become one of my favorites also!

[Don Thomas]

Brown/grizzly bears, hands down. Don

[vermonster13]

Mother in law, but I have been unable to draw a tag yet.

[Frank AK]

I would say a 3 blade. They are like turkeys with bad attitudes.

[Captain Ray]

Being looking for big Foot ,but nothing yet.
Just a few tracks.

[Basalt]

G'day T, well as Don would know [ as we have hunted them together a bit over the last few years]I like nothing better than stalking big tusky hogs in the swamps of northern Australia and have been on the recieving end of a few over the past 30+ years. Also like Rick I appreciate the bulk and unpredictable temprament of our Water Buffalo fortunately I haven't been on the recieving end of any, yet.
Now I have an uncontrolable urge to hunt what I would think would have to be the most dangerous game of all Brown/Grizzly.
Don I know you are heading north to hunt them at the end of the month so all the best mate. I will be picking your brain when you return.
I have booked a hunt on the Alaskan Peninsula for Oct.07 and would appreciate any advise on Brown bear behaviour, shot placement, prefered angle, size of the vitals, broadhead-arrow weight, minimum bow weight or any other useful advise you gentlemen may be kind enough to pass on.
Cheers Basalt.

[John/Alaska]

Don - Where are you headed to hunt in May?? I'll be out chasing grizz around here when they start coming out.

Basalt - Minimum bow weight by law for these bears is 50#. I'm using a 55# long bow with a grizzly tipped arrow weighting in at 628 gr. I'm hoping for an almost broadside shot to the lungs with out the bear seeing me. The Interior bears where I do most my hunting tend to be smaller then the coastal ones.

[Basalt]

John - I'll be shooting my Robertson
"Falcon" recurve with 59lb and 69lb limbs. I was thinking I might need the 69lb limbs for coastal Brown Bear as I'm not sure how tough they are to get an arrow through ?
I killed Asiatic Buffalo with the 69lb limbs and a 2020 weighted up so it was 750gr.
I do most of my hunting with the 59lb and can shoot it slightly more accurate.
I've told my outfitter that I won't take a shot over 20yards and was thinking that I wouldn't want that bear to know I was on the planet.
I was thinking of using 145gr Grizzly head same as I took the Buff with but I was also impressed with the "Eclipse" head that Don and a couple of other Trad guys took Buff with out here last year.
I was of the mind that a slightly quartering away shot on the bear if it presented itself would be good ?
Our game over here have their vitals a bit more forward than the north American critters so Don and all the U.S. guys tell me.
We have to shoot our big game tight on the shoulder crease when broadside and not at all behind it. What's the spot you want to concentrate on when the bear is broadside and just how big are the lungs on a mature Brown bear ?
Thanks John appreciate your help and good hunting on the bears. I think Don is going up on the Peninsula somewhere and was leaving next week.
Cheers Basalt.

[T. Downing]

Basalt, Sounds like everything is going well for you in your beautiful land. I am envious of the plentiful dangerous game opportunities you gentleman are so fortunate to have in Australia. Hopefully sometime soon I can get down there. To answer your question concerning quartering way shots on bear. Their vitals are a bit foward compared to other North American game, a quartering away shot would be an excellent choice, so would a full broadside shot. Good luck to you in your future adventures! God Bless, T

[Tree man]

"I'm convinced that I could kill the biggest Brown Bear in Alaska with a 50lb bow and proportionately adjusted arrows."- Art Young

[T. Downing]

Yep Art Young was right! God Bless, T

[Basalt]

T thanks for the info, sounds like the shot placement we try for on big boars [hogs] will do the trick on the bears. Yeh we are very fortunate down here to be able to hunt all year round [ weather permitting]and no tags required as such.
Tree man that answers the bow weight issue nicely and could not come from a better source.
Thanks kindly guys, all the best,
Basalt

[Walt Francis]

Bill,
Like you, the # 1 animal on my list is the Alaskan Brown Bear, has been since I first visited Kodiak Island in 1977.  I will be hunting them next month with my brother out of Juneau.  If we are unsuccessful, I will be back in Alaska hunting them in September instead of  MT. Goats.  However, your water buffalo are really intriguing and are tentatively on my schedule for 2008.  My setup for the hunt will be either a 62# Heritage Bridger mountain longbow or an old 58# 1950's recurve.  Arrows will be either 800+ grain Alaskan Grizzly Sticks or 700 grain footed hex shafts from Whispering Wind arrows.  Broadhead's are a tossup between the Grizzly, Eclipse, or Woodsman (I love the blood trail of a three blade braodhead).

Walt Francis

[Frank AK]

Basalt.

I would suggest using a 3 blade broadhead. From every bear Ive seen get hin in the vitals with a 3 blade he only lasted about 8 seconds. A bear that was heart and lung shot hunched up and died in about 3 seconds.

They have a very bad circulatory system. If you get a lung the bear wont go far. You just need to stay away from the shoulder bone and you will get the bear down.

Depending on where your at the winds can be very deceptive by swirling and changing direction in a heartbeat.

I think you should be proficient to about 30 yards for brown bears. A broadside or quartering away shot is the only shot I will take on a brown bear.

Any other questions you have I will be happy to awnser.

[Basalt]

Walt,
I wish you all the best with the bears next month and would be very keen to hear how you go.
Sounds like my 59lb recurve will do the job.
Our Buff are amazingly tough and challenging animal and a mature bull will weigh more than a Cape Buff. Yeh they are a great animal to bowhunt.
Frank,
Thanks for the input. I have never been a great fan of three blade heads on our heavy hide and grisle coated game we hunt here but it sounds like I should go with experience and think about using them on my bear arrows.
Would the "Woodsman" be a good choice in your opinion also Frank?
I can shoot comfortablely out to 25 yards on most game and will work hard on taking that out to 30 yards well before the hunt.
Guys would I be right in thinking that the size of a mature Brown bear's vitals would be closer to the size of a dinner plate than a bread and butter plate ?
From what Don Willis our outfitter said the weather up there at that time of year will be a major obstacle.
Thanks for the advise fella's.
Bill.

[Mark U]

Well, Billy Bob, if you headed up to Darwin about now and went out on the beech with your bow, and shot while Monica was in force, you would get in some good practice for the wind out on the penninsula.  we've been out there a couple of times when it would flat out knock you down for two days in a row.  Then it would quit for a day, but blow just as hard for two more days from the opposite direction.  Skinny arrows are the answer.

[Frank AK]

yeah a wensel woodsman would do a great job. You need a good bloodtrail to track bears here in Alaska.

A dinner plate is smaller than a Brown Bears and a black bears vitals. About a 14 inch circle is the size of thier lungs. But the " honey " shot is only about a 5 inch circle.

I have heard of people getting withen feet of the bears. But they usueally spook a lot further away than that. Their tools are just to sensetive for most bears not to detect you.

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My preference is the 160 or 145 gr snuffer for all my big game though. A bigger hole is better and no bears ribs will stop your arrow.

I wish ya luck!

Frank