That one in BPS had to be 9 or 10`.I knew they were big but until you actually see one its impossible to realize how big they really are.Those black bears in the Smokies look like their cubs in comparison
Congratulations on your hunt.Made a impressive rug I bet
Hope it was`nt close when you shot,thinking of those 6” teeth
We live up on the Yukon at Eagle, near the border. This one local guy had been married to local Indian girl when he was young. They built a cabin across the river on land the Indians gave them, had a few kids; happy as a man could be; then his Indian wife went back to her people and the booze and his world fell apart. So anyway, when he'd get down about life, he'd run his boat across the river, walk up the bank to their old cabin, burn a joint, and think about happier times. So this one time he walked up the bank with his dog & rifle, sat down, smoked his joint. Soon as he was high as heck, here comes this momma grizz with 2 big cubs and she wasn't playin around. He shot her like 3 times and didn't have anymore shells with him. The cubs kept circling him and his dog was barking at the bears and the cubs knew their momma was dead and didn't like it. My buddy said his dog is what kept those almost grown cubs from killing him and after a few minutes the cubs lost their bluster & wandered off into the brush. He said being high off smoking that pot and have a life threatening situation happen was too freaky for him, ha ha. To hear him tell the story is a good time; true story too.
About 20 yards...but my guide had dropped me on a little island with a brush blind, and he was wading away, pushing the boat to hide it. He had his back to the bear when it came outta the woods, so he never saw it. You're not supposed to shoot unless the guide gives the ok, but the bear was walking very fast right at the guide, I had to decide if I wanted to play by the rules, or risk getting the guide mauled, so I shot it, looking for a spine shot.
He dropped in his tracks, but was roaring REALLY loud...the guide hollered "WTF did you just do?" I said I'd just dropped a bear, & he said "shoot him again". I replied "all I can see is his ass".."so shoot him in the ass".
I shot him again, but with little effect, he said "keep shooting", I said "if you want him shot more, you shoot him". (I was in a VERY muddy area, couldn't move to get a better angle, but the guide could.) So he shot him 3 more times before he expired.
The guide was a young guy, already skittish from an event on previous hunt, so I never did tell him the full story, nothing worse than a gun-shy dog or a bear-shy guide.
Spent seven weeks in Alaska, had a terrific trip. Everybody should see it at least once.