Hunting Kodiak

[Pdvdh]

No, but if I'd carried a 6.5, I believe I would have been.

You should give up, while you're behind.

 

[AKGuide]

My guide boss uses he's trusty 375 H&H chambered Sako for deer on Kodiak. Solids don't wreck any meat and will stop a bear if need be. Thinking of loading some solids for my 416 RUM if I ever join him to fill the freezer. I'd take the edge and shoot behind the shoulder. Also, practice with the 454, all six rounds in a paper plate at 15 yards as fast as you can fire and no worries. Also if you are rolling your own 454 rounds use a Redding profile crimp die. It is the only crimp die that I have found to keep 360 grain cast lead at 1500fps from jumping crimp out of my 7.5" SRH.

Reuben

 

[grinnergetter]

Kodiak Lessons Sept. 2017

That scrub brush is 5 ft tall and thick as h@@#. Also has pointy barbs.
Cassul in a chest rig will always be on me. Not even noticed.
When the salmon run and you are camped on freshwater....A bear fence would have at least allowed better sleep.
Everything will be wet. Period.
Your front side is not supposed to smell like your backside. Haha.
Never,ever,ever, leave the headnet at home. I'd be in a asylum without one.
If it looks steep you can bet it is way steeper than you think. I would have fell/slid around 300 yards if it weren't for a buddy in the right place at the right time.
Yes, it really can rain for 3 straight days. Relentlessly.
When the sun comes out it is freakin beautiful.
Bucks are not supposed to live just below the mountain goats. Be ready to climb.
You need 2 walking sticks. Don't care how tough/agile you are.
A level spot for a tent is not existent. Take camp shovel.
Bears can scare the bejeebers out of you when it's dark. Strong flashlight.
Have your plot circle the area a few times looking for ridges to travel on. Looking back I would want to be at the base of a mountain hopefully on a tight curve so I could walk beach to cover more sides of mountain without fighting vegetation and elevation needs. When the bucks are up that high you don't want to spend 2-3 hours just getting to the base of the mountain.
Sleep with one hand on revolver and the other on flashlight. Same position every night.
You will lose 10 pounds in a week. I had it to lose.
ENO rainfly worked excellent.
Heavy lube on handgun sights would have been a good idea. Fighting surface rust now.
A cheeseburger after hunt never tasted soooooo good.
My first unsuccessful hunting trip was pretty successful.

 

[Pdvdh]

Which portion of the island were you hunting? Heard last year's winter kill was severe in some areas.

 

[grinnergetter]

Just West of Deadmans bay. Saw 5-6 different bucks/3 does, one with 2 fawns. Locals spoke of the die off but also said if you lost 50% there was still a ton of deer left.

 

[grinnergetter]

Horse Marine Lake to be specific.

 

[tim_w]

I have about 10 friends that 7 are hunters up in AK and they all tell my a fairly standard setup is a 338 Win Mag an either a 454 or 500 SW pistol. 2 are guides.

Now one of them is major LR hunter. He loves both his 338LM and NM but he still carries a 500 SW

 

[dig]

Hunted Kodiak multiple times. Bear, goats and deer. I would have to agree the 6.5 is on the light side. Also would not want all that weight of carrying a pistol with all the other gear. My guide carried a 416 Rem as a back up or just a Glock 10mm on the goat hunts. When hunting deer and goat I took a 270 WSM light weight with 150 grn bullets and never felt undergunned. For bear I used a 300 Wby, one shot drop with 180 grn Sirrocco at the time. Have a great time, magical place when the weather cooperates.

 

[GabeV]

No such thing as overkill in the midst of sows with cubs.

Pretty much everything I heard about if you don't hit them good with the shot it's gonna take quite a few bullets to drop them 6-7 hits as they run and most of those are from a 375 H&H .I was told by my Guide

 

[dougduey]

I took the mountain goat in my profile photo on Kodiak in 2018. The outfitter told me to bring the largest caliber rifle I was comfortable with, for the goats will suck up lead and you want something bigger to deal with bears if they become an issue. The outfitter carried a 325 WSM and the 2 assistant guides carried 300 WM. Everyone, including myself had a 45 or 10mm handgun, also. I purchased a 338 LM for this hunt. Never saw a bear, but our halfway point (3.5 hours of the 7 hour hike) to our spike camp reeked of bear. So, they obviously were traveling in the same places we were. You can't be too prepared for big bears. Have a great hunt.

 

[Marky_mark]

I took the mountain goat in my profile photo on Kodiak in 2018. The outfitter told me to bring the largest caliber rifle I was comfortable with, for the goats will suck up lead and you want something bigger to deal with bears if they become an issue. The outfitter carried a 325 WSM and the 2 assistant guides carried 300 WM. Everyone, including myself had a 45 or 10mm handgun, also. I purchased a 338 LM for this hunt. Never saw a bear, but our halfway point (3.5 hours of the 7 hour hike) to our spike camp reeked of bear. So, they obviously were traveling in the same places we were. You can't be too prepared for big bears. Have a great hunt.

Simplest solution is to have some heavy for caliber, well constructed bullets, ready to go when your searching for animals
Change to your accurate, game specific bullets when your ready to shoot
The problem with goats is they are very narrow animals, and a deep penetrating bullet isnt going to give you the terminal performance your looking for

 

[ohlongarmisle]

I'll be hunting deer on Kodiak this summer. Thinking my 338 Edge is a bit overkill for a deer but having the firepower for "just in case" has it's appeal. Other option I have is 6.5 Creed....454 Casull will be on my chest.

Which would you take....Edge or 6.5 ?

I hike Pole Bridge Montana near glacier yearly, big time grizzly country, my two forms of survival should an attack occur is #1 a dog that can smell a bear a mile away, and not afraid to distract a bear , and if that fails I carry a lightweight Mossberg Maverick 88 top folder 12 ga pump, first shot is Dixie tri ball will stop any land animal in it's tracks more than likely.

the next are Brenneke Magnum crush at 666 grains each and almost 2 tons of energy,Matt vaughn an Alaskan guide turned me on to that a few years ago, a popular weapon, and so compact and light, and reliable and easy to use under stress.The magnum crush can stop any land animal on the planet, and very accurate at the intended ranges.we see grizzly on almost every outing, closest was 100 yards, the dog is 100% obedience but was on guard, he came from Czech republic a year ago.

 

[dennisinaz]

The first time i hunted Kodiak i took a 300 mag. Once i saw what it was all about i took a 260AI on my next hunt. I've lived there the past 4 years. Mostly hunting with a 308. Last year i took a grizz and 2 deer. I shot the deer with my 340 Wby mostly because it was shooting good. I hunted an area that had no bears. I have a goat hunt next month. I'll probably take my 308 but load some 168 TTSXs. I don't worry about bears. But I'm prepared to deal with them.

I have a spring brown bear permit for 3 saints unit. Either the 340 or 9.3 gets the nod.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

The first time i hunted Kodiak i took a 300 mag. Once i saw what it was all about i took a 260AI on my next hunt. I've lived there the past 4 years. Mostly hunting with a 308. Last year i took a grizz and 2 deer. I shot the deer with my 340 Wby mostly because it was shooting good. I hunted an area that had no bears. I have a goat hunt next month. I'll probably take my 308 but load some 168 TTSXs. I don't worry about bears. But I'm prepared to deal with them.

I have a spring brown bear permit for 3 saints unit. Either the 340 or 9.3 gets the nod.

Don't worry about any predator on planet earth, only one ,Homo Sapiens, by far the most dangerous and unpredictable.,10 grizzlies encountered in 12 years near Glacier,private land and no mishaps,however I stand by what I say a well trained dog I would never be without when in that wilderness, surprise attacks is what gets you killed. And that's an impossibility with the dogs that have accompanied us. This female will go with us in September for a week. Attack, obedience,tracking, quiet as a mouse but can hear a mouse, fart and smell one at uncanny distances, trained in Slovakia.The dog sat in the car for 10 minutes while I was outside the car talking to a local cop about her, people walking by asked if they could pet her, go ahead she's fine. TRAINING<BREEDING<BRAINS AND ABILITY, is all we keep.