Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island Brown Bear Hunts

Since the 1940s Kodiak Island has had the mystique of the Big Coastal Brown Bears to the point where they are simply called “Kodiaks”. Every year we conduct 3 spring and 2 fall Kodiak Island Brown Bear hunts. All of our hunts are conducted in the same manner, spot and stalk. This is why good optics are very important. Rain or shine we will go the distance with you in your search of that Kodiak Island Brown Bear of a lifetime. The terrain on the South end of Kodiak Island is fairly open with no evergreens and few deciduous trees. Large grassy openings sprinkled with willow and alder brush allow game to be spotted easily from a great distance. We own beautiful, beach-front, land with three permanent, wood heated cabins within our area of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, which we base our hunts out of and in most cases you return to every night. Meals are served family style and prepared by a competent cook, often with the addition of fresh seafood.

12 day hunts with 1 client to 1 guide.
Season: 04-01 through 05-15 and 10-25 through 11-30
Average Temperature (Kodiak city area): about 45° in May and October with an average rainfall of 6 inches during the same months.

Kodiak Island Brown Bear Permit Drawing Process: Land status (ownership) on Kodiak plays a key role in permit process. In our area, the major landowner is the Federal Government. Through a lengthy process, I have secured the guiding rights in this area. I am the only guide recognized by the landowner, which simplifies the permit drawing process for you and virtually guarantees you a permit if you follow the directions we send you. If for some reason you are not drawn, (has not happened yet) we will refund your deposit or reschedule your hunt.

Ron Shirk, owner of Ron Shirk Shooting Supplies, in Lebanon, PA hunted three days with Gus Lamoureux and was stalking a Kodiak Island Brown Bear larger than this one when it gave them the slip. While Ron and Gus were resting after the climb, this Kodiak bruin lumbered over the hill behind them and began rolling in the snow, 80 yards away. It didn’t take a lot of sizing to figure out he was close to ten foot. Ron dispatched him with a very well placed shot. If you would like to ask Ron some questions about his Kodiak Island Brown Bear hunt, you may email him at bonnieandron@evenlink.com. Ron also got a Sitka Blacktail Deer and Mt. Goat during his Kodiak brown bear hunt.

Dr. Joseph Camero, out of the Laredo Medical Center in Laredo, TX, pictured here with Gus, said he had his eye on a 10-foot Alaska Kodiak Island Brown Bear. So, when we bumped onto this one, sleeping, on the first day we had a little apprehension about shooting him. We made a lot of noise, and yelled at him to get him to move so we could get a better look. Once he stood up, it was a done deal. This Kodiak Island Brown Bear was so old he didn’t have a good tooth left in his mouth. To discuss Joe’s hunt with him you may email him at jpcamero54@yahoo.com. Joe also got a nice Mt. Goat during his Alaska brown bear hunt. You can see a portion of Joe's hunt video here

When Michael Moore , Ken Sager and John Martin all from Pennsylvania, showed up for their Alaska Kodiak Island Brown Bear hunt we weren’t prepared for the tempo of which things took place. John tried for his Kodiak Brown Bear on the 6th day of the hunt and it didn’t work out. He decided to rest the next day, so his guide, Daniel Nicolai went hunting with Ken Sager and his guide, Glenn Bohn. They spotted two Kodiak Brown Bears chasing each other. Later that evening a bear came out of the creek bottom. Glenn, Ken and Dan made a successful stalk and took the Kodiak Brown Bear pictured here with Ken. Another bigger Kodiak Brown Bear came out from below and proceeded to walk where Ken’s bear had previously walked. As the guys were checking out their bear, the second Kodiak Brown Bear walked up on them to the tune of 16 feet away. It was undeterred after firing shots to scare it away. Unfortunately they had to shoot it. So the following day after skinning two Kodiak Brown Bears, Dan and John went hunting down the beach and John got a nice nine-foot Kodiak Brown Bear. The next day, after turning the incidental kill bear over to Fish and Game, Mike, Gus and Dan connected with the third Kodiak Brown Bear. Mike is pictured with his bear and Daniel Nicolai. Mike is coming back for goat and will come to the Alaska Peninsula to see if he can get another brown bear via archery.

Joe Ciottariello , owner of Millbrook Landscape Contractors, in New Jersey, is pictured here with his spring Kodiak Island Brown Bear. Joe was guided by Lance Kronberger and was lucky enough to get two Easton Axis/Montec G5 arrows at 40-yards into his Kodiak Island Brown bear. Joe used his Matthews 75# Drenaline bow. Joe also had a good time with Gus, Koreen, and the dog, Spooner, getting some Dungeness Crab and steamer clams for dinner.

Pictured with his archery bear is Chuck Brewer. Chuck hales from Colorado and hunted three days with his guide, Lance Kronberger, before making a deadly 17-yard shot on this Kodiak Island Brown Bear. If you have further questions for Chuck you may contact him via email. Here is Chuck carrying back the bear skull.

Lance Parks came to Kodiak Island from Billings, Montana for his brown bear. He was pleasantly surprised to find that his guide, Paul Lemmark also currently lives in Montana. It only took Paul 7 days to get Lance up on this gorgeous brown bear. After the bear was down and taken care of Lance went on to get a nice Sitka Blacktail buck. Lance can be hard to reach, as he is sometimes out of country, but an email to dvrbabe@onemain.com will eventually get through.

When Dr. Martin Hohmann of Heidelberg, Germany wanted an Alaskan Kodiak Island Brown Bear he decided that the best place for him to get one was with Gus Lamoureux’s Ugashik Lake and Kodiak Bear Camps. Martin put his chiropractic business on hold and came to enjoy Alaska. Lyle Becker guided Martin to his beautiful Kodiak Island Brown Bear.

Steve Hoblick booked his Kodiak Island Brown bear, Mt. Goat and Sitka Blacktail deer hunt at the Safari International Convention. Steve took a rest from his duties at Danly Engineering Company, in California to spend some very enjoyable time with us. He harvested his battle-torn Kodiak bear on the very first day of his bear hunt. If you would like to ask him any questions you may send him an email.

Kodiak Island Sitka Blacktail Deer Hunts

Sitka Blacktail is a unique species of deer and an often sought after trophy needed for the North American Slam of Deer. Blacktail deer hunting on Kodiak Island is one of the best Alaskan hunts for your money. You can combine great hunting with bottom fishing, bear and goat viewing, duck hunting and on top of all that have some scrumptious seafood treats for meals. This is a relatively inexpensive way to see one of the most beautiful areas of Alaska.

Deer hunting in Alaska, by nature, fluctuates from season to season. Due to our southern location on Kodiak Island we have noticed a steady population of harvestable bucks when winterkills on northernmost parts of the island are substantial. Being on a land-based hunt is very advantageous because you sleep in wood heated cabins and always wake up to gear dried by a wood stove and you do not have to concern yourself with seasickness or sleepless nights during rough weather. If the weather is such that you don’t feel the need to hunt, no one is going to kick you out the door.

With good genetics in our area and four bucks in the top 35 of B&C we expect to see continued results and more outstanding trophies from this area on the South end of Kodiak Island.

We offer a guided hunt for the clients that need a little help and companionship or people of alien citizenship. We also offer an unguided hunt for groups of four or more people that would prefer their own outdoor experience. As with all our hunts, guided or unguided, all accommodations, meals, and lodging is provided. We do prefer that unguided hunts come in groups of four and that for safety concerns hunt in pairs. On a guided hunt we do all the skinning, packing out, salting and meat hanging for you. As an unguided hunter these are things you must do for yourself. We are always available to give pointers on caping, should you need it.

We have three boats and a canoe for you to get around the bay and lagoon in. You will not be allowed to use a boat unless you have been checked out on its operation. We also provide drop off and pick up service. The majority of our hunts are guided or semi-guided and since most of my guides know the places where the hard to find bucks habituate the guided hunts normally do about 50% better than unguided hunts, but some guys just have the killer instinct and do fine without a guide. The terrain can be steep in some places and often times you’ll swear you are chasing goat instead of deer, but the reward is well worth the climb. Please contact us to request a current price quote for our five-day deer hunt.

Season: 08-01 through 12-31 Dates: Hunt not available until after Nov.06

Biglerville, Pennsylvania is the home of Dave Slaybaugh who poses here with one of his two nice Kodiak Island Sitka Blacktail he took while being guided by Gus Lamoureux. This deer took the Safari Club International second place award in 2008 with a score of 97 1/8.

Charles Mervar of Longmont, Colorado bagged this nice Kodiak Island Sitka Blacktail buck shortly after he arrived at camp on a deer/goat combination hunt. He later took a nice Billy that unfortunately fell into a location that was unrecoverable.

Kodiak Island Mountain Goat Hunts

Since our area of Kodiak was first opened for the hunting of Mountain Goats we have enjoyed 100% success for our hunters in obtaining a trophy goat, usually well below 2000 ft. elevation. Three billies 10” or over have been taken here and our average is above 9”. Try to imagine spotting a goat at noon and being in the cabin, eating dinner at 7:00 PM, with your trophy hanging in the shed. It can and does happen!

The low, rugged mountains make this one of the easiest goat hunts anywhere. We have enjoyed 100% success for our hunters in shooting a trophy goat with relatively minimal physical output. There are no mountains in our area above 3200 feet and the majority of our goats have been obtained between 1200-1500 feet. Our low elevations make this one of the easiest goat hunts anywhere.

So far, it hasn't taken us longer than five days of hunting to fill out, most are done in one day. We conduct these hunts in mid Oct. to mid Nov. as this is the best hunting time for a magnificently long coat and weather often forces the goats down to lower terrain. Relatively low to moderate climbing experience necessary, terrain for the most part is not cliff-type-mountains. To make this hunt even easier on you we have begun using spike camps and this will require you to bring some extra gear as is listed on our equipment checklist. Up until November 2009 the harvest of goat in this area has been controlled by drawing permit. Because of dramatic population levels these goat are now on a registration permit. This is done by going on line at the right time of year and applying for a permit. This system should last three to four years. Please contact us for further details.

1 client : 1 guide for 7 hunting days Season: 08/20 – 12/15 Hunt conducted 10/15 to 11/15

William Snow met us at the Safari Club International Show in Reno. He wanted to come on a goat hunt and was very glad when it went from a drawing to a registration permit. The day after Bill arrived at camp he put a one-day march on this Billy Goat, with his guide Lance Kronberger. They returned to camp in the wee hours of the morning with a beautiful billy. Bill hales from Ravenel, South Carolina and when he says he is going to cement a deal, he means it, as that is what his business is, Palmetto Gunite Construction Co., Inc. and if you would like to contact him via email you can do so at snowwl@aol.com.

Dave Baldauf currently has the distinction of getting our lowest altitude goat. He and his guide, Gus Lamoureux, spotted it crossing between mountains and had to run downhill to catch up with him. Dave put a clean, one shot kill on him at 200 feet elevation.

Ken Sager of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania decided he enjoyed his Kodiak Island Brown Bear hunt so much that he wanted to come back for a goat hunt. You can tell in this photo that he obviously has some words of wisdom on his lips after chasing goat for five days. Ken’s email is sagerk@comcast.net.

Cale Disterhoft is pictured here with his Kodiak Island Mountain Goat. He was guided by his dad, Duane Disterhoft, and got his goat on the first day of the hunt, on the same hill that his dad got his own goat on in 2005 when Cale accompanied his dad as a nonhunter. Duane and Cale proudly hold up their 80-pound halibut. We were seconds away from calling it quits when this Butt got hooked up on Cale’s line. He said it was a great way to end a successful goat hunt. Duane has hunted with us and guided for us many times. He recently got an archery brown bear on the Alaska Peninsula.

Bonnie Shirk of Lebanon, Pennsylvania lifts her arms in a triumphant “Praise The Lord!” over her Billy Goat taken at our Kodiak location. The going was hard on her and the conditions were very windy, but Bonnie was determined and she made an excellent shot to anchor her Billy. Bonnie also got a nice Sitka Blacktail deer. She and her husband, Ron, were both on this hunt and went home with five nice trophies.

Roberto Biciocchi spent the night on the hill and was guided to his Billy by Chris Osbekoff. Roberto came all of the way from Italy to Kodiak Island, to hunt a Mt. Goat and a Sitka Blacktail Deer and Chris made sure he got both of them. Roberto conducts his own hunts in Italy and in Africa, I am sure you can email your questions to him.

Steve Hoblick, on a beautiful day on Kodiak Island with his Mt. Goat. Steve also took a nice Sitka Blacktail deer and a brown bear.

Tim Gott of Gott's Disposal, in Maine decided the time was right for him to come to Kodiak Island to get a Mt. Goat. Tim went up into the hills with his guide, Brett Bohn, to spike out in a tent until he could get this goat.

Pat Kennedy has been moose hunting with us many times, but when he found out he could register for a goat permit, he decided it was time to come on a goat hunt. Pat persevered in his hunt until he got this nice Billy. Pat was guided by Gus and Chris Osbekoff. If you have any question for Pat, you can send him an email.

Gerald Purcell met us at the Safari Club International Convention and started talking with us about a Mt. Goat hunt. We had to time this carefully for Gerald to be able to get away from his Pike Lake Outfitters business in between his goose and Whitetail Deer hunts. Bret Bohn guided Gerry to his bodacious Billy Goat. If you would like to talk with him about his trip with us or about making a trip with him, you may send him an email.

Mike Moore (on right) and Bret Bohn pose with Mike's Billy Goat. Mike has hunted with us a couple times and plans on returning as his business in Pennsylvania allows. I am sure he would be happy to answer any questions you posed to him regarding any of our hunts that he has been on.

Ron Shirk with his Mountain Goat, which he took on the same hunt as his Kodiak Island Brown bear and Sitka Blacktail Deer.

Kodiak Island Bear Camp

Our Kodiak Island Bear Camp is located within the Kodiak Island National Wildlife Refuge, in Kaiugnak Bay, on the Southeast end of Kodiak Island, about 30 miles south of Old Harbor. This hunting area is Game Management Unit 8 and has been in our family for more than fifty years. This is the area where I took my first brown bear, at age nine.

Kodiak Island Bear Camp consists of three wood heated cabins, the main section of the main cabin was constructed prior to 1964 and rode out the tsunami after the largest recorded earthquake (9.2) in North America. The two guest cabins each have four bunks, wood laminate flooring and paneling with wood and kerosene heat. Each bunk is provided with covered foam mattress pads, pillows and clean linens. We also have an on demand hot water shower that we use, providing the weather remains warm enough not to freeze the water source.

If you feel that you would prefer to spike out in a small tent, with freeze dried food, so that you can be even closer to the game, getting an even more remote Alaskan experience, we have top of the line tents, mattresses and equipment.