Equipment Considerations and Gear List
Alaska, a land of rugged terrain, extreme weather, and some of the largest terrestrial animals on earth. This combination of elements can be very unforgiving to the unprepared, under equipped hunter. It cannot be stressed enough the importance of gear of the highest quality, whether it be optics, firearms, or the clothing system chosen to keep a hunter warm and dry.
Firearms for Bear Hunting
Alaska is home to some of the largest brown and black bears in the world. The sheer size, toughness, tenacity, and will to live of these bears is at times incomprehensible. When choosing a rifle for your bear hunt, many factors such as construction, bullet caliber, and choice of optics needs to carefully be taken into consideration.
- Rifle Construction: While rifles made of wood stocks and blued metalwork are the classic construction of rifles for the discriminating sportsman, the harsh elements of Alaska often take a toll on a rifle assembled with these materials. The southeast Alaska coastal mountains can average over 200 inches of precipitation per year. When you add the harsh saltwater of the marine environment, wood stocks and blued metal often don’t fare well. If you choose to bring a wood/blued rifle on your hunt, please be prepared for the meticulous care and maintenance needed to keep your rifle in optimal functioning condition. Synthetic stocks with stainless steel actions and barrels are much more forgiving in these conditions and require somewhat less maintenance during the duration of your hunt.
- Caliber Selection: Bears are arguably one of the toughest animals on the planet. Their toughness is renowned not only by their sheer size, but bears also possess biological functions that allow them to survive certain trauma that would quickly capacitate a lesser animal. With that said, our recommendation when selecting a caliber for your hunt are those of large bores and heavy bullet construction. We recommend at minimum, a rifle caliber of .375 or greater with a bullet weight of 300 grains and upward. Bullet construction should be the controlled expanding type that maximizes retained weight, as solids are insufficient and can be detrimental to the recovery of your bear. Some bullet recommendations to consider include: Barnes TSX, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Nosler Partitions, Nosler Accubonds, Swift A- Frames, Hornady DGX Bonded.
- Rifle Optics: One of the most consequential choices a hunter can make is that of his choice in optics. During both the spring and fall, bears we are hunting are often most active as the day approaches last light and this is arguably when the majority of our bears are harvested. Therefore, shooting in low light conditions requires a scope of the highest quality with the ability to gather all available light. Our recommendation would be a scope of variable magnification in the 2×10 power range, with an objective lens of 44 to 56 millimeters. Reticle choice is an often overlooked feature when choosing a rifle scope, yet the importance can’t be emphasized enough. Due to the low light conditions that we are hunting in, a heavy or illuminated reticle can often be the difference in getting a shot or watching that boar quietly disappear into the woods. Swarovski Optik is our recommended make of choice in both rifle scopes and binoculars. If you need recommendations or help purchasing a new scope for your hunt, Glacier Guides is an authorized dealer for Swarovski Optik and we can facilitate a new scope purchase at outfitter pricing.
Firearms for Mountain Goat Hunting
Hunting Mountain Goats in the glacial fjords of Southeast Alaska is one of the most unique and challenging experiences a mountain hunter could ever hope to partake in. The challenges of hunting the towering peaks of the coastal range require a rifle up to the task, both ballistically and of suitable construction to survive the extreme elements that a winter goat hunt will surely offer. When selecting a rifle for your goat hunt, one should evaluate and choose carefully based upon a few specific characteristics and features. These include, rifle construction, caliber/ballistics, and choice of optics.
- Rifle Construction: While rifles made of wood stocks and blued metalwork are the classic construction of rifles for the discriminating sportsman, the harsh elements of Alaska often take a toll on a rifle assembled with these materials. The southeast Alaska coastal mountains can average over 200 inches of precipitation per year. When you add the harsh saltwater of the marine environment, wood stocks and blued metal often don’t fare well. If you choose to bring a wood/blued rifle on your hunt, please be prepared for the meticulous care and maintenance needed to keep your rifle in optimal functioning condition. Synthetic stocks with stainless steel actions and barrels are much more forgiving in these conditions and require somewhat less maintenance during the duration of your hunt.