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The Phase 4 is tuned up (incase I wind up taking it) and the Tall Tines is doing what the Tall Tines does.

Any advice, gee-whizzers or "I wish I'd have done this/that differently" from you guys would be very much appreciated.

The 2023 season is here!!!!

-Eric

Good luck, Eric!

Best way to kill an animal with your stickbow is to leave your compound home.

Many talk a big game but very few have the willpower to see their goal thru. The more difficult you can make it on yourself to “cheat” the better chance of success of meeting your goal you will have.

Be sure to take just your compound. That way you are leveraging Murphy's Law to get within 12 yards of an apex predator. :)

Brown bear with a bow is the goal. Brown Bear with the recurve is preferred.

And T-Roy, idk he might give the bear a run for its money hahahah

Interesting idea about the perception from the blind @pocoloco! That would have never crossed my mind. I'll set mine up tomorrow and give 'er a go. Very solid insight BTW, thank you!

@goelk in shooting a 58" Tall Tines, 48 @ 29.5, Black Eagle Vintage arrows cut to 30" with an Iron Will S200 w/bleeder running point. The TAW is 565 grains and I shoot them off the shelf. Not really a fan of tabs so instead I used a Bodnik speed glove. It's tillered for 3 under but I "hair trigger" it and use 2. lol. It feels more comfortable to pull and release with 2 fingers and it's 33.3333333% easier than releasing all 3 cleanly. I'll take every advantage I can get!

@Mikecastillo that would be awesome. Best of luck and safe travels! I hope you ground a giant!!!!

MA-PAdeerslayer: I think t-roy meant the BEAR will look SMALL if Eric is in the picture! ;-)

I read Erics review on his polar bear and it was awesome.

Just not sure what the hard way was

12 days....

Kind of cool part of the trip

Are there "rules" in place if things go sour after the shot? Do you Have to give the guide the "go ahead" to put lead in it?

So I left for Alaska Sunday around 5:30pm and after a quick stop in Seattle I'm met at the Anchorage airport by Jonah and Sharad. It was midnight and it was just getting dark.....well as dark as it get's in Alaska this time of year. After about and hour ride we make it to Jonah's house. It was late and after a full day of travel I was beat. The plan was to be in the air around 9-10am the next day. I find my bunk and crash. I got a few hours of sleep before my interal clock that was still on East Coast time tells me to get up. I was still exhausted but we had bears on the brain and it was go-time!

I get to the business of putting my bows together, checking specs and slinging arrows to ensure I was still dialed in prior to leaving for camp. I shot 15-20 recurve shots that all hit themark and 2 shots out of the compound that were both touching at 20. The bows were good to go. Jonah pulled me aside and we took a peek at a few trail cam pics. Two big bears were on my bait with one being an absolute dream bear. Huge, thick bear with a perfect hide, gorgeous color and a massive head. The other one was still big but much less impressive. Of course this sent me into overdrive! The bait I was hunting didn't require a river crossing so I was able to skip the chest waders and pack a bit lighter. Once I got all my gear sorted I loaded up with Jonah and off we went.

The flight out was gorgeous! It was a clear day and the views were amazing. We saw numerous bears from the air and after a brief flight we landed a couple miles from the blind. Jonah left John and I to set up camp while he went to get my guide, Harold. Now I didn't know this at the time but Harold is quite an accomlished trad hunter. In the 10 hours we spent in the blind together it became crystal clear that I was sitting next to a man that's accomplsihed more with stick and string than could ever dream. I was definitely in good hands.

It's around 1pm and Johan comes back with Harold. Together he, John, Harold and I all fly to the bait. We get set up in the blind while John and Jonah (loudly) touch up the bait and the hunt is on.

An hour later I catch movement! I see a massive swath of brown moving slowly to the bait. I had tension on the string instantly. It was the smaller of the two bears and I was ready to drop the string on this guy the second he gave me an opportunity. Even though I knew he was the smaller bear he still looked huge. Thankfully Harold had the good sense to talk me off the ledge and ensure me that the other bear would come in and that we could do better. The smaller bear stuck around for a bit then wondered off.

A few hours pass and I see what looks to be a brown Sherman tank lumbering towards the bait. It was the target bear and HE WAS HUUUGE!!!!! He had literally everything I'd wanted in a brown bear, huge head, gorgeous color, full hide, the works! He came in and laid on the bait facing us head on......no shot. He'd paw around, adjust positions, stand up and plop right back down, again...no shot. At one point he picks his head up to look back from the direction he came and is clearly nervous. I'm thinking it has to be a legit monster if its making this bear nervous. He stands up, takes two steps backwards, quickly turns, again offering no shot. He walks 20 yards back the way he came, looked around and then came back! The second time he came in was a carbon copy of the first, laying down facing us with no shot. After maybe 10-15 minutes he stands up and bolts. I ready my bow thinking a titan is about to show up.......nope! It was the skinny bear with the shitty attitude. He blew my bear off the bait and the action settled down for a while.

Around 9pm the parade of black bears started. We wound up seeing 5 blacks with 2 being really good bears. My focus was solely on a brown so I didn't even bother getting a black bear tag. I didn't want having a black bear tag in my pocket distract me from the job at hand. That being said if I had a tag it would have gotten punched on one of those bears. They were big and had flawless hides. Not long after the blacks came in Skinny decided to show up and push his weight around. Well the big black wasn't having it and pushed back. They fought in the area of the blind for 10 minutes or so before they all cleared off.

Around 11:20pm it happens. Tank rolls back in and this time he's not laying down. He comes in and feeds standing for bit. My bow is up and ready and I've got tension on the string. If this bear gives me a shot I'm sitting on as much of a hair trigger as I can with this recurve. As he feeds he takes a step towards the blind, then another and then another. He pauses for a second then commits to walking across my shooting path at 5 yards! I anticipate his foot coming forward and as it does I send an arrow through both of his lungs. I had just put a perfectly placed arrow in the bear of a lifetime!! He spins and growls at the hit, walks out 15-20 yards and is trying in earnest to find out what hit him, another 4-5 steps and he goes down hard. I can't beleive what had just happened. The size of this animal at that distance was the most intense situation I've been in other than the polar bear hunt. In my excitement I try my best to shake the life out of Harold. That didn't work so I resorted to a bearhug. It seemed fitting given the siutation. After I few seconds I looks over to him and say "please don't tell me we have to wait an hour before we go look at him." His response, "with that shot we should be good to go whenever." The bear was literally dead within seconds. Upon inspection I center punched both lungs and the broadhead was coming out the other side. This was the same exact head I took my musk ox, polar bear and black bear with and it was still very sharp. If it was a fresh head I have no doubt that it would have blown through him.

The walk up to that bear was crazy. He got bigger every step I took and I couldn't have been happier with him!!!

I have a good video of the shot and recovery on my social media accounts. On FB just search for Eric Bethune or search IG for thejuggernock and the vids are there. My stuff is public so no need to add me to see the vids.

The moral of the story: Jonah Stewart has his shit together! The entire squad is cooler than the other side of the pillow and no stone is left unturned. Skylar makes amazing home cooked meals for camp, the logistics went off like clockwork and there is no shortage of big bears. Everybody there is super friendly and easy to get along with. If I'm ever in the market for a good hunt in Alaska I'm calling Jonah first, that is if he'll have me back after breaking his plane!!!

Cheers fellas and thank y'all for the continued support. You guys truly are the best!!

You’re spot on with Jonah. I echo your comments. I booked moose with him in 2024 and can’t wait to see what he has in store for me

Now how’d you break the plane? : )

—jim

I've gotten a few "fly and hunt on the same day" questions. This rule doesn't apply for baited hunts and rightfully so. It wouldn't make much sense to restrict flying to get to animals you're baiting.

@Tim, I'm gonna touch the edge up, swap out the bleeder and it's going to the deer woods this fall! I might never need another broadhead. lol

@Jason, that trip is gonna be epic. I can't wait to get on the boat!!

@Gene, a recurve bear slam does have a nice ring to it.......

Thanks for all the support fellas!!!

WELL DONE sir!

Thanks for sharing, that sounds like a great adventure!

Need to tell those guys over on the Leatherwall ya can kill a big Brown bear with a 48# recurve...8^)

Thanks again for all the pats on the back guys. I'm super grateful for all the support and kind words!

@rattling_junkie holy giant tree batman! Hope nothing was seriously damaged and glad nobody got hurt. Also...Nate's bear checked all the boxes. Way to go y'all!! Can not wait for '24.