Master Guide Hal Waugh and bear stories.

[getitdone1]

Just finished my second read of the book, "Alaska Game Trails with a Master Guide." The master guide is Hal Waugh and he received Alaskan master guide license #1. Hal hunted many different species of big game but especially enjoyed hunting brown bears. His favorite bear gun was a Winchester model 70 rebarreled to 375 Weatherby. He used 270 gr M.G.S. bullets. Never heard of'em.

One time Hal, an assistant guide and a couple of other guys were hunting using a boat as a traveling base camp. The assistant guide took a small boat to shore and began picking blueberries. A grizzly sow and her cub were also working this patch of blueberries. She made a few fake charges at the guide and he finally threw the blueberry can at her. She kept coming and he turned and ran for his boat. The sow literally knocked his head off with one swipe but even then he took another 10-15 steps while the sow batted his head around. Hal and his friends on the big boat offshore could do nothing but watch.

I believe I may have mentioned Hal Waugh and this book quite some time ago and maybe this story. Anyway, after reading this story today I wanted to share it. It certainly demonstrates the enormous power of a bear!

One of Hal's hunters shot a Kodiak brown bear whose skin weighed 212 lbs. They estimated the bear weighed well over 1500 lbs.

Hal was known to pull practical jokes on the men working for him. One time he put a large rock in his assistant guides pack and the guide carried it around all day. He also nailed a guys shoes down to the floor which made for good entertainment when he tried to put them on.

Hal died in 1973. Like me he liked guns and music and musical instruments. He played the banjo and organ. When I made my trip to Alaska in 1962--if I'd known about him and where to find him I expect I'd still be there. One man who knew him said he had a near perfect blend of strength and gentleness and he was fortunate to have known him.

Hal said that you could sometimes stop a bear from charging by speaking to it in a soft, calm voice. He recommended taking an article of clothing with you and if talking to bear fails to work, throw the clothing at it and while bear was "fighting" it you'd have time to shoot the bear. (That 'soft, calm voice' might be hard to come by under the circumstances!)

Hal says he doesn't consider any 30 caliber to be a good brown bear gun and yet he said he's a mediocre rifle shot and has taken every species of game in Alaska with a model 94 30-30 and 170 gr Core-Lokt--other than walrus and polar bear. (Kinda gets back to the importance of shot placement and proper bullet.)

Don

[windy]

thanks, don
reminds me of a yarn a trucker told me up north of the brooks one night. seems he met a grizz--brown, whatever--starting across a one-lane bridge. he dropped it into low & low and just inched across. the bear backed up, one step at a time, getting madder and madder. at the end of the bridge, where there was a wide spot, somebody had left two 55-gal steel barrels for trash; brer bear whirled, slashed the whole side out of one of them (without even tipping it over), and stalked off. enormous power, awesome speed--what an animal. think i'll try to find a copy of that book; thanks for the 'heads-up'.
mind yer topknot!
windy

[jkbrea]

Note to self........when in Alaska, never pick blueberries!

[M. M. Wright]

Love those old stories about Alaska. My favorite author is Russell Annabel. I think I have four or five of his books many of which were re-published by Safari Press. Makes great reading.

[JerryB]

I grew up reading the old Russel Annnabel stories, I reckon I need to try the Library and see if they have them.