Central Florida Taxidermy Studio

Submitted by: Joe Luth

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Review Submitted: Mar 27, 2016

Hunt Date: Feb 14, 2015

Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Arctic Tundra

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 15K-20K

Unique Moose Hunt

Alaska Bush Adventures provided my son Regan and I with a very successful and unique Moose Hunt. Our last stop on the river near dusk, Les started raking and calling as we walked into the interior bush. Seeing freshly raked trees made us keenly tuned into the sudden return "cow calls". Les doubled us back to the river pronto. As we approached the bank, Les's eyes told me this was it! Huffing and puffing I focused about 150 yards across the river O.M.G., not one but 4 Moose, a Large Bull, Cow, Juvenile bull and a Calf. I popped my scope, stood and fired my 340 Weatherbe. WHAP! I hit the bull mid section. He just still stood there frozen, stunned but not dropping. The bullet went clear through the huge bull. Les said "hit him again"! This time he crumpled and fell into the river. Luckily his 52" horns caught the river bed and stopped him from floating further down river. What a thrill for me and my son Regan. We boated across the river, got a few photos, and tied the big guy off just before nightfall. I have hunted Alaska several time. This hut was truly unique, remote, scenic and a thrill of a lifetime. When he said how remote he was I couldn't believe it. There are so many hunters that hunt Alaska and other guide services just drop you right on top of other hunters. Alaska Bush Adventures is remote and they have all the amenities too. Hot shower, boats, argos, great food, etc... It was an amazing trip and we did not see any other hunters anywhere. It takes a bit longer to get out to his camp sites but well worth the trip. Lots of game to see and a great hunt. Les Krank and his son Ryan, Guides and staff really do a great job and made this Moose Hunt very special! Thank you, Alaska Bush Adventures!

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Submitted by: Doug Irvin

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Review Submitted: Feb 4, 2013

Hunt Date: Sep 8, 2012

Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: Any

Beware

I am writing this review after reading response from Mr. Krank to review written by Guy Willis. I hunted the the same base camp that Mr. Willis started his hunt and ended it. In response to all boat motors working when we arrived @ camp is not true only one worked in reverse later that day we had 2 and nearly 3rd running. In response to Mr. Willis & his guide stepping out of there boat to get to bank is not true. There boat swamped and he and his guide stayed on the river that night after losing all they had in the boat. I went with my guide the next morning to help. Mr. Willis & his guide Bo were @ camp they did not look good. We went to turn boat over & recover boat motor. We also found Bo's gun floating down river in his gun boat, that was all that was recovered. Mr. Krank also said that they were short a Guide & they asked other clients if they would do a two on one hunt and they would offer them a trip back. I am one of the two and myself or my hunting buddy was not offered a trip back. We were asked if we would work with them. My buddy left camp 4 days after we got there. I was lucky enough to see & shoot a Moose but we did not find it, looked all day. The next day we went to get Mr. Willis & his guide which is good. I asked several times after getting back to our camp if we could go look for my Moose again since we had two guides in camp and no one hunting. Never got to go look again. Before i left camp i asked my guide if he was going to send me the video or copy of video of myself shooting the Moose, he said yes would probably be 6 weeks or so. I sent a E-Mail after 8 weeks after hunt asking about video. No answer and no video. One other thing Mr. Krank said they did not keep extra guns in camp for hunters, when I first talked to him about this hunt I was thinking about using my Bow. He told me that would we fine & if I wanted to use a gun later in the Hunt that they kept a extra .338 in camp. This is just a short version of trip.

Outfitter Response: Of course I find Mr. Irvins statements not to be entirely true. I am surprised that he does speak some truth but then does not continue to tell the rest of the story. Did everything go as planned, it never does. This is Alaska for crying out loud. There is no roads, no people, no help, unpredictable weather changes; it’s you and the great outdoors. This is as close as you can get to hunting as our fore fathers did. This is fair chase hunting not high fence hunting. I find it strange that Mr. Irvin starts out with answering no to animals seen and meet expectations as well as size seen. If this is true why did he shoot a moose on his 6th day of hunting? If it did not meet his expectations he should not have shot the 60”+ Bull Moose. Also Mr. Irvin may have forgotten about the brown bear Mr. Willis shot at 3 times and yes missed all three times at well under 200 yards. If this did not meet expectations why was he shooting? Mr. Willis also saw several Bull Moose but he did not see a legal moose. Mr. Irvin does not even remember the primary terrain. His answer was mountain. We never climbed a mountain, never got close to a mountain. We hunted the lower portion river where it is flat the entire time. He again answers no to the hunting pressure in the guide’s area. Well There were no other outfitters on the river or seen. The only people Mr. Irvin had to contend with was his hunting partner for 4 days until he left. After 2 days the 2 other hunters in camp including Mr. Willis were up river at another base camp. Mr. Irvin is almost correct with the boat motors. We had a motor rebuilt in town over the offseason and as we all would, expected it to work. Well Mr. Irvin is correct it did not work, but Mr. Irvin neglects to mention is the 2 spare motors we have at camp and in about 30 minutes had it swapped out and it ran fine for the rest of the season. Once the motor was swapped the 3 boats made a 4 ½ hour round trip boat ride with no problems. Mr. Irvin tells about the boat swamping, He was not there so naturally he only tells what Mr. Willis is telling him to say. Mr. Irvin did accompany me to the upper base camp so we could recover the boat and any lost items. What Mr. Irvin is not being honest about is that he did not accompany us to recover the boat. He stayed at camp. Again, Mr. Irvin was not with us while recovering the boat and does not know about all the items that were found. We did find a life jacket, gas cans and an oar. I know it’s not much but just proving Mr. Irvin does not have his story correct. Mr. Irvin also would not know about the walking the river bank and in the river looking for lost items and the 2 boats going up and down the river slowly trying to look at the river bottom for Mr. Willis’s gear. Yes they did spend the night on the river bank with a fire, but if it would have been life threatening they could have walked across a shallow part of the river about 20’ from where the boat swamped and walked 400 yards to a newly built trappers cabin. I know the river was shallow here because I walked it looking for Mr. Willis’s gear. Once more Mr. Irvin is being slightly honest. Yes we were short a guide due to one was in a car wreck prior to season, breaking a foot and collar bone and we had a back up but he received a citation just before season so we only had one choice and that was to call and cancel someone's trip. In 2008 a similar situation happened when a guide prior to season was stacking hay bails and one rolled of the top and hit him in his knee and blew it out. At this time we contacted the caribou hunter and had no choice but to cancel his hunt until next season. He was asked if he would like to upgrade his hunt to a brown bear hunt at no extra charge and gladly accepted. This client left with a black bear and a brown bear. When the same attempts were made, Mr. Irvin and his partner were already in Alaska. The other hunter from out of the country was already in the U.S. on his way and Mr. Willis was contacted while still at home. Mr. Willis’s answer was it was not his problem and he was coming anyway. Again Mr. Irvin is telling the truth to a point. When Mr. Irvin and his partner arrived I did speak to them about hunting together. I explained to them the situation about the guides and asked if they would mind hunting together since they were partners. Now here is where Mr. Irvin does not tell the rest of the truth. I explained the odds are not as good as hunting alone and if things did not work out we would work something out for next season. Mr. Irvin and his partner agreed. Mr. Irvin’s partner asked if he were to leave early would it increase Mr. Irvin’s odds at harvesting a moose, I said it would. Mr. Irvin even asked his partner to stay and that the two of them said they would work with us and help us out. His partners response was this would make it easier on the guide and planned on coming back some day and was not sure if Mr. Irvin would make it back because of his age. When Mr. Irvin’s partner was getting on the plane to leave we shook hands and I said “I hope to see you back”. Here we are again with partial truths. Mr. Irvin did shoot 3 times at a moose hitting it twice at under 100 yards; we spent nearly 12 hours looking for the moose and never found it. The blood trail was heavy up to about 8-10 feet from where it seemed the moose crossed the water. At this point we could not find the blood trail again. Here is where Mr. Irvin strays from the truth. I contacted 2 cub pilots in the area so they could fly the area to locate the wounded moose. The first pilot had already gone to Anchorage and the other pilot was backed up with other hunters due to the bad weather but would help us out when weather cleared. This conversation took place on the 15th and the pilot said he may be able to get to us on the 19th. Mr. Irvin’s response was that will be too late, I will just leave when Mr. Willis leaves. On the 18th when the plane came in to pick up Mr. Irvin and Mr. Willis I gave the GPS coordinates of where Mr. Irvin shot his moose to the pilot explaining to him the direction the moose ran off and to fly over the area. When the pilot arrived he did fly over but did not see anything. When they left I asked the pilot to fly over the area again with Mr. Irvin. He did fly over the area again and I called later that day to check with the pilot but they did not see anything. Also on the 21st I again had 2 planes fly over the area when they flew in to pick everyone up and nothing was seen. When I left we flew the area and did not see anything. Here again Mr. Irvin is not being honest. Mr. Irvin Never once asked to go look for the moose again after the first day, he only asked once to go fishing and I said tell me when you want to go and we will, but I guess he never wanted to go because he never mentioned it again. I’m not sure what Mr. Irvin is talking about with the extra .338 because he brought his own .338. Typically we do have an extra .338 in camp for the foreign hunters due to the difficulty for them to bring their own gun. We do not have an extra .338 for bow hunters. The situation with a bow hunter is if they bring a bow and decide to use a rifle they can use the guides. Think about it, who in their right mind is going to carry a rifle and a bow with them, it just does not make sense. In regards to the video, I think Mr. Irvin miss understood me. I take all the video footage from all the guides, edit the video clips and put it all together on one DVD and send it out to all the hunters. It takes me about 6 months to put a video together. I am not a professional video editor sometimes it takes me a while, but I do not have his video footage anymore as it is in someone else’s hands for the time being. I am a bit surprised at Mr. Irvin’s complaints and false allegations. Mr. Irvin left with a good attitude and left me with a large tip indicating he was happy. Also mentioning if I could find his moose there would be more of a tip. I would like to add that Mr. Irvin was very pleasant to hunt with and I would have enjoyed hunting with him again. I did not imagine that Mr. Irvin would ever come up with these accusations. As Mr. Irvin said during his hunt the only person he was upset with was himself because he didn’t take a better shot at his moose. Being as Mr. Willis is a plaintiff’s attorney (suing attorney), we new he would try to cause problems with the rest of the hunters in camp. It was witnessed, heard and brought to our attention that from the first day Mr. Willis began handing out his contact info to the other hunters trying to recruit the hunters in camp to build up a case against us. Mr. Willis even tried to turn one of our guides against us. We have been in business since 1985 and contracted hunts for over 400 clients. If we in any shape or form acted and treated or clients in the manner Mr. Irvin and Mr. Willis are indicating we would have several complaints against us and have had our license pulled, but we do not. Can we make every body happy, no matter what you do we can’t. All we can do is give 110% and hope every one is happy.

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Submitted by: Robert Thompson

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Review Submitted: Jan 22, 2013

Hunt Date: Sep 24, 2010

Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: 20K+

Bad experience

This hunt was booked as a bow hunt. I was assured that my guide was a bowhunter and knew what it would take to fill three tags with a bow. Didn't happen had a new guide that didn't even own a bow, and had never been to the area we hunted prior to my arrival. Got to listen for 14 days while he complained about the owner, equipment and the other guides. I did get to do the mechanic work on our argo and drag our boat off the rocks in the river 3 or 4 times a day. The fishing was great, but i don't really care to fish. Stay away from this outfit. Didn't fill a tag while there.

Outfitter Response: Each and every year we have many inquiries about our hunting services in Alaska. Once we discuss the species of interest we will then provide a brief depiction of how we will conduct the hunt, primarily discussing the methods we will use, a general information of the of area we hunt in, and the type of tools/ equipment we have access to. Alaska does not have separate season time frames for different weapon use and we do make it clear the choice of weapon makes no difference to us. We let our clients know that we will do our best at finding their game but it is up to them to close the deal. This means being a good shot is key to each hunters success and if they are using archery equipment they will need to be skilled in art of its methods it as we only can do so much then it is up to them. We do not use blinds or stands as it is all FAIR CHASE, SPOT AND STALK hunting in Alaska. When we have archery hunters come we make sure to let them know they may at any time use their Guides weapon if they choose to. On this particular hunt the client did use the Guides rifle but missed his game. As far as the number of animals one sees when on a hunt always varies. Sometimes it is more than expected (which we hope for) and sometimes less than hoped for, and in the 2011 season, 3 out of 4 hunters we took on were more than satisfied and successful. As for the numerous personalities we see in a season, no two are the same. We always hope for both the client and the guides to be a great combination but in rare occasions this has not been the case. But as a matter of fact this has only occurred a few times in my 28+ years of our Guide/Outfitting service. It is not what I wish for but unfortunately has happened. In our Client Orientation which we give prior to the hunt commencement, we let our clients know that if they have any problems including with their guide to let us know immediately and we will rectify the situation. Since 1985 we have taken well over 400 clients and have been able to satisfy all but a very few. We do our best to inform and advise our clients of the abundant challenges they will face when hunting for Big Game in Alaska. It is quite different in many ways from the lower 48 hunting and what most guys are use to. This is why we present all our Clients with so much paperwork full of information upfront so we can prevent surprises for our hunters. We do our utmost best to make sure they are adequately prepared when they come to HUNT in ALASKA. In addition, we place a lot of our information on our website so that those interested in hunting in Alaska can read and understand the extreme conditions they more than likely will encounter. I strongly urge all to go to our website alaskabushadventures.com and view these documents for themselves as we believe you will easily find that we do not sugar coat anything when it comes to understanding what we feel you are going to be experiencing if you hunt with Alaska Bush Adventures We feel that our Fair Chase Letter (which all of our Client's must acknowledge receiving & reading by signing off on a ) right on the website. We feel it is very important to be aware of the numerous challenges one will face when hunting Big Game with Fair Chase Spot and Stalk method in Alaska. The following but a small part of the information we provide is an excerpt from our Alaska Fair Chase Hunt Letter. We trust it does a great job at conveying what to expect when hunting in Alaska. Sport hunting in Alaska is not like any of your local travel agency’s tours that have a plan laying out all agendas that rarely vary from the described program. The sport hunting experience just doesn’t work that way. You might say fair chase sport hunting has open itinerary-lots of plans, strategies and ideas that are likely to change daily or even hourly. Everything may go as planned ...or nothing will!! Surprises, confusion, delays, disruptive weather conditions, disappointments, risks of death or terror, disease, hazards, great joy, and sudden unexplainable changes are likely at any time. However, this is precisely what creates the challenge, the excitement, the memories, and the sense of perseverance, accomplishment and victory! Alaska has less big game per square mile than any of the lower 48 states. There are no guarantees of any kind. You must accept this fact, or don’t go. The success of your hunt should not be solely based on the harvesting of your animal. You will find it different with varying standards, but that is what sport hunters thrive on and is part of why they go, for they understand that the game they bag is only a small part of the overall hunting experience. It is all a part of fair chase and adventure. Fair chase is real hunting! This type of Sport hunting may not be for everyone. Success rates on some hunts or certain species are higher than others. Book what your time and income can handle without skimping. Sport hunting anywhere is seldom a bargain. Your mental and physical stamina are important and must be considered. Wild animals and horses can be dangerous and so can all terrain vehicles, boats, planes, the weather, mountains, streams, rivers, the Alaskan environment, weapons and your fellow man. Imperfections of man, beast or equipment are a part of the hunting adventure. High standards are admirable, but ailing, inflexible, hard to satisfy or difficult people with a history of problems, hard drinking or complaining who can’t accept these realities should not go. Life is too short for all of us to risk having someone spoiling this potential life-long memory. Leave your tape measure, personal problems and all difficult, finger pointing people behind. The service we provide may not be up to what some expect. No gourmet cooking of meals, instead it will be basic meals supplemented with freeze dried food. Sanitary kitchen conditions which are rustic, spartan in wilderness settings at best and not restaurant fine dining style conditions. If you cannot accept that you should not go on this trip. Alaskan Big Game Hunting is strenuous, and will humble most hunters. If you are not in shape or your basic shooting skills are lacking, please be able to take responsibility for your short comings rather than blame others for failure when it results in lack of success in harvesting your trophies. If you cannot accept your own short comings and if you feel the need to point blame at everyone but yourself for lack of success when you are not mentally or physically prepared for this kind of adventure, please don't come to just to complain about what you were told to expect. Only then to blame your Guide instead of accepting like a Man, that you were aware that Alaskan hunting is challenging and real Fair Chase style hunting. Hunting for Alaska's big game trophies may require more than one hunt to harvest your animal. A lot of unexpected physical effort or hardship and walking will be required, even on the simplest type of hunts. In some cases, the arrangement may not be all that you wanted or expected, but the hunt is what it is. Uncontrollable circumstances can occur and are beyond our control. Surprises, confusion, delays, disruptive weather conditions, steep and rough terrain, high water flood conditions, shallow water conditions, braided river systems, major or minor log jams, dead falls, over hanging sweepers, dangerous under water formations in the rivers, streams or waterways you travel on, mechanical, equipment maintenance and breakage problems, and sudden unexplainable changes happen and are likely at any time.

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Submitted by: Guy Willis

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Review Submitted: Dec 10, 2012

Hunt Date: Dec 10, 2012

Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear, Black Bear

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 15K-20K

Sham of A Hunt

I had booked an Alaskan Moose, Brown Bear and Black Bear Hunt. Hugh Krank advertises as the number one bush hunter on his web page. Made a big deal about being a 30 year experienced "master guide". He wasn't in the camp. Assistant guide showed up day before to start to set up camp. Upon arrival with 3 other paid 1x1 guided hunters there were float hunters in the camp. 4 1x1 guided hunters. None of their equipment was set up or working. None of equipment working, only 3 boats for 4 hunters. Didn't have the hunting equipment they advertised available and/or working to provide the type of "quaility hunts" they are supposed to be experts at doing. Supposed to start hunting on second day after arrival but had to get equipment working and then transport other hunters in the camp that were on top of us. Didn't have a rifle for one overseas hunter who was expecting a .338. Guide had to give up his rifle and so no backup rifle for brown bear hunt for him. 2 of the hunters were told there was guide problems and asked if they would double up. This was a sham because there weren't enough boats to provide the type of hunts they said they provided anyway. Lost third day of hunt because the guides had to move more equipment up river to other hunters and then relocate two of us to another camp. Then my guide and I got to spend a wonderful night on the river because motors don't work and the boat got flipped. Lost over $2,500 in equipment in the river. Almost lost my life and the "master guide" merely states that is part of hunting Alaska. Do yourself a favor and do a back ground check on the Krank's. You can find out some interesting information. If this is the only outfitter you could ever go with you would be doing you and your family a favor by not going. Only saw one bear and my guide said it was 200 yards. Said take the shot across the water. Remembered range finder. Was taking a shot on brown bear 500 yards. Saw one cow moose and calf. Other hunter left because it was a big rip off.

Outfitter Response: I only wish I could warn all guides outfitters out there about this type of hunter. I have only run across two gentlemen in my 30+ years of guiding that I can say were the absolute worse clients of all time. They do not understand the true meaning of FAIR CHASE HUNTING. The equipment is there but I always tell our clients they need to be physically and mentally prepared for this type of hunting. It is taxing on the body and we do not ALWAYS use the equipment out there. The equipment was in proper working order and never at anytime was Mr. Willis in DANGER. The boat took on water and Mr. Willis had to step out of the boat. The boat took on water because over the summer debris and leaves fall into the river and it is shallow water and during the time they were stalking a Moose and debris got caught up in the motor. The boat then took on water and the guide and Mr. Willis had to step out of the boat and they were within a few feet of walking distance to the shore. Never did I guarentee Mr. Willis that I would personally be his guide. We did have one of our guides have a car accident and could not make it out. We offered our other client to do a two on one and then bring them back again. This they were satisfied with and Mr. Willis again just trying to stir up trouble. We do NOT provide guns for our clients. They are required to bring their own. Our guide did loan one of our guns to this client he speaks of, however the guide still had a pistol on him in case of emergency. Mr. Willis' complaints are beyond belief. There were also plenty of boats available for hunting, Argos, and WALKING! The reason one of the boats was not there the first day was because we had to take some of our unguided hunters up river to drop off for a float trip. However, the boats came right back and were in perfect working order the entire time. Also, it is common practice for us to relocate as we want to be in the best possible location for hunting. We most often move from one of our camp sites to another and Mr Willis was well aware of this. Mr. Willis is an attorney and from the start he was soliciting my clients if they were not satisfied with their hunts to contact him. SAD REALLY because it was apparent from the start that he had one goal in mind. THUS, now he is suing my insurance company for quadruple the amount he paid for his hunt. Mr. Willis had three opportunities to shoot a Bear but could not seal the deal. It is unfortunate and I am sorry I ever took this man hunting with us. I would warn all guide outfitters anywhere to beware of this hunter. Wish we had a black list of our own.

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Submitted by: Mark Franklin

Review Submitted: Dec 14, 2010

Hunt Date: Oct 1, 2010

Species Hunted: Alaska-Yukon Moose, Grizzly Bear

Days Hunted: 12

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 11K-15K

Grizzly/ moose

Awesome hunt.After being burned in 2009 by another outfitter i chose ABA after alot of phone calls and web searches.EXTREMELY remote but camp was damn ghood for where we were. Alot of bears(killed one ) some moose but did not hunt that hard as i wanted a bear first.Highly reccomend and would be glad to talk to anyone who is considering them. Mark 6084441073

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Submitted by: Jeff Jesionowski

Review Submitted: May 6, 2010

Hunt Date: Sep 6, 2009

Species Hunted: Black Bear, Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 11K-15K

EXCELLENT AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ORGANIZATION

I just want to write and say what a wonderful experience Alaska Bush Adventures was for both me and my son Adam. I have hunted with Alaska Bush Adventures in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009. In 2005 I got a nice Caribou and a 64 1/2" Boone and Crocket moose. The moose is world class and I proudly display it at Sportman's Warehouse in Albuquerque right above the customer service counter. Everyone in Albuquerque admires it. In 2006 Adam got a nice Caribou and had an excellent hunt and stalk. In 2008, we went on an "adventure" up Wolf Creek off the Hoholitna and my son killed a 58" Moose that we proudly display above the fireplace at our lake house in Texas. With each moose, I had over 450 pounds of meat processed in Anchorage and shipped to my door via FedEx. Last year we did the flyout from the Chukawon camp and killed a very nice black bear. I am writing to you because the bonding experience with Alaska Bush Adventures provided to both me and my son is fabulous and neither one of us will ever forget it. I do have to say that if anyone else is considering a hunt with ABA, they should realize several very important things. First, it ain't the Ritz Carlton or the Hilton. You are in a very remote part of Alaska where everything has to be flown in. This in itself creates significant limitations on what you can and cannot have. The camps are comfortable, the equipment and the food is excellent. The fresh caught Silver Salmon is plentiful and wonderful. The guides, Les, Ryan, James and Roy are all very knowledgeable and experienced and work very hard to get you to the animals and shots at them. Weather can be (and usually is) a major factor and beyond the control of anyone. I recall in 2005 we had the remnants of a typhoon blow in from the Asian coast. The river rose three feet overnight and we were in camp for three solid days, however, I still got my moose. The most important thing to stress is the physical requirements of the hunt. I continue to underestimate this every year I have hunted with them. Last year we hiked for hours on the fly out trip and got to a point where we were facing a very significant up hill climb. Les, looked at me and said in his past experience only 30% of the guys would make the climb. I was exhausted and told him that I was not in that 30%, but my son and Les made the climb and got a shot at a black bear. The lesson here is if you want to be successful you have to be in excellent shape and please don't let others underestimate this. I want others to know that I never met Les before I hunted with him in 2005, however, over time we have become good friends. I, like everyone else, initially found him on the internet and took a chance. As it turns out, it was a good decision because I have been back three more times and I have more hunts planned with them in the future. I am sure that you get a lot of guys that expect the sun, the stars and the moon and walk away disappointed. I am not one of those. I feel that they treat everyone right and I have no reservations in recommending them to other prospective hunters with the only caveat to those hunters being - GET IN SHAPE!!!!! Jeff Jesionowski

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Submitted by: Jorge Bartolome

Review Submitted: May 6, 2010

Hunt Date: Aug 16, 2009

Species Hunted: Black Bear, Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear

Days Hunted: 21

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 15K-20K

Hello, my name is Jorge Bartolome and I'm from Spain. As for almost everyone, my dream was to enjoy a great adventure, a real truth, to feel part of nature, enjoying its best and where better to do all of these that in "The Last Frontier". After consulting several offers I decided to contract with Ryan and Lester, through "Sahel safaris" company in Spain too.There might be a right decision, they are wonderful people and they have a team and perfect ways to enjoy the journey in all its glory. So that you can get an idea, I will relate briefly my trip. After many hours of travel I arrived in Anchorage but my luggage with all my clothes and ammunition didn't arrive. The next day, I get to the base camp after a couple of "exciting" flights. Once there, they put at my disposal all sorts of clothing, thank you very much James, to equip me and I left the same day to the camp flyer. At the end, I was lost in the middle of nowhere, ten days ahead to enjoy and be hunting. The main goal, the grizzly bear, and then the black bear. Early next day, and almost from the tent Ryan and me saw an excellent moose, and I had the good luck to share with him my hunting, he as a professional, almost from the same place that we saw our first grizzly which it would become "my first bear" that I could bring down in only one shot with the Ryan's 375. The same day in the afternoon we saw a good specimen of black bear and after the entry and 3 shots with my 7mm and a munition, which fortunately I could buy in Anchoraje, the bear went into the bush after being all afternoon track on heavy blood trail, we had to return by the lack of light, to my despair Ryan comforts me telling me that there are more bears but I answered that this is perfect but I want that bear. With the new day, at the track again and after a couple of hours we got back to the bear sighting, here begins one of the hardest days I could live in my life as a hunter, after several more sightings and runs and more runs after the bear, I could finally knock it off too far from the camp, so we had to leave the piece behind and go back to the camp as desired to replenish forces because we spent too much time without food and with a very considerable effort, we had just enough time to come back with light , so we would return the next day for the trophy, this time more than deserved. That same day, we could see another very good moose but the priorities were different.... The next day we returned for the bear and between go and return we spent the day, because on the way back we took a good storm, and since up to the sixth day, I could not enjoy my lugagge, we were very wet. The fourth day dawned foggy and we couldn't leave not too early into the morning, but we could see 13 grizzly bear! On the fifth day, with less time and with no dry clothes, we decided to return to the base camp but we still enjoyed another 9 gizzlys ina good ride in the morning, however, Ryan's nicknamed is "long legs" and I can vouch it. Able to walk standing in a tent, enjoy a good fire, dry completely the clothes.....are things that you never know how much can you became to miss. The sixth day after a big breakfast we prepare to up the river, the plan was to raise as much as possible using the motor boat for then carried away by the current, while we enjoy whith the salmon fishing, I got my two, the most incapable of fishermen, we recorded the shores in search of bears, we got to see two along the river but we couldn't get any, the experience and the day were great, if we add that Ryan is a great guy and every day we understand each other a little more, despite my English and his Spanish, I have no words. On the seventh day, against all odds we didn't rest a bit and after tracing the river we went to the summit with the aigles, some amazing vehicles that can take you to the end of the world, are a lot of bears abound there and we can see grizzlies, black and even a caribou. I get a good black bear, my first male, the eighth day elapses similar and I do with my last black bear and I made the quota, it was a pity because I have still two days, and is eager to hunt bears to stop a train. More than satisfied I spent these two days to rest and fishing salmon and more fishes, a delight. Certainly an experience more than recommended, there everything is pure nature, and of course exceptional and wonderful people. Jorge Bartolome

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Submitted by: John Maditz

Review Submitted: May 6, 2010

Hunt Date: Aug 9, 2009

Species Hunted: Black Bear, Alaska-Yukon Moose, Alaskan Brown Bear

Days Hunted: 14

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Rifle

Price Range: 11K-15K

Trip of a LIFETIME

I have hunted all around the world and "I had a great time hunting with Dan and Ryan on my 12 day trip with Alaska Bush Adventures. Dan and Ryan were professionals who cared about our success and comfort. They seldom asked for assistance although both Jim and I were happy to help when possible. The more we helped the more time we had for hunting. There were 2 hunters in camp, myself and a doctor from Mississippi named Jim. All are new friends. We hunted out of two river camps approximately a two hour boat ride apart. The lower camp we concentrated on Moose. The upper on Grizzly. Both Jim and I got a moose and a grizzly. Jim got a 63 inch moose on the first day of the hunt. I got a 52 inch moose on the 7th day. On the 9th day I shot a 7 1/2 foot grizzly. Jim got his 7 footer on the last day of the hunt. The food was very good, especially after we got the moose. The camps were comfortable. We had a great shower at the upper camp. Recommend the same shower for the lower camp. I would highly recommend Alaskabush for the hunter who likes adventure and a true wilderness hunt. These guys care about your success and know what they are doing. I'd go back in a heartbeat."

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note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.

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outfitter review submitted by: Alaska Bob on Jan 31 2003

Species Hunted: Caribou

Game Quality: Marginal-few big

Accommodation Quality: Good-Not worth the $

Camp Condition: Marginal

Food Quality: Poor at best

Guide Experience: Varied

Other Personal Experience: Exp and unexperienced

Overall Impression: Poor

Recommend: Not for archery Caribou

Reviewer Comments: Was expecting a lot more for the dollars spent. Did however expect the accommodations to be marginal,(roughing it) but it wouldn't have taken much more to bring these up to par. Food was poor at best. Guides wanted to sit an wait for the herd. Guides didn't seem to have an idea on how to stalk these animals. Numerous claims from the food to the number of people in camp claimed by the guide and "References" were bull. We were told not to bother the guides too much when we returned from the field since they had "a lot of preparations to do for the next day". Hell they sat around drinking and actually kept us the customers up extremely late each night! If you don't mind roughing it, want to go on a diet, sit around and drink, and don't mind shooting a long ways you might like this hunt!

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outfitter review submitted by: Franklin Ensor on Sep 25 2002

Species Hunted: moose/caribou

Game Quality: zero

Accommodation Quality: fair

Camp Condition: good

Food Quality: fair

Guide Experience: poor

Other Personal Experience: poor

Overall Impression: poor

Recommend: no

Reviewer Comments: Guides did not an effort to locate game, expensive trip for nothing.

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