You Can't Divide A Trophy

Jerry and I just got picked up at Hoodoo Lake on the Alaskan Peninsula where we had been guiding spring brown bear hunters. Don Johnson, the outfitter, was very happy with us as we had filled our hunters out and got them huge bears. We made some nice super 8 movies of the trip. Don said it is time for you guys to get your bears, as he had promised.  

He said on the way flying over, that he had noticed a dead walrus on a beach and there were bear tracks around it. I said, "Wow, drop us off over there by the walrus.” We grabbed our gear and jumped in the Super Cub and took off. Don said he would come back the next day and check on us as he was going to be in the area. Don landed us on a black volcanic sand beach and we quickly got our gear out of the plane. It was very windy, which is typical for the Alaska Peninsula. We landed in a very short distance into the wind. Super Cubs are amazing bush planes. With us out of the plane Don took off in less than 100 feet.  

Jerry and I decided to walk down to the beach and check the bear tracks around the dead walrus. The walrus smelled terrible and the tracks looked like a medium 7 ½ foot bear. Jerry said, “Forget that bear. I want to find a big 9 or 10 foot monster.” We glassed that evening and saw a pretty blonde bear, 7 1/2 feet which could have been the bear that made the tracks.  

I spotted a nice wolf and I pulled out my varmint caller and started calling and he came right in. I was going to shoot him but then Jerry got worried we would scare off the bear so I held off shooting the wolf. It was windy and I don’t think it would have mattered and don’t think it would have bothered the bears.  

We slept on some very huge bumpy tundra, 300 yards above and from the walrus. It was hard to get comfortable, we just laid in our sleeping bags on a plastic tarp. We didn’t have a tent. It was spring time and it got dark at about 11pm. The days were getting longer. It was a beautiful dark night with just a small crescent moon so the stars were really out. I always called a crescent moon or a small moon, a hunter’s moon. I was told that the Indians believed if they could hang their bow on the moon it would be good hunting the next day.  

I laid in my sleeping bag and was getting restless. I told Jerry an hour later, “I think I will sneak down to the beach and check to see if anything was on the walrus.”

Jerry said, “You’re crazy.” I took the flashlight and binoculars and went down to the beach. I checked the wind with my cigarette lighter so I could stay downwind. As I got closer I could see through my 8X42 Leitz binoculars that there was nothing there. It was cold and I ran back and jumped in my sleeping bag.  

Jerry kept telling me I was crazy. I said, “You have to be a little crazy to be a guide, especially to be hunting like this.” Well in those days I was young and had a lot of energy and I guess we didn’t always do things right. We were short on time and I wanted to make use of every minute. I had more energy than wisdom back then. I couldn’t sleep and I got up two hours later and went down again to check on the walrus. Jerry told me the same thing that I was crazy and said those bears are scary in the daytime and even more so at night.

He said, “I wouldn’t go messing around with the bears dinner at night. Those bears will eat you.” and he was right. I ignored him again and hiked down and checked through my binoculars and couldn’t see anything but the outline of the walrus. I was cold, and hustled back and jumped into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.  

I woke up about 2:30 am and just had a feeling I had to go check the walrus. Jerry said, “Are you up again?” And really chewed me out and said how crazy I was. Oh well, as I crept down the beach I felt a chill going down my spine and I knew something was there. I looked through my binoculars and wow, there was a monster silhouette of a big bear. Wow! I ran back and told Jerry. He got all excited and changed his whole tune and said, “I knew it, I knew it.” I said to Jerry, “It will be daylight in 2 ½ hours and I hope the big bear doesn’t leave before daylight!" Which they often do. We were just hoping the bear would be there at first light. I said, “We will head over and I will shoot first.”   

We couldn’t believe it. Just before daylight ground fog moved in. We went over to a small knoll that was 30 yards above the beach and about 60 yards from the walrus on the black sand beach. Through my binoculars I could barely see the bear. He was still with the walrus. I could barely see the bear in my rifle scope but couldn’t tell what was bear and what was walrus. I was not going to shoot unless I could place my shot. Finally, the fog lifted and the bear moved. Instantly Jerry said, “Let me take him!" BOOM! I wasn’t ready for that. As Jerry bolted his rifle I saw the bear running down the beach. He looked like the size of a VW bug in the fog. I fired my 375 H & H and the bear dropped. I had hit him in the neck but didn’t know it. He was down and close to the ocean waves.

I yelled, ”Keep shooting!” and we did. The bear was down and we were very excited. We sat on the knoll very excited with the adrenaline pumping. I told Jerry, “You are crazier than I am.”  

We were worried the tide would come in and take him away. Alaska has some of the biggest tides in the world. Fortunately, the tide was going out. He was the monster bear and he was well over 10 feet square. What an exciting moment that was. Now the work started. He had been rolling and feeding on the rotten walrus and smelled really bad. I put on my rain pants and raincoat and got my knife and steel out and started skinning. 

Jerry and I have been best friends forever, almost like brothers, and always shared everything. If you find a jackpot of gold or win lots of money you can divide it up equally. Jerry and I never had any problem doing that. It was a crazy deal shooting a bear together. We couldn’t hardly divide the bear in half. I told Jerry, “I found the bear and we made the decision for me to shoot first but you shot first. My shot hit him in the neck.” Things can get complicated. I have seen people hunting that are probably happier than they have ever been in their life, and other times just the opposite. I call this highs and lows. I told Jerry this should be my bear. He had a low. Next thing I know he was going to quit hunting. He was going to throw his rifle in the ocean. We were worse than two little kids fighting over candy, screaming and yelling at each other. We both wanted the bear so bad. This was a dream to both of us, but could only be one of ours. We finally calmed down and decided for me to take the bear. I promised Jerry I would come back with him until we got another big bear next year. Long story short Jerry got a monster bear the following year and our friendship is even better. The moral of the story is you can’t divide a trophy and you don’t want to ever divide your friendship. 

I want to thank Jerry for all our wonderful times we have had together and all the many wonderful hunts we shared. Me, with my Tourrette's Syndrome, driving was always hard. Jerry drove me all over the western states hunting. Jerry and I were a great hunting team.  

Not long after this hunt we almost lost Jerry. He went to Idaho on a trophy deer hunt by doing some trading. The guy, guided him into a special area that had some giant bucks. They were hunting together but got separated. Jerry got a rock in his boot and sat down to take his boot off. As he was doing it, and we will never understand how or why, but the guy saw the white of his sock through the brush and fired thinking it was the flash of a deer. Some of Jerrys fingers were shot off and lower leg was shattered. Jerry put on a tourniquet and yelled, "Help, you shot me!” His so called guide freaked out and panicked. Jerry had to calm him down and tell him what to do. He had to hike out for miles to get help, leaving Jerry alone. Jerry is lucky to have recovered because all of his doctors wanted to take his leg. Jerry still walks with a limp, but never complains and we are best friends ever. 

Happy Hunting!

Jaret Owens - 805-551-6815