[JunkYardFrog]

this I got 5/21/2003
To Whom It May Concern:

Please modify your cover story on your hunting guide website to reflect the true story about Ted Winnen's hunt of the record brown bear in Oct 01. Web sites and e-mail with the wrong story and additional gory photographs of human corpses are feeding an urban legend that causes Alaska Forest Service offices a large workload in responding to inquiries about bogus information.

Thanks for helping to spread the real story- it's impressive enough in its own right.

Ray Massey
Public Affairs Specialist
Alaska Region Public Affairs
P.O. Box 21628
Juneau, AK 99802-1628
Work: 907-586-7876
Fax: 907-586-7892

Here are some facts on the alleged "world record" brown bear, still growing on the internet. ·

The bear was legally killed during October, 2001 on Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound by an Air Force airman while deer hunting. Both he and his partner had brown bear tags. ·

According to an interview with the airman by the Anchorage Daily News, the hunters saw the bear coming and ambushed it at close range. The young airman aimed at the head but missed (at 10 yards) and hit it in the muzzle, with the bullet then traveling into the brain. Had he hit where he aimed and broken the skull, there would be no B&C trophy. The bear went down on the first shot from the .338 Win. mag. The hunter then shot it 5 more times, which is a prudent action with brown bears. ·

The bear was nowhere near a world record, although it will probably make the record book. Boone & Crockett requires a minimum score of 28 inches. This skull measured 28.5 inches before drying. The current brown bear record is 30 and 12/16 in. · A tooth sample indicated that the bear was 20 years old. · The hide squared squared out at about 10 ft. 6 in. Therefore, in order to stand 12.5 feet tall at the shoulder the bear had to be shaped like a dachshund. Large Kodiak bears can stand 10 feet tall from head to ground. ·

Nobody weighed the bear. Based on measurements of the hide, this one probably weighed between 1,000 and 1,200 lbs. · The bear did not charge the hunters, nor had he ever mauled or killed anybody.

Brown bears do not get that old or that big by being stupid around humans. In contrast, some humans are rendered senseless by mere photos of big brown bears. Bears of that size are quite rare in Prince William Sound, but this bear was a trophy of a lifetime by any standard.


http://www.kynd.net/~graydg/hunting-...d-grizzly.html


HTH

[1meancuda]

Yeah, I saw the pictures and couldn't really believe the story that the person told.

[4 Jaw Chuck]

Those bears are always lying...:laugh: