“Kill Or Be Killed,” Thrilling Kodiak Bear Hunting Story
Appears In Current Issue Of “Outdoor Life” Magazine
“Kill or Be Killed” Kodiak Bear in National Magazine
This is the huge Kodiak bear killed last October at
Uganik by Erliug W. Hansen of Seattle. A dramatic
story of Hansen’s kill appears in the September
issue of Outdoor Life. The hunt which was planned
by Alf Madsen of Kodiak also featured the role of
Walt Panamroff in the exciting hunt. The trophy
animal will be permanently displayed at the Seattle
Museum of History.
“No. 1 Trophy Bear—Kill or Be
Killed” is the title of an exciting
bear hunt on Kodiak Island ap
pearing in the September issue of
Outdoor Life written by Erling W.
Hansen.
The frontispiece of the widely
circulated magazine also ties in
with the Kodiak based hunt.
Hansen’s companions on the trip
were Walter Scott, a Seattle at
torney, and Jack Abbett of La
fayette, Indiana.
PICKED ALF MADSEN
Hansen writes how he investi
gated Kodiak outfitters and picked
Alf Madsen who had only one hunt
open for the fall of 1961 in mid
October and that they should ar
rive here by October 13.
He describes his first meeting
with Walter Panamroff, the Aleut
Russian Guide, as they began hunt
ing along the Uganik River on the
North side of Kodiak Island —
some of the “wildest country I had
ever been in.”
The author explains how he was
concerned about his rifle, a .30/06
Winchester scoped with a 4X Leu
pold M7, after reading about an
other Kodiak hunter who said,
“I’ll never hunt Alaska brownies
with so light a rifle again.”
However, on his arrival, Madsen
assured the Seattle man “Your
.30/06 is plenty of gun if you know
how to handle it,” and the Kodiak
outfitter continued, “I’ve used one
for 21 years and seen a good many
bears flattened with that caliber.”
THE HUNT BEGINS
Madsen told Hansen enroute to
the hunting base that he had seen
the huge bear from a plane a num
ber of times and if he were for
tunate enough he would have a
trophy animal.
In less than 24 hours after land
ing in Kodiak, Panamaroff and
Hansen came across a huge bear
track, and Panamaroff was sure it
was the one that Madsen had hoped
they would find. “But,” Hansen
writes, “finding a bear track and
overtaking the animal are two dif
ferent things.”
The pair followed the track that
day through underbrush, and Han
sen writes, “Once we came to a
scrubby aspen three or four inches
thick and as tall as I am. The
tracks went on either side of it. I
stared at them, not believing my
eyes. The brown giant had simply
straddled the aspen and walked
over it, not bothing to turn aside.
My heart skipped a beat.”
But darkness fell upon the hunt
ers and they straggled back to
camp, and the next morning Wal
ter told Hansen of a spot where a
small pond was and where every
bear for miles around goes there
to fish.
They followed a stream of half
eaten salmon and a set of tracks,
and with about an hour of daylight
left, decided to head back to camp
when Hansen spotted something
moving inside the brush at a far
side of a clearing, 20 yards ahead.
KILL OR BE KILLED
Hansen writes that Walter also
saw it and the Seattle hunter
flipped the scope covers off and
was ready for business with the
scope showing a patch of dark fur
half as big as a man, but no head,
ears or shoulder. “Before I could
locate a target area,” he says, “the
brownie solved things for me. He
came up on his hind feet, standing
taller than the eight-foot alders
around him, his great blocky head
swinging from side to side, his eyes
ablaze, a low growl rumbling out
of his chest. He was a giant bear
out of a distant time, a sight to
stop a man’s breath in his throat.
He started for us, lunging out of
the brush, still erect.”
“I found the right spot, in the
chest just below the shoulder, and
smashed my 220-grain Power Point
into him. The animal went straight
up in the air like a cat hit with a
pellet gun and let go a bawling
scream that was the most horrible
noise I’d ever heard,” Hansen de
scribes the scene.
Once you hammer a shot into
one of those big brutes it’s too late
to back out. Either you kill him or
he kills you. I walloped him in
about the same spot. It knocked
him flat, but he didn’t stay down.
He rolled to his feet, bellowing
more horribly than ever, and then
reared up again to look for us.”
Hansen fired again for the third
time, and the animal crawled into
the underbrush.
LUNGES AT HUNTER
The hunter thought that he was
being circled. ‘ But then,” he says,
‘‘I saw him coming at a walk. We
met face to face, just 10 yards
apart, and he went up on his hind
legs once more, as quick and cat
like as if my three shots hadn’t
grazed him. He looked a mile tall.
Blood was pouring out of his chest
and streaming down his side, but
he let another roar and came up
me. At the first step he toppled
and fell forward on his face, hard
ly more than a length away. He
couldn’t get his front end off the
ground and I realized he was done
for.”
The bear measured 9 feet, 6
inches from tip of nose to base of
tail. His neck was 55% inches
around and the hind feet were 15%
inches long and 8 wide. The pelt
weighed 165 to 175 pounds. The
bear was estimated to have
weighed 1350 to 1400 pounds.
' I had taken a new world-record
Alaska bear with a total score of
30-13/16 but he finally went into
the Boone and Crockett Club rec
ords officially at 30-11/16, 1/16 of
an inch short of the present world
record. He also won first place in
the Boone and Crockett Club Com
petition in 1961,” Hansen con
cludes. j
The bear will finally wind up in
the new Seattle Historical museum.
Alfred Madsen of Kodiak says it
is the largest bear ever shot by a
non-resident hunter.
And thus another thrilling hunt
story of fabulous Kodiak is re
corded in the history books.
ON BUSINESS TRIP
Bob Acheson was in Seattle,
Washington this week on a busi
ness trip.
Large Stock Must Go — D & A
Weekend Breakin
At Standard Oil
The Kodiak police department is
continuing its investigation into
the breakin at the Standard Oil
Company offices, next to D & A’s
where approximately $100 was
taken over the past weekend from
the cash drawer.
Entry was made by removing a
window and the cash drawer lock
jimmied.
Chief Vickery said that prints
have been found and an arrest is
expected in a matter of time.
POLICE SLOGAN
Better to cripple a schedule
than a pedestrian. So drive care
fully.
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