The Great Alaskan Shootout: Butler outdoorsman takes down a massive brown bear

There was a time when just walking was a chore for Barry Barton.

The 58-year-old Butler resident had two bad knees, the result of past accidents and years of compensating for the pain. He endured nine surgeries, finally replacing a knee in November, 2008, and the other one year later.

Some intense -- and mind-numbingly dull -- physical therapy followed.

"I was putting in four hours a night on the treadmill and elliptical. That's got to be about the most boring exercise there is," Barton said.

To pass the time, he took to watching TV, then hunting shows and finally DVDs of a program called "Modern Day Mountain Man." It features Billy Molls, an Alaskan guide on hunts for brown bear, grizzly bear, black bear, Dall sheep moose, caribou and wolf.

Barton continuosly watched the programs until his wife, Karen, had had enough.

"She told me to quit just watching the show and call the guy and see if I could hunt with him," Barton recalled.

That set in motion a record-breaking adventure.

Barton booked a brown bear hunt on Alaska's southern peninsula. It is, after Kodiak Island, home to the second largest population of brown bears in Alaska, and a place that produces a handful of trophy bears each year, said Jim Holmes, a wildlife technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

It's also dangerous country. It's the area where the TV show "Deadliest Catch" is filmed.

"It can be pretty extreme weather, with wind and rain and wind and snow, and extreme temperatures," Holmes said. "You're exposed to a lot of storms coming off the Gulf of Alaska. It's tough hunting."

Taking a bear involves spotting one, then stalking miles to get within shooting range. That's not easy, Barton said.

On Day 1 of the hunt, they spotted one massive brown bear in particular. They tried to sneak up on it, covering 3-4 miles, but they were too aggressive and kept pushing the bear out of range. They saw him again on Day 2, but failed to get close enough.

That brought about a decision.

"They're not usually very patternable, so we pretty much concluded that if we didn't see him on the third day, we'd have to go after a different bear," Barton said. "But if we did see him, I was going to throw down my binoculars, my coat, my hat, everything but my rifle and bullets, and go hard after him."

And that happened. Molls spotted the bear, Barton dropped his gear, they closed to within 200 yards and he dropped it with his .375 H&H magnum.

An up-close look at the bear did not disappoint.

"It was the kind of bear I'd always hoped I could take," Barton said. "He was just so massively big all over."

The bear's hide squared out at 10 feet, 8 inches. It was perhaps 22 years old, and weighed an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 pounds.

Most importantly, its skull -- taking the combined width and length -- scored 284/16 inches. If that holds up, the bear will not only qualify for the Boone & Crockett Club record book, which requires a minimum score of 26 inches for brown bears, but also make it into the club's exclusive "all-time" record book, which has a minimum score of 28 inches.

The top-ranked brown bear -- records go back to about 1900 - scored 3012/16.

"So anything over 28 is definitely up there," said Justin Spring, assistant director of big game records for Boone & Crockett. "A bear that was 28 inches even would be tied for 569th place all-time. Scoring 284/16, assuming it's verified, puts (Barton's) bear at tied for 424th all time."

Barton will remember the hunt for that reason, but even more so for the trip overall.

"When you're sitting at your campsite, in the Alaskan night, and wolves are howling and there's not another human sight or sound, it's a humbling experience," he said. "I thank God for it all the time."

Additional Information:

Traveling bear

Barry Barton had a full-body mount of his bear done. He had a spot picked out for it in his house, too.

But he won't be the first to see it.

His bear has been chosen to be displayed at Safari Club International's 40th annual 2012 hunter's convention in Las Vegas from Feb. 1-4. Only after that will it be shipped to him.

'Half the United States is going to see my bear before I do,' Barton said with a laugh. 'But when people ask, I tell them 'You didn't see the bear up close like I did. And, by the way, he was breathing then.''

Article by Bob Frye,
Everybody Adventures, http://www.everybodyadventures.com

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