Trying to combine brown bear, elk, moose and mule deer all into one hunt is practically impossible. Brown bear, by definition, live in a very limited area along/adjacent to coastal areas on mainland Alaska along with the various islands including the ABC islands (Admiralty, Baranof, and Queen Charlotte) as well as Kodiak and Unimak Islands. With some exceptions including the Kenai and Katmai Peninsulas of Alaska, moose are generally not available in occupied brown bear habitat. Likewise, mule deer are non-existent in Alaska. Roosevelt elk are available on some of the Alaskan islands but I believe that they are on a limited quota and tags are hard to come by. So, the brown bear combination is not practical – most folks that hunt brown bear do so stand alone, although Sitka blacktail deer are available in some areas in conjunction with the fall hunting seasons.
Elk and mule deer are available in a combination hunt in many areas of the western US and southern Canada. Specific areas of British Columbia may also be able to offer grizzly bear in conjunction with antlered game including elk and/or mule deer – but grizzlies in BC are very expensive. Insofar as Alberta is concerned, I believe that the grizzly bear season is closed for non-resident alien hunters, but would have to double check that to be sure.
All in all, there are a number of factors to consider in planning your hunt. If you are looking for a six-point bull elk in excess of say 320 B&C and a mule deer buck in excess of say 170 B&C then it is altogether a different ball game as males of this size just don’t grow on trees and it becomes a function of time. Moreover, the more animals that you try to combine on one North American hunt, the more likely you are to fail on one or more species – the days of unlimited game populations are over, weather often can be a factor during the fall, etc. The more animals you try to combine on one northern hunt, the more that these factors come into play and the more limited the areas that we have to choose from.
My recommendation would be to look at either an elk/mule deer hunt or moose hunt. You will need to decide if you want Canada moose or Alaska-Yukon, which will then dictate where we need to look and what other species might be available. An Alaska-Yukon moose would also give an opportunity for black/grizzly bear and/or caribou depending on where you go – keep in mind that Alaska-Yukon moose hunts will run well over $10K/hunter depending on the area and the outfitter and trophy fees will be required for grizzly bear/caribou so you could be looking at $20K each by the time it is all said and done. Canada moose hunts are cheaper, but the moose are smaller and the opportunities for other big game species will be limited depending on where you hunt. Western Canada moose are generally only available in southwestern Canada.
Brown bear hunts in Alaska are currently running anywhere from $10,800 to over 20K per hunter plus air charters. Grizzly bear hunts in AK are currently running from about 8K to well over 13K depending on the area and outfitter.
Bob Anderson
Worldwide Hunting Consultant
Global Sporting Safaris, Inc.
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