Easter Bunny?…How About The Easter BEAR!!! 5

While most of us were plotting Easter egg hunts this past holiday weekend, the hardcore hunters out there were working on a different hunt!

Enter Randy Bridwell…

Randy Bridwell is a fanatical bear hunter and has a buddy that loves to fly around in his Piper Cub.

I think you know where I'm going with this…

As any decent bear hunter knows, once a big brown bear comes out of hibernation, their first thought after leaving their den is:… BREAKFAST!
Randy is in the construction supply business which keeps him hopping and he was worried that he was gonna miss the bears emerging from their dens. Fortunately, on one of his "joy rides", Randy's pilot buddy saw a moose kill with a huge boar brown bear actually sleeping on the carcass just outside Denali park boundaries and decided to call Randy.

The next plane to Anchorage had Mr. Bridwell on the passenger manifest.

By Friday at 3PM, Bridwell was making his solo camp at the base of Mount McKinley.

Friday night at the base of Mackinley the northern lights were so intense that they lit his tent and he could actually hear the aurora borealis.
With all the lights and commotion, Randy didn't get much sleep and decided to just get up and start the hunt. He headed over to where he had marked the moose kill a day earlier and as the light came up… THERE HE WAS!!!

A 300 Winchester Magnum pushing a 180 grain Nosler Partition brought the bruiser bruin down at 7:45AM Saturday morning! 

The "Easter Bear's" hide squared out to over NINE FEET!!!

After bringing down the trophy brownie, Randy called his pilot on the ol' satellite phone.
The Piper Cub landed 20 yards from the bear and Randy was back in Anchorage at 3 in the afternoon!  

Randy's enthusiastic email note accompanying the pictures says it all:

"I hope all had a Great Easter Weekend! I DID….. Flew in Friday in
the Alaska Range and made camp at 3PM..got up Saturday AM and shot the
brown bear at 7:45 AM Saturday, while he was on a moose kill….squared
9'….Hide is awesome..300 Win Mag 180 Grain nosler. What a wonderful, Great Hunt!"