By Kevin Dulaney

I have had many great opportunities in my life, but some stack up as monumental against all others. Two of these go hand-in-hand. The first of these to come about was to manage a private whitetail preserve in North Central Alabama. This was one of those jobs were you get money for doing something you enjoy. Even though it was difficult work at times, one of the best benefits of the job was meeting some of the best people in the world. The second of the two opportunities I mentioned earlier came from this. This one included a chance of a lifetime black bear hunt in Alaska.

One of the duties of managing the whitetail preserve was to guide hunts. Through the five years I did this, 99.99% of the hunters were great people. It was interesting to meet people from different areas who had taken some of the most elusive animals in the world. One particular couple that I met was Jimmie and Angie Ryan. They were introduced by no other than Mark Whitlock. I was in the store one day and Mark approached me and asked me to show the Ryan's around the hunting preserve. We weren't set up for bow hunters and I was somewhat apprehensive, but if you know Mark, you know the end result was that I would meet these people and show them around.

From this initial meeting, I knew the Ryans were magnificent hunters, and more than that, great people. They were appreciative of everything that a person did for them. As hunting season rolled around, Angie hunted with us and this gave us time to get acquainted even more. Little did I know at the time that Jimmie was one of the greatest bow hunters in the world. This is not my opinion, but the opinion of many, and can be backed up by his world records and trophy room. Jimmie and Angie began wanting me to go to Alaska with them black bear hunting. I gracefully declined citing job duties and fear of flying. They talked me into making plans for the trip, while in the back of my mind I knew that I could get out of it if given long enough to come up with an excuse.

The time got closer and closer and before I knew it, I was committed and flight plans were made. My apprehensiveness turned into excitement. I had never taken anything with a bow. Of course, I stepped up my practice routine and got into shape for the hunt. This was not only going to be exciting for me, but Jimmie and Angie had insisted that my wife make the trip with us. She was born on concrete, but had been transformed into a fair weather hunter by this time. Neither of us had ever taken or dreamed of a trip such as this.

Like I had mentioned earlier, I had never flown and the trip from Birmingham to Alaska seemed like an eternity. It was enjoyable as we had clear skies and window seats. After landing in Anchorage, we met the second of our hosts, Charlie Vandergaw. We took a small break and were off in a floatplane. It was a truly awesome trip. The landscape was breathtaking to an Alabama country boy that had never seen anything like it except on hunting shows on t.v. The excitement of landing on the lake and being 75 miles from nowhere was almost unbearable. We found the accommodations as more than could be expected. Over the hunting trip, we were to see moose, grizzlies, eagles, pine martens, all types of waterfowl, and of course black bears.

Alaska has a rule that you can't fly and hunt the same day. I agree with this and fully understand it, but it didn't keep us from going out and looking the first evening. The tension and excitement grew for me when I saw my first bear. It was a sow that worked her way down a ridge we had set up on. It was amazing. The next day was like being at a theater. The sights and sounds of the wilderness were totally different than what I had ever experienced. We hunted and again only saw sows. We wanted to take boars if at all possible.

The third day was unlike any other. There was a break in the rainy weather that we had been experiencing. The temperature was much milder than the constant 42 degrees for the last two days. The other thing was that the bear were beginning to show up more out of their long hibernation. There are no words to explain the feeling when the sow worked her way down the ridge that we had been hunting-and just behind her was another bear, a bigger bear. It was evident that she had a male companion. This was the moment that I had planned for and practiced for so long. All of that went away as the nervousness overtook me. Thank God that you kind of go on automatic, because I could think of nothing besides wondering if that bear could hear my heart beating. The bear worked slowly within shooting range, and I was successful with the shot. Again, to no credit to me, because after the shot, Jimmie had to tell me to sit down before I fell from shaking so much.

If I live to be one hundred, I will never have anything overshadow the experience I have just told you about. The sight of a wilderness that I had only known in television before, the taking of a great big game animal with a bow, and the stories that I sit and tell people that look at my bear skin on the wall. "You took that with a bow?", is the exclamation that I hear every time someone sees it for the first time. Of course, that gives me an in for telling my many stories about the hunt. This all came about from the friendship of hunting. I had forgotten to mention that this hunt was video taped and now is out as one in a collection of hunts on a tape by Mossback Productions. Doyle Moss has guided all of his life, and video taped some of the most fascinating animals. You'd better ask Mark or one of the guys at the store about the tape, because if you ask me it could take a while.