Polar Bear with Husqvarna M46 in 9.3x57

Would it make you feel all better inside if he ate it? This idea of "Its morally wrong to kill something if you dont eat it" is rather close minded and one should probably inform themselves on the benefits that come along with trophy hunting. This is probably the wrong place to be voicing those kind of opinions.

It's rather close minded to kill a member of a threatened species. Moose and deer are another story... Plenty of them.
 
It's rather close minded to kill a member of a threatened species. Moose and deer are another story... Plenty of them.

Really nice bear.

"Threatened Species????" Those in the Northern communities will tell you a different story. They be not as threatened as one might think. Jim Shockey was invited to join a Native hunt party that went on a Polar Bear hunt last fall I believe it was. One of the segments was about Jim talking to an elder concerning the plight of the Polar Bears. Her response was interesting. She said that they used to be able to safely travel to/from the next village which was several miles away. Over the last several years they can no longer do that because of the the threat of a Polar Bear attacks, and according to the Elder have happened. They now have to go armed. Polar Bears have increased in numbers more than we are lead to believe. She said that the government wants you to think they are "endangered" as it were. Why?....Tourism dollars. There is big $$$ in Polar Bear tourism. So it's no different than the spin on 'global warming"....same crock of crap!

The point also being (that seems to escape some) is that the "community" benefits from the harvest. It wouldn't matter if it was a "Trophy Hunt" as some ignoramuses put it in Africa, or a Polar Bear hunt in Canada, animals are going to be killed anyway why not make some extra dollars as an additional benefit to the community?

Too bad this thread got sidetracked.
 
It's rather close minded to kill a member of a threatened species. Moose and deer are another story... Plenty of them.

You've obviously never been up there. I don't blame you for not knowing better...you've mistakenly believed in good faith what you've been told by the media. There was a time that you could trust what the media told you. Nowadays that seems to have changed.
 
In NU, there are quotas set for polar bear harvest, for each community, and tags are issued. The Hunters and Trappers Association of each community decides how the tags will be used. They may be made available for local hunters, or they may be available for sport hunts. Up to the HTA. A sport hunt brings a lot of money into the community; but local hunters also want to take bears. It is a balance. Hunts must be conducted using dog teams, and often go out from outpost camps. This supports the camps. Sport hunter gets the trophy, probably isn't going to take the meat. As far as use of the meat goes, it is irrelevant who takes the bear. If I had to subsist on polar bear, I would be slender indeed.
Years ago, an Inuk hunter could sell a hide for about $100 a foot, $900-$1000 for a big bear. A sport hunt would bring in perhaps $15000. Makes sense to use some tags for sport hunts.

thanks Tiriaq to bring the economy side on this equation and the support made from this kind of hunt for the support of those remote communities.
 
thanks Tiriaq to bring the economy side on this equation and the support made from this kind of hunt for the support of those remote communities.

Yes that is a very good point many remote communities have very little economic opportunities and still have to rely on hunting and trapping as a main source of income anyone who puts up the money to go on such an incredible adventure has my respect
 
It's rather close minded to kill a member of a threatened species. Moose and deer are another story... Plenty of them.

Signed up awhile ago, and read a few posts but never really had a need to post myself until recently.

It was worth waiting for... now give it a rest for another couple of years.
 
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I saw the first post and thought - "Awesome, what a great experience". I then noticed there were over 70 replies. I kind of made a wager with myself - "This won't be CGN unless some a$$hat makes a negative comment". Sure enough...
 
Great hunt! Thanks for the pictures and thanks for doing it in Canada! Don't mind these little CBC earth rangers and their "spirit bear" crap. They watch too many coke commercials.

Thanks for being an upstanding businessman aswell!
 
The argument that global warming will spell the demise of the world's polar bear is pretty funny if you think about it. Polar bears need leads in the ice to access their primary food; seals. Seals don't hang out in areas of dense, unbroken multi-year ice, and neither does the polar bear. The more that multi-year ice recedes, the greater the range polar bears have.

The idea that polar bears don't eat over the ice free weeks is a lie, often repeated by people who know better. Polar bears ambush and kill seals that sun themselves along the rocky coastline, and in the rivers, and some of these seals can weigh in excess of 800 pounds. The bears scoff down whale carcases that wash up along the coast, and occasionally they kill small whales in the shallows. Polar bears kill geese, particularly while the geese are molting and cannot fly, but occasionally they will catch one unawares on its nest. I watched a polar bear pass up a caribou in favor of chasing down molting geese, and concluded the reason as because they can only count on geese for a short period of time each year. Polar bears ambush and kill caribou, and caribou aren't particularly unapproachable when the weather is warm, the ever present winds drop to nothing, and the bugs have their undivided attention. There is no reason to assume that polar bears would ignore moose as a food source in those areas where their habitats overlaps, such as North River and the Norton Lake - Mast River areas.

Sport hunting polar bears is entirely sustainable, provided the hunting licences are taken from community allotments, rather than being added to them.

September 7, 2015, CITES press release:
“The Committee’s Review of Significant Trade concluded that the current level of trade in polar bears, amongst others, is not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.”
 
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While I am adamantly opposed to hunting any species to extinction,one thing people forget is that all living things die....nothing lives forever.I have no issue with taking a polar bear,or any other animal as long as it has lived its life and passed in its genes.Truth be told,a significant cause of death for cubs is predation by older boars,take out a few and more cubs have a chance of surviving to maturity.
 
I appreciate the insight from someone with first hand knowledge. Thanks for sharing this info.

The argument that global warming will spell the demise of the world's polar bear is pretty funny if you think about it. Polar bears need leads in the ice to access their primary food; seals. Seals don't hang out in areas of dense, unbroken multi-year ice, and neither does the polar bear. The more that multi-year ice recedes, the greater the range polar bears have.

The idea that polar bears don't eat over the ice free weeks is a lie, often repeated by people who know better. Polar bears ambush and kill seals that sun themselves along the rocky coastline, and in the rivers, and some of these seals can weigh in excess of 800 pounds. The bears scoff down whale carcases that wash up along the coast, and occasionally they kill small whales in the shallows. Polar bears kill geese, particularly while the geese are molting and cannot fly, but occasionally they will catch one unawares on its nest. I watched a polar bear pass up a caribou in favor of chasing down molting geese, and concluded the reason as because they can only count on geese for a short period of time each year. Polar bears ambush and kill caribou, and caribou aren't particularly unapproachable when the weather is warm, the ever present winds drop to nothing, and the bugs have their undivided attention. There is no reason to assume that polar bears would ignore moose as a food source in those areas where their habitats overlaps, such as North River and the Norton Lake - Mast River areas.

Sport hunting polar bears is entirely sustainable, provided the hunting licences are taken from community allotments, rather than being added to them.

September 7, 2015, CITES press release:
“The Committee’s Review of Significant Trade concluded that the current level of trade in polar bears, amongst others, is not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.”
 
On a recent Polar Bear hunt somewhere in between Clyde River and Pond Inlet, NU, I was fortunate enough to harvest this nice male using my old Husqvarna M46 Mauser in 9.3x57, with 250gr accubonds, open sights. I am often asked what velocities are you getting out of your 9.3's? My answer is "an accurate velocity" as I firmly believe that shot placement is much more important than speed.

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Congrats on a beautiful bear. Can you share the details of your hunt? I have heard that polar bear hunting is very tough, but it's hard to find first hand accounts with details from the hunter's perspective. Anything you can share would be appreciated.
 
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