Barela's Alaskan Outfitters
Welcome to Barela's Alaskan Outfitters
When hunting with Barela’s Alaskan Outfitters, experience and knowledge that the owner and operator Peter Barela provides, in his fourth decade of guiding experience, in Alaska and hunting throughout the world Peter's hunter achieves success! Peter's guiding operation is known to be world class. Their client's dreams of fulfilling a successful Alaskan Adventure and Big Game hunt are the reason for Peter's decades of success and return clientele.
Barela’s Alaskan Outfitters Area of Operation
Barela’s Alaskan Outfitters is the only guiding operation allowed in the Russel Fiord under a federal concession through May 15th. The highest density of the rare Glacier Blue Bear is in the Russell Fiord and in the other hunting area, along with an abundant amount of Giant Brown bears and Black bears. A majority of our Brown bears make Boone & Crocket as well as other hunting publications. We operate the rest of the year on 55,000 acres of private lands. Nestled against the Wrangell Mountains, on the edge of the Wrangell's St Elias National Park, this is as breathtaking of landscape as can be found on any of Alaska’s coastline. Having not being commercial hunted since 2007, being so remote, and bordering the untouched national park, Icy Bay can provide our hunters with the opportunity to pursue Boone & Crocket animals. The rest of our hunting areas are Native lands.
Alaskan Wilderness Hunting Adventure
You are in “no man’s land” this is the “Bush of Alaska” During our hunts for Mountain Goat, you may encounter both Brown and Black Bears; therefore, we recommend having all the appropriate hunting licensure. Mountain Goat Hunting will be a test of your strength and endurance. You will have to be in good shape because you will be climbing up 500 feet to possibly 2,200 feet for a successful hunt.
There is a very small topographical and ecosystem area where these unique and rare animals live, and we are blessed as this is where Barela’s Alaskan Outfitters operates.
Moose Hunting is worth it as our team sends our hunters home with racks typically over 60". Brown Bears will be on the salmon rivers in the fall and make for an exciting spot and stalk hunting experience while you are moose hunting, again, we recommend combo hunts.
Barela’s Alaskan Outfitters offers top quality Trophy hunts for the serious and professional hunters. Years of successful hunts, due to four decades flying in Alaska’s wilderness and boots on the ground equals I know where to place the hunters for the highest of success rates.
Don't Take Our Word for Being the One of the
BEST Alaskan Outfitters
Check out Testimonials Tab "More"
and
See a Peak of Stories Below...
Dirk Dieterich's Testimonial
Alaska 2024 Brown Bear Hunt
The hunt was a true Alaskan adventure, the kind you read about in books from decades past!
Hunting with Peter and his crew culminating with harvest made for a lifetime hunt!
I have been a longbow fanatic since my college days in the late 1970’s and for the past few years I have also wanted to up my game and book a spot & stalk type Brown Bear hunt in Alaska!
I finally took the plunge this past spring when I booked a hunt with old friend Peter Barela to his new camp out of Yakutat, Alaska.
A 12-day hunt based out of the only permitted camp in the Tongass National Forest accessible via a fascinating boat journey through the glacial calving waters surrounding the world’s largest tidewater glacier. Needless to say, with the limitations of a longbow the odds of success were limited at best. Most days we would spot 5-10 boars, on day 6 we spotted a large sow working her way along the shoreline. Peter felt sure that a boar would catch her scent and knew of a ridge on the cliff above the shore that would provide a good ambush point.
After about an hour a large boar appeared on the shore a half mile down from us and started slowly working our way along the sow’s path. Our vantage point was about 20 feet above the shoreline and about 25 yards from the water’s edge. We had to keep a low profile so the boar wouldn’t spot us which presented a unique challenge with the lower limb on a 66-inch longbow. As the boar approached, at about 20 yards, I released and immediately felt the lower limb strike the ground and the arrow hit him in the front left elbow and bounced back several feet. I nocked another arrow as we watched the bear climb the hill and got above us in the timber, then Peter said that bear will be back on the trail, that we were standing on, for the sow. Peter was correct, the bear was obviously trying to figure out how to get his fat ass around the trees and back after the sow, he was looking directly at us but didn’t see us, at this point we estimated him to be at 7 yards. I was zoned and waiting for him to look to his right or left and expose his carotid artery. Moments later the bear looked to his left, I came to full draw and hit him where I aimed. The bear let out a loud roar and did a back flip over the rock and was gone. I was concerned about the shot, in my 40+ years of bowhunting I had never taken a head-on shot and certainly not the largest carnivore on this continent.
I looked at Peter and I with a big smile and said, “dead bear”! I can’t even explain the sense of relief that I felt.
The bear hadn’t gone more than 30 yards before he died. The bear measured a little over 9 feet.
The hunt was a true Alaskan adventure, the kind you read about in books from decades past and spending time with Peter and his crew culminating with harvest made for a lifetime hunt!
Story by Dirk Dieterich
Forest Keith's Hunting Story in BowSite
2010
1st of Many Brown Bear
Bowhunting Kills
by Forest Keith
Pete whispers
"44", "39", "24",
I ask,
"should I take the shot?"
Pete whispers
"NOW, if he gives you a shot, TAKE IT"!
"I knocked another arrow, pulled back, and asked Pete "how far?", as he falls back on his butt and bites at the arrow. "35" no sooner got out of Pete's mouth and the second arrow was on the way."
I have already knocked another arrow, pulled back, and asked Pete "how far?", as he falls back on his butt and bites at the arrow. "35" no sooner got out of Pete's mouth and the second arrow was on the way.
Perfect heart shot.
We walk about 200 yards and Pete, my guide, stops and whispers "bear!".
We both get down. Pete examines the bear and starts to range him.
Pete says if we can get to that next stump he should be at 25 yards.
We drop our packs, I get an arrow out and knocked, we take about three steps, and Pete gets down and says "here he comes!"
At this point I am thinking what do you mean here he comes?! Is he running at us, is he walking towards us, as I have not yet seen the bear.
It doesn't take long for him to come into view. My first instinct is to ask Pete how far he is, "44", "39", I ask again, "24", Pete replies " if he gives you a shot, take it". I pull back right before the bear steps up onto a boulder, not 10 yards from me, head on. All I can remember is that my pin is in the middle of his chest just below his neck. His head is swaying back and forth as he makes eye contact with me. He pauses and I can tell he is going to turn and run. So I wait until he turns to shoot. The arrow hits him very far back and disappears. He was quartering hard away at the time the arrow hit him. To my surprise he didn't make it very far before he lost his whole rear end! I have already knocked another arrow, pulled back, and asked Pete "how far?", as he falls back on his butt and bites at the arrow. "35" no sooner got out of Pete's mouth and the second arrow was on the way. Perfect heart shot. Couldn't have placed it any better if I tried.
He got his feet under him and went another 10-15 yards before he balled up.
Pete started to yell "You got him! You got him! He's down" as we walked slowly up to him his head was still up, so I chose to put another arrow in him at 20 yards or less. That one defiantly let the air out of him and his head went down and he was gone within a matter of seconds.
Pete went CRAZY. Me being the first bowhunter he has ever guided for Brown Bears.
Forest Keith's Bowsite.com, April 2010.
A Story About Hunting with Barela's Alaskan Outfitters Published in BowSite by Forest Keith
