Iconic 1962 Video Footage: Fred Bear’s Giant Kodiak Brown Bear

Unlike most hunting videos on YouTube, this one captures the true essence of adventure. Narrated by well-known traditional shooter Fred Eichler, the 5-minute video below highlights legendary bowhunter Fred Bear on his 1962 excursion to Alaska’s Kodiak Island in pursuit of a big brown bear.

As explained by Eichler, Fred Bear was using a 1959 Bear Kodiak recurve (left-handed), 60 inches long, 65-pound draw at 28 inches. He had a cedar arrow tipped with his signature Bear Razorhead broadhead.

Of course, killing a brown bear with a recurve bow is tremendously difficult — and dangerous! In addition to discussing the degree of difficulty, Eicher explains the additional challenges of capturing such a hunt on a film camera called a “one-reeler,” which needs to be wound up manually to provide 12 to 15 minutes of recording time. Crazy!

Sit back and escape while watching this iconic video. Ultimately, Fred Bear is hiding behind a 4-foot-diameter boulder on the beach, and the 800-pound bruin slowly walks by at only 7 yards!

As you’ll see, Fred shows unbelievable composure in the moment, even taking a moment as the bear approaches to signal to his cameraman to make sure he’s capturing the footage. FYI: Fred’s 1962 Kodiak brown bear became the new Pope and Young world record at the time. The skull officially measured 28 inches (length plus width), and the tanned hide squared at 10 feet.

P.S. If you like what you see in this video, then I highly recommend that you listen to Fred Bear as he explains, in great detail, the final stalk on this brown bear, and what he was thinking as the bruin approached his ambush spot. Fred also talks about the cameraman’s location and what happened after the shot, when the bear ran directly toward the cameraman. Trust me, it’s insane! Click here to check out the audio; fast-forward to the 42:40 mark to get right to the action of the final stalk.