Clarion staff photo Daniel Rosin of Soldotna shows off the brown bear he took down while bowhunting near Skikok Lake on May 6. Rosin only needed one arrow to kill the 9-foot, 750-pound bear he shot from a stand 25 feet in the air from a distance of 20 yards away.

Clarion staff photo Daniel Rosin of Soldotna shows off the brown bear he took down while bowhunting near Skikok Lake on May 6. Rosin only needed one arrow to kill the 9-foot, 750-pound bear he shot from a stand 25 feet in the air from a distance of 20 yards away.

SOHI senior bags brown bear with a bow

  • By DAN BALMER
  • Thursday, May 15, 2014 4:24pm
  • News

When big game hunting, eventually hours of silence and patience will be rewarded.

Soldotna High School senior Daniel Rosin could hardly contain his excitement after he took down a 9-foot tall brown bear with one arrow while bow hunting on May 6 near Skikok Lake.

In a stand 25 feet off the ground with his dad, Tom Rosin, the two waited a few hours before the bear presented him with the perfect shot. Enticed by popcorn, the 750-pound bear walked into the baited area about 20 yards from the stand.

Calmly and slowly, Daniel Rosin pulled back the 70-pound draw weight with 125-grain broad head and fired the arrow into the bear’s lungs, striking the heart artery. Within seconds the bear was dead.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“It was incredible. I didn’t expect it to drop like that,” he said. “My adrenaline was pumping. I could not have asked for a better result.”

Daniel Rosin, 18, built the stand with his friend River Calloway, also a SoHi senior, in a remote spot near the lake two miles off the Sterling Highway. With his friend at work he went out with his dad to hunt after dinner at about 7 p.m. Not long after they arrived, the bear looked right at them and ran off spooked, he said.

“We heard him circling around us for two hours,” Daniel Rosin said. “Then he walked up to the bait and presented the right shot. I couldn’t take my eyes off the bear, I was locked in.”

After the kill, Daniel Rosin spent another two hours skinning the bear. First he cut open the stomach and pulled the guts out. Then he cut the hide off in one piece, careful to not nick it with the knife blade.

He said the large brown bear was missing a couple claws and had worn down teeth, which showed he was an older animal. After harvesting the meat and claiming the skull and hide, he took it to Kenny Jones Skull and Bones Taxidermy in Soldotna to get a bear rug made. He said he would display the skull as a trophy.

While Daniel Rosin has hunted white-tail deer, moose, wild hogs in Texas and black bear with a rifle, the brown bear was his first kill with a bow. He said the main difference between black and brown bears are the size. Black bears eat berries and are a lot smaller while brown bears are larger and fish being their main diet.

“It means more take him down with a bow,” Daniel Rosin said. “It’s not like with a rifle where you are 200 yards off. With a bow you need to be in close range, stealthy and on the top of your game.”

Daniel Rosin has been bow hunting for about a year. He said his dad has hunted moose with a bow and taught him how to shoot with precision. Now that he has claimed his first big game with a bow, he said he is hooked on the sport.

“It is addicting,” he said. “I will never go back to using a rifle for hunting.”

Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Traffic passes by South Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai drops effort to rename South Spruce Street

The resolution would have changed the name to make it clear which road led to North Kenai Beach

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy calls special session for August

Lawmakers on Wednesday said they were surprised by the move.

A makeshift coffin decrying the risks of Medicaid funding cuts is seen on Thursday, June 26, in front of the Blazy Mall in Soldotna. The cuts were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)
Ahead of Senate vote, Soldotna protesters defend Medicaid funding

Cuts to the program were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning.

Board President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough school board to finalize budget

The new budget designed by the committee will be considered at a public hearing during the full board meeting on Monday evening.

The Russian River Sanctuary Area is seen in the area labeled B in this map provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (courtesy)
Strong sockeye run prompts early open of Russian River Sanctuary

In regulation, the confluence is expected to be open from July 15 to Aug. 20.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26 on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
Burn suspension lifted for Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak

The public is asked to remain vigilant while burning due to minimal available resources.

Commanding Officer Corey Engel, Rear Adm. Megan Dean, and former ASPEN Commanding Officer Shea Winterberger smile for a photograph during the Change of Command ceremony on Thursday, June 26, 2025, on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
USCG ASPEN changes command

Commanding Officer Corey Engel will be in charge of the cutter’s operations and crew.

Volunteers repair the trails at Erik Hansen Scout Park in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Volunteers revitalize Kenai scout park

Kenai’s Erik Hansen Scout Park overlooks the mouth of the Kenai River in Old Town.

Most Read