Kara Tank, Not Your Average Bear Guide, Prefers Alpen Optics
 Editor's Note: Kara Tank of Pillager, Minnesota, is not your usual bear guide. You can learn more about Kara and her family's bear hunting operation at www.bigpawsoutfitters.com.
Question: Kara, how old are you, and how long have you been hunting bears?
Tank: I'm 17 years old. I began baiting for bears with my dad, Gary, when I was 12 and have guided since I was 14.
Question: How many hunters will you usually guide each year?
Tank: In an average year, I'll guide three hunters per season, including gun hunters, archery hunters and disabled archery hunters, who use crossbows.
Question: What are your bear-guiding tactics?
Tank: We begin by placing baits in many different bait stations, and then we check to see if our baits are attracting bears. Once we see that a bear has visited a bait station, we'll set up a shooting stand for our hunters. We hunt state forestlands between International Falls and Orr, Minnesota, from September 1 until October 1. Our hunting trips generally last from 3:30 pm until sunset, and there are most often 10 hunters or less in our camp. Our clients took 27 bears in 2006, and the biggest bear we've ever taken weighed approximately 250 pounds.
Question: How did you start guiding disabled hunters?
 Tank: My dad, Gary, has guided for the United Foundation For Disabled Archers (UFFDA) since I was 5-years-old, and I've gone with him to UFFDA each year. Last year I helped guide a woman who had Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and she took a buck, which was very exciting for us both.
Question: So, do you guide deer hunters as well as bear hunters?
Tank: Yes, I do, but I'll only guide disabled archers for deer.
Question: What equipment do you use while you're hunting?
Tank: I shoot a 7mm.-08 Ruger rifle. For the past few seasons, I've shot a Renegade bow, but I'm switching to a Bear bow very soon.
Question: How do you use your Alpen optics during your hunts?
Tank: I have an Alpen riflescope mounted on my Ruger rifle, and I love it because the view through it is clear and bright. I've taken two bears and four deer with it. Each time I go into the woods to hunt turkey, deer or bear, I take my Alpen binoculars. The binoculars fit comfortably to my face and are crystal-clear in low-light situations.
Question: Kara, what are some of your most-memorable hunting trophies?
Tank: My first bear weighed 125 pounds, and my second bear weighed exactly 200 pounds. The best deer I've taken was an 8-point buck with 2 stickers, which scored 147 inches on the Boone & Crocket scale.
Question: Tell me about taking that deer.
 Tank: Early one morning I was daydreaming, while sitting in my deer stand behind my family's farm. I looked out over an open field when an enormous 250-pound buck appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Seeing the deer made me extremely nervous, and I couldn't believe I had an opportunity to take such a large buck. I readied my rifle, but I was so nervous that I had to shoot four times before I downed the buck. I was very proud to have taken such a large deer.
 Question: Why would you recommend Alpen optics to other hunters and guides?
Tank: Alpen optics makes quality rifle scopes, binoculars and spotting scopes, and the company stands behind their products. Too, the people who manufacture and promote Alpen Optics products are great. I've liked using Alpen products while hunting, and have enjoyed meeting and working with the people at Alpen.
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