We have lots of grizzly up here and quite a bit of them in the bush behind my house here hundreds of people go mountain biking or biking every week! None of them carry a firearm, actually I would say that 99% of the people I know that spend time in the bush in the summer don’t carry firearms and they are just fine! When I go small game hunting I carry my 22lr and bear spray… I feel totally safe!
Big Game hunting in Grizzly country
- Thread starter Spruster
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Good on ya!
Now take one or more of those mountain bikers and smear them with elk/moose/or sheep guts up to their elbows.
Move them 50-60 miles away from where you live where hundreds of bikers are ripping around.
Pitch a spike camp with that critter hanging.
What could go wrong?
Sorry for the sarcasm but I think we are talking about two different things.
I’d walk unarmed through Banff or Jasper park with no worries but I likely wouldn’t put 25 pounds of raw prime rib in my backpack.
The area I moose hunt is mainly thick brush and has quite a few Grizzly, you don't need a big calibre to kill moose. When I am hunting Moose, I carry at least a 300wm and if I am calling Moose, I will either have .375 Ruger or a 9.3x62, I am often alone or may have one dog with me. In forty years I have had one bluff charge from a black bear and I had a sow grizzly with cubs charge my vehicle. If you spend time in the bush being quiet, I think it is only a matter of time for when you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, I also usually carry bear spray if I am alone.
Hang or cache your meat further from your camp.
I'm no helicopter pilot but I have had very high grizzly exposure at work for around a decade.
I can think of one time I wished I had a gun and there is no way I would have had time or space to use it
Anecdotal but bear spray seems pretty damn effective to me. I do not carry it while hunting with a centrefire rifle. More of a commentary on the rarity of aggressive bear encounters than an endorsement of " bear guns".
I would be more concerned about returning to a kill to pack out more meat and a bear being on it than a "dinner bell" visitor.
Not usually a huge Steve Rinella podcast fan but he had an episode where the guest had survived a grizzly mauling in a "dinner bell" situation.
That guys take aways were:
- Buffalo bore 10mm bear loads penetrate well but breaking/hitting bone is hard while getting mauled
- don't bring a pistol to a rifle fight
- keep your scope on a low setting, I guess having a low setting would come in handy too
- that shooting accurately while getting mauled thing is probably a pretty big consideration
I'm no helicopter pilot but I have had very high grizzly exposure at work for around a decade.
I can think of one time I wished I had a gun and there is no way I would have had time or space to use it
Anecdotal but bear spray seems pretty damn effective to me. I do not carry it while hunting with a centrefire rifle. More of a commentary on the rarity of aggressive bear encounters than an endorsement of " bear guns".
I would be more concerned about returning to a kill to pack out more meat and a bear being on it than a "dinner bell" visitor.
Not usually a huge Steve Rinella podcast fan but he had an episode where the guest had survived a grizzly mauling in a "dinner bell" situation.
That guys take aways were:
- Buffalo bore 10mm bear loads penetrate well but breaking/hitting bone is hard while getting mauled
- don't bring a pistol to a rifle fight
- keep your scope on a low setting, I guess having a low setting would come in handy too
- that shooting accurately while getting mauled thing is probably a pretty big consideration
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I have hunted in Grizzly country most of my life, and have only seen about 9 or 10 in
their natural habitat.
Had a run-in with one in the early 60's. He thought my dressed and halved moose
belonged to Him. I, of course, did not agree, and it came down to a "dead" end for
ursus arctos horribilis. The only Grizzly I have ever killed.
I am always impressed with the Grizzly's demeanor. He is king in his domain, and
he knows it.
. Immensely strong, I watched one rolling rocks to get at the bugs
underneath. Some of those rocks would have required 2 or 3 strong men to move.
Here in BC, he is now protected. Not sure if that is good. Dave.
their natural habitat.
Had a run-in with one in the early 60's. He thought my dressed and halved moose
belonged to Him. I, of course, did not agree, and it came down to a "dead" end for
ursus arctos horribilis. The only Grizzly I have ever killed.
I am always impressed with the Grizzly's demeanor. He is king in his domain, and
he knows it.
. Immensely strong, I watched one rolling rocks to get at the bugsunderneath. Some of those rocks would have required 2 or 3 strong men to move.
Here in BC, he is now protected. Not sure if that is good. Dave.
Glass a Polar bear out on the ice.
Give him the time to see you and he will drop what he’s doing if it’s not getting the result he wants and he will come to you.
His domain. All else is food.
I love bears and hope that one is still snacking on seal dens.
McDonalds for bears.
Give him the time to see you and he will drop what he’s doing if it’s not getting the result he wants and he will come to you.
His domain. All else is food.
I love bears and hope that one is still snacking on seal dens.
McDonalds for bears.
Living in B.C. we have Grizzlies everywhere. I’ve seen them lots in the Darcy area and in the high country around Manning park. Those are in the very southern end of the province. Basically all our deer hunting is in grizzly area if you are high up. I carry deer guns when hunting deer and bigger ones for bigger animals. As others have said keep a clean camp and your wits about you.
I’ve only “had” to shoot two Joel.
Both of them were ordinary black bears.
One was ripping apart a 30 man camp and terrorizing the staff.
The other thought my tree stand was his turf and was going to kick me off.
That was kind of a point blank encounter that I wish I could have avoided.
My best memories are of bear encounters that never ended in bloodshed.
Respect them but don’t trust them any further than you can throw one.
That applies to all species of bear.
Right on.
Never had to shoot yet here. Taken part in some live trapping and relocating, but never shooting. Don't mind keeping it that way. Last one I know of that had to be put down in town was in the dumpster of a grocery store and I am sure the kid who went to bring the trash out needed a change of drawers.
Was charged once by a mother whose cubs were treed and can only say the key to her not following through was looking scared enough, perhaps? Was doing as Buck Owens said and acting naturally lol. No gun.
Your last paragraph there sums it up for me 100% as well. No grizz experience yet, only black bears as its all we have out here...but worked with em and around em quite a bit.
The treestand encounter musta got the heart rate up.
Relax. I’m not seeing that at all. But whatever.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Put plainly, spent a lot of time with grizzly bears of various strains, coastal, mountain, boreal. Several hundred encounters comfortably, as I work where they live, chased them for work, and like to share the same places; wilderness. Over the years and a few bluff charges over salmon holes outfitting my understanding of the risk they pose has tempered my take on them.
They unfortunately struggle in our world, as their means of communicating stress doesn’t translate well to human. Everyone references Treadwell as the cautionary tale, the guy spent thirteen years living right in them with zero caution and really looking for trouble, for the entire time of the year they were out of the den. It took that long to get eaten.
The message I see in that is the risk to the avid outdoorsman who sees grizzlies periodically is quite low, as backed up by the stats. Not non-existent, but I know far more mountain hunters injured by falls than by grizzlies. I’ve known hunters who died of a heart attack, none who’ve died from Grizzlies. It can happen, and that’s one of the things we accept in the wilderness, but we have to keep context of how many people are exposed, and how often they get attacked.
I still carry a gun when it works for the job that day, and I like guns and the feeling of being armed. I don’t consider people silly for carrying them. I do feel it gets silly when guys have a mindset they’re heading into Pandora and are loaded for bear, placing more emphasis on a species they don’t intend to shoot gun selection wise than the quarry they’re after. And a lot of the time the rifle selection goes the wrong direction for both the original game hunted, and the grizzlies.
I get the buzz, the excitement of running into apex predators, and having the tool on your shoulder or hip to deal with it if need be. I’ve had it since I used to sneak that Red Ryder out of the loft into the bush. I never want that to go away. But I also can’t be unrealistic about Grizzlies or vilify them. One of my kids might have said it best.
They unfortunately struggle in our world, as their means of communicating stress doesn’t translate well to human. Everyone references Treadwell as the cautionary tale, the guy spent thirteen years living right in them with zero caution and really looking for trouble, for the entire time of the year they were out of the den. It took that long to get eaten.
The message I see in that is the risk to the avid outdoorsman who sees grizzlies periodically is quite low, as backed up by the stats. Not non-existent, but I know far more mountain hunters injured by falls than by grizzlies. I’ve known hunters who died of a heart attack, none who’ve died from Grizzlies. It can happen, and that’s one of the things we accept in the wilderness, but we have to keep context of how many people are exposed, and how often they get attacked.
I still carry a gun when it works for the job that day, and I like guns and the feeling of being armed. I don’t consider people silly for carrying them. I do feel it gets silly when guys have a mindset they’re heading into Pandora and are loaded for bear, placing more emphasis on a species they don’t intend to shoot gun selection wise than the quarry they’re after. And a lot of the time the rifle selection goes the wrong direction for both the original game hunted, and the grizzlies.
I get the buzz, the excitement of running into apex predators, and having the tool on your shoulder or hip to deal with it if need be. I’ve had it since I used to sneak that Red Ryder out of the loft into the bush. I never want that to go away. But I also can’t be unrealistic about Grizzlies or vilify them. One of my kids might have said it best.
Knowing bear behavior and being able to read bear body language …. Is probably more important than the rifle or caliber you have at hand ….
Especially if your 870 Marine Mag shotgun is laying on the ground in the middle between you and that bear and who is only 5 meters away ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbE53XUtVw0
Especially if your 870 Marine Mag shotgun is laying on the ground in the middle between you and that bear and who is only 5 meters away ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbE53XUtVw0
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