Grizzly hunting in Canada 101

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Northern Shooter

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I know I'm a little late to the game here but I've recently started reading up on grizzly hunting in Canada.

A few questions:

1. Is the Yukon the only Canadian option that remains? It looks like BC banned the hunt in 2018. Nothing in AB or NWT?

2. How easy/difficult is it for a non-resident to hunt Grizzly in the Yukon? It looks like a guided hunt is a requirement. Would it be easier doing a guided hunt in one of the States?

3. Have you personally successfully hunted a grizzly, If so, in the YK or elsewhere?

4. Is there a minimum caliber or muzzle energy restriction? or was there one in place when the BC hunt was going? I was recently listening to a podcast where the host recounted a tale of Boddington's wife bringing a 338WM to a bear camp to only be told that they had a .375 caliber minimum (Alaska I believe). It sounds like they waved the restriction (because Boddington) and she was able to kill a monster bear cleanly with the 338WM.

5. What rifle/cartridge did you use to hunt your grizzly?

6. As someone who is only familiar with hunting black bear in eastern Canada, how different is the experience from hunting grizzly in the West?

7. How much meat did you get off your bear? Taste similar to black bear?
 
I can answer a couple of your questions, but in no way do I consider myself an expert on grizzly hunting. My experience is limited to ONE hunt only.
September 1998 or 1999. Hagensborg B.C. which is near Bella Coola. My best buddy got a limited entry draw and away we went for one week.
Question 3: We were successful. The bear we got made the B and C record book. It was a long time ago, but I think it made #23. Records are not important to me, but my buddy bragged about it for a long time.
Question 4: If memory serves correctly, I do not recall any minimal cartridge restrictions back then.
Question 5: He used a Weatherby vanguard in 375 H&H. I was his back up incase it went bad. I carried a Remington 700 in 300 Winchester magnum.
Question 6: It was a completely different experience than any black bear hunt I have ever done, and I have hunted black bears for almost 40 years.
Black bears are nothing compared to a grizzly.
We had a black bear run at us on the rocky beach we were walking on, and the black bear ran right past us about 50 yards to the side of us.....Immediately we wondered what would possess a black bear into running at humans on a beach. Then it dawned on us, that the black bear was running from something even scarier than two humans with rifles. Around the next bend we saw the grizzly catching salmon.
When I had that grizzly in my scope at about 100 yards, and he stared at me, I felt smaller than I have ever felt in my life.
Earlier in the hunt, I had questioned if I had enough gun. Seeing all the half eaten salmon and big tracks everywhere brought a lot of doubt in my mind. I know a lot of guys will tell you that a 300 mag is the best there is, but if I ever did it again, I would have a 338 Win mag with 250 grain partitions.
I have shot a lot of black bears. Some of them have been quite large. (7 foot wet rug was my biggest). Yes they were hard to move around, but nothing compared to a large salmon fed grizzly. We had to use a log with a tree propped as a fulcrum, just to lift the carcass enough to skin it out.
I bet the skin with the skull in it weighed a hundred pounds? maybe more?
Question 7:It was a lot of work to get that meat to the boat, which was only a few hundred yards away. I really wanted to eat that bear just so I could add grizzly to the list of animals I have eaten, but the locals there told me not to eat it, as the bears there were full of parasites. I took their word for it, but I do not know if that is a fact or not.
Its too bad the big city folks got the B.C. grizzly hunt cancelled. The locals we met in Hagensborg were all happy we were there to remove one bear. Every one of them we talked with had stories of being harassed by grizzly bears. I can only imagine things got even scarier there now that human interactions are not scary for the bears.
I am very lucky to have been able to experience grizzly hunting. It was the experience of a lifetime.
 
elKrusto said:
I can answer a couple of your questions, but in no way do I consider myself an expert on grizzly hunting. My experience is limited to ONE hunt only.
September 1998 or 1999. Hagensborg B.C. which is near Bella Coola. My best buddy got a limited entry draw and away we went for one week.
Question 3: We were successful. The bear we got made the B and C record book. It was a long time ago, but I think it made #23. Records are not important to me, but my buddy bragged about it for a long time.
Question 4: If memory serves correctly, I do not recall any minimal cartridge restrictions back then.
Question 5: He used a Weatherby vanguard in 375 H&H. I was his back up incase it went bad. I carried a Remington 700 in 300 Winchester magnum.
Question 6: It was a completely different experience than any black bear hunt I have ever done, and I have hunted black bears for almost 40 years.
Black bears are nothing compared to a grizzly.
We had a black bear run at us on the rocky beach we were walking on, and the black bear ran right past us about 50 yards to the side of us.....Immediately we wondered what would possess a black bear into running at humans on a beach. Then it dawned on us, that the black bear was running from something even scarier than two humans with rifles. Around the next bend we saw the grizzly catching salmon.
When I had that grizzly in my scope at about 100 yards, and he stared at me, I felt smaller than I have ever felt in my life.
Earlier in the hunt, I had questioned if I had enough gun. Seeing all the half eaten salmon and big tracks everywhere brought a lot of doubt in my mind. I know a lot of guys will tell you that a 300 mag is the best there is, but if I ever did it again, I would have a 338 Win mag with 250 grain partitions.
I have shot a lot of black bears. Some of them have been quite large. (7 foot wet rug was my biggest). Yes they were hard to move around, but nothing compared to a large salmon fed grizzly. We had to use a log with a tree propped as a fulcrum, just to lift the carcass enough to skin it out.
I bet the skin with the skull in it weighed a hundred pounds? maybe more?
Question 7:It was a lot of work to get that meat to the boat, which was only a few hundred yards away. I really wanted to eat that bear just so I could add grizzly to the list of animals I have eaten, but the locals there told me not to eat it, as the bears there were full of parasites. I took their word for it, but I do not know if that is a fact or not.
Its too bad the big city folks got the B.C. grizzly hunt cancelled. The locals we met in Hagensborg were all happy we were there to remove one bear. Every one of them we talked with had stories of being harassed by grizzly bears. I can only imagine things got even scarier there now that human interactions are not scary for the bears.
I am very lucky to have been able to experience grizzly hunting. It was the experience of a lifetime.
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That's a good story, and too bad about the parasites. Did you get to keep the hide?
 
My friend has a life size mount. I can't post pictures or I would share them.
It is unlikely, but if you could access BEARHUNTER magazine, volume 1, issue number 4, May/June, there is a two page story on pages 10 and 11 showing pictures of us and the bear. The photo on the cover of the issue is one I took of my buddy.
The skull measured 24 and 12/16"
 
Northern Shooter said:
I know I'm a little late to the game here but I've recently started reading up on grizzly hunting in Canada.

A few questions:

1. Is the Yukon the only Canadian option that remains? It looks like BC banned the hunt in 2018. Nothing in AB or NWT?

2. How easy/difficult is it for a non-resident to hunt Grizzly in the Yukon? It looks like a guided hunt is a requirement. Would it be easier doing a guided hunt in one of the States?

3. Have you personally successfully hunted a grizzly, If so, in the YK or elsewhere?

4. Is there a minimum caliber or muzzle energy restriction? or was there one in place when the BC hunt was going? I was recently listening to a podcast where the host recounted a tale of Boddington's wife bringing a 338WM to a bear camp to only be told that they had a .375 caliber minimum (Alaska I believe). It sounds like they waved the restriction (because Boddington) and she was able to kill a monster bear cleanly with the 338WM.

5. What rifle/cartridge did you use to hunt your grizzly?

6. As someone who is only familiar with hunting black bear in eastern Canada, how different is the experience from hunting grizzly in the West?

7. How much meat did you get off your bear? Taste similar to black bear?
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7. the grizzly bear meat is a little tougher but it really depends on the diet and you wont have me eating one with a diet fish but a grizzly with a stomach full of berries in the fall that is a way different story. well prepared it s great meat. it is delicacy in some countries in europe like in finland and slovenija and nothing is waste. they eat it as well in norway and sweden but i wont compare to the 2 previous countries for recipes.
1. nunavut is still open for non resident and alines for grizzly and this is the barren ground version. nwt is still opens for barrenground grizzly for non resident and aliens while the mckenzie mountains are only open to resident for once a lifetime harvest. yukon is still open as well but for how long?
2. hunting grizzly is a need for a lot of luck and you need to use an outfitter if you re not a resident and it will be most of time billed in usd.
3. never shot one but been on few hunts as im picky on the one i want to take. i want an old boar and no need to harvest/hunt young ones.
4. the only restriction for caliber is the 243 win in the yukon.
5. i used 375 ruger in hawkeye, 9.3x62 in zastava, 30-06 in ruger and tikka t3x
6. i hunted and guided for black bear in quebec and northern quebec and that is not the same first no baiting except after a kill and the use of the carcass and gut. i guided or hunted with my wife here few times on black bear but grizzly is way above for sensations even if you do not take one.

hope this help. one more month before the fall opening.
 
Very cool, what kind of ranges were you guys getting when you hunted grizzly?

If I ever get a chance to hunt one I'm unsure on appropriate caliber choice, 338WM, 375HH, 416, 458 etc.
 
Our grizzly was taken at approx 100 yards, maybe even a bit less.
Hit with the 375 H&H it still managed to run into the bush a few hundred yards. We had to psych ourselves up and go in after it. Hagensborg bush is really thick. To say I was scared would be an understatement. Luckily it was dead when we got to it.
It was an eye opening experience. After that I read a lot on dangerous game rifles. (yeah I know, I should have read that before I went...).
Nothing wrong with a Remington 700, but I switched to a Ruger in 338 Win mag, with the CRF action.
I would recommend using the BIGGEST caliber rifle that you can shoot accurately.
 
elKrusto said:
Our grizzly was taken at approx 100 yards, maybe even a bit less.
Hit with the 375 H&H it still managed to run into the bush a few hundred yards. We had to psych ourselves up and go in after it. Hagensborg bush is really thick. To say I was scared would be an understatement. Luckily it was dead when we got to it.
It was an eye opening experience. After that I read a lot on dangerous game rifles. (yeah I know, I should have read that before I went...).
Nothing wrong with a Remington 700, but I switched to a Ruger in 338 Win mag, with the CRF action.
I would recommend using the BIGGEST caliber rifle that you can shoot accurately.
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Yeah I agree with you on the CRF, just like dangerous game hunting in Africa, it's recommended over push feed. I currently shoot everything up to 375 fine, and will soon get acquainted with 458WM shooting.

I was watching Jim Shockey's grizzly hunt where he used his 458, it seemed to do the task with authority.
 
Not my personal experience but may be worth relaying.
A close friend of mine embarked on his bucket list to bag a Kodiak in Alaska. Not an inexpensive hunt by any means.
Over lunch before he left we talked over what he planned on carrying and he had elected to take a 300 Win Mag. No caliber restrictions according to his outfitter.
At that time I offered him one of my 375’s or the 416 Rigby if he wanted. He declined because he shot his 300 well and had great faith in it.
He shot his bear in the evening beside a salmon stream.
The bear bailed off into the willows and given it was late in the evening his guide elected to follow up in the morning.
They recovered the bear minus the hind end that had been eaten by another bear over night.
Interesting enough his guides were carrying 458 Win Mags.
The bear was turned into a beautiful live mount but the repair to the hide added about 300 percent to the cost.
My friend later picked up a 458 Lott.
Not sure he ever had a chance to use it but likely good insurance.
The results may have been the same had he used a 375 or the 416 but maybe not.
 
I outfitted them, the best chambering was the .300, the worst was the .450 Marlin; it’s too stiff and slow to have the same effect as the .300. Shots are often a tad reachy, so don’t opt for a .458. The reason the guides carry them is to bust through bone in a close up, head on charge. As the primary hunting rifle a .458 Win is significantly behind a .300 for them when all is considered, and would be an odd choice. My preferred backup rifle was a .375, keep some speed for effectiveness on a thin skinned animal and be able to break through bone if needed. .375 minimum, I haven’t heard of that and consider it ridiculous.

There’s a lot to this talk, but the Cole’s notes are be prepared to shoot further than you expect, you don’t need a .458 and I frankly wouldn’t advise it. Except for Alaska, the era of Brown and Grizz hunting in North America is sun setting. Even the numbers taken annually in the Yukon (76 average a year) are quite low and trending down.
 
Ardent said:
I outfitted them, the best chambering was the .300, the worst was the .450 Marlin; it’s too stiff and slow to have the same effect as the .300. Shots are often a tad reachy, so don’t opt for a .458. The reason the guides carry them is to bust through bone in a close up, head on charge. As the primary hunting rifle a .458 Win is significantly behind a .300 for them when all is considered, and would be an odd choice. My preferred backup rifle was a .375, keep some speed for effectiveness on a thin skinned animal and be able to break through bone if needed. .375 minimum, I haven’t heard of that and consider it ridiculous.

There’s a lot to this talk, but the Cole’s notes are be prepared to shoot further than you expect, you don’t need a .458 and I frankly wouldn’t advise it. Except for Alaska, the era of Brown and Grizz hunting in North America is sun setting. Even the numbers taken annually in the Yukon (76 average a year) are quite low and trending down.
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Thanks for your input. I'm guessing you guided in BC then up until 2018? That's interesting regarding the .458, what kind of ranges were you typically seeing a client have to take on the initial shot? I would have guessed within 150m and that 375-458 would be common.
 
Yep, BC north coast.

Shots were twenty to several hundred yards, as we hunted spot and stalk. Getting close to grizzlies wasn’t hard, getting close to THE grizzly could be a challenge in our landscape, and many grizzly habitats in general. I only had a couple .375s show up, though I’d endorse one for the task. Most brought .300s, smallest was a 7x57 175gr, it did the job but left some to be desired. .300 and 7 Mag were both highly effective, and well suited to the task.

Before Putin invaded a country for nostalgia, far east Russia was becoming a go to for brown bear hunts.
 
Ardent said:
Yep, BC north coast.

Shots were twenty to several hundred yards, as we hunted spot and stalk. Getting close to grizzlies wasn’t hard, getting close to THE grizzly could be a challenge in our landscape, and many grizzly habitats in general. I only had a couple .375s show up, though I’d endorse one for the task. Most brought .300s, smallest was a 7x57 175gr, it did the job but left some to be desired. .300 and 7 Mag were both highly effective, and well suited to the task.

Before Putin invaded a country for nostalgia, far east Russia was becoming a go to for brown bear hunts.
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Yes I've been reading about that, the Kamchatka Region. It sounds like the density and overal number of bears there surpasses our North American populations.

I assume Northern Europe would be another possibility for a guided brown bear hunt.
 
Northern Shooter said:
Yes I've been reading about that, the Kamchatka Region. It sounds like the density and overal number of bears there surpasses our North American populations.

I assume Northern Europe would be another possibility for a guided brown bear hunt.
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many places has shut down hunting in europe for non residents or even residents. the big ones are in romania if they open back this year.

kamtchaka was the place to 25 years ago. the decline of salmon runs plus the shot of any bears has shown is limti there as well.
 
Ardent said:
I outfitted them, the best chambering was the .300, the worst was the .450 Marlin; it’s too stiff and slow to have the same effect as the .300. Shots are often a tad reachy, so don’t opt for a .458. The reason the guides carry them is to bust through bone in a close up, head on charge. As the primary hunting rifle a .458 Win is significantly behind a .300 for them when all is considered, and would be an odd choice. My preferred backup rifle was a .375, keep some speed for effectiveness on a thin skinned animal and be able to break through bone if needed. .375 minimum, I haven’t heard of that and consider it ridiculous.

There’s a lot to this talk, but the Cole’s notes are be prepared to shoot further than you expect, you don’t need a .458 and I frankly wouldn’t advise it. Except for Alaska, the era of Brown and Grizz hunting in North America is sun setting. Even the numbers taken annually in the Yukon (76 average a year) are quite low and trending down.
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the problem in the yukon is one grizzly bear every 3 years and not that much people are putting time on and we had a negative press and anti used it a lot when a bear (a sow) was legally taken on the southern roads ... now you can not take a grizzly if they are not 100 meters away from the road but that was one grizzly taken in that aera every 3 years but you can still hunt black bear that way and on average 8 grizzlys are taken on dlp or by cos every year because the locals while bothered by a grizzly taken by a hunter every 3 years have no problem to have others taking grizzly if they are a problem ...
 
I took my grizzly with my 338 Win Mag and a 210 gr Partition at 8 yards while on a mountain goat hunt. Came around a corner and he was at 20 yards. He ran to 40, and then turned and came back. Young bear, probably more curious than anything, but was too close for my comfort level! As his head was down, I shot him in the hump trying to break his spine, which it did. I waited a bit and threw a rock and whistled at him. His head came up, looked at me, then was trying to bite his shoulder, but could only move his head. When he stopped moving, I moved around and tried to put one in from the side. As he was in knee high grass I could not tell that he was laying in a small depression, and the bullet went into the dirt in front of his chest. He was still for a whle, so I went back around and whistled at him again. He raised his head slowly and glared at me and then lowered his head again. I cranked my scope up and could see his eyes through the grass looking at me. So I put one between the lookers. I didn't want to as I was hoping for the skull. Nothing left of it after that shot! Squared just over 6'.

Assisted my old mentor on his 2 grizzly LEH hunts. He was packing his 95 Big Bore in 356 Win loaded w/ 220 gr Speer Hot Cors. I backed him up with my BLR in 358 Win with same bullets. He took his grizzly on the first hunt @ 140 yards. Not the distance we were hoping for, but we ran out of cover. Unfortunately, we were downhill from the bear, something my Dad (who has guided for many grizzly (hates hunting them!), as did his father and grandfather - over 140 years of guiding in Alberta and BC between the 3 of them) and many of the old guides recommended against, but was our only option due to wind direction and location. His first shot was good and did knock the bear down. He got a little excited when the bear was immediately back up and swirling around biting at his wound in his side. It got a littler western from there! He dumped the rest of the shots into or at the bear as it was swirling around. 2 were misses, one in the front leg, and one in the neck that missed the spine. While he was reloading, I shot it once in the shoulder that knocked it down, and then he fired the finishing shot. The bear squared just over 7'. While the bear would have died from the first shot, it didn't occur as quick as one would like. Yes, it did kill, but an animals that can hurt you even when it is dead on its feet, requires additional shots until after it is dead. And even then an additional insurance shot is not an unwise thing. I continue to carry the BLR for back up on many hunts, but something with more power would be carried for back up on a grizzly hunt, such as my 376 Steyr. A full stocked, LH Ruger M77 with a 21" barrel, loaded with 260 gr AccuBonds.

I have also worked and played in grizzly country for many years and seen and been near these bears on many occasions, including guiding and performing bear watch for crews and groups. They make me nervous..not afraid to admit it...but I am less nervous when I can see and watch them, than I am when I know that they are close by in the brush and cannot see them and know what they are doing, And I have been tracked and followed by them on numerous occasions, where I could hear them, or have gone back later and found their tracks and where they have sat or laid to watch and listen. Mostly, I think that they are just plain curious...but I do not want to let my guard down and become a statistic either!

I has always read or heard in the old hunting movies that most guides wouldn't let you shoot a grizzly or a brown bear from beyond 100 yards. Doesn't seem to be the case today with modern cartridges, bullets and the long range hunting craze.

Yes smaller calibers can do the job. And shooting a cartridge/rifle combination that one is experienced, comfortable and confident in is very important. I would recommend the biggest that you are comfortable and practiced with.
And discuss tis with your outfitter.

I know the story mentioned about Donna Boddington, and it was the outfitter's requirement for a 375, not a regulatory requirement.
Even Craig's books and articles about north american game and cartridges discuss this topic in detail, and his recommendations are the same as I have mentioned above.
There are also a lot of guides that pack 338 Win Mags for back up on grizzly and brown bears. I also hear that the Ruger Guide Gun in 375 Ruger is a popular choice for a quick and handy bolt action rifle.

And yes, completely different from black bear hunting.
Most grizzly hunts are unsuccessful, Many of those that are, it is the first bear that presents an opportunity that are shot, resulting in the average bear being a 6' bear for an interior grizzly.
And brown bears are a lot bigger. Everyone tries for a 10' bear, btu I believe that there are a lot of 8' and 9' bears taken every year.
Interior grizzlies have a more notorious reputation for the behaviour and attitude compared to brown bears, but as with any animal, each has their own characteristics, personalities and attitudes!

Grizzly hunting has often been described as 95% boredom and 5% sheer terror.
Be prepared for a lot of glassing of a lot of territory to find a bear. Then be prepared for the stalk and shot opportunity when it comes.
Best of luck on your adventure when the time comes!

My grizzly bear was tasty! Fall bear eating berries. I wanted to get the rear quarters made into hams, but there was an issue with the meat cutter who said he could do this. I got my meat back, but never did get my hams.
 
Northern Shooter said:
I know I'm a little late to the game here but I've recently started reading up on grizzly hunting in Canada.

A few questions:

1. Is the Yukon the only Canadian option that remains? It looks like BC banned the hunt in 2018. Nothing in AB or NWT?

2. How easy/difficult is it for a non-resident to hunt Grizzly in the Yukon? It looks like a guided hunt is a requirement. Would it be easier doing a guided hunt in one of the States?

3. Have you personally successfully hunted a grizzly, If so, in the YK or elsewhere?

4. Is there a minimum caliber or muzzle energy restriction? or was there one in place when the BC hunt was going? I was recently listening to a podcast where the host recounted a tale of Boddington's wife bringing a 338WM to a bear camp to only be told that they had a .375 caliber minimum (Alaska I believe). It sounds like they waved the restriction (because Boddington) and she was able to kill a monster bear cleanly with the 338WM.

5. What rifle/cartridge did you use to hunt your grizzly?

6. As someone who is only familiar with hunting black bear in eastern Canada, how different is the experience from hunting grizzly in the West?

7. How much meat did you get off your bear? Taste similar to black bear?
Click to expand...

*Grizzly hunting is still legal in the Yukon and also NWT.
*I hunted and Guided Grizzly successfully in BC since 1975 until the Grizzly hunt was shut down in 2017. Also Guided Grizzly successfully in the Yukon.
*Most Grizzly Hunters in BC harvested Grizzly Bears with everything from the odd6 up. Majority of Guidet Hunters used a .300 Win or Weatherby Mag. Some like myself used .338 Win *Mag.
*Trophy class Boar Grizzly Bears in the 7.5 Ft and up range are pretty well allways in prime Habitat like River Valleys with huge ammount of Beaver which is Candy to the Bears. Biggest Grizz are found on the Coast where Food is even more Plentifull. Hibernating time for Inland Griz can be up to 4 Months but is usually less for Coastal Grizz.
*Because of Trichinosis in many Bears (Grizzly-Polar-Black Bear) I would consume Bear Meat only if Starving and then only extremely well cocked.

Cheers
 
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