My 2007 Grizz Hunt story with pics
- Thread starter todbartell
- Start date
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
What? Gatehouse fell off his horse??? 
Just kidding bud. Looks likk a helluva good time and a great area.
Should I open up the debate by asking if your partner cut his tag after losing the bear? 
Just kidding bud. Looks likk a helluva good time and a great area.
Should I open up the debate by asking if your partner cut his tag after losing the bear?
Some monkies never leave the camp ground to hunt, eh? I could only wish that there was a rug at the end of that story, but if its the losses that help us learn, develop and head back into the fray. I'd say you boys did the right thing, and if you could win them all the Stanley Cup would never ride south of the 49th.
Just a hint to someone who has very little (self proclaimed) experience with bears. If that boar went that far he is likely alright enough to keep truckin', and only a fool goes looking for angry grizz in his own house at dark. Even if the boys went back the next day, that country is so wet that any trail from the day before would be hard to follow. Great pics Todd, maybe next time.
Just a hint to someone who has very little (self proclaimed) experience with bears. If that boar went that far he is likely alright enough to keep truckin', and only a fool goes looking for angry grizz in his own house at dark. Even if the boys went back the next day, that country is so wet that any trail from the day before would be hard to follow. Great pics Todd, maybe next time.
Firepower!!
Five pages and no one has mentioned the rifles. Had each hunter been using a 30-06, I wonder if someone would have suggested that a larger, more powerful rifle was needed for grizzly bear? Yet, we all know a 30-06 is adequate for grizzly bear, as witnessed by the many thousands that have been killed by that calibre. Thus, their adventure proves what has been said so many times-- where the animal is hit is more important than what he is hit with. In this case they were two very experienced hunters and excellent shots, but this particular time neither potent bullet hit a vital spot. Too bad, I feel sorry for them and I admire their courage for telling everyone the story. It proves that hunting and shooting is seldom a sure thing. I guess that's what we find so fascinating about hunting and why we keep enjoying it so.
Five pages and no one has mentioned the rifles. Had each hunter been using a 30-06, I wonder if someone would have suggested that a larger, more powerful rifle was needed for grizzly bear? Yet, we all know a 30-06 is adequate for grizzly bear, as witnessed by the many thousands that have been killed by that calibre. Thus, their adventure proves what has been said so many times-- where the animal is hit is more important than what he is hit with. In this case they were two very experienced hunters and excellent shots, but this particular time neither potent bullet hit a vital spot. Too bad, I feel sorry for them and I admire their courage for telling everyone the story. It proves that hunting and shooting is seldom a sure thing. I guess that's what we find so fascinating about hunting and why we keep enjoying it so.
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- Location
- Vancouver Island BC
grizz
It doesn't matter how many rounds you put into paper every year big game will always have a few surprises waiting. Just be glad you didn't get charged by a wounded pissed off grizz.
It doesn't matter how many rounds you put into paper every year big game will always have a few surprises waiting. Just be glad you didn't get charged by a wounded pissed off grizz.
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
There is nothing to debate. Here in BC the law states that you must make all reasonable efforts to retreive wounded game and after killing it, you must immeadiately cancel your species licence and include the animal in your bag limit. No dead bear was located so no tag cancellation required.
Ahsan Ahmed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
303carbine said:It doesn't matter how many rounds you put into paper every year big game will always have a few surprises waiting. Just be glad you didn't get charged by a wounded pissed off grizz.
So true......not a pleasant experience and one of those situations where human balls, defying all biological rules, may have the tendency to suddenly relocate under armpits for many individuals
Believe TB and his partner also did the appropriate thing to attempt to track that wounded Griz despite the risks.
I once witnessed a Leopard unnecessarily shot at from a distance well over 100 yds during a beat for Pheasants. The usually very wary carnivore must've slightly paused on an open ground between two patches of dense tea gardens and one smart alec in our group took a snap shot with a .222 Rem (he was supposed to be carrying that ONLY for Barking Deer that we hoped to bag at a waterhole sometime before dusk).
At the shot, that Leopard wheeled and seemed to slip on its right hind leg and then charged......fortunately, my Uncle was able to drop it with a load of buck as it closed to about 15-20 yds. At the time, the regular practise of one member carrying tubes loaded with buckshot or slugs during bird hunts (mainly due to presence of wild boars in the area) once more proved extremely valuable.
Turning around we found 3 shotguns, and one rifle, lying on the ground and their owners perched high up in trees
......still confuses me to this day as to why they climbed trees knowing that Leopard would've had easily reached them. Needless to mention, that group was never invited to hunt with us again.
Sorry to hear how it panned out, sooner or later this kind of thing happens - don't sweat it you gave it everything you could.
I just returned from north of the Germison Landing area on a grizz hunt (acting as back up) with no luck. We saw a large bear up in the alpine about 3 k away but were unable to confirm if it was indeed a grizz or just a really large black (it was rather dark in color). It sure looks a lot greener where you were hunting than were I was - the grizzlies did not seem very active yet where we were.
I just returned from north of the Germison Landing area on a grizz hunt (acting as back up) with no luck. We saw a large bear up in the alpine about 3 k away but were unable to confirm if it was indeed a grizz or just a really large black (it was rather dark in color). It sure looks a lot greener where you were hunting than were I was - the grizzlies did not seem very active yet where we were.
Tough luck, but beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing.
I've never wounded a bear, but I've found with a wounded deer if we pursuded them too early they kept up the flight for a long time. If we left them for a few hours, they frequently find a spot close by to bed down and relax and bleed out. Can anyone else comment on this thought with respect to large predators?
20 minutes and you're chasing a shot bear into the bush makes you a brave man in my books.
I've never wounded a bear, but I've found with a wounded deer if we pursuded them too early they kept up the flight for a long time. If we left them for a few hours, they frequently find a spot close by to bed down and relax and bleed out. Can anyone else comment on this thought with respect to large predators?
20 minutes and you're chasing a shot bear into the bush makes you a brave man in my books.
Thanks for the story. I had my little nephew down in Ga. log on and practice his reading, by reading it to me over the phone up here in Ab. Not only did he get some reading practice but he learned the definition of, " character" and what it takes, to exhaust one's efforts searching for a wounded animal. Thanks very much.
Sam
Sam
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I haven't always agreed with Tod, but hunting ain't bench shooting, and regardless of the range there is no guarantee when you press the trigger. No ethical hunter wants to wound game, but all sorts of things can happen, and most of them are out of the control of the hunter. The idea that some sort of liability can be laid at the feet of a hunter who after the shot does all he can to retrieve his game without success, is a Liberal's wet dream. As far as I can tell, Tod acted correctly, and showed great courage by telling the story as it happened. Speaking of courage, I wonder how many of the arm chair experts have followed a dangerous animal into heavy cover?
Grizz
Well It sucks really, I mean ethically you have to feel sad for the bear. No one wants to make him suffer, but sounds like he did.
But you said that the first shot by the spotter was at approx 145yds, was it a relaxed well aimed shot behind the front legs?
Then your follow up shot the way I read it was taken at the boar b4 he bolted, right? So that one should have hit home.
Now the story goes on to mention the spots second shot, third in total at the boar while he was running. That one you probably can forget about. But I can't figure out how two full shots did not drop him. Is it true that your partner did not zero his rifle, and your shot could not have been easy trying to hit a squirrelly bear.
I don't know, at least you tried to track him... good on you for that. But it's a shame that he suffered..
Later
Well It sucks really, I mean ethically you have to feel sad for the bear. No one wants to make him suffer, but sounds like he did.
But you said that the first shot by the spotter was at approx 145yds, was it a relaxed well aimed shot behind the front legs?
Then your follow up shot the way I read it was taken at the boar b4 he bolted, right? So that one should have hit home.
Now the story goes on to mention the spots second shot, third in total at the boar while he was running. That one you probably can forget about. But I can't figure out how two full shots did not drop him. Is it true that your partner did not zero his rifle, and your shot could not have been easy trying to hit a squirrelly bear.
I don't know, at least you tried to track him... good on you for that. But it's a shame that he suffered..
Later
- Location
- Lakes District BC
K98ACTION said:
its a grizzly bear thing and you wouldnt understand!
well I said I wouldnt post to this thread in my mind but as everyday someone else comes back as a pro grizz hunter and starts tire kickin.
I have known TB personaly for about 4 years now, hunted with him, visited, dealt with etc and I can tell you now that if I had to pick someone in a hurry to back me up I wouldnt hesitate to ask him to do it on a grizz hunt, he WASNT hunting with a dam sks or a remington 710 and hes not a newbie shooter or hunter.
Until you have experienced a few grizz going down and see what there capible of and dont be compairing your 4 foot 5 black bear to this, then exept the fact these animals are just azzhole tearin mean tuff, some do die in 1 shot or 2, Ive seen them with a 458 slug through the shoulders push themselves with there hind feet 200 yards, Ive seen them break cable leg snares and destroy houselog sized trees and Ive seen what they will do to a human if they get ahold of you when wounded! Ive also seen them pick a 700 pound moose up like a breifcase and walk away with it
the only thing TB did here I would give him a cuff for is not sitting still for a while longer, a mistake many of us make every year while hunting, but a bad mistake when hunting grizz IMO
bone-collector said:its a grizzly bear thing and you wouldnt understand!
well I said I wouldnt post to this thread in my mind but as everyday someone else comes back as a pro grizz hunter and starts tire kickin.
I have known TB personaly for about 4 years now, hunted with him, visited, dealt with etc and I can tell you now that if I had to pick someone in a hurry to back me up I wouldnt hesitate to ask him to do it on a grizz hunt, he WASNT hunting with a dam sks or a remington 710 and hes not a newbie shooter or hunter.
Until you have experienced a few grizz going down and see what there capible of and dont be compairing your 4 foot 5 black bear to this, then exept the fact these animals are just azzhole tearin mean tuff, some do die in 1 shot or 2, Ive seen them with a 458 slug through the shoulders push themselves with there hind feet 200 yards, Ive seen them break cable leg snares and destroy houselog sized trees and Ive seen what they will do to a human if they get ahold of you when wounded! Ive also seen them pick a 700 pound moose up like a breifcase and walk away with it
the only thing TB did here I would give him a cuff for is not sitting still for a while longer, a mistake many of us make every year while hunting, but a bad mistake when hunting grizz IMO
Exactly! This guy says it all.
Last 2 evenings were spent tracking a large black bear that had been hit at under 30 yards by an arrow.
I showed up about an hour after the shot, and myself and the hunter, 3 other guys went to look. The shooter wa sconvinced of a good hit.
They said that there had been aboar wiht a sow, the arrow hit at a slight quartering away angle.
The boar made a "Huff" then took off, making a huge SNAP as he broke a branch or somehting, and then was silent.
It was presumed that he broke the branch when he collapsed, so we set out to look. After half an hour, wiht no blood trail, it became apparent we were in for a littl emore effort.
We went back to where the shot had been taken, replayedd where the bear had been standing, and where he went. It became vlear we were looking too far to th right.
I headed left and wihtin a few minutes found a small evergreen tree, snapped off at the base. He must have lost balance and fell against it.
Then it became clear why he had fallen silent. He had entered the timber wiht a mossy ground covering. Within a minute, I found a large pool of blood. It must have gushed out of him, or perhaps he stood for a minute.
following blood spatter, I found where he had bedded down, on the edge of a steep drop off. Lots of blood.
If he had been double lunged, he shoudl have been dead there, but he wasnt. We surmised that he wasn't hit as bad as we thought. We shoudl have given him 3 or 4 hours, as I am sure when we came back to look for him, he spooked and ran.
I tracked him down the 300 yard steep timbered bank until it got too dark to see, and headed back.
Yesterday after work there was more searching. With more light, the hunter and another fellow easily picked up the blood trail at the bottom of the hill. He walked parallel to the river for 500 yards, then doubled back uphill, where the blood trail eventually petered out to a few drops and then nothign at all.
That bear climbed right up a steep hill that took a fair amount of effort for a human to climb.
We can only speculate, but I think the arrow was too low or too high or too far back, and it hit maybe one lung and no big vital arteries. If we had left it alone for 2-3 hours or even longer, it probbaly woudl have bedded down and bled out. As it was, he got up and ran, and may be fiine for all we know.
I've seen plenty of 3 legged bears, bears with huge wounds on them, even bears with old bullets in them. It's hard to say what a bear can survive, and we sure can't use human terms to decide that. How many humans do you know that get thier arm cut off above the wrist, and with no medical attention, no tourniquet, no band aids- survive just fine?
#### happens sometimes...At least there is always opportunity to learn something when things go wrong.
I showed up about an hour after the shot, and myself and the hunter, 3 other guys went to look. The shooter wa sconvinced of a good hit.
They said that there had been aboar wiht a sow, the arrow hit at a slight quartering away angle.
The boar made a "Huff" then took off, making a huge SNAP as he broke a branch or somehting, and then was silent.
It was presumed that he broke the branch when he collapsed, so we set out to look. After half an hour, wiht no blood trail, it became apparent we were in for a littl emore effort.
We went back to where the shot had been taken, replayedd where the bear had been standing, and where he went. It became vlear we were looking too far to th right.
I headed left and wihtin a few minutes found a small evergreen tree, snapped off at the base. He must have lost balance and fell against it.
Then it became clear why he had fallen silent. He had entered the timber wiht a mossy ground covering. Within a minute, I found a large pool of blood. It must have gushed out of him, or perhaps he stood for a minute.
following blood spatter, I found where he had bedded down, on the edge of a steep drop off. Lots of blood.
If he had been double lunged, he shoudl have been dead there, but he wasnt. We surmised that he wasn't hit as bad as we thought. We shoudl have given him 3 or 4 hours, as I am sure when we came back to look for him, he spooked and ran.
I tracked him down the 300 yard steep timbered bank until it got too dark to see, and headed back.
Yesterday after work there was more searching. With more light, the hunter and another fellow easily picked up the blood trail at the bottom of the hill. He walked parallel to the river for 500 yards, then doubled back uphill, where the blood trail eventually petered out to a few drops and then nothign at all.
That bear climbed right up a steep hill that took a fair amount of effort for a human to climb.
We can only speculate, but I think the arrow was too low or too high or too far back, and it hit maybe one lung and no big vital arteries. If we had left it alone for 2-3 hours or even longer, it probbaly woudl have bedded down and bled out. As it was, he got up and ran, and may be fiine for all we know.
I've seen plenty of 3 legged bears, bears with huge wounds on them, even bears with old bullets in them. It's hard to say what a bear can survive, and we sure can't use human terms to decide that. How many humans do you know that get thier arm cut off above the wrist, and with no medical attention, no tourniquet, no band aids- survive just fine?
#### happens sometimes...At least there is always opportunity to learn something when things go wrong.
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