Grizzly Draw

[DrMike]

I just discovered that I drew a grizzly hunt in a great area. In fact, I took my last bear in that area, albeit in a spring hunt. I anticipate spending some time away from the computer this fall. Yes, I'm pumped. It has to be one of my favourite hunts! Oorah!

 

[JD338]

Mike,

That is awesome, congratulations!
I share your excitement. Now the planning.
What rifle/load are you thinking of using?

JD338

 

[DrMike]

If the 9.3 X 64 is completed in time, I'll use it for this hunt. Of course, I'll still need to work up a load. I would hope it will be the 250 grain AB, of which I have laid in a good store. However, I'll not be undergunned with the 286 grain PT. :lol: Should I be unable to carry that rifle, I'll likely carry my 325 WSM loaded with 200 grain PT. This load shoots very well indeed, giving my 0.5 inch groups at about 2800 fps at the muzzle. My last grizzly fell to my .356 loaded with a 220 grain Speer Hot-Core. The first shot broke both shoulders, allowing me to give him a full magazine. The 35 Whelen is shooting quite well with 225 grain TSXs, and I wouldn't hesitate to carry that. So many choices, any of which will work very well.

The area I've drawn is excellent. I have seen many bears throughout the years. It is in the Rockies with lots of verdant valleys and slides that permit the bears to graze or look for rodents under the rocks. It should be a great challenge.

 

[Elkman]

Dr. Mike

Congratulations on your tag, I would be pumped also. You will also have fun planning and preparation. Keep us posted.

 

[Powerstroke]

Mike -

Absolutely Congrats on the Tag !
Look forward to the load work-up through the summer in anticipation
to the "expected" outcome :grin:

 

[DrMike]

I have incentive to connect on this tag. We are assessed penalty points if we are drawn, making it somewhat difficult to be drawn again immediately. I would anticipate at least five years before having a realistic chance of a draw. Of course, I could simply take off for a month and go into some of the really remote areas where the draw stats are excellent. It does promise to make a busy summer, however.

 

[jmad_81]

Thats awesome! Hope I have half that kind of luck this year with my oregon tags!

I vote for the 9.3x64 if it is done by then!

 

[DrMike]

I vote for the 9.3x64 if it is done by then!

+1

 

[6mm Remington]

Mike,
Congratulations on that special tag. My dream is to some day get to hunt a Grizzly bear and maybe a moose on the same hunt. I believe here in Montana we were getting real close to having a very limited quota hunt for grizzlies until Judge Molloy put them back on the endangered species list just after he took the wolves off the endangered species list so we could hunt them last year finally. It was nothing more than a political move on his part so that he was not in too much trouble with the folks who think of the wolves as cute loveable animals. Like anything wild I believe they need to be managed and numbers kept in check, especially here in the lower 48. We should know today what his ruling on the wolves are again as he's making his decision today. Wish us all a little luck & common sense.

Mike if you feel a presence over your shoulder like a shadow following you around about the time of your hunt, no worries it's just me tagging along. Heck, I would love to just get to go just to watch and experience it all and to be a helper, photographer, or whatever else was needed!! Got any room in your bags? :lol:

 

[DrMike]

6mm Remington,

I do wish you a judge who is able to think so that the ruling on wolves expresses common sense (a rather uncommon commodity, I fear).

Judges and lawyers are destroying a wonderful heritage. As men are turned into effete dilettantes, imagining themselves to be too dignified to ever get their hands dirty or their shoes soiled, they forget what made our nation great. One day, decent people will have had enough and they will push back. It won't be pretty, but it will be necessary.

I'd love to share this beautiful country with the members of this forum. I'll do my best to capture some of the hunt via pictures this fall. There are moose, elk and black bear in the area I'll be hunting. It is entirely plausible that I'll bag multiple head of game and then exhaust myself getting it out. Should you ever travel to Alaska you'll come through Dawson Creek, and I'd love to take you on a tour of the area if I have some advance notice.

 

[JD338]

I vote for the 9.3x64 if it is done by then!

+1

+2
The 9.3x64 would be just about perfect Grizzly medicine. I hope you get her built in time.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

The 9.3x64 would be just about perfect Grizzly medicine. I hope you get her built in time.

I'm pressing the smiths, but this is a busy season for them. Fortunately, I have some other options, so I won't be hooped. Nevertheless, I'll keep you informed.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I can feel the excitment thru the computer.
Congratulations on the draw and keep us up to date on your gun choice and all the fun info. What a great hunt :grin:
Greg

 

[DrMike]

Greg,

I am hoping to focus on the hunt beginning in the first week of September. Moose opens on August 15. It'll be the first Sunday I've taken away from preaching for about two years. I hope to be on a cutblock at 4 a.m. that morning. Then, I plan to use the intervening couple of weeks to spend some time in the mountains looking for bear sign. I just got my 35 Whelan back today, so I'll check it out. I've never taken anything with my 350 Rem. Magnum, and I just put a new Leupold VariX-3 on it, so I'll verify my loads with it as well. I am beginning to get pumped.

 

[SJB358]

Wow, congratulations Mike. That is awesome. You are probably going to have on heck of an awesome time out there searching for the mighty Griz! Yeah, I would say you don't have any issues with proper rifles! Man, 35 Whelen, 325WSM, 350 Rem Mag, 9x64 Bren! Man, you have the upper end well covered. That 225gr TSX is a thumper for sure. Worked really well on elk, black and deer for me! Scotty

 

[DrMike]

Great picture, Scotty; it is always fun to look at pictures of expended projectiles. I don't think I'll have a problem with a cartridge. The only problem I can envision is deciding which rifle to carry and then finding a decent bear that will let me get near enough to thump him.

I haven't recovered many TSXs. In fact, I don't believe I ever recovered one! I have recovered a couple of ABs and a PT or two. I have what began its final journey as a 200 grain PT that I recovered from a nice elk, and the remains of a 160 grain AB recovered from a whitetail. I kept a 220 grain Speer FN recovered from my last grizzly. I recovered that bullet and two cores from that bear, but I sent the bullets with the hide to my daughter.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm only a little insanely jealous... :grin: Would love to do a grizzly hunt someday. Congratulations on the draw, and best of luck on the hunt. Hit him hard!

 

[DrMike]

Thanks, Guy. I could wish for each of the regulars on the forum that they would get the opportunity to do a grizzly hunt. I know I am blessed to live here, and I do not take the privilege lightly.

 

[NTM]

The 9.3x64 would be just about perfect Grizzly medicine. I hope you get her built in time.

I'm pressing the smiths, but this is a busy season for them. Fortunately, I have some other options, so I won't be hooped. Nevertheless, I'll keep you informed.

Who's building your gun Mike. Congrats on your tag too. :grin: What area is your tag for?-maybe I know where it is roughly.

 

[DrMike]

Rocky Mountain Rifles is building the rifle (http://rockymountainrifles.com/home.php). I'll be hunting the Burnt and the Haslert regions (7-22 in BC). I've hunted this area before and had success there. It is prime for some fine bears, and for moose and elk as well. There were six LEH draws for that particular area, so I am pleased to have succeeded.