Hunting in Grizzly Country?

[Guy Miner]

They may have been scared to report that they'd shot the bear.

Dang. Touchy issue on these grizzlies. They can and will kill, but usually can be avoided, or dealt with, without killing them.

But not always.

Guy

 

[Anonymous]

I've come close to DLP shooting two bears but managed not to... in retrospect, I should have shot one of them. He was way too close and way too jacked up. It ended well, but it might not have.

One thing to remember is that DLP shootings are vastly underreported... in a lot of areas bear season never really ends. A DLP shoot is often just tagged legally as it is much less hassle and you get to keep a trophy with the story. I know of at least a half dozen that fit the criteria.

A lot of folks just shoot them and let scavengers or the river do the rest- not the right thing to do, but it happens more than folks would think. I'd bet for every reported DLP bear there are four or five that either got tagged legally or just vanished.

 

[salmonchaser]

I've come close to DLP shooting two bears but managed not to... in retrospect, I should have shot one of them. He was way too close and way too jacked up. It ended well, but it might not have.

One thing to remember is that DLP shootings are vastly underreported... in a lot of areas bear season never really ends. A DLP shoot is often just tagged legally as it is much less hassle and you get to keep a trophy with the story. I know of at least a half dozen that fit the criteria.

A lot of folks just shoot them and let scavengers or the river do the rest- not the right thing to do, but it happens more than folks would think. I'd bet for every reported DLP bear there are four or five that either got tagged legally or just vanished.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DrMike]

Hodgeman is undoubtedly correct in stating that DLP bears are vastly underreported. I suspect the same thing is true here in BC. We have not had an open season on grizzlies since 1994, but the population is sufficiently large that seeing grizzlies and/or cutting spoor each time I go afield is not unusual.

I have twice been charged by grizzlies. Neither time did I pull the trigger, though I should have on at least one of those times. On occasion, a young bear was startled by my hunting partner as it was digging for roots. At the time and even now, I considered that bear more assertive than aggressive. When opportunity arose and the bear gave us a little space, we scooted away and moved down the mountainside. The other time involved a big boar (taped by a successful hunter the following year at 8' 5") that had claimed a moose gut pile. That incident was dicey. I confess that the knowledge of the potential hassle if I shot was playing rather prominently in my mind. However, five or six yards from an agitated bear is way closer than I really enjoy. (I felt I could have easily counted eyelashes on the big chocolate boar.)

 

[salmonchaser]

H
Makes a good point. The bear season around King Salmon used to be every other year. In response to increasing DLP shooting it is now open every spring and fall. I appreciate the bear population has increased. There will be increased conflict. We see bears daily in or around the lodge. From the third week of June we process an average of 70 fish per day on our dock until September. There is also the issue of garbage and sanitation created by 12 to 15 guests per week. We've had a few bears over the years we had to get aggressive with but never had to destroy. I guess what bugs me is you can break every rule about living in bear country, kill the Bears that naturally come in and there is no accountability. Just issue more tags.
I have no issue with when it has to happen, I've pepper sprayed two and was immediately ready to kill both those bears if I needed to without reservation. I get bent with the guy who repeatedly kills bears because he stockpiles trash.
But I'm off Guy's topic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[alaska100]

I've come close to DLP shooting two bears but managed not to... in retrospect, I should have shot one of them. He was way too close and way too jacked up. It ended well, but it might not have.

One thing to remember is that DLP shootings are vastly underreported... in a lot of areas bear season never really ends. A DLP shoot is often just tagged legally as it is much less hassle and you get to keep a trophy with the story. I know of at least a half dozen that fit the criteria.

A lot of folks just shoot them and let scavengers or the river do the rest- not the right thing to do, but it happens more than folks would think. I'd bet for every reported DLP bear there are four or five that either got tagged legally or just vanished.

although I have never witnessed this, I agree with Hodgeman on both points.

someone on a different thread mentioned "when the caribou return they might go back to Alaska". What unit's were you hoping to hunt, as we have plenty of them in 25.

Mr Miner, we remain very respectful of the grizzly and as mentioned before, when fishing or skinning, someone has a 45/70 handy, regardless of the rifle we used to harvest the animal we were hunting. However, over the years the number of humans killed by grizzly's are much less than the number of fatal accidents on the roads in say, California. I think I will continue to take my chances in the mountains in Alaska (- Brooke

 

[DrMike]

Mr Miner, we remain very respectful of the grizzly and as mentioned before, when fishing or skinning, someone has a 45/70 handy, regardless of the rifle we used to harvest the animal we were hunting. However, over the years the number of humans killed by grizzly's are much less than the number of fatal accidents on the roads in say, California. I think I will continue to take my chances in the mountains in Alaska (- Brooke

Touché; and well said.

 

[Thebear_78]

A few years ago my buddy DLP'd a brown bear that kept charging him while black bear baiting. The troopers came out but weren't too interested in hanging him out to dry. He handed over the head/hide and nothing more came of it.

Most of the guys I know carry a tag every year just in case as it's much less hassle.

Also I am convinced that they must coat those locking tags in something the Bears can smell because whenever I have one with me there isn't a bear within a mile, when I don't have one it seems like your stepping on one around every corner


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Guy Miner]

Mr Miner, we remain very respectful of the grizzly and as mentioned before, when fishing or skinning, someone has a 45/70 handy, regardless of the rifle we used to harvest the animal we were hunting. However, over the years the number of humans killed by grizzly's are much less than the number of fatal accidents on the roads in say, California. I think I will continue to take my chances in the mountains in Alaska (- Brooke

Well yeah, but there's about 5 gazillion more people in California and only 1 gazillion of them actually know how to drive... :mrgreen:

 

[Europe]

Mr Miner, we remain very respectful of the grizzly and as mentioned before, when fishing or skinning, someone has a 45/70 handy, regardless of the rifle we used to harvest the animal we were hunting. However, over the years the number of humans killed by grizzly's are much less than the number of fatal accidents on the roads in say, California. I think I will continue to take my chances in the mountains in Alaska (- Brooke

Well yeah, but there's about 5 gazillion more people in California and only 1 gazillion of them actually know how to drive... :mrgreen:

amen Guy--Amen! I worked in California, the Orange county area, one summer, many years ago and swore I would never live there.

a little off topic, but since we are already off topic a question for you Alaskan hunters. At one time Alaska was the only state that allowed hunting of the Snowy Owl and from memory it was in only one zone or unit. Can you still hunt them ? Do you ?

 

[Anonymous]

a little off topic, but since we are already off topic a question for you Alaskan hunters. At one time Alaska was the only state that allowed hunting of the Snowy Owl and from memory it was in only one zone or unit. Can you still hunt them ? Do you ?

There are five units where residents can hunt Snowy Owls and there is no annual limit. Can't say the thought ever occurred to me to shoot one. The open units are the western and northern coasts....that's pretty hungry country for the most part.

 

[DrMike]

Wonder what snowy owl taste like?

 

[Thebear_78]

Kinda like bald eagle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DrMike]

Kinda like bald eagle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hmmm. Wondering if it was anything like whooping crane? :mrgreen:

 

[alaska100]

Dr Mike, I have never eaten snowy owl, but I have eaten Sandhill Cranes and they are delicious

Hodgeman, please correct me if I am wrong. My great uncle tells me that you can only eat or use the feathers for clothes in reference to the Snowy Owl. You can not sell any part of them even if the feathers are on a jacket or whatever. All residents of Alaska can hunt them and eat them, even if one is not a native american. A non resident can not hunt them. I hope I got this right.

Possibly, I will be able to tell you at some point what they taste like, as I have ask my grandmother, who is an avid bird hunter, if we can hunt them one day.

Mr Miner, so as not to get to far off topic here, we have been know to do the same thing Hodgeman does when bird hunting in grizzly country and carry a few shotgun slugs in our pockets. whether we could get them out and load them in time for them to help, is another question Brooke

 

[DrMike]

Oh, yeah, I know that sandhill crane is not bad at all. Hey, Brooke, I'm just being cheeky with you all. Back to the OP, I do enjoy hunting in grizzly territory. It still gives me a thrill to cut a fresh grizzly track or to see one of the big boys working a hillside. The thrill only intensifies up close.

 

[Anonymous]

My great uncle tells me that you can only eat or use the feathers for clothes in reference to the Snowy Owl. You can not sell any part of them even if the feathers are on a jacket or whatever. All residents of Alaska can hunt them and eat them, even if one is not a native american. A non resident can not hunt them. I hope I got this right.

Yep- that's pretty much the rules.

I've eaten Sandhills and they are pure delicious, They don't call them "Ribeye of the Sky" for nothing.

To bring this back around to bears... I've got a couple of acquaintances who DLP'd a griz while duck hunting... it worked, but it took quite a few #5 steel at close range to put him down- furiously loaded 2 at a time... Bet that was far more exciting than called for. Heck, with steel I seem to have a hard enough time taking down 5 pound birds...much less a bear.

I'm sure a 3" of high brass 6s would kill a bear, but his mouth would have to be on the muzzle. Not my idea of a good time.

 

[Guy Miner]

Good Lord... Birdshot for grizzly...

 

[tecumseh]

I hunt with a 280 Rem when I go to Montana either loaded with 150 gr PT's or 160 gr AB's and don't feel under gunned! I too carry a Ruger Alaskan on a chest rig. I seen a few Grizzlies from a distance nothing up close and personal, I did comes across a moose carcass that they got hold of.