Hunting Partner

[Guy Miner]

The dude running away is NOT who you want as your hunting partner!


Small plane in the background. Wounded bear charging. I'd say guide on the left resolutely holding his ground and firing. No scope on the rifle. Dude running away likely wounded the bear and now doesn't want to stick around and finish the job.

Mort Kunstler, 1957 Sports Afield cover I believe.

Guy

 

[JD338]

Yup, the great white hunter.....
All I can say is when Sue shot her bear, she was my backup. I went into the swamp with my Marlin 1895G 45-70 while Sue was off to my side at the ready with her 30 Nosler. We only had to go about 30' and she actually saw the bear before I did.
Not the same as the picture about shows but you get my point.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

I have gone in on wounded bears a few times; it is exhilarating. Only twice did I have a bear set up for an ambush, but two pairs of eyes and a steady partner ensured that the bruin's plan didn't work out. Only been charged about three times, and they were bluff charges. Those times can be rather exciting.

 

[Guy Miner]

Bears add a bit of spice to our wilderness adventures for sure! Their presence alone...

 

[JD338]

Bears add a bit of spice to our wilderness adventures for sure! Their presence alone...

Especially when they are big ones!

JD338

 

[KinleyWater]

Guy, I think you've got this all wrong. The way I see it, the guy with the scoped rifle was the bait, and his job was to wander the tundra with a salmon in the seat of his pants to try and get the bear to chase him. This painting captured the moment just after he succeeds.

 

[8MMX57JS]

Here's a picture of an upset bear i took a few years back. I was packing a Ruger Hawkeye African in 338 win mag, shooting 250gr Nosler Partitions that day. Never felt under gunned

 

[1100 Remington Man]

I have never been charged by a Bear but a few weeks ago My Wife and I were hiking and bumped in to a Black Bear and He ran from us down a small gorge and up the other side and when he got up there he stopped an made a wolfing sound at us several times.
The Grizzly that covered up my Caribou gut pile took a look at us then took off to the willows. I have only shot three Black Bears and two with a 300 H&H Mag and one with a 30-30 Win and have seen one shot with a .270 Weatherby Mag and another with .340 Weatherby Mag. I have all the Bear Rifle I would ever need in a 300 H&H Mag with a good bullet.
Maybe someday a Grizzly but thats a lot of money these days !

 

[ltracurve]

What are the best practices for storing food while camping in bear country?

tunnel rush​

 

[salmonchaser]

People do funny things when they encounter bears. All of ours on the Penninsula were grizzly (brown) bears. Different streams seemed to have been selected by the bears for different bear activities. One with outstanding fishing was always well populated by sows with cubs. I stayed away from there. Another I liked was not too far from Brooks Falls up in Katmai NP. We called it the home of misfit bears. Seemed like a lot of the bears there, a number of juvenile to young adult males, had gotten their butts kicked at Brooks falls so they moved to Margo creek with the other losers. They had been bullied and always seemed to be looking to start a fight with someone smaller. Sprayed a few up there. Great rainbow fishing.
Down south, one of the streams in Phil Shoemakers hunt area, that is where the biggest bears were. Typical grumpy old bears. Leave them alone let them fish things would be fine. The bigger ones were further from the lake, where we would land, than the younger ones. My clients would get excited as we worked up stream. A bear here, a bear there, climb up onto the tundra to get around a sow with cubs. What was interesting was how some behaved when we rounded a corner and there was a true 10 footer or better standing in the stream. By the end of August that bear might go 1000 pounds easy. None ever failed to recognize they were in the presence of a true Apex predator. Folks who had been fine working around smaller bears would react differently, some would get the shakes, some would hyperventilate, often voices would go up a couple octaves. Occasionally someone would want to run a way. There was one in there about 15 years ago that would follow us, periodically popping out of the brush and scaring the clients. He either had gotten a free lunch for his efforts or perhaps enjoyed scaring scrawny humans. 2014 he was in his prime 2015 never saw him again. Perhaps he pulled that stunt during hunting season.
My “best day” take that with a grain of salt, I was guiding two E/R docs. We were fishing a stream that should have yielded 100 good size fish a piece. Over the course of the day we had to quit fishing and deal with 22 grizzlies moving up and down the river. I think they spent about an hour all day with their lines in the water. The rest of the day was spent getting the hell out of their way. Clients thought it was the best day ever. Being E/R docs they were well stress inoculated so things went smoothly; however, when they showed up the next year both had gone out and bought heavy handguns.

 

[JD338]

What are the best practices for storing food while camping in bear country?

tunnel rush​

Totes work well for keeping food scent contained as well as dry. Hoisting it up into a tree will keep it out of reach of a bear.
However if you are bear hunting, just keep the food on the picnic table and fry up some bacon.


JD338

 

[salmonchaser]

What are the best practices for storing food while camping in bear country?

tunnel rush​

I like the bear proof boxes better than storing hanging from a tree kind of thing. Bears are smart they will find your rope.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Totes work well for keeping food scent contained as well as dry. Hoisting it up into a tree will keep it out of reach of a bear.
However if you are bear hunting, just keep the food on the picnic table and fry up some bacon.


JD338

Few years back was camping with family and friends on Williams River for springtime trout fishing. Someone left a cooler out near the picnic table with just a lb of bacon in it. That night we had a bear come in and lift it right out of the cooler. Didn't bother anything else. All the other coolers were put inside vehicles.

 

[RL338]

Maybe that’a why we have no wild hog issues here , too many bear.

 

[Vince]

I know a place where, rumor has it, if you unwrap a Snickers bar you will have bears coming in.
Bear season is fast approaching and I like Snickers.

Vince