We were hunting late season Elk in N.W. WY last Dec. It turned out there were grizzlies spotted within 1 mile of where we bagged our Elk. I did not like the idea of having to look over my shoulder while we pulled the 2 animals down off the mountain with the smell of Elk blood all around!

The fellow we stayed with and the older fellow I hunted with, who have hunted in that area for many years, told me that if I had to shoot a charging bear I had to hit it in the brain or the neck. They said that even a heart shot at close range will not kill a grizzly before it got to me, if it was charging. [&o] It was pretty sobering. Thankfully we didn' t have any encounters.

A couple fellows we saw at breakfast every morning did one day though. A big bruin came within 50 yds of the one fellow before it smelled him and it took off. Even the next morning you could see it shook him up quite a bit. He didn' t have much color in his face when retelling what little he cared to talk about his encounter with the bear.

I' d stay clear of any such thing, if I could help it. In my opinion, it' s foolish to go out looking for trouble.