How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

With all the guys on here that hunt remote areas with Grizzlies present, I was wondering how many of you have had an actual dangerous, aggressive type encounter where you felt your life or anothers life was in danger?

And how many of you have had troublesome type encounters where the bears come into camp etc.. and steal meat off poles or ransack tents,coolers,backpacks etc?

Im not real big on hunting around Grizzlies myself, although it seems here in BC, you dont have a choice!....

I had one Large male grizzly a couple years ago charge in on me from approx. 400 yds away. Fortuneately I was only 75 yards from the truck and I beat him to it!....he actually stopped 30 yds short of the truck and milled around and then retreated into the muskeg. Also had a number of times where we have seen Grizz at close range and they proved to be no problems...But it does make my nervous sleeping in a nylon tent in the back country when you the Grizz poplulation is high.

Do any of you have some tips and precautions for those of us that may be less experienced with this sort of environment? Theres some obvious rules like no food in camp etc...but some more thoughts would be an intersting read.

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

I have never really had an actual encounter with a griz but have met a few blackies face to face and since I'm so ugly though, they ran off. ;)
I have seen griz from my vechiles or off in a far distance and thats just the way I like it. I was walking along a revene a while back and about 80 yrds on the other side was a sow griz with 3 cubs. This sow was rocking and lurnging back and forth and the only thing that saved me from an attack was the steepnest of the revene. Last year we had a sow with 2 cubs terroizing the neighborhood here and the sow actually charged and attacked several vechiles coming up the mountain here.
A griz has a personal space of that of 100 to 150 yards. Have you ever had someone speak right in your face and invade your personal space? Imagine 150 yrds of personal space.Its like being in the water with a great white and you realize that your not on top of the food chain.There are many attacks every year here and most don't survive the outcome. Its not a pretty sight at all.
I cannot tell you the number of times while slipping in to my stand before daybreak and stepping in griz crap and seeing scratch marks on trees and thinking of a possible encounter. Even though I do carry bear spray and pack a small 357, how could I even react to a surprize attack in time as they don't make any noise?There are some places that I just won't hunt because of the potential of an encounter or the threat of losing my game to one.
Last year I set up a small spike camp with my truck in the Tom Miner drainage outside of Yellowstone. A game warden came by and didn't even cheque my license but wanted to know where I stored my food. I walked him to this meadow about 80 yrds and pointed up the tree. He liked that, but it didn't take any rocket scientist to figure with all the griz signs there. It was getting too late and I didn't have time or the strength in my leggs to scout anymore so I stayed. I slept in the back of my truck with a camper shellon it and it never did latch worth a crap. That night a griz came by and woke me as I heard it huffing. I tried not to move and I hoped the bear didn't have since to spring the topper door. I had my head against the cab welding an 870 with slugs in case that door sprung open. I starting hyper ventilating taken fast breaths and my heart racing at a record speed as I thought about how I could relate to it, opening a can of sardines. Thank goodness there was no food around for the bear to stay and it finally left. I never did see the bear but it may of seen how ugly I was and left too. ;) Sometimes when in griz country, you don't know if your hunting or being hunted. Good Luck.

Bobby

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

Havn't had a grizzly problem but shot a black bear that was jumping up and down on top of my cooler. If my cooler would have been further from camp I wouldn't have had near as easy a shot.

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

I've never had a dangerous encounter but while on my first elk hunt this year in the Thorofare at the SE corner of Yellowstone, I watched a grizzly chase a spike bull elk about 200 yards away. Man, am I glad that grizz didn't know we were there. Dirt was flying everywhere! The very next day, while watching from a ridge down into the Thorofare river valley, a helicopter came in and landed about a mile away. The story was that a hunter from another camp shot a bull the night before. A lone packer, big mistake, went in the next morning and found a grizzly on the carcass. Evidently the bear charged, he shot it with a shotgun and wounded it, but it still mauled him bad enough to be air evacuated.

I booked this hunt because of the presence of the grizzly. It sure does add another element to the hunt. I never felt more alert on a hunt as I did during this one. It was an awesome experience! Grizzly sign was everywhere. I hope Iget the chance to go back some day!

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

I have had several run-ins with brown bears and grizzlies. I have never been charged or bluff charged. I did almost shoot a bear a couple of years ago but it was due to her camp robbing.

She was entering our meat stache and quickly ate her way through two caribou. She returned not finding anything left, and started rummaging through our camp. I would have left but the raft I had was only for crossing the river, and I would have never been able to float all of our gear and two guys down the creek with my raft.

Anyway, she became bolder and bolder, entered our camp every night, looking for food, and one morning I really almost shot her. I shot in the air twice with her at 30 yards. She finally left. Killed a moose the next evening and got flown out the next morning. The moose kill kept her out of camp and on the gut pile for a night, so things worked out okay.

Keep your meat about 100 yards from camp. Keep a clean camp. No food in the tent. No cooking in the tent. If you cook bacon, the grease goes in the creek. Finally, keep a painter's plastic suit in your backpack and use it when you gut and butcher game. It will keep your clothes clean, then you can just store it in a ziplock with your meat and keep blood smells out of camp.

Most of the time I really do not worry much about grizzlies. I keep a clean camp, pay attention to where I am going, and keep an eye out for sign. I do however, sleep with my .338 Ultra mag right beside along with my headlamp. Hunting in grizzly country is fun, it adds some excitment

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

great posts!

Magnum,

The plastic suit is a great idea! Will have to remember that one as a must in my pack. I usually carry some unscented soap and try to have a bath and wash my clothing after field dressing an animal but the suit would work great.

One other noteable encounter with a Grizzly was in an area near the Granby River. Grizzly refuge area. We hiked in 12 hours to base camp for mulie hunting. We ran into wet snow and heavy fog so we took refuge for the night in a vacant outfitters cabin. Not much more than an 10x10 plywood box with a tin roof and plywood floor. No windows,small chimny and the entire cabin was lined on the outside with tin siding. In the middle of the night a large Grizzly decided he wanted to join us in the cavin and proceeded to strip the tin off the building to get at us sardines! Amazing how powerful and persistant these bears are. Luckily for us the shack held together until daybreak and the bear decided to move on to other buisness. It was a long long night! Nobody wanted to sleep on the bunks against the wall! I just hope I keep being lucky!![:-]

A couple guys I know use an electric perimiter beeper in Grizzly country. Small loud device with a pull pin like a grenade. They use heavy fishing line and run a perimiter around camp at waist height and if something walks through the line it pulls the pin and a shrill high pitch alarm goes off to warn you of a breach in the perimiter. Anyone else try these?

Another buddy packs in a solar electric fencer and establishes a perimiter and has had great results in predator country.Anyone try this method?

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

Hemi,

Guys up here are using small electric fences with some success. The run off of two D batteries. The only problem is that they are heavy, so if you are flying in on a SuperCub or backpacking, it is not an option.

The pull pin sound very intersting. What product is it, and where do you get it?

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

Magnum,

I will get the info on the pull pin screachersfrom the guys this week....I do recall them saying that they made one from one of those personal alarms joggers wear around their neck... they weigh around 4 ounces and are EXTREMELY LOUD!! They pulled the pin at the shop and it makes you wince and cover your ears. I think they were saying the ones they bought were super inexpensive as well.. under $30 cdn. Their last tripa large porcupine set off the alarm so they must work pretty well.I know there is an actual one built and marketed to outdoor enthusiasts but need to dig up the info.

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

never seen one here in wyoming, but i hunt a mountain range that so far doesnt have much of a grizz population.

this fall in alberta on an elk and black bear hunt, the guides had lots of grizz stories. i loved it. wanted to see one really bad. day 3 i got a good look....

my guide and i, as well as the one other guide in camp (other hunter shot a 6x6 opening day, and didnt have a bear tag) were riding back toward camp. pretty close to dark, we had been on some bulls, but nothing big enough. anyway, the trail we were on was an old fire trail, pretty well overgrown. my guide was riding in front, than me, than the other guide. we rounded a corner and there was a giant silverback griz standing in the trail, eating some berries. were about 40 yards away. i was loving it, but my horse was not. found out later that a year before it had been charged hard by a griz in the same area. anyway, we watched the old bugger for a bit, and i then asked my guide how the hell we were gonna get back to camp, it was really thick off the trail and nearly dark. guides said they would yell and charge, most times the bear runs like hell. well, they did, and when they started kicking and yelling, and that big bear looked up, my horse lost it! started kicking like hell, and turned and took off full bore going the wrong way! i had never rode a horse in my life, what a rodeo. i actually made my 8 seconds, and even got her stopped within a hundred yards or a little more. probably would have fell off, but when she started kicking i got a cramp in my left glut (ass cheek) so bad i was nearly in tears. hurt to bad to be afraid. both guides said i did real well in style points, and with me making the full 8 seconds probably would have won the damn rodeo!

rest of the trip back to camp, my horse was so jumpy. everything that looked black we nearly started it again. what a ride

actually though, i think that darn griz is still running.......

RE: How many of you have had a dangerous Grizz Encounter
 

They are called screemers and you can pick the up for 5.00 US$ at most army surplus stores, but they do have a flare so clear the area under the screemer of any dead leaves and don't use in red fire areas