After the kill in grizzly country
- Thread starter kwyeewyk
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WyoDoug
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Remember to leave a blood trail to his tent too? LOL
AlaskaHunter
Well-known member
No, in 27 years in Alaska, I've had 5 "close calls" with bears
and none had anything to do with bloody clothes.
Either we surprised a bear, or a sow with cubs or youngster just kicked out by mom.
First was a 2-year old griz walking up a salmon stream as we were filleting king salmon...that bear was hungry and did not fear humans.
The second was canoing down a river, unknowingly ,silently getting closer and closer to a bear on a moose kill...we invaded his personal space and he let us know that.
The third was a sow black bear with 2 cubs, false charging us then fleeing with her cubs.
The fourth was a sow griz with 2 cubs, 200 yards on the ridgeline, running down at us after we yelled....I think she never encountered a human, stood up, huffed and back to her cubs.
The fifth was a black bear sow with cub false charge, as we were packing in the last of a heavy day of packing.
All but the first in the list, we were upwind so the bear could not smell us.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
Ha! That's what I'm picturing, without the hood and mask! Although I'd probably go with the cheaper model. Seriously though, it looks ridiculous, but for 4 ounces and $7 and the size of a game bag, I might just throw one in the kill kit, probably not any more ridiculous that spending who knows how much time worrying about hanging bags of food only to spend part of the hunt in bloody clothes. I do think AlaskaHunter is right though, the biggest danger is spooking them, sows with cubs esp., or being in proximity with them at the kill site.
Bambistew
Well-known member
Baranoia is a real thing.
Grizzlies in AK and those in the lower 48 may respond differently to hunters and their dead game. Mainly due to not having been hunted in the past 50 years (those in the lower 48). In AK, its common practice for hunters to cook and store food in their tents. I don't think I'd do that in MT or WY.
Panda Bear
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I was asked to respond and my thoughts in regards to brown bears/grizzlies align with Alaskahunter, Bearfoot, and Bambistew. In regards to the white bear, they are a bit different, but our handling of a kill is the same as with the brown bear. The problem at times is they may actually see us as a meal, not just a threat, so we prepare a bit differently. A well trained dog can provide an early alarm and since bear spray is not as reliable against a white bear as it is against a brown we use a 12 gauge with noise and bean bag or rubber, and if that dont work we have new boots and dog food.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
Yeah, if I really want to shave a fraction of risk I should probably be planning an extra 3 hours for the drive.
KB_
Well-known member
Seriously, If your that worried about bears, maybe you shouldn't go.....Gutting/field dressing an animal will never be the cleanest work, it gets easier and cleaner the more you do it as you gain skills, but it is what it is. There will always be risk in bear country regardless of what you do. Get the job done and get out as efficiently as possible. Your just wasting time if you think you need a mop suit to field dress an animal.
We counted 13 different grizzlies over our 2019 10 day trip in bc. Every basin and small valley had at least 1 grizzly in it and sometimes 2, more than i have seen anywhere in 25 years of hunting. There were also multiple sightings of the same grizzlies so it meant that we pretty much ran into griz at least 1x per day, it was very un-nerving. We had one grizzly run into camp mid - day while we were not alert and had to shoot multiple rounds off to scare it off, it was not scared.
On one morning, first light, the three of us were walking up a river and cow elk calling with light fog and light snow. We made it about 1km from camp when my buddy turns around and sees two wolves following the river on the other side, noses working the wind trying to get our scent. He takes one wolf quickly and it dropped right there. We were then standing on the bank and discussing whether to keep walking and hunt or split and he deals with the wolf for the hide when out comes a grizzly and gets on top of the wolf!
We did get an elk on this trip so i was lucky to have two other guys around and it was shot at first light. We were dropped off with horses in an area where there is no other hunters so all backpacking and limited gear especially for spike camps.
So, here is how we processed the elk:
-With the elk we dragged it to an open area out of the willows so we could see better (not recommended if sandy, the hide picked up tons of river sand which was impossible to keep off the meat). I would rather have cut the willows.
-One guy was on 100% bear patrol and two guys processing
-Gutless method, into bags and not wasting any time. We didnt take pics or BS - shot of whisky each and got at it
-Soon as meat is in bags, we move meat away from gutpile in the direction we are going to hang it (the wind was light and changing direction)
-We found a cliff overhanging the river on the north side (north facing) and hung bags off a tree and over the cliff, if the bags fell there was gravel/rock small bar to fall on
-Any clothes we wore were washed right after and hung with the meat (if you get another animal, put the same clothes on)
It was nearly flawless except that it looked like a bear or other animal chewed the rope from above and the bag fell to the ground. The bag with tenderloins and backstraps also had very distinct bear claw tears in the bag and into one of the backstraps. The wierd part was that the bag was laying on the bar and wasnt taken so we got all the meat. The head and antler rope was also chewed and made to fall but also left there. We think maybe the bear tried from below first and made the mark in the bag then went above and chewed the rope but didnt go back around and down to get the bag. Maybe we scared it while it was happeneing or he gave upl
Most of this trip i was hunting alone while the other two guys hunted together. Im glad it worked out i was with them as i get anxious when processing alone. I have made a large fire in the past to help make me feel better and create a possible deterrance but that also costs time. I try as quickly as i can to process before dark then leave.
One time, first elk hunt ever, i quaded into a remote area that i knew had elk. While hiking i had only 4 bullets on me, i shot 2x at an elk and tracked it through thick bush. I found the elk and put the third bullet into him, i then went to get my last bullet and load in my magazine - it was gone. There was a hole in my pocket that it must have slipped through. I stood there with lots of fresh elk blood on me and no bullets on a solo hunting trip in a very remote mountain area. Then i got crazier, instead of leaving i decided to quickly break down the quarters and get back to camp 2.5km away. About half way through a cat (i think) starting making crazy sounds and circling. i kept thinking it sounded like when two cats are fighting over a female in heat. Anyway that went on for an hour or so while i was processing, i just kept telling it to give me 5 minutes and u can have at it! that was either a lynx or cougar, i will never know. I charged back to camp dual wielding 2 knives and yelling the whole way i was freaking scared but at that point survival took over. Once i got ammo (2 full boxes, i was not messing around) and a couple shots of whiskey i got back to the elk and found it untouched and no sign of a cat. I was able to get everything back to camp without incident. This was before kids, i think back to how insane that was and how lucky i am. That area has alot of grizzlies. I now carry extra bullets and try my best to get help before breaking down.
On one morning, first light, the three of us were walking up a river and cow elk calling with light fog and light snow. We made it about 1km from camp when my buddy turns around and sees two wolves following the river on the other side, noses working the wind trying to get our scent. He takes one wolf quickly and it dropped right there. We were then standing on the bank and discussing whether to keep walking and hunt or split and he deals with the wolf for the hide when out comes a grizzly and gets on top of the wolf!
We did get an elk on this trip so i was lucky to have two other guys around and it was shot at first light. We were dropped off with horses in an area where there is no other hunters so all backpacking and limited gear especially for spike camps.
So, here is how we processed the elk:
-With the elk we dragged it to an open area out of the willows so we could see better (not recommended if sandy, the hide picked up tons of river sand which was impossible to keep off the meat). I would rather have cut the willows.
-One guy was on 100% bear patrol and two guys processing
-Gutless method, into bags and not wasting any time. We didnt take pics or BS - shot of whisky each and got at it
-Soon as meat is in bags, we move meat away from gutpile in the direction we are going to hang it (the wind was light and changing direction)
-We found a cliff overhanging the river on the north side (north facing) and hung bags off a tree and over the cliff, if the bags fell there was gravel/rock small bar to fall on
-Any clothes we wore were washed right after and hung with the meat (if you get another animal, put the same clothes on)
It was nearly flawless except that it looked like a bear or other animal chewed the rope from above and the bag fell to the ground. The bag with tenderloins and backstraps also had very distinct bear claw tears in the bag and into one of the backstraps. The wierd part was that the bag was laying on the bar and wasnt taken so we got all the meat. The head and antler rope was also chewed and made to fall but also left there. We think maybe the bear tried from below first and made the mark in the bag then went above and chewed the rope but didnt go back around and down to get the bag. Maybe we scared it while it was happeneing or he gave upl
Most of this trip i was hunting alone while the other two guys hunted together. Im glad it worked out i was with them as i get anxious when processing alone. I have made a large fire in the past to help make me feel better and create a possible deterrance but that also costs time. I try as quickly as i can to process before dark then leave.
One time, first elk hunt ever, i quaded into a remote area that i knew had elk. While hiking i had only 4 bullets on me, i shot 2x at an elk and tracked it through thick bush. I found the elk and put the third bullet into him, i then went to get my last bullet and load in my magazine - it was gone. There was a hole in my pocket that it must have slipped through. I stood there with lots of fresh elk blood on me and no bullets on a solo hunting trip in a very remote mountain area. Then i got crazier, instead of leaving i decided to quickly break down the quarters and get back to camp 2.5km away. About half way through a cat (i think) starting making crazy sounds and circling. i kept thinking it sounded like when two cats are fighting over a female in heat. Anyway that went on for an hour or so while i was processing, i just kept telling it to give me 5 minutes and u can have at it! that was either a lynx or cougar, i will never know. I charged back to camp dual wielding 2 knives and yelling the whole way i was freaking scared but at that point survival took over. Once i got ammo (2 full boxes, i was not messing around) and a couple shots of whiskey i got back to the elk and found it untouched and no sign of a cat. I was able to get everything back to camp without incident. This was before kids, i think back to how insane that was and how lucky i am. That area has alot of grizzlies. I now carry extra bullets and try my best to get help before breaking down.
2rocky
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I bumped a grizzly bear just before I shot my Wyoming bull in 2007. Had my Dad and brother in law come help me quarter it. BIL stood watch while we worked. Loaded it up on saddle horses and walked 6 miles back to camp. Camp had 3 strands of electric fence around it. Meat got taken into town the next day. We always hunt in pairs, and avoid the black timber in the Daytime. Had an invite to hunt North of Dubois, and after hearing stories decided I didn't trust the guy inviting me to watch my back.
My father had a carcass chewed on in 2005. His fault he left it over night...
The guide that was killed was only 30 miles from my hunting area. i don't think I will return there until Grizzly season gets reinstated for a couple of years.
All that to say I did laundry when I took meat to town. As soon as there is meat down, then it becomes meat extraction not hunting. I'd keep a clean set of clothes at the trail head or at base camp.
My father had a carcass chewed on in 2005. His fault he left it over night...
The guide that was killed was only 30 miles from my hunting area. i don't think I will return there until Grizzly season gets reinstated for a couple of years.
All that to say I did laundry when I took meat to town. As soon as there is meat down, then it becomes meat extraction not hunting. I'd keep a clean set of clothes at the trail head or at base camp.
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kwyeewyk
Well-known member
I think you're misinterpreting my question for excessive worry. I have hundreds of days in the woods, mostly black bear country, but plenty of time in western Montana, I've killed 2 cows solo in grizz country and 1 with a partner. I've processed plenty of animals from field to freezer, but I still manage to get some blood on me. I spent 3 months deploying simulated bison abortion sites around West Yellowstone, that's where I got the idea, we'd wear tyvek while handling them. The more I think about it though, I'd rather use my food bag for a pillow than to spend part of a hunt in bloody clothes. I just seems funny to me that there's so much advice about hanging stuff, cooking in a separate camp, etc, and no talk of worry about bloody clothes when you might still have 10 days of hunting ahead of you. Certainly not going to not go!
Bambistew
Well-known member
I usually strip down to my T-shirt, will put on my rain pants if I think I'm going to get bloody. I have a few times in the past, washed my pants while in the field if they were really bad. Nylon pants dry in about an hour unless its really humid. I wash my pack at the end of the season, so after the first hunt I'm lugging around a blood soaked stink bomb with me.
KB_
Well-known member
Gotcha
AlaskaHunter
Well-known member
Also at least for moose, usually meat bags are pretty heavy and not high up in trees,
just hanging on a big horizontal meat pole,
caribou/sheep no trees if in the alpine or tundra,
so some blood on clothes might not be that significant.
just hanging on a big horizontal meat pole,
caribou/sheep no trees if in the alpine or tundra,
so some blood on clothes might not be that significant.
Panda Bear
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bcnorth, I might just add to your post that grizzly bear hunting has been banned in B.C. You can still hunt them a bit further north of B.C., in the Yukon territories. Black bear hunting is still legal in B.C.
Of course most of you men are from the U.S., so Alaska would be a good place to hunt the Grizzly.
Congrats on your hunt, having someone stand guard is a good idea if your hunting with friends, not having extra bullets, I admit is a bit foreign to me as we carry boxes of them with us.
I did want to mention to you to be careful cutting down trees
Not being critical, just a heads up
Of course most of you men are from the U.S., so Alaska would be a good place to hunt the Grizzly.
Congrats on your hunt, having someone stand guard is a good idea if your hunting with friends, not having extra bullets, I admit is a bit foreign to me as we carry boxes of them with us.
I did want to mention to you to be careful cutting down trees
Not being critical, just a heads up
magnum44270
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I would say to the blood on your pants or boots...rub some dirt on it and move on, its not a thought in my head.....If you are worried about it bring a change of clothes or find a place to wash them out. I know you say there isnt a place but If you are in the back country for any amount of time you will need to find water to drink, so there is water to wash.
kwyeewyk
Well-known member
I'd probably be more likely to rub dirt on it, last thing I want to do on a hunting trip is laundry in a creek! Sounds like most people don't worry about it much, so probably not a big deal in the overall scheme of things once you've killed something. I might still try it out though, considering it's much lighter/smaller than an extra change of clothes, and kinda nice to keep blood off anyways, whether grizz or not.
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