Solo hunting in grizzly country

[JLS]

I keep spray in a chest holster and carry a 10mm on my hip. I should probably get some night sights for it, but I might be the one person who actually really likes the factory sights on a Glock. Good idea on the light.

Under stress you probably won’t be using the night sights.

 

[Sytes]

The key is always bring someone slower than you...

 

[Tradewind]

The key is always bring someone slower than you...

:hump:

 

[BearFoot]

"The sight of danger is less hideous than the thought of it." Osbourne Russell in Journal of a Trapper. 1839.

Great quote.

You are every bit a threat to the bear as he is to you. Be Yourself and enjoy the adventure. 99% of the bears I've encountered want nothing to do with me, and leave quickly. The 1% are rugs!

 

[Weberado]

Saw this sticker on a truck last weekend and made laugh

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

The point is if your hunting in Montana be prepared ..Bears ..wolves ..fall and get hurt ..ect.
Let someone know where you are going and pack things to survive !
Have a great trip and show us your pictures !! Oh and GPS coordinate's !! Ha ha

 

[IK-NWhunter]

2 year old thread, not sure if anyone is interested anymore. I’m planning a solo archery elk trip to Wyoming next year. I don’t love hunting solo but I don’t know anyone else who’s into hunting seriously enough to pay for non-res tag fees. Anyway this topic is front and center on my mind...

Supposedly the unit I’m looking at is on the edge of their current range, but that’s expanding every year. I know how to prepare for an encounter but I still can’t shake the concern. Tracking and breaking down the elk (especially at night), along with subsequent return trips for meat are my biggest concerns.

I’ve got bear spray, 460 SW mag with a chest holster, and rigging to hoist 2/3 of an elk’s meat 20’ into a tree by myself. I guess I just need to give it a try and get over it.

I’ve been around coastal brown bears in AK quite a bit while working up there. Katmai and Kodiak island. They’re certainly dangerous and demand your respect, but interior bears just don’t give humans much room for error. They’re as likely to charge when you surprise them as they are to run away. Every coastal brown I’ve surprised in the brush has just run off or stared at me huffing for a couple minutes, then walked away.

I killed a deer on Kodiak up in the alpine zone and packed all the meat out in one trip. Some people came by the carcass on their way down the mountain about 2 hours later and bumped a bear off the gutpile. Didn’t charge them, just ran off until they left then came back and finished it’s meal. Same deal with a Mtn goat carcass we had to return to after my partner realized he forgot his $1200 Swarovski’s at the killsite. I wish these GYE bears were so amenable!

 

[MTLabrador]

2 year old thread, not sure if anyone is interested anymore. I’m planning a solo archery elk trip to Wyoming next year. I don’t love hunting solo but I don’t know anyone else who’s into hunting seriously enough to pay for non-res tag fees. Anyway this topic is front and center on my mind...

Supposedly the unit I’m looking at is on the edge of their current range, but that’s expanding every year. I know how to prepare for an encounter but I still can’t shake the concern. Tracking and breaking down the elk (especially at night), along with subsequent return trips for meat are my biggest concerns.

I’ve got bear spray, 460 SW mag with a chest holster, and rigging to hoist 2/3 of an elk’s meat 20’ into a tree by myself. I guess I just need to give it a try and get over it.

I’ve been around coastal brown bears in AK quite a bit while working up there. Katmai and Kodiak island. They’re certainly dangerous and demand your respect, but interior bears just don’t give humans much room for error. They’re as likely to charge when you surprise them as they are to run away. Every coastal brown I’ve surprised in the brush has just run off or stared at me huffing for a couple minutes, then walked away.

I killed a deer on Kodiak up in the alpine zone and packed all the meat out in one trip. Some people came by the carcass on their way down the mountain about 2 hours later and bumped a bear off the gutpile. Didn’t charge them, just ran off until they left then came back and finished it’s meal. Same deal with a Mtn goat carcass we had to return to after my partner realized he forgot his $1200 Swarovski’s at the killsite. I wish these GYE bears were so amenable!

Which mountain range, if you don’t mind? If you’re looking at archery only, with the type 9 tags in the Bighorns you won’t be dealing with grizzlies. Any of the areas with type 9 tags in the Absarokas and you will be dealing with grizzlies.

 

[IK-NWhunter]

Which mountain range, if you don’t mind? If you’re looking at archery only, with the type 9 tags in the Bighorns you won’t be dealing with grizzlies. Any of the areas with type 9 tags in the Absarokas and you will be dealing with grizzlies.

Wyoming Range, West of Big Piney. I have read in a different forum a WGFD biologist 100% confirmed grizz are present at low densities in the unit directly north of the one I’m looking at. That was several years ago.

What is the difference between the general tag and type 9 or 1? I’m just looking for some solid encounters in an area with a healthy elk population and not too many people. I don’t have enough points for any controlled hunts and can’t afford a guide to get into a wilderness.

 

[MTLabrador]

Wyoming Range, West of Big Piney. I have read in a different forum a WGFD biologist 100% confirmed grizz are present at low densities in the unit directly north of the one I’m looking at. That was several years ago.

What is the difference between the general tag and type 9 or 1? I’m just looking for some solid encounters in an area with a healthy elk population and not too many people. I don’t have enough points for any controlled hunts and can’t afford a guide to get into a wilderness.

Type 9 tag is limited quota archery only, which I (incorrectly) guessed you might have been talking about. Type 1 is an any elk tag in a limited quota area. Yes there are some grizzlies in the Wyoming Range, but that far south I really wouldn’t worry about them.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I was raised in Columbia Falls and hunted that country alone for thirty years. My horse camp was up Dolly Varden creek in the Middle Fork. I would often stay a week at a time alone up there. The first couple of nights can be a bit creepy. It's the emptiness. Only had grizzly trouble once on the ride out just before dark. Dang stupid subadult. They often don't know what to do with themselves. I actually got off the horse and pulled out the .357. Then it gave me the trail. It was shot on the porch of Challenge Cabin about six weeks later. All this was in the days befor sat phones and beacons so I really was ALONE out there. My closest call was catching giardia. Wow! I was so weak it took a couple of attempts to get in the saddle. I really wasn't sure I'd get out of there.

 

[shaunj]

This is all great info. I cant really comment on hunting in grizz country but came here looking for advice on hunting in grizz country. Thanks for all the contributions made to this post. We will be in SW WY, section 138, not sure what the grizz numbers are there.

 

[Irishman]

I was raised in Columbia Falls and hunted that country alone for thirty years. My horse camp was up Dolly Varden creek in the Middle Fork. I would often stay a week at a time alone up there. The first couple of nights can be a bit creepy. It's the emptiness. Only had grizzly trouble once on the ride out just before dark. Dang stupid subadult. They often don't know what to do with themselves. I actually got off the horse and pulled out the .357. Then it gave me the trail. It was shot on the porch of Challenge Cabin about six weeks later. All this was in the days befor sat phones and beacons so I really was ALONE out there. My closest call was catching giardia. Wow! I was so weak it took a couple of attempts to get in the saddle. I really wasn't sure I'd get out of there.

My son shot a mountain goat up Dolly Varden creek. We hiked back to Schaffer meadows, a long way in the dark. I did not feel very comfortable with a dead goat on my back, and nothing but fresh grizzly tracks on the trail. Did you have much luck hunting up there? We did see some elk sign when we got up out of the bottom, but the only animals we saw were the goats and a moose.

 

[A207X2]

I agree with having a pistol strapped to you. The biggest reason (from my perspective) is should you have an accident (slip and fall, leg/ankle injury, etc.) and you drop/lose your rifle and can't get to it, you are at the complete and total mercy of the land. Having something strapped to your leg/chest rig will afford you the opportunity to signal for help, as well as offer some protection. Even when fishing down here in FL I have a handgun strapped to my leg.

 

[Happy Myles]

Several decades ago during one of my British Columbia Stone Sheep hunts, there were enough grizzly around that they occasionally interfered with sheep stalks. One might get between us and the ram we were interested in and we would need to rethink our strategy. A couple occasions they made such a racket running off they frightened away the ram. Those days there was no bear spray available. Now i highly endorse taking a large industrial can of pepper spray. I feel it is a good idea to get an extra can and experiment useage. Make sure you try in it in wide open spaces and pay careful attention to the wind direction. It goes off like a mini bomb and may go out 30 yards or so. Seeing it perform will give you more confidence it it’s capabilities. However don’t leave your chosen firearm at home. Only bear problems i have had were with Alaskan Brown Bear, i will save that for another time. Kindest Regards.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Several decades ago during one of my British Columbia Stone Sheep hunts, there were enough grizzly around that they occasionally interfered with sheep stalks. One might get between us and the ram we were interested in and we would need to rethink our strategy. A couple occasions they made such a racket running off they frightened away the ram. Those days there was no bear spray available. Now i highly endorse taking a large industrial can of pepper spray. I feel it is a good idea to get an extra can and experiment useage. Make sure you try in it in wide open spaces and pay careful attention to the wind direction. It goes off like a mini bomb and may go out 30 yards or so. Seeing it perform will give you more confidence it it’s capabilities. However don’t leave your chosen firearm at home. Only bear problems i have had were with Alaskan Brown Bear, i will save that for another time. Kindest Regards.

Happy, nice to see you here.

 

[SBAHunts]

Last year I had an encounter with a very large grizzly in a creek bottom before daylight. Had a round chambered, but the bear spray worked. It was following me and maybe got within 15 yards. Everything after that went fine and I'm going back to hunt this year. My personal belief is that their insatiable hunger gets clouded with some of the violent encounters that we hear/read about.

Bottom Line: Go Hunting. Some never make it back; but, you'll never be able to live with yourself for not even having tried.

wow, not sure the bear spray would have been my first choice of defense. So glad it worked out well

 

[Nidart]

Never hurts to prepare for things like this

 

[MT_elk]

Saw this sticker on a truck last weekend and made laugh

View attachment 88644

Love it!

 

[Jc2020]

I keep spray in a chest holster and carry a 10mm on my hip. I should probably get some night sights for it, but I might be the one person who actually really likes the factory sights on a Glock. Good idea on the light.

I’ve been thinking on going to a 10mm glock currently I carry a ruger super Blackhawk 44 mag with 5.5 in barrel With Buffalo bore though i haven’t quite talked my self into it yet I know quite a few people have went to the 10mm