Not too many people are posting their hunt reports anymore. That's a shame, as hunting is a passion we all share, and it's great to share our combined experiences. As such, I figured I would post the story of my May long weekend grizzly hunt.
My hunting partner, my dog and I left the morning of Thursday May 14 and had camp set-up by early afternoon.
We spend the remainder of the day exploring the area we planned on hunting. I was amazed how little green and how much snow there was on the slides, but by days end we found a good one, and spent the last hours of daylight watching it. No bears, just porcupines.
The next morning we explored a little more country, and after getting repeatedly stuck in the snow, decided the best place to hunt was the green slide we found the previous day. We sat there in the late afternoon, and at about 5:30 PM I saw a grizzly walk onto the slide. It was an absolutely gorgeous bear, with a blonde body and dark legs and hump. Its light coloration suggested that it was a sow, which was confirmed a few minutes later when a large, dark boar walked out after her. Both bears were about 450 yards away, and we watched them for the next couple of hours as they travelled around the slide. The boar was big, but his hide was rubbed badly, and I just couldn't talk myself into shooting him, although at one point both him and the sow were only about 135 yards away from us. No other bears made an appearance, so at last light we headed back to camp, both satisfied with having the opportunity to watch a couple magnificent grizzlies for so long.
The next morning found us back at the slide, and it didn't take long for the boar and sow to wander out and feed. Again we were privileged to watched them for several hours, and actually saw them mate a couple of times. My partner called it "boarnography". No other bears entered the slide. We headed back to camp for an epic cribbage tournament and a few drinks, optimistic about the next, and last day of hunting.
Sunday morning once again found us glassing the slide. I hadn't settled in for more than three minutes when I spotted a grizzly low on the slide. My binoculars confirmed that it was neither the boar or the sow, but a gorgeous bear all by itself! We stalked into position while the boar fed uphill. By time I was ready to shoot, he was already about 250 yards away.... farther than I'd hoped, but I had a great rest so I took the shot. I would like to say it was a one-shot kill, but that grizzly actually took a few before he was anchored. They are tough animals. Shortly after the shooting, our old friends the boar and sow came onto the slide and fed above where my bear lie.
So the grizzly was down, but now we had another daunting task....crossing the creek. We had scouted previously and found a log that spanned the water, and opted to cross there. It worked-out well, and before long, I was standing beside my bear. Gorgeous! I skinned that grizzly in record time knowing there were two other grizzlies only a couple hundred yards uphill from us. Fortunately, everything went well and without drama.
The boar had perfect fur and a big head (21 2/16"), but was really short. Not much longer than five feet. Over-all a great hunt that ended with a beautiful bear. I couldn't be happier.
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