Hunting in Grizzly area

[Jimbob]

I have some questions as someone who is new to grizzly country. What precautions, for grizzly, do you take once an animal is down? Gun at the ready of course. Do you light a fire? Will, you gut/debone at night? pack at night? or wait and only do it in daylight? Are you more relaxed in low concentration areas or do you still take the same precautions?.

I am moose hunting with my 11 yr old son and only have weekends off (teacher). I will not hunt Sunday afternoon as I will not have time to get moose out and be at work Monday morning. However, I could be in a situation where time is of the essence and I need to retrieve the moose in the dark. I'm thinking of sticking to daylight hours even if it means I miss work.

So what do you guys do?

[wideopenthrottle]

I will rather go all night to retrieve an animal than leave it till morning personally...where I have had to leave an animal to go get help, I would gut it first and drag it a little ways from the gut pile then hang it up on a branch( for deer)- I always carry 20 feet of 8mm kernmantle on my belt and I know a few tricks to gain mechanical advantage...In my survival gear is a sharpie that I routinely use to write on flagging tape to help retrace my steps (usually just time and direction headed on the tape) so I would leave a brief note attached to the deer if doing that....

[todbartell]

Carry a powerful gun with huge bullets

[Jordan f.]

I basically hunt exclusively in grizz country. I've come across them more then once. It can be nerve racking sometimes, but you have to keep a level head.

We had to pack a bull elk (12km each way.. multiple trips) on foot through a zone with a good chunk of grizzly bears. Last pack out was about 1am and that was not fun haha.

Carry a gun
Carry bear spray
Make noise
Never let your guard down
Don't let it ruin your experience

[Rock&Ice]

Totally agree with the working steady to get the animal out versus leaving it overnight. As was already stated, move the quarters from the gutpile and punch the ponch to make that the stinkiest. Leaving it overnight can mean its ruined by coyotes, bears, wolves, etc. if there is no human scent or noise to deter.

Make noise. A fire is not a bad idea if its safe. Move the quarters about 100 yards from the gutpile. Bear spray.

[Bugle M In]

I know some folks have also gone to buy a 45/70 or shotgun just for the sole purpose of taking out game.

[hunter1947]

I hunt in a populated grizzly area and a person has to think about what should I do to help stop a grizzly bear encounter .

Solo hunting just me,,what I do when I hunt solo in the evening hunt if I get a elk down or moose I will clean it out put
logs under the animal to keep the animal off the warm ground chest up 1200 oc I leave it till the next morning.

Why I do this is I don't want to be packing out quarters etc most of the night solo the chances of a grizzly encounter is very hi.

If there where 2 or more people with me at my hunting camp then we would have as much bear defense as possible meaning lights
on shotguns or other,,bear spay ,bear banger etc and get the meat out that night.

Solo I would rather leave the animal in the bush that night and take that chance that there will be no bear on the animal the next
morning than having an encounter with a grizzly bear packing out meat in the dark,,my life is more important than a downed
animal..

Morning hunts are much better for hunts if you get a big game animal down a person has all day to get it out during the daylight hours.
Believe me I arrow-ed a 5x5 bull elk at 715 am in 2015 I got all back to my hunting camp solo by 530pm.

Bottom line is go with what your in stinks are and you should be making the correct decision..

[Bugle M In]

I hunt in a populated grizzly area and a person has to think about what should I do to help stop a grizzly bear encounter .

Solo hunting just me,,what I do when I hunt solo in the evening hunt if I get a elk down or moose I will clean it out put
logs under the animal to keep the animal off the warm ground chest up 1200 oc I leave it till the next morning.

Why I do this is I don't want to be packing out quarters etc most of the night solo the chances of a grizzly encounter is very hi.

If there where 2 or more people with me at my hunting camp then we would have as much bear defense as possible meaning lights
on shotguns or other,,bear spay ,bear banger etc and get the meat out that night.

Solo I would rather leave the animal in the bush that night and take that chance that there will be no bear on the animal the next
morning than having an encounter with a grizzly bear packing out meat in the dark,,my life is more important than a downed
animal..

Morning hunts are much better for hunts if you get a big game animal down a person has all day to get it out during the daylight hours.
Believe me I arrow-ed a 5x5 bull elk at 715 am in 2015 I got all back to my hunting camp solo by 530pm.

Bottom line is go with what your in stinks are and you should be making the correct decision..

good advice with the logs under the game to "cool"
Everyone, especially novices, need to know this once game is down, and you want to take the best care of the meat.
"Get it Cooled Down", ASAP.


And I agree with you hunter, about morning hunts over evening hunts, something else many need to consider.
Although I think many do, as it seems to me when I get back to camp in the dark, most others are already drunk.
How's your hunting going H47?

[barongan]

Following!this seems like a very interesting thread

[northof49]

If eve and not much light temaining I work fast and just bust the guts out, open back of neck split pelvis and raise the rump off ground with a log for added cooling. String a tarp over in case of rain and back at site at first light with firearm to finish processing. Will not know what hit you in the dark if a griz wants to claim the kill. They can be incredibly sneaky quiet or come in fast. Much prefer to deal with a situation like that in day light. I have frequently had bears show up after gun shot. Often they are already pulled in by the calling and are nearby. I also opt for heavy calibers in these areas. Really depends where you are hunting tho and the liklihood of griz presence. I dont worry much about bbears.