Spring Grizzly Hunt

[olek_Z_bc]

Ok, I'll be optimistic and start this post off with thinking I have chance to get the tag i put in this year for the spring hunt in region 6. :)

Now I was just flipping thru a hunting magazine and read up on a grizz hunt article and remembered that I have a tag in the draw.

Anyhow, I have 2 choices for rifles. My regular deer gun which is a .300 win mag that i would load with 180 barnes-x or my new to me .338 win mag that i would use 250 grain nosler-partitions with. Any ideas or suggestions.

(I am comfortable with both guns so that is not a factor. Both guns are accutare under 1" for the .300 and around an inch for the .338 )

Who has harvested a grizzly in region 6, close to Burns Lake & Huston? What is the terrain like, is it still hunting, stalk hunting or atv/truck hunting? What is the best option? Also what is the average size of a grizz up there, can an 8 footer be possible? I know they get bigger but I am not greedy :)

Well that about sums it up. It will be great to read the replies if I get the tag, and if I don't at least I'll still hope to learn something.

Cheers & Thanks,

Alex

[Gus]

Though I have yet to kill a grizzly (had a draw last spring, didn't pan out), I like the glass and stalk method when it comes to bears. As for your rifle choice, your .300 mag will easily be enough gun, however, I'm a firm believer that when it comes to bears, especially grizz, you can't have too big a gun, so my first choice would be the .338.
my 2 cents.
Good luck with the draw.

[Dayto]

.338 At least.

If I was going into the bush stalking a grizz , are had one down I would not want anything smaller then a .338 .. and something that I know will stop a grizz on a full charge , I also would not even chance going alone I would make sure I had a buddie to back me up .

just my.02 ,

[olek_Z_bc]

I think a shot to the head with a .300 is enough to stop a grizz. In any case, I guess bullet weight and energy transfer are things to consider. Looks like I would be taking the .338 as number 1 gun and .300 as backup. If I am driving that far I am not risking anything.

Thanks for the opinions,

Alex

p.s.

Please let's not turn this into a "bear defence" thread. Too many of those LOL

[ex bc guide]

.338 at least your not playing with a friendl animal,
Mike

[olek_Z_bc]

OK. we got the caliber covered. I would love to hear what the general area of Burns Lake and Huston is like. Meadows, Valleys, Mountains, Lakes, a little bit of everything? Also what is the average grizz size in regards to a moose. i.e. how big of a pain in the a$$ is it to skin the animal if you are alone?

[Camp Cook]

I had a grizzly tag for this last fall and carried my 375 Rem Ultra Mag with 260gr Accubonds @ 3020fps for longer shots and 300gr Partitions @ 2750fps when I went into the thick stuff.

My backup rifles were a 300 Rem Ultra Mag with 200gr A-Frames @ 3250fps and a Marlin 1895GS 45-70 with 550gr Crater Hard cast bullets @ 1600fps.

I saw several bears but all either had cubs or where smaller than what I was looking for, so I didn't get to try out my loads on a grizzly.

Cam

[Gateholio]

Burns lake area is pretty flat...lots of litle lakes..It's not anything like th ecoast.

Skinning a grizz isn't any different than skinning abig black bear.

I am sure they get some monsters around there (Like the one in the Smithers airport);-)

[boxhitch]

how big of a pain in the a$$ is it to skin the animal if you are alone?
Alex - just curious, why would anyone go g. bear hunting alone ??
The lakes area can be a tough area to hunt. Look for the steepest, open slopes which should bare (bear ?) off earliest. Look for the small early patches of veggies, before all the snow is gone from the floor. I don't know myself, but maybe the streams still have some salmon debris which may attract early risers ??

[Ddog]

nahhhhhh, no gun needed, just bring a bow and get real close and stick em.

[olek_Z_bc]

nahhhhhh, no gun needed, just bring a bow and get real close and stick em.

My hat's of to you if you did that to a grizzly. Damn, not into the bow thing yet. I do want to try it eventually. Give me time, I'm still young. :)


Alex - just curious, why would anyone go g. bear hunting alone ??

I am not going alone. I am going with a buddy. Plus if I do go (if I get the silly tag) I was supposed to meet up with bone-collector.

Anyhow, I have shot a variety of black bears and deer with my .300 and all were one shot drop, however the smallest black bear I shot near the meager creek hotsprings went about 100yds in the direction away from me after the shot. When I came up to him, his heart was literally hanging out from his chest. Sorry for that nasty visual but that is the truth. Bears are tough and each one is different I guess.

My last black bear I shot in September and it was a nice chocolate brown color. Also in the meager creek area. This guy saw me and started booking up a hill, I nailed his with one shot and he fell backward of the hill and landed 20 yds away from me. The bullet shattered one shoulder blade and got stuck in the second one, on the way it managed to mangle the spine a bit also.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if I would nail a grizz in the spine it might be still alive but it is not going anywhere cause it is paralyzed. Well I'll worry about that once and if i get the tag.

So any crazy grizz stories to make me sh*t my pants ;)

cheers,

Alex

[youngfellla]

The Burns Lake area has a lot of hilly terrain(nothing steep) with a lot of small lakes and swampy areas. Houston also has a lot of swamp, but has some nice flat valleys. Pretty heavy timber through most of it as well. If you get a chance, go check out the full size grizz mount in the Smithers airport. It was killed just west of Houston. Huge!

I also believe that 338 is min. for the big bears, with a Partition, A-Frame, or Barnes bullet around 250gr. If you need another back-up gunner, stop by - I'm in Fraser Lake.:grin:

[Gateholio]

Smithers airport Grizzly

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/pf3b67fa4bbbcfcccd6ca15b772264fdb/fa61a837.jpg

Coastal Grizzly bear, 2003 or 2002, can't remmeber

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/paa7f24d484f1973e47bdc09b44cb4b14/fb0cf7bc.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid79/p7fe92b8a18304d75391bca197e309059/fb0cf7a9.jpg

[BOOMSTICK]

Gatehouse, I don't see any pics.:-?

[olek_Z_bc]

Damn Gatehouse...... NICE.

And you can't remember the year LOL. So your handywork is on display.

Great animal. Got any full body shots (of the grizz you sicko's LOL)

Cheers,

Alex

[Gateholio]

Gatehouse, I don't see any pics.:-?

try hititng REFRESH, or right click on the pics, copy properties and paste them in your browser:-P

[Gateholio]

Olek

I may have some full body shots, but I'm not sure.

The grizz was shot by my buddy (2nd pic) through the shoulders with a 7mm Remington Magnum, wiht a 160 gr X bullet that I handloaded.

I followed up with a 300gr partition from my 375 H&H, but it was NOT necessary. That grizz went down hard, I was just doing a follow up.
:smile: :smile:

[REDGREEN]

I wouldn't go for a head shot if I was you. Their heads are pretty flat, and there is a real good chance of a non fatal hit, and 6 to 800 pounds of really pissed bear to deal with. Break bones!

[olek_Z_bc]

I wouldn't go for a head shot if I was you. Their heads are pretty flat, and there is a real good chance of a non fatal hit, and 6 to 800 pounds of really pissed bear to deal with. Break bones!
Good point. I meant head shot as a last ditch effort though. I would not want to ruin the skull.

Gatehouse,

Thanks for the pics. So that bear was what an 8 footer or bigger? Very nice coat BTW.

[Gateholio]

Olek, i think that bear was a hair under 8 ft.

he was a big, nice boar, but not the king of the forest.

We got him on about day 6 on a remote hunting trip. We didn't see anyone or anyhting for 7 days. Not even a plane flew overhead.

Our only transportation was a small boat with a 9hp outboard, mostly we were on foot, no ATV's or trucks...:grin: We hiked about 10-20 km a day. One day was relaly long.

Awesome trip, but it was mentally challenging, it rained every day excpet for a clear break on the day we took the bear. The cover was incredibly thick, and sneakingi through it, you wouldn't hav eknown there was a bear until you were rigth on top of it.

Pretty freaky sneaking up small streams with salmon carcasses and bear prints liberally covering the ground, visibilty 20 feet!:razz:

[Elkhound]

Nice visual of your trip Clarke. Hence the signature you use eh?

[Gateholio]

Nice visual of your trip Clarke. Hence the signature you use eh?

Oh, that's sort of a joke fomr a few years ago..On huntshoot or CGN

Somebody was asking about bears, blah blah blah...SO I said "If you go out int he woods, you need a huge gun. blah blah blah, because bears are waiting to POUNCE on you!:razz:

Firebird used to use it in his sigline...:razz: It was funny...

[boonerbuck]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/pf3b67fa4bbbcfcccd6ca15b772264fdb/fa61a837.jpg

Ah yes, the Phantom of Hungry Hill. Quite the story behind him.

I have my draw in for my region 6 spot near the Skeena River. Lots of big bears in there. Lots of big griz and blackies. I'm hoping to take one of each. The draw for griz is 3-1. Not bad. It's a sure thing this spot if you just want a griz. Could go home without one if you are holding out fro a monster though.

I'll be packing my new 9.3x62 for that trip.:grin:

[youngfellla]

Gatehouse, nice pics of the bear. Nice to see the good ol' 'Seven-Mag' at work. My first grizz hunt, I carried a 7 Mag loaded with 175 Partitions at 2930fps. I never felt under-gunned.:grin:

[CHilko21]

MY dad got a grizz draw in region 5, around the Horsefly area a few years ago, and he shot a nice silver tipped bear, nothing huge at 6'8", but really pretty coat, he shot it with his 7 mm Mag, and dropped it like a rock. It turned out to be a sow, but they judged her age at 23 years, so she wasn't a breeder anymore....her canine's were cracked in the skull, you knew she'd been around for a loooong time.

[boonerbuck]

MY dad got a grizz draw in region 5, around the Horsefly area a few years ago, and he shot a nice silver tipped bear, nothing huge at 6'8", but really pretty coat, he shot it with his 7 mm Mag, and dropped it like a rock. It turned out to be a sow, but they judged her age at 23 years, so she wasn't a breeder anymore....her canine's were cracked in the skull, you knew she'd been around for a loooong time.

I use to put in for that draw and for a couple of years I had my bear picked out. He was a big silver tip that I bet would be close to 8 foot. Then the draws went from 3 available to 1 and the odds went fron 13-1 to 43-1 I believe. My draws are in region 6 now.

The Maitland's took an 8 footer last year out of there. Not my bear though.:grin:

[Jagermeister]

If I had that draw, I'd pick Houston, a little more mountain and shale slopes, further to see them with.
Of course, you're not going alone. If you have no one, take whoever graciously offered to accompany you on an earlier post of this thread. We already lost a solitary hunter this year in the Spatsizi area, no sense adding another.

[slyfox]

When is the due date for the Grizzly Bear Draw? I forgot to put mine in...

[Maxx]

you have until feb 1st I think

[boonerbuck]

Feb 3rd 2006

[MichelD]

Saw a griz track as big as a bucket two years ago North of Houston and West of Smithers.

What kind of hunting would it be?

The terrain is kind of rolling hills, with some marshes, and lots of "Christmas tree" logging slashes that are hard to look into unless you get above them. There are fresh cuts too of course, where you can glass.

Same as moose I guess. Truck, quad if you have one and on foot when you want to be quiet and see anything. We were walking on a deactivated road from overgrown logging slash to slash looking for moose crossings and found the bear track in the middle of the road.

Wouldn't have known he was there otherwise.

[Fred]

Similar thing happened to Ex and I last fall Michel. We were turning the bikes around and Mike spotted the tracks in fresh mud in the ditch. While he was admiring the trcks in the ditch(standing over them with his camera) I noticed blood droppings on the gravels where the bear had gone into the ditch. I will tell you, that had our attention and our eyes working overtime!! Fred

[MichelD]

Trying to load this pic: