View Full Version : Recent alpine exp.
I spent the past week in the west koots, shopping for one of them 400" bulls that were supposed to be in every cut block :)....
The elk gods have been pretty cruel to me so far this year, so to break thing up a buddy and I decided to hit up an alpine spot for mulies.
I had seen a few nice bucks in opening week, a 30" wide buck gave me the slip and I couldnt get it out of my head.
I figured with the warm weather they still might be up there....???
We declined to pack the spotter that day, would of been nice to get better pics of this guy!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0095_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20623&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=501)
We watched this bear for over an hour, took this pic from about 250 yards. I can assure you this was a 7'+ monster grizz with a melon like a pumpkin! Nearly had the silver tip look. Truly a magnificent bear as he tore the hell out of the alpine!
As we made our way across an alpine ridge, we nearly stepped on this guy! (below) He was busy feeding and never even noticed us...we took pics as he wandered away!
The pics dont really do justice, I figured this bear was not much over 5' in length!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0093-1_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20625&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
&
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0091-1_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20624&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
After this I said enough bear pics, lets head the other way....should be better for deer, I thought???
We only made it about 200 yards down the ridge, when we noticed this sow and 2 yearling cubs take off only 50 yards away.....the only booked about 40 yards, seemed to completely forget about us, and started making their way back up hill towards us, feeding!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0105-1_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20627&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
I can tell ya this sow was well over 6' and had 2 of the cutest blonde cubs one could ever imagine! Took these pics at about 40 yards!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0102-1_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20626&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
The wind was in our favor, they seemed quite busy excavating the turf....they continued to make their way towards us.
As I took this pic I looked over my camera and realized...holy $h!t they are at 20 yards and closing.
I dropped the cam and raised my gun, glanced over at buddy still snapping pics???? "Gun up" I yelled. This cought them quite off guard, lucky for us the cubs turned and bolted....the sow stood her ground stomped her front feet and snorted....I thought things were about to go bad, then she turned and ran also!
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/data/500/medium/102_0108-1_Small_.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/../photos/showphoto.php?photo=20628&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
Both buddy and I both acquired fancy new featherlight .270's this year. Earlier that day we commented how it would of been nice to have then for the alpine assault.
Hence the original intent of the trip was for elk, we were stuck with our .300 mags and I can say I was never so happy to have them along!
To make matters worse thick fog rolled in and reduced visibility to 30-50 yards.....this pretty much ended our alpine muley dreams that day, no deer were seen.
I know where Im applying for grizz now!
yama49
10-09-2010, 08:44 PM
awesome pics, thx for sharing them with us
bearass
10-09-2010, 08:46 PM
Ya great pics
Its to bad we don't have a fall griz season.
Alpine85
10-09-2010, 08:47 PM
Good looking pictures Mark, looks like you were up close and personal.
hotload
10-09-2010, 08:55 PM
Wow, great pics Mark. A Little too close a few too many times I'd say.
born2hunt
10-09-2010, 09:29 PM
hey Mark thanks for sharing your awesome experience with us all :) love the grizz pic's
Rattler
10-09-2010, 09:33 PM
Great pics Mark! Waaaayyyy too close for me though...
BCLongshot
10-09-2010, 09:35 PM
Love it !
Nice pics. Man I can smell the fresh air.
Good pics.
bruin
10-09-2010, 09:38 PM
Very cool pictures, everybody looks pretty healthy for the winter.
Great pics Mark! Waaaayyyy too close for me though...
What??? Havnt you been closer??? :lol:
Very cool pictures, everybody looks pretty healthy for the winter.
We were very curious as to what the bears were eating???? They were ripping up the top 6" of sod.....We sifted through the tailings left behind and found tiny little potato like roots, anywhere from the size of a popcorn seed to a marble. (I assume they ate the bigger ones) We figured what the hell and sampled them....they had the taste and texture of a sweet onion.
Buddy thought they tasted awesome and spent a great deal of time digging for leftovers??? :confused:
Anyone know exactly what it is they are eating????
Great pics Mark! Can't believe you didn't get charged, lol! So what's the story behind the elk pic in the gallery or is that still to come??
BCrams
10-09-2010, 10:36 PM
We were very curious as to what the bears were eating???? They were ripping up the top 6" of sod.....We sifted through the tailings left behind and found tiny little potato like roots, anywhere from the size of a popcorn seed to a marble. (I assume they ate the bigger ones) We figured what the hell and sampled them....they had the taste and texture of a sweet onion.
Buddy thought they tasted awesome and spent a great deal of time digging for leftovers??? :confused:
Anyone know exactly what it is they are eating????
Fantastic photo's Mark. Certainly a year of grizzlies.
Without having seen what you're talking about, I'm betting those bears were foraging on Hedysarum roots. One of the favorite fall foods that are relied upon heavily by grizzlies.
cas-has-cars
10-09-2010, 11:14 PM
I'm shocked by how close you got to the sow and cubs. To bad you did'nt have a video cam. To have her stomp would would make most of us lift our guns shaking with excitement of the next move. Great to hear she turned.
steepNdeep
10-09-2010, 11:45 PM
Whoa... that's a little too close for comfort... Can I borrow those pics for my story? Awesome shots!!
Stone Sheep Steve
10-10-2010, 05:34 AM
Thanks for putting "us" here on HBC before your own personal safety, Mark!!:-D
Some great pics!!
SSS
swampthing
10-10-2010, 08:05 AM
Nothing like hangin close to the bears for a rush, unless your rattler. His story still has me clutching my rifle in my little tent at night. Now you know where to put in for spring grizz.
Brambles
10-10-2010, 09:33 AM
Glad to hear that they kept their distance
boyd050
10-10-2010, 10:15 AM
and so many people have been lead to believe there is a shortage of grizzlies........ same here in the east kootenays... they're everywhere!!!
great pics!!!
luckynuts
10-10-2010, 10:24 AM
Great story and pics. Thanks for the close-ups pretty country and nice looking bears. Yes we had our share of bears on this years moose hunt. it's a little unnerving when a bear takes a shit bigger than your quad :-D. good luck with the draw looking forward to a great story next Spring
W.
moosinaround
10-10-2010, 10:45 AM
Nice bears for sure..........................Now whats up with the elk rack on yer back in posts from a couple days ago???? Come on Mister!! :wink: Moosin
rockdog
10-10-2010, 04:43 PM
Great pics!
Also, I phoned the Suzuki Foundation, and they officially deny the existence of those bears.
moose2
10-10-2010, 05:01 PM
Nice pictures Mark its nice to see so many grizz on one trip. We saw two different ones up north last week. Thanks for posting.
MIKE
Gateholio
10-10-2010, 05:21 PM
Great pics, Mark!:-D
Jagermeister
10-10-2010, 05:32 PM
Bet you had darkeness in your pants Mark. :biggrin:
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Didn't think that grizz would be that numerous in one small area, not being the social creaturs that they are.
Bet you had darkeness in your pants Mark. :biggrin:
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Didn't think that grizz would be that numerous in one small area, not being the social creaturs that they are.
Underwear was clean on both of us, the bears didnt seem threatening at all!
All 5 bears were within 400 yards of each other.
Practically could of shot of of them from the same spot!
Heck could of killed 4 with a bow!
Brambles
10-10-2010, 11:32 PM
Practically could of shot of of them from the same spot!
Heck could of killed 4 with a bow!
You should have
#1fishslayer
10-11-2010, 07:10 PM
Balls of steel. I would have been long gone. But thanks for the pictures very cool!
tomahawk
10-11-2010, 08:10 PM
Awesome pics of the bears Mark!!
adamgarbett
02-07-2011, 10:53 PM
great story and pics......what a day!
rainman
02-20-2012, 10:26 PM
had a leh bull moose draw this year just east of pg,i shot a big bull the first morning across a swamp.it was one HELL of a retrieve,boat and motor,winch up the bank yada,yada,etc,shot the bull at 9 am and got him back to camp at 6pm without stopping once to eat or drink.we hung the front quarters in our trailer and then ran out of gas,the hind quarters and back were still together .we decided to leave them until the morning,it was minus 2 so no problem.we had a truck and camper backed up to our 25 ft trailer with a tarp in between them.we were tired but happy so we had a couple rums before bed.the hind quarters were right at the door of the camper,so my hunting partner says is the meat going to be ok there and i reply with nothing is going to come in here to get it....haha....at 3 in the morning my buddy gets up to drain some of that rum and opens the camper door to the sound of teeth grinding on bone,kind of half asleep it took him a minute to look to where our hind quarters and back used to be,at this point he yells at me to grab my rifle a bear has the moose.i grab my 338 and put a shell in it then head out onto my tailgate,my buddy shines a flashlight into the bush and at about 50 feet mr grizz stands up on his hind legs and isnt happy,hes woofin and popping his teeth,his big yellow eyeballs will be forever etched in my memory, they looked like they were a foot apart,i put the crosshairs of my 338 between his big yellow eyeballs then went up a foot and a half and fired.he dropped down then ran into the bush a little ways.......my buddy says now what and i say i dont know, so after a quick discussion we decide to fire up the generator,shine our lights into the bush then go get our moose back.we take my quad into that thick shiite and with me at guard with my 338 my buddy hooks the winch up to the moose.if that doesnt pucker your arse i dont know what will,we get the moose back into camp and leave the generator and lights on for the rest of the night without incident,the next morning we go to retrieve our boat and motor and they are both 10 ft under water,our unhappy grizz went back and sank it,bit holes in the gas tank, bulb etc .we hunt that day and then go to bed that night without seeing the bear, i should mention though that that morning we were looking where the bear dragged our moose and he didnt drag it,there were no drag marks in the mud ,he picked it up and walked off with it.....hanging at the butcher it weighed 675 pounds after the bear ate the back straps,so do the math and you can figure out what both hind quarters, back,legs and hide would have weighed.that night around 3 am again our camper started doing the hippy,hippy shake,he was pushing on the camper right above my head,he pushed it 3 or 4 times then i heard him grunting and running away.if the camper wouldnt have been tied down im sure he would have pushed it out of the truck.that morning my buddy and i decided we already had one nice moose maybe it was time to go mulie hunting 500 miles away....
REMINGTON JIM
02-21-2012, 09:46 PM
Thats quite a storey - not much fun in the middle of the night dealing with a g bear -******* got even with you -doing in the boat ! LOL glad it all worked out well ! RJ
srupp
02-21-2012, 10:36 PM
rainman...brings back memories... some of these bears are persistent...and can be very vendictive...yes I know giving human characteristics to animals doesnt make sense to some but some bears can be miserable SOB's...given the choice.. I give the bears the moose...some really bad things can happen really really fast..glad yours worked out pretty well...
Steven
bigslim
02-21-2012, 10:45 PM
had a leh bull moose draw this year just east of pg,i shot a big bull the first morning across a swamp.it was one HELL of a retrieve,boat and motor,winch up the bank yada,yada,etc,shot the bull at 9 am and got him back to camp at 6pm without stopping once to eat or drink.we hung the front quarters in our trailer and then ran out of gas,the hind quarters and back were still together .we decided to leave them until the morning,it was minus 2 so no problem.we had a truck and camper backed up to our 25 ft trailer with a tarp in between them.we were tired but happy so we had a couple rums before bed.the hind quarters were right at the door of the camper,so my hunting partner says is the meat going to be ok there and i reply with nothing is going to come in here to get it....haha....at 3 in the morning my buddy gets up to drain some of that rum and opens the camper door to the sound of teeth grinding on bone,kind of half asleep it took him a minute to look to where our hind quarters and back used to be,at this point he yells at me to grab my rifle a bear has the moose.i grab my 338 and put a shell in it then head out onto my tailgate,my buddy shines a flashlight into the bush and at about 50 feet mr grizz stands up on his hind legs and isnt happy,hes woofin and popping his teeth,his big yellow eyeballs will be forever etched in my memory, they looked like they were a foot apart,i put the crosshairs of my 338 between his big yellow eyeballs then went up a foot and a half and fired.he dropped down then ran into the bush a little ways.......my buddy says now what and i say i dont know, so after a quick discussion we decide to fire up the generator,shine our lights into the bush then go get our moose back.we take my quad into that thick shiite and with me at guard with my 338 my buddy hooks the winch up to the moose.if that doesnt pucker your arse i dont know what will,we get the moose back into camp and leave the generator and lights on for the rest of the night without incident,the next morning we go to retrieve our boat and motor and they are both 10 ft under water,our unhappy grizz went back and sank it,bit holes in the gas tank, bulb etc .we hunt that day and then go to bed that night without seeing the bear, i should mention though that that morning we were looking where the bear dragged our moose and he didnt drag it,there were no drag marks in the mud ,he picked it up and walked off with it.....hanging at the butcher it weighed 675 pounds after the bear ate the back straps,so do the math and you can figure out what both hind quarters, back,legs and hide would have weighed.that night around 3 am again our camper started doing the hippy,hippy shake,he was pushing on the camper right above my head,he pushed it 3 or 4 times then i heard him grunting and running away.if the camper wouldnt have been tied down im sure he would have pushed it out of the truck.that morning my buddy and i decided we already had one nice moose maybe it was time to go mulie hunting 500 miles away....
Not making any judgement call just want to know why you didn't kill the bear. Question to the HBC members what would you have done?
srupp
02-21-2012, 10:50 PM
hmmm pretty sure you are NOT allowed to shoot any bear in defense of meat..or big game...only if attacked and in imminent fear of death..bear was stealing the meat...can try and discourage this behavior but would be charged if they shot the bear...
Steven
BearStump
02-21-2012, 10:56 PM
Not making any judgement call just want to know why you didn't kill the bear. Question to the HBC members what would you have done?
he did the right thing and I'm sure that the next round would have been a kill shot had the bear not taken off into the woods.
We as hunters cant go killing bears based on a fear of them. we have to exercise sound judgement and sometimes that involves a big set of nuts to make the right decision.
That bear was just taking the free meal that was pretty much left out for him in his mind. And the bear was smart enough to take the hint to leave.
hunter1947
02-22-2012, 02:46 AM
Very scary thing with the sow and cubs that close me I would have been *hitting my self ,very nice pictures they are..
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