Too many bears

[abbyfireguy]

Howdy all,
Going to be using the new Excal up in the PG area for moose. My hunting partner of 30 + years now works out of PG and is in our hunting areas several times a week.
He says he has never seen so many bears crawling around,both blackies and Grizz.
My question is,with all the bears ,can or should I pack my 300 WSM with me when out with the bow as a safety thing.
Can't rely on the bow if a bear decides to horn in on my moose area.
A bow is not a firearm so I should be ok packing the 300 WSM along for the hairy black carnivores to keep my hide safer!!

[Bow Walker]

Short answer is YES - you can pack your rifle with you while bow hunting.

[Mikey Rafiki]

Ya, I think that's a no brainer.

Me and my bro will have my .325 short mag and a can of bear spray each when we head out in the morning. My buddy is bringing his 12G defender when he comes in on Friday. We will have at least one person with gun in hand while gutting.

[abbyfireguy]

Its hard to for me to realize the increase in the past 20 years in the bear numbers in the 5-13,7-11,6-1 triangle area. We started hunting that area in 1981 and for 10 years would see 2 or 3 blackies every day and 2 grizz total in the first 10 years. Now we easily see 10-15 blackies a day and a grizz every other day.
Makes you start to always be looking over your shoulder and any crack in the bush has me on edge.
Has me wondering what we will do with the gutting and packing of quarters this year if we are so lucky??? Quess we will hang the quarters high and keep a smudge fire burning close by..Hate to shoot a blackie or grizz,but if either come into our camp its dead meat,I'm not going to be one of those guys sitting there and watching a bear rip the crap out of my camp,meat or putting anyone in danger. A lead injection will cure the situation or at least drive the bugger off.

[Stéphane]

Myself, I wouldn't bring a rifle. Living on the edge.






But really, it's because I don't own one.

[madrona sh]

Keep a clean camp etc you know bear country ethics. Make sure when packing meat out and coming back to your kill to really be aware of your surroundings. It's the Grizzly (Brown Bear) taking over your kill that would be an issue.

[abbyfireguy]

Yup,have always had a super clean camp since we started hunting 35 years ago. Never had too much bear problems. Hope to keep it that way.
I don't trust bears any where to be predictable.

[steelheadSABO]

Think of it this way. So your out bow hunting and if the hunting is slow you brought out your rifle to do some shooting/make sure it's shooting good for when rifle season opens then when a grizzly charges, you can use the rifle to protect yourself

[high and to the right]

TIP: When you have an animal down and have to go back to it the next day, stick a pole between its ribs with some cloth, tape, etc at the top so it sticks up from the carcass like a flag. Put it so you can see it from a bit of a distance. If the flag is up, a bear has not disturbed the carcass. If it is down - look for brown!!!!!

[325]

Keep a clean camp etc you know bear country ethics. Make sure when packing meat out and coming back to your kill to really be aware of your surroundings. It's the Grizzly (Brown Bear) taking over your kill that would be an issue.

Or a bear coming into your calls. We called in a black bear last year while bugling elk.

[madrona sh]

Black bears like to eat Elk and Moose calves. In some places they also prey on large ungulates.