Early and late fall grizzly hunting tips

[Call of the Wild]

Last week I found out I wasn’t lucky on the Kamloops sheep LEH but I was a very happy hunter with a successful grizzly LEH license. I have planned two stone sheep hunt this year, first an 11 days hunt at the end of August and then a second 12 days hunt if I’m not successful the first time for early October.

Now I’ll be heading out for both hunts (I’m upgrading some gear for the cold late season) and I would appreciate any information about how to hunt grizzly for both times. I started to research on the forum but during the next couple weeks I’ll be seriously researching on the forum and other sources on how to hunt grizzlies

How I see the August hunt going is by glassing the hill sides and valleys for a ram and hopefully spot a grizzly worth a stalk. By that time I think they’ll be eating what ever wild berries are present or grazing on gentler grassy slopes/valley bottoms. So once I get to my planned sheep area I’ll be glassing with my partner for hours for both game, I’m planning to hunt in big mountains for that trip.

For my October hunt which will be for a stone sheep or a grizzly or unfortunately for me maybe both animal, I haven’t decided where I’ll be heading yet. I have few different spots in mind, I still have plenty of time to choose between big mountains country or smaller mountains where sheep are present. But my knowledge on how to find and where to expect grizzlies to be at that time of the year is limited. Now with a tag in my pocket I want to do my homework before heading out.

Here are a few questions I have in mind at this point:
- In what kind of country do grizzlies like to hang in October on average?
- While reading a few late season stone sheep hunting stories on the forum, I remember few members mentioning seeing more grizzlies in October because they’re on a search for food. If so glassing the hill sides and valleys should be a valuable technique also brown on white makes it somewhat easier?
- Should I expect them to be in big mountains or smaller mountains in late season?
- If I hunt where sheep like to winter expecting to find a ram what are my chances to see a boar?
- Hunting and glassing in high country (big mountains) at the end of August should produce opportunities to observe some bears? Last year I saw a sow with cubs in some big country.

I would appreciate any help/education on grizzlies. I want to make good use of that tag so preparation is the key for success I think.
Thanks

[yukon john]

"How I see the August hunt going is by glassing the hill sides and valleys for a ram and hopefully spot a grizzly worth a stalk."
I could be wrong but your grizzly leh probably doesnt start till sept 1

[RiverOtter]

His first hunt is at the end of August, so I assume there will be some overlap into September.

Never hunted grizz in the fall personally, so I won't be of much help there. A sheep gut pile might be a good place to start looking......:-P

[boxhitch]

I don't think bears change their food types until just before they go into the den, which will be after your hunt. And food can be anywhere, in the form of berries and veggies. Unless you have a buffet salmon stream nearby, or deep snow to cover the grasses and forbes, they can be feeding anywhere you can be looking. They spend more time in the swamps than out on the open slopes where the grass is thin.
But they do trigger onto protein, so if there has been hunting activity along a river, that might be more active for them.

The tough part will be , if you have both tags on the second hunt, choosing the priority. Either kill can mess up a couple days hunting.

[boxhitch]

What Do Grizzly Bears Eat?
The grizzly bear, like its cousin the black bear, is omnivorous, meaning it will eat plants, as well as insects and other
animals. Scavengers by nature, grizzlies spend most of their waking hours searching for food. Forbs, roots, tubers,
grasses, berries and other vegetation, and insects comprise most of the bear’s diet. But grizzlies are very adaptable,
finding and subsisting on a variety of foods if necessary. The grizzly diet can include small rodents, fish, carrion, and
even garbage and human food if it is easily available.
Food sources vary in availability from year to year, and from season to season. Grizzlies move throughout their
habitat looking for foods available at that time of year. The availability of many foods is known to the bears by
season, and the bears move to these areas based on their experience. In this way, the general seasonal distribution
and movements of bears are predictable. Ingestion of large amounts of food in a short time period is critical to
grizzly survival, since they are only active and feeding for 6-8 months of every year.
SPRING: Grizzlies emerge from their dens from late March to May, whenever young vegetation begins growing.
During the early spring months, bears move to low elevation areas, out of the snow, to feed on young, green
vegetation. Common spring food sources include winter-killed animals, as well as ants, grasses and sedges, clover,
dandelion, cow parsnip, and other plants.
SUMMER: From June through August, grizzly bears continue to eat forbs, dig for roots and tubers, and excavate
insects, such as ants and grubs. Common summer food sources are thistle, fireweed, mushrooms, and moths
clustering in rocky, high-elevations areas. In some areas, bears may prey for a few weeks on newly born elk, deer,
and bison calves, until the young animals become too fast to be captured. In late summer, berry-producing shrubs
provide a preferred food. For a few weeks during the summer, bears in the Yellowstone ecosystem catch cutthroat
trout in spawning streams around Yellowstone Lake and Henry’s Lake.
FALL: From September through October, foods such as berries, whitebark and limber pine nuts, insect nests, and
starchy tubers and roots are important for the grizzly to build up fat reserves before winter hibernation. Before
denning in late October or November, the bear spends more and more time searching for food and eating.

[boxhitch]

Typical pc article, no mention of dining on calves, fawns, lambs or kids.

[Call of the Wild]

"How I see the August hunt going is by glassing the hill sides and valleys for a ram and hopefully spot a grizzly worth a stalk."
I could be wrong but your grizzly leh probably doesnt start till sept 1


The season for stone sheep in BC is from August 1 to October 15 and grizzly in 7B start on August 15 to October 31. In region 6 you’re right the season for grizzly starts on September 1 to November 15.

I’ll gladly take a mature ram or grizzly during both hunts and probably go for a grizzly/moose combo hunt after the sheep season close if I still have a tag.

[Call of the Wild]

Typical pc article, no mention of dining on calves, fawns, lambs or kids.

Come on they don’t kill calves and fawns, that would be cruel and hurt them. :razz: