Grizzly bears

[Lefty]

Friday I received a letter from the Idaho Fish and Game that I was hunting in grizzly bear country.
Saturday My wife and I were stopped and checked by a Fish and Game officer. Her first concern: "Where is your bear spray" it was on my hip.
The CO reminded me that a sow and cubs were often seen where we hunt.
Ill also state it was a bit more exciting walking in the dark
So guys carry something,.. a big pistol or bear deterrent

Hunter attacked by grizzly bear in Island Park on Monday
• By Cydney McFarland
ISLAND PARK — A 55-year-old man from Idaho Falls is being treated at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg after surviving an attack by a mother grizzly and three cubs at about 9 a.m. Monday near Island Park.
The man, who has not been identified, was bow hunting for elk in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near Sawtell Peak. His 911 call to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office placed him in the Yale Creek area.
According to Idaho Fish and Game spokesman Gregg Losinski, the man sustained no broken bones but did suffer extensive soft tissue damage. The man was able to hike out of the area after the attack and was then transported to the hospital by Island Park Ambulance.
After the attack, seven Idaho Fish and Game wardens went out to investigate the attack site. They found a deer carcass near a stream, which, Losinski said, suggests that the situation was a chance encounter that surprised both the hunter and the bear.
According to East Idaho News, the man was carrying bear spray but wasn't able to reach it before the attack. He was able to scare the mother grizzly off by firing at her at point-blank range with a .44 Magnum handgun.
The man said he shot the bear, but Losinski said a Fish and Game investigation of the attack site showed no evidence that the bear or her cubs had been hit. The investigation into the attack will continue to be handled by Idaho Fish and Game.

[WapitiTalk1]

Thanks for sharing this Dennis, and, the reminder to pack some sort of bear deterrant in brown bear country (if not both). Sure glad the hunter made it out OK; could have been much worse. Sounds like he hit the sow if he fired a shot at close range like he said. I'm curious how far the F&G take the investigation to look for sign the sow was in fact hit?

[Lefty]

A researcher told me that a gun report so close is very disorienting and often better than a bullet in the vitals on grizzlies.

In the heat of the moment weird things happen. Years back I knew one of the fellows involved in a robbery turned shootout; 18 bullets exchanged between 2 LEO and the robber, the shoot out was between two buildings. Investigators found 2 rounds to the buildings, one in the perp. All shots over the top of a car hood-5-7 feet apart

[flatlander507]

I think this is attack number 3 on a bow hunter within the past 4 years in 62/62A?

[Lefty]

There was a lot of chaos about bear baiting this past year in the Island park zone , most of the trouble was caused by a fellow who though baiting bears caused bears to eat his catfood on the deck

Ive run into some of these fellows a couple times the past years

Idaho Fish and Game Press Release
Grizzly with cubs © Ken Cole
Bear Who Bit Hunter Located
DNA is a powerful tool.

Preliminary results of saliva from one of the bite marks where a female grizzly bear bit a hunter on June 28 returned a match to a radio-collared grizzly with three cubs.
The hunter was one of three eastern Idaho black bear hunters who got an unpleasant surprise on the morning of June 28 when their hounds surrounded a female grizzly with cubs.
The bear took after the hunters, knocked down Keith Klingler, 38 of Idaho Falls, bit him on the right arm and tossed him around. His brother, Eric Klingler dug his .44-caliber Magnum handgun out of his pack and took a shot at the bear, deliberately firing high to avoid hitting his brother.
He may have missed or only inflicted a flesh wound. A scheduled Idaho Fish and Game grizzly bear monitoring flight in early July in the same area located the collared bear and her three young cubs. All four appeared fine, said Daryl Meints, regional wildlife manager for the Upper Snake Region of Idaho Fish and Game.
Keith Klingler was treated at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg for lacerations to his right arm. He had no other apparent injuries.
The Klingler brothers and Corey Raichart, all three from the Idaho Falls area, were hunting black bears with hounds on Bishop Mountain near Harriman State Park. They released their hounds on a scent, and the dogs soon surrounded what the men thought was a black bear. When they arrived, they quickly realized they had a grizzly.
The hunters reported seeing two cubs with the female grizzly. None of them noticed whether the bear was wearing a radio-collar.
Fish and Game officials will continue weekly monitoring from the air, but they do not plan to track the bear on the ground unless they get a mortality signal. Officials also recommend that anyone heading into the backcountry carry bear spray.

[elkstalker]

Griz are the only predator that really gets me nervous in the woods. They have no sense of fear of man, and could care less who you are and what you are doing. If they decide they want you or what you have, better be ready to defend yourself. This is why I rarely hunt in griz country.

[smokingunz]

Do you guys generally just carry bear mace or a pistol or both during archery season?

[wawhitey]

Do you guys generally just carry bear mace or a pistol or both during archery season?

I prefer a big bore revolver. I know i hear a lot of "statistically bear spray is more effective," but i think a large part of that comes from most people being incompetent with their guns, choosing the wrong gun, and choosing the wrong bullets. If you use a sidearm enough and choose the right gun and bullet combo, i think lead is best. If you shoot your sidearm once a year at a range for 5 minutes, maybe just carry spray.

[Clawsar]

Bear spray for sure! My hunting partne used to carry a .454 in addition to his bear spray and is a great shot with it. I'm the end though, when you get rushed by a bear and have 2 seconds to deter it, a cloud is more effective than the two reports of a gun that probably won't hit anywhere near the nervous system.

We are blessed to live in griz country, and know that they need to be respected. Sometimes I bring a sidearm, but always carry bear spray. Good luck.

[smokingunz]

Sounds good. Thanks guys. I think I'll carry spray for sure and may carry both.

[Kleinpm]

I hunt in Griz country just north of Yellowstone. In fact I hunt just a few miles from an area known to have the highest density of Grizzly bears in North America the first two weeks of September when they are digging Yampa roots. I carry spray, I stay alert, I figure if its my time its my time.

Grizzly bears generally go out of their way to avoid people. It is just getting to the point that there are more bears than ever and more hunters than ever and more hunter/bear conflicts. The only bears that scare me are the ones that kill and eat people like the recent incident in Yellowstone. That bear wasn't just cuffing around a potential threat to her cubs. That guy was dinner and similar incidents have happened 3 times in 4 years.

I think bottom line is to hunt wild country you take your chances with wild animals. I am much more comfortable in the woods with Grizzly bears than I am in a city with the other kind of animals we have to worry about these days.

Patrick

[Indian Summer]

That hunter said that he got to the stream and looked left and there were 4 bears already coming at him. In his case I think spray would have been the better choice. But every situation is different and sometime a gun is best. The most important thing is to keep whatever you have where you can grab it quick and keep your eyes open. The bear was already biting him when he fired the pistol.

[Lefty]

Hmmm,. Im starting to get the memo.
Friday night the fellows on the same trial head as myself we leaving in their truck before shooting light was gone,Saturday; I though they were lazy or late
Not a single set of hunters came up the road I was camped on until first light. Each of the three nights I never saw ( or heard) any vehicles on the roads after dark.
Elk hunting is definitely more exciting in grizzle country

Grizzly bear encounter bonds mother and son
By Michael H. O’Donnell modonnell@journalnet.com Sep 5, 2015 Comments
Grizzly
Rick Bowmer/Associated Press
Jesse Smith and his mother, Christy, discuss their encounter with a grizzly bear last weekend while hunting near Island Park. They were sitting in a tree stand when the grizzly came upon them.
Mothers and sons can bond in many ways, but sitting in a tree stand and staring down the toothy muzzle of grizzly bear is not one of them — unless you’re Christy and Jesse Smith of Chubbuck.“We were both trembling pretty good,” Christy said about having a grizzly on the ground immediately below her. “I almost dropped my cellphone.”“I happened to look over the edge of the tree stand and come eye-to-eye with him,” Jesse said. “It was pretty scary. His face was huge.”The mother and son might have been shaken by the bear encounter as they remained together in a tree stand 15 feet above the bear, but they both said the moments of tension created a special shared event.“It was more of a bonding experience really. It was scary, but it was kind of a trust to make the safest choices you can,” Christy said. “Obviously our choices were in our favor because we’re still here.”After remaining in their stand for about 15 to 20 minutes, the grizzly ambled off into the woods. Mother and son waited a while and then came down from the tree about the time her husband arrived armed with a high-powered rifle and bear spray. The family left the woods together and never saw the bear again.“I kept watching behind us all the way out as we walked back to the truck,” Christy said.It all started as a routine hunting trip for the Jamen and Christy Smith family last weekend as they prepared for the Aug. 30 opener for both grouse and bow hunting season in their favorite zone of the Island Park area. Oldest son Jesse, 13, was taking his first big game trip with a compound bow. Little brother Cody, 8, was armed with a new shotgun and going after grouse.Before first light on Sunday, Jamen led his wife and oldest son to the tree stand in the woods a few miles from a cabin that has been in the Smith family for decades. Everyone wore headlamps to help them on their journey in the dark.Once they arrived, Jamen and Cody left to pursue grouse. Christy and Jesse climbed up the tree to their stand, and then Jesse pulled his mother’s Mathews Ignition compound bow and his own Bowtech up the tree. They both had bear spray, and Christy had her cellphone.After quietly waiting and watching morning light penetrate the forest, the pair spotted a small group of cow elk come by out of range along with a four-point mule deer buck. Another 30 minutes passed before Christy spotted the dark shape of a bear about 50 yards away.The bear was moving toward their stand.“We were nervous so I texted the word ‘bear’ to my husband,” Christy said. “He texted back, ‘What kind of bear?’ and ‘How far?’”As the bruin moved closer, Christy was able to size it up, and she noticed the big hump above the front shoulders and the long claws.“I knew it wasn’t a black bear,” Christy said.Jesse was a little disappointed because he had a black bear tag in his possession. That disappointment soon turned to fear.When the bear reached the tree where the Smiths were perched, it stopped and began looking up.“He kept looking up,” Christy said, adding the grizzly never growled or made any moves that seemed aggressive.
After a few more tense text messages back and forth between Christy and Jamen, the bear moved off.Christy said she’s been hunting this same area near Island Park for more than 20 years, and it’s the first time she has had a close encounter with a grizzly. She has been with her husband on two occasions when he did bag black bears, but grizzlies haven’t been in the picture.The Chubbuck mother said she suspects people in the Island Park area haven’t been vigilant enough about storing garbage correctly, and the opportunistic bears have started to roam the area more frequently. An increase in the number of grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone area has also led to talk of possibly delisting the species as endangered.Two weeks ago a 55-year-old hunter from Idaho Falls was attacked by a grizzly bear while bow hunting in the Sawtell Peak area near Island Park. Three years ago a sow grizzly was shot while damaging cabin property near Island Park and a wildlife technician was attacked and bitten by a grizzly bear in July of 2013.But the threat of another grizzly bear encounter hasn’t dampened the Smith family’s enthusiasm for filling their big game tags this season.“We’re going to go back there again,” Christy said. “Our tree stands have been there for years.”“I want a big elk,” Jesse said.The Smiths were going to use the long Labor Day weekend to bag an elk, but Christy and Jesse said they would be on alert for any grizzlies in the area.“It’s not something we’re going to forget,” she said about her previous encounter