Bear hunting - Brown and Grizzly

[Naphtali]

Is brown and/or grizzly bear hunting legal in the United States? If it is, I anticipate such hunting can occur only in Alaska or under exceptional circumstance.

If it is legal, is the use of muzzleloading single shot rifles permitted? Anyone on the forum done it?

If muzzleloaders are permitted, please identify outfitters who guide muzzleloading hunters.

 

[Shifty]

There was a video out afew yrs ago of a hunter who practiced fast reloading of his ML then of him going after and taking a Grizzly ,can't remember any details though.

 

[BrownBear]

It's legal in Alaska, but non-resident hunters require a guide. The guides I know personally either don't know muzzleloaders from a hot rock or know a lot about them and won't allow clients to use them for bear.

Those in the hot rocks crowd will let you use about anything within the letter of the law, but when they're kinda doubtful about your arm or skills, they and their packers are all going to fire "backup" shots two milliseconds after you shoot BoomBAMBAMBAM, almost like one shot.

"Nice shot Sport! You sure flattened that bear!" Just don't count the holes or take the number too personally in that trophy hide. :rotf:

 

[Patocazador]

A number of years ago Montana allowed for an annual kill of grizzlies that amounted to 25 for all reasons, nuisance removal, vehicle-caused deaths, and hunting. My brother and I went on a 10 day bowhunt for elk in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and he bought a $25 grizzly license since he was a resident.
We both carried .44 magnum sidearms as well as our bows as a last resort against grizzly bears. The license made sure we wouldn't be fined if a bad situation occurred and we survived.

Just this week the three states adjoining Yellowstone were allotted potential quota percentage numbers for the eventual return of limited grizzly hunting.
If my memory is accurate, Wyoming got 58% of the quota, Montana 34%, and Idaho got 8%.

Hunting may return next year but, then again, maybe not.

 

[ddoyle]

There is guide in the Muskwa (northern b.c) who has had a (i assume rich) sheep hunter in camp for over a decade. This guy is patiently waiting to take a record sheep with a ML. He passes on a couple shots a year-------patient.

Anyway that is where i would start if i was dumb enough to wish a grizzly ill :rotf:

Dead grizzlies do not always know they are dead and 75 yards is covered in a blink of an eye. Just the thought of the smoke betraying your presence is too much for me.

IMHO there are more fun ways to spend 15 grand

 

[nwtradegun]

cost min. 8,000 to 15,000 dollrs you really want to hunt some animal that has you on the menu.

 

[mooman76]

I would definitely carry a backup piece.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

cost min. 8,000 to 15,000 dollrs you really want to hunt some animal that has you on the menu.

Well it was just a little black bear, but dropping a flint on a pan of powder at a bear that was about across the street close ( 27 yards) was a heck of a thrill....If old Fred Bear could stick um at that kind of yardage with a bow. I can't see why a nice .62 Flint wouldn't work a treat. :thumbsup:

:hmm: But do have your things in order before you go. A will, etc.

 

[nwtradegun]

it was 50 plus years ago my step brother was in the navy. he was stationed in Alaska . hell of a lot different . he started to hunt with a win. 30-06. hunted every animal you could. went grizzly hunting . he and a another guy. they found a trail thru the willows. followed it. griz bear stood up 75 yards away. he swares it was over 12 ft. tall. got the hell out of there as fast as they could.

 

[Spikebuck]

( 27 yards) was a heck of a thrill....If old Fred Bear could stick um at that kind of yardage with a bow. I can't see why a nice .62 Flint wouldn't work a treat.

Fred was a heck of a lot closer than that sometimes. If you watch the old video of him behind the big rock on the beach in Alaska when he shot what I believe was then the World Record brown bear, I think it was better measured in feet instead of yards. :shocked2: Ed Bilderback, his guide, along with Fred, had absolute nerves of steel.

Now for muzzleloaders, it has been done, albeit with modern muzzleloader...but we know they aren't any more effective than traditional at the right yardages. Personally, I think I'd want a big conical for something like this though.
http://nmlra.org/programs-2/longhunter-society/longhunter-photo-gallery/shockey-bear-2-4-09/

 

[BrownBear]

You know, I've seen a lot of bears, photographed a lot, and carefully studied lots of photos.

Get yourself a wide angle lens and get up close to the head while the sport is at the back end. You can make a cub look like a monster.

Now take a second look at how easily Shockjock is reaching across the bear's back. Heck, his arm isn't even straightened out. If that bear weighed more than 400 pounds, you could put the difference in a sandwich. It's a trophy photo alright, but a monument to a great photographer and not a hunter.

 

[Shifty]

Yea like on some of the videos where they take these 125 lbs Bears an set down way behind them to make it look like a 300lb animal,then on some of them they just walk up to them and the Bear looks like may 75 lbs.The biggest Black Bear i have saw killed went 450lbs on the scales and he took up a lot of the pick up bed.

 

[Spikebuck]

Obviously I'm no grizzly or brown bear expert. Just sayin' it's been done with ML's.

From a score standpoint (which on bears should be more relevant than antlered animals since it's actual skull length + width) it's just barely bigger than Pope & Young minimum, so would be considered a record book archery kill. It's 4 1/4" under B&C all time score minimum, 3 1/4" under B&C Awards level. So while not the biggest of the big, it's clearly not a cub either. :v

 

[BrownBear]

So while not the biggest of the big, it's clearly not a cub either. :v

If it's a coastal brown bear, it's one step past cubville- a "sub-adult" in biospeak and not even part of the breeding population yet. Mom kicked it out within the last year. Mature adult males top 1k and females run around 800. And shooting females is pretty much a no-no.

 

[Spikebuck]

I took it as being an inland Grizzly and not a Brown Bear since it says it's a Grizzly Bear above the picture.

Browns have to be 28" B&C for all time record book...a full 4" more than a Grizzly and even an inch more than polar bears! So clearly that bear would be a long ways from being a minimum trophy caliber Brown Bear.

So the point is well taken that a BIG Brown bear is going to take a lot more killing than a small inland grizzly.

I saw a video of Roger Raglin taking a Cape Buffalo with an experimental 50 caliber double rifle muzzleloader...I think it was a punishing load though...something like a 700+ gr conical pushed by 200 grs of powder. :shocked2: So big, tough stuff can be killed with front stuffers...was done with huge round balls back in "the days." So, if a person does their homework, can do the job both mentally and physically, and finds a guide to go along with it, it could be done.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Have you ever heard of Hugh Glass??

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Have you ever heard of Hugh Glass??

Naphtali asked if it was legal, where, and if anyone had done it.

He never asked about healthy.

My guess is hunting is more likely to get you killed then checkers, Bear hunting(of any kind)is more likely to get you killed then deer hunting, Brown/Grizzly more likely then black, and coastal more likely then inland. But you can still die playing checkers :idunno:

How much does he want to hunt grizzly with a single shot BP? Up to a point (risking guides or other people) it should be up to him. As to the guides, guides have gone into the "tall grass" after wounded game for 100+ years now, if the guide knows what Naphtali wants up front and takes the $....he too gets to pick his own risk.

A fulfilled life is not always a long life, ask Francis Macomber.

 

[Shifty]

So in other words don't take your wife with you when you go after DANGEROUS GAME!

 

[Shifty]

I as just reading the other day about taking some Grizzlie the other day in the areas surrounding Yellowstone a high portion of them in Wym then a smaller number in Montana then Idaho,my comp froze before i could finnish and now i can't find it again ,did anyone else read this,did i misunderstand the article.

 

[BrownBear]

So in other words don't take your wife with you when you go after DANGEROUS GAME!

And don't go doing it around where people live or where they play often.

More than once, we've had sports wound bears in our neighborhood and "remember" they have a plane to catch. Or some such. But they never stick around to finish the deed. And leave it to us to clean up their messes.

You can go home to your nice comfortable home where the biggest complaint is your neighbor's dog crapping in your yard and his cat peeing in the flowerbeds.

But in my neighborhood folks get downright cranky with visitors who leave behind wounded bears in the same places our kids play.

Soap box stored away now. :slap: