Bear hunting - Brown and Grizzly

[Shifty]

Good infom there Brown Bear ,i welcome your Soap Box speech's ,myself.

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks.
Traveling hunters can lose track of the fact that they're visitors. Picking up Snickers wrappers isn't enough.

 

[rushlake1]

Brown Bear....
Talked with one of the locals who scores for Boone n Crockett, Pope and Young...He mentioned that only the head and hide are taken after the Grizzly bear kill...Same with wolfs and its legal in Alaska?
Is there any truth in this statement.
I was taken aback by this comment.
I assume they aren't the best table fare?
Here in Wisconsin you would be written a hefty fine and possible license revocation for wanton waste of game.
I am not trying to start any issues just need to get my facts right.
Thanks..figured you be the go to on this subject.

 

[BrownBear]

Here in Wisconsin you would be written a hefty fine and possible license revocation for wanton waste of game.

Same in Alaska, and probably for higher fines and confiscation of your hunting gear including guns. But there are legal exceptions spelled out in law- including grizzly/browns. Never occurred to me that anyone would eat wolf, so dunno the details on that one.

There's an interesting side story, but I'll only give you the brief version: Friend of mine is an Alaska Native out in one of the villages. He was part of the rowdy young crew that fought the legal beagles for the right for Natives to subsistence hunt brown bears outside of the regular hunting seasons because their ancestors did it. Won the battle, and he dashed out so he could be the first Alaska Native to take a subsistence brown bear in many generations.

Found the biggest bear he could find and whacked it thoroughly, dragging it back to the village behind his 4-wheeler. None of the elders would accept any of the meat, and some of what he gave to young friends was cooked and discarded, the remainder returned to him with thanks. Rank, sour tough don't go far enough. Did I mention it was tough, sour and rank? His question to me was "Do you realize how long it takes to eat a whole brownbear when your neighbors won't even come eat with you?"

THEN and only then did he go back and talk to the elders. Tradition was to only shoot youngsters just kicked out by mom in spring, on the order of 300-400 pounds. No one with a lick of sense would shoot a big bear in the fall after a summer of feeding on salmon.

He still takes brown bear every year or two. In the spring, and weighing 300-400 pounds. Sweet, tender and flavorful. :rotf:

 

[Patocazador]

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.

See my post about 20 posts up. It describes the potential hunt parameters.

 

[Shifty]

Thanks ,i just didn't read it all i guess.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Its O.K to take your X wife.

 

[Ron LaClair]

Last year a customer of mine took this big Brown with a Longbow I made for him. One shot, one bear.

 

[rushlake1]

Thanks brown bear..Though you might have the skinny on this.
Grouse hunting buddy bow shot a 408 lbs. Wisconsin black bear in Sept.. it made the most delicious stew I have eaten...It was while we were getting it scored when the conversation turned to Grizzlies.

 

[BrownBear]

Couple of important points for munching AK bears, whatever the shape of it's claws:

1. Time of year. If you're filling freezer space, only take spring bears if you're anywhere near a salmon river. Fall far from salmon rivers- no prob and lots more sweet fat.

2. Kinda keep tabs on the vicinity of the hunting area. If there's been a lot of winterkill (deer, moose, elk, whatever) You might want to postpone your freezer filling. Stinking rotten carcasses are like candy to bears in spring. Same results as salmon.

 

[pab1]

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.

I have not read all the posts so ignore this if its been covered. Delisting of grizzlies seems to be making progress. I'm sure the number of tags will be low with a lot of applicants. So even if delisting happens your best chance for grizzly would still be Alaska.

I have a lot of respect for bears (both black and grizzly). I would definitely carry a backup weapon. Read the accounts of the Lewis & Clark Expeditions encounters with grizzlies. There's a reason their men soon "lost interest" in hunting them. You might want to check out the book Mountain Man & Grizzly by Fred Gowans. It has many accounts of run ins with grizzlies during the fur trade era.

Have you hunted or taken bear before? If not I would recommend putting some time in on black bear before chasing a grizzly. Having some experience and confidence in your ability would be a good thing. Especially considering the amount of money a guided hunt would cost and the pressure that would be on you in the heat of the moment.