The dinner bell is a rifle shot, not an elk bugle.
Don't worry. Tons of people archery elk hunt WY every year in Grizz country and a grizz death has been rare. The most recent guy who was killed was alone so it's speculation as to what happened.
Driving the freeway 100s of miles to the hunt is probably more dangerous than elk hunting.
You'd be wise not to hunt alone and carry bear defense.
Lost calf calls are not in my quiver of tricks in Grizz country.
Guys are tired of dealing with the bear issue.
Another thing is if you have to leave part of your elk overnight the odds are you will be competing with a bear for it. Just try to remove your meat from the carcass and hang 10' high away from the leftovers. Most of the time a grizz will bury the carcass and camp on it leaving your meat alone.
One last thing is have fun. This is a great area and it sounds like you will be with a couple of Wyoming boys that know the drill. Listen to them and you should have no problem.
I have myself been charged by a grizz while cow calling !! I was seeing this bears tracks and scat everyday , this Grizz would step into my tracks i laid the hike out ! I knew it was only a matter of time before we bumped into each other. I should have packed up and vacated the area but after 5 days of elk less encounters and miles of hikes I finally found the elk along with the wolves and the grizz. . It was about 9am a bull was screaming to my east from a thick timber patch were they bedded,, I figured i would annoy him and blasted some bugles and then hi pitched cow calls .. The wind was perfect coming into my face . After a few minutes i heard a stic snap behind me HMMM i thought ok its just a sat bull coming in ,, but my scent was blowing in its direction.. Few minutes passed then i heard running like a large animal ok i figured wind gave me up . I then stood up to see what was running !!!At first glance i see its nose thru the sage and think its a wolf , then i see its a Grizz heading right for me .. I instantly reach for my bow that was leaning on the sage .. Arrow gets snagged in sage ,comes off the rest.. The bear and i then lock eyes at about 12 yards. He then runs to my left and then runs right by me mere yards . AS he comes past me i move towards him in a fast motion . He continues past me and i charge in his direction . While he past me he is looking over his shoulder at me and tail tucked like a scared dog . The Grizz ran right at the bulls direction. I did not have a gun for protection! I did have spray but never thought about reaching for it . What i think helped me was i was wearing my leaf suit top and makes one look a lot larger then one is. Whatever it was either luck or God, both the bear and i only walked away with a good story. I was back up that mountain next day , friend stayed in camp and fished !!! I since have also had a bull claimed by a grizz while hunting alone . The year i was charged was a low food source for the grizz . The Wy grizz has a attitude, many times they have been darted and moved and due to no hunting regards us hunters as no threat.
When u have a elk down MOVE ASAP limit the amount of time at kill site. Move meat away and do not return to kill site . DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN . Have a partner as a armed guard . Talk about what to do in case u get charged and attacked.
In 2013 i killed my bull no grizz sign all week within 12 hours of the kill a grizz moved into the area his tracks led right to a spot were i skull capped my bull.
My friend hasnt been back to WY since we also called a wolf into 20 yrds !!!
Growing up in the Bronx must give you nerves of steel. Great story.
Personally, wolves don't bother me in the least. I believe they could be dangerous, and don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to deal with a couple, or even a single rogue wolf, looking for trouble, but I would ten to one, maybe more, rather deal with two large adult male wolves, than one smallish adult sow grizzly bear.
Good luck and after it is all over, I believe you will come away with a good hunt, in beautiful country, and at worse, come away with a story similar to cityhunter's.
With that said, cityhunter, I must say, you must be a man's man, because, when you mentioned that you aggressed towards the bear, I thought to myself, I would have been too scared to do anything, and honestly, I think what I would have done, would have been too just stand still, I may not have had a choice for that matter, as I may have been actually scared stiff. But, I do believe you did the right thing in your situation. I believe the bear saw you as a fight, rather than an easy meal.
Also to the original poster. You can call the biologist in the area right before your hunt and they will tell you if there has been any problems in particular in any certain location, that way, you may attempt to avoid them. I spoke with the warden for the area I am probably putting in for next year, and he said that in recorded history, there has never been a fatality due to a bear attack - and the unit was close enough for you to throw a rock into, so I know that when he spoke, he was encompassing your unit as well.
My biggest problem was, I most likely will be hunting alone. I would be fairly comfortable with just one more person along. It is easy to say, sitting in the comfort of our homes, but I am certain you will be fine and have a great time.
The past year has been spent pouring over maps and google earth. The terrain looks the same as my annual trips into the Frank Church in November.
What do you think about elk movement? Do they feed up high or in the creek bottoms at night?
Photo: Frank Church elk hunting 2012
Yes, there are Grizz. Yes, Grizz can rip your liver out with one swipe of their claw. Yes, they're becoming more common.
You can hear a hundred stories about charges, sightings, etc, but the only story that matters is the recorded numbers: How many hunters are dying/being mauled in the lower 48 from Grizz?
Even further for the sake of the OP, how many hunters are being killed/mauled in unit 61 of Wyoming? I know the answer. I applied there two years ago and looked these things up as I felt it my responsibility as a father and since I was taking my dad along with me.
If you base opinions off of stories that people tell, you get your head filled with urban legend and grandeur.
All the medical books that show pictures of rashes, they never show the mild case or the borderline case. The pictures are always the wildest, most extensive cases, because, that's what sticks out to someone who's taking the pictures for a book (telling a story, of sorts). "Wow Sally, this one looks terrible! Lets take a picture of it for the book!" Then you see your first patient with psoriasis and you don't know what it is because, that couldn't be the same thing, the picture looked like an alien!
It's the same way with things like perceived danger from bears. You hear some stories and form an opinion. Stories about being charged. Stories about... bears! They're scary things!
Look up how many hunters are being killed/mauled in your unit. Then look up how many hunters are going into your area. Then look up how many hunters are being mauled/killed in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming combined. Then look up how many hunters are going into grizz areas yearly. Simple division will tell you your relative risk.
I look these things up so I can form opinions based on fact, not emperic evidence. I looked up my yearly odds of dying on the freeway if I commuted on it daily before I took my last job.
Here's the summary: If you drive a freeway to work everyday, there's a good chance that your risk of injury or death is substantially greater driving the freeway to work for a year than it is on your yearly elk trip. This is by far the case where I live. You'll have to compare your freeway for yourself.
To the outfitter who reported more frequent and aggressive behavior: With all due respect (and I really do mean that) how many of your hunters have been mauled or killed? If the answer is 1 or more, that's something! But you didn't list any so I doubt there have been any. If the answer is zero, than your experience could be nothing more than conjecture or personal feeling. Personally, I've learned not to form opinions based on conjecture or personal feeling because most of those opinions have turned out to be false or misguided. And to be fair, despite this increase, you still make your living in this area? You still take hunters, in good conscience, into these areas?
I've gone on 6 back country backpacking/hunting trips now into Grizz areas. I am certainly more cautious. But I know what the risks are and I've decided not to let those risks lead to erroneous fear.
Cityhunter's story is harrowing. Most people would chit their pants.
But I'll tell you another thing about Louis: Even after this happened, the very next year, he was still trying to get the very same tag. Why? Because he knows the risks and he knows the rewards. He's measured them and he lives without fear.
If you hunt with lower 48 Grizz, it's true: You could get your intestines ripped out by a bear. But you could also have them ripped out by a 16 year old girl on a cell phone on the way there.
Sounds like some nights in the younger years....
Vernon Edeler's Link
The encounters I have had are listed in the order of most frequent to least. 1. Bears in camp at night. This effects my REM sleep. 2. Bears on a carcas or come to a kill. 3. chance encounters while traveling to/from hunting and camp. To be clear when Im talking about camp it's not at the trail head or a camp ground it's in 10-20 miles. Trail heads and campgrounds tend to get less grizz encounters but it still happens especially on years when white pine cones don't grow.
Again you are going to have a great hunt. Enjoy it and post up your story when you get back home.
If u fear bears then these units wouldnt be a fun hunt due to the fear factor one cannot hunt elk if u are consumed with grizz. I recall just after i got charged i was in a elk herd calling and all i could see was brown legs coming my way , Yikes it was a elk but i was ready to get out of there. !!
By the way, the posts above, were great. Encouraging, as well as educational. Those were my thoughts exactly, the fact that I was most likely in more danger traveling to and from the hunting location, than while hunting. But again, I just couldn't close the deal, especially concerned of, the what if, when I punch my tag.
Again good luck and you will definitely have a great time.
Still, I feel that if I die to a Grizz, I died on my terms, doing what I love. I'd much rather die at the paws of a Grizz than to dementia at 95 years old.
That said, I'd rather not die at all, but I really feel that I can hunt in Grizz country all my life and come out without a claw mark on me. If I didn't, I wouldn't go and I'm going again this year so long as I don't draw in NM.
I think that having an honest conversation with yourself about the true risks and deciding if you're willing to take that risk is important. You have to go in knowing you're going to be ok.
royboy, you've got a fantastic tag in a fantastic area. You're going to have a fantastic hunt. Bugle away without fear. The bulls will be. Just keep your head on a swivel like they do.
I've always felt the same way. It would be a gruesome death, but my grandkids would have a cool story.
My wife and I did call a big boar grizz in a few years ago. We saw some elk and a huge black bear the night before but didn't have time to get to them. The next day she brought her bow and I brought a rifle. The rifle was for the black bear as rifle season was open for them.
We got to where the elk were and set up and started calling. Right away my wife indicated she heard something coming. My hearing is bad and I couldn't hear a thing. Finally I heard it right in front of us and was thinking a bull was coming in silent. The next time I heard it it was right beside us. We were in some 4 foot high huckleberry brush and I couldn't see an elk where the noise was. I Knew what was up and yelled hey bear. The grizz stood up on his hind legs at 10 yards. I continued to yell and he huffed and dropped down and ran away. It was funny how small that 300 mag felt in my hands with the bear that close.
Looking back on it that bear was much quieter coming in than an elk would have been. He was basically stalking his dinner.
I've done a lot of calling in grizz country and that's the only predator I've ever had come into my elk calls....that I know of.
http://www.elk-hunting-tips.net/bear-spray.html
