jawbone Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 Last article that I read about USFS grizzly defense stated that they carried shotguns and bear spray.They preferred to use the spray first, especially when confronted by a curious juvenile bear. We have lots of discussions about bears here in Montana. One incident in the Mission Mountains in Western Montana involved 3 rangers firing shotguns at a pair of charging grizzlies that got to within 15 feet of them before they were stopped. Another tale was about Lewis and Clark fending off grizzlies in Great Falls Mt. using long pikes in their 1800s expedition. A personal experience was finding grizzly dung next to a dead calf on one of our mining claims near Helena, MT. We usually brought along a rifle for protection against lions and bears (no tigers here). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothyf7 Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 If I came across that Biggun, while detecting... the detector behind me would find a 'Gold Brick'!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Herschbach Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 I saw a large cinnamon blackie recently while detecting in the Sierras. Probably a fully grown male, biggest I've seen since moving south. Came up on me while I was detecting, and headed for the hills when he got wind of me. Beautiful animal. I've had many bear encounters over the years in both Alaska and now California. It's obvious the bears know who the most dangerous animal is, and it isn't them. All you hear about is the extremely rare times when its not the bear on the losing end of things, and not about all the times people see bears and everyone minds their own business. https://www.flyrusts.com/bearviewing/katmai-national-park/ 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig It Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Spent many a day at Brooks before viewing platforms, Plenty of Bears.... Would get interesting when hooking a beautiful Brooks River Rainbow !!!! The good old day's !!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strick Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Nine summers commercial fishing out of Naknek and never made it to Brooks falls...some of the guys did after the season when it's crazy with bears there...there is a dump about half way between Naknek and King Salmon I was driving an old dodge charger back after picking up supplies 11pm one evening (still daylight) when a big brown bear runs out in front of me had to stand on the breaks and it was looking over his shoulder as it was running in front of me snarling lol...it was the first brown bear I'd seen...If you have never seen a brown bear foot print fresh in the sand when out in the bush it will give you a whole new out look on fly fishing alone ? strick 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig It Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 Hey Strick, I myself spent 12 years in NakNek / King Salmon area, I know that dump well, Haha !! Operation Manager / Refrigeration Tech for the 2 big shipping companies out of Bristol Bay.. I am a Silver Salmon Derby Winner out of Eddies Fireplace Inn in King Salmon, A lot of Great memories and Experiences from there. What Cannery did you guy's deliver to ? Also crab fish & tendered Herring and Salmon on the Crabber FV Seabrook, Much Younger Then LOL !!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSC Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 When I was younger when camping with my girlfriend, we were playing cards at out at a pickneck table, it was dark, 2 bears emerged from in back of our tent, I told her to stand up, but we were traped behind the seats and the table, 1 bear went on her side of the table, one on my side, the bear on my side, put his nose on my leg and both continued on to tip over the trash cans a few feet away, moved on to the camp above us. Relived that we had not had a problem with them, the folks at the next campsite we could hear banging pots and pans to scare them aeway. Tense moments for a little while but we did ok. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strick Posted August 21, 2023 Share Posted August 21, 2023 8 hours ago, Dig It said: Hey Strick, I myself spent 12 years in NakNek / King Salmon area, I know that dump well, Haha !! Operation Manager / Refrigeration Tech for the 2 big shipping companies out of Bristol Bay.. I am a Silver Salmon Derby Winner out of Eddies Fireplace Inn in King Salmon, A lot of Great memories and Experiences from there. What Cannery did you guy's deliver to ? Also crab fish & tendered Herring and Salmon on the Crabber FV Seabrook, Much Younger Then LOL !!!! We worked for Trident Seafoods it was called something else before that.... I was there then as well...were talking 19-20 years old at the time when I first started..and I'm 60 now lol...we just fished the Sockeye Run then got the hell out of there and kissed the tarmac when we got off the plane back home...rarely had time for anything as we were always on the water.. 32 foot gill net boat... first one was wood...leaked like a pasta strainer but swelled right up in a few days and then slowed down...we had a few strikes over the years and thats when we got to goof off and go sport fishing...I made a fishing pole out of an old fiberglass boat antenna one year and caught 32 pound King with it! I never crabbed up there but the stories they told us made it seem like we were fishing in a pond there in Bristol Bay. Small world Dig it bringing back more memories thanks. strick 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 In all my time in the wilds, I've seen far more black bear than grizzly. Black bear cause most of the trouble in our mountains, and they're very unpredictable. Sometimes you bang a shovel on the ground, yell, chuck some rocks, etc. and off they go. You know you're in trouble when they keep coming at you! (Been there, done that--a fat zero on the fun scale.) Plus, if a black bear attacks you (unless protecting a cub) it's because you're seen as a source of food, and so you're supposed to fight back with everything you've got to stay off the menu. Grizzlies usually attack to show dominance (once again, cub encounters excepted)--swat you down, stomp some, maybe chew on you a little (that'd be a tough undertaking to outlast), then they'll leave, supposedly. They are after all the apex predator in our mountains, so they can write their own rules, I guess. Had a double grizzly encounter one day, a couple of three-year-olds, ones just kicked off their momma's milk wagon. We were washing pay with a trommel, and the two grizzlies wanted to see what we were up to. So they got right close, then stood up. (As my dad used to say, "If you think a bear is big on the ground, just wait until it stands up!") Had a dumb idea to hop on the Honda Quad and gun the engine so they'd run away--only they came closer. Shut that Quad off right quick, and the grizzly twins dropped back to the ground and wandered away--they'd seen what they wanted to see, turned their backs on us and sauntered off. (I had a 12-gauge defender shotgun to-hand with buckshot as the first chambered round followed by four one-ounce rifled-slugs for backup, but I'm glad to this day that last resort that was never used--would have been a terrible jackpot of trouble with two grizzlies that close. I've seen other grizzlies as well, but usually at some distance--those are the grizzly sightings I enjoy the most. All the best, Lanny 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now