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I'm looking at WY elk GMU 81/82. I've been talking with the USFS and Game/Fish in those units. A recurring theme is "pretty good Grizzly bear population". One bio I spoke with stated she won't let her boyfriend hunt over there alone.

I've never seen a grizzly in the wild. I have dealt with black bears my whole life but know nothing about grizzly's. My B-I-L hunts WY for mule deer and they've had issues with grizzly's in some of the units east and southeast of Yellowstone. They had to shoot in front of a bear several years ago to finish up an elk kill. It left after a couple shots into the dirt in front of it.

My concern is that I'll likely be hunting by myself for a few days maybe even most of a week. I don't really want to mess with grizzly's. If its the occasional sighting, fresh tracks, etc - I'm cool with that. If I need to worry about bears when I go back to an elk kill, not so much.

For guys familiar with those GMU's what has been your experience with the bears?

I haven't hunted those Wyoming units but I live and hunt in N.W. Montana and for the last 8 years in a row I run into atleast one.Don't hunt alone anymore for that specific reason call it being a wuss or whatever. The return to a kill in G-Bear country is risky that you may have one on it. We hunt with a pack on our backs at all times so if at all possible don't have to leave an animal in the woods all night. 4 years ago here 2 guys were returning to a kill that was left all night and a G-bear attacked them got one on the ground and his buddy shot it, later he said he probably would have been dead if he wasn;t there to shoot it. Not trying to scare you it's just things to consider when hunting in G-Bear country.

Grizzly country is grizzly country.

Be careful and carry spray and a gun.



Travis

They just want their picture taken, don't be scared....

Area 82 is a wilderness I believe, so you would have to be with a guide being a non-resident. Area 81 is big and would keep you busy. Its been a while since I lived in that area, but yes there are plenty of bears there. Blackrock creek and the head of Spread crk particularly should hold bears, but also elk. Play by the rules and go hunting.

I meant to say 81 and 83. 82 is all wilderness.

Your horse is certainly paying attention!

I have no worries in that setting. Its the whole downed animal issue that causes me to pause. My normal MO is to quarter an elk when I kill it - daylight or dark. I've quartered them several times after dark. I'd hate to quarter an elk by myself and try to keep an eye out for bears in the dark. Might be pretty interesting..............

You're right to be concerned about grizzly's in those areas, because there are plenty of them in there. Keep a clean camp, keep your head on a swivel, and carry bear spray and you should be alright. If I had to leave an elk and come back for it I'd try and suspend it high between two trees, well away from the gut pile. A griz might still be in the area but at least he couldn't "claim" the elk.

I have hunted NW Wyoming multiple times, but have yet to see a grizzly bear. I know they are around, however, and the advice above is spot on. Use basic precautions and be alert.

bwinters,

Yes there are plenty of griz in 81 and 83 and 68, too for that matter. Togwotee Pass has frequent griz sightings right off the highway at times, both sides. The advice given so far is right on. I have hunted all these areas. In 81 - Spread Creek drainage - it is not uncommon to find bear scat in the road, particularly as you get toward Grizzly Creek. In that area, in snow one afternoon during elk season, partner and I went separate directions for an hour of exploration and concluded upon rejoining that we had identified no less than 5 different bears within a single small drainage, less than a square mile. We found similar density near the end of Lava Mountain one day and backed out of the area due to the freshness of the tracks of many sizes, including small.

In 83 that is where a guy was mauled several years ago and his buddy killed the griz when it ran into him in thick cover after leaving the injured hunter. In this case it was pretty clear the bear had more than one gutpile it was probably guarding. That is an added hazard beyond your own kill. After a few days there will be gutpiles you don't know the location of. Birds will be your friend in these cases, but you can't always count on birds to warn you. If you identify the location of a carcass or gutpile, avoid it like death. Some of the cover in there is very thick. There was a fire through Moccasin Basin in area 83 a few years ago that opened a lot of the area. Still has standing dead trees. That changed a chunk of that area.

Also the Togwotee Pass/Union Pass area has plenty of wolves, and that has changed the elk herd dynamic from large groups to sometimes as few as 3-5 elk that are very spooky if the wolves have passed through recently.

We do our best to get the meat out same day - that may mean not going in too far. We try to get the meat staged a good distance from the carcass and gutpile. The boned out meat is in garbage bags, located in a spot we can see from a distance if at all possible. We make a lot of noise on approach coming back. Horses make the whole thing easier and safer, but we don't have any.

Most experts say 3 or more people together is safer in a bear encounter. One person is a lot more vulnerable. If alone you really have to be alert. Many of the encounters I know of - with or without injury have involved a person walking into a bear that was probably in a daybed or near a meat cache. The surprised bedded bear is more likely to just take a swipe on the way by, but a bear on meat will defend it. Mama bears are another story, but by fall the cubs are at least older and Mama may be less aggressive. On the other hand, yearlings or 2-year olds may be more inclined to look for trouble.

True, it is a very uncomfortable feeling gutting an elk solo in some of these areas these days, especially in or near cover. That is why I have my rifle ready, and move it to keep it close, have my .44 mag on my belt, and keep bear spray immediately at hand with the safety off in such conditions. I am way happier and quicker at getting the job done when my partner is watching my back.

I have had no nose to nose encounters ... yet ... but tracks have said I just missed bears by minutes. Maybe they avoided me. Maybe I was lucky. Maybe if I had an animal down they would not have avoided me. When I find tracks that fresh, I quit hunting and leave that area. No way I am shooting something under those circumstances. I like snow - it tells me what is around. Dry ground, you never know what was near. In a lot of areas today, we hunt close to each other so we can cover each other if needed. Rather be solo, but things are different now.

Bottom line, be really alert and cautious. Take, and keep close at hand, a good sized canister of bear spray (not in your pack or under a jacket). Practice getting the safety off before you need to do so. If you encounter a bear, back off as smoothly as you can. If a bear is on what was your kill, it is HIS. If camping keep a clean camp and keep food unavailable and away from where you are sleeping if tenting or not in a hard shell camper.

Good luck.

Great post and spot-on info.

I've hunted elk in Wyoming twice, both times N.W. of Dubois, up in the Pinnacles country, just S.E. of Yellowstone Park. There were quite a few grizzlys in that area and we saw one. We saw plenty of tracks, however.

One day a Wy. Game Warden and a Wy. Game biologist came into camp. They said they had done a flyover a week before searching for grizzlys and they had counted 23 in the area. Naturally they advised us to be very watchful and keep the camp clean. Also said if we killed an elk to stay away from the gut pile and get our meat back to camp and hanging high in the trees.

We did so and we had no problem with grizzlys... which suited us right down to the ground.

L.W.

I live hunt and guide in NW Wyoming. I haven't hunted the units you are thinking of, but the same things apply.

If I leave a kill out overnight I expect to find a bear on it or that one has been there.



This bear is on a elk that I had to leave overnight. Moving the meat away is good, but I've had bears pack the meat, and actually the horns once too, back to the carcass and bury everything. Move if you can to a place you can see from a ways off.

Once a bear is on a kill they are reluctant to leave. Several people and horses helps, but even then they don't move far. A lone hunter going back to a kill could get exciting.

We usually see several bears every fall that aren't on kills. And tracks are common.

Coming nose to nose with a bear will get your blood pumping.

If you are camping there is a whole set of rules you'll legally need to follow.

I hunt the Bob Marshall alone a lot, and there are lots of bears. Two things to consider. Bear spray works well, but if you are down wind,you will incapacitate yourself as well as the bear. I have practiced spraying it, and knocked myself down in a swirling wind. Not a good condition to be in with a bear. Secondly,don't shoot at ones feet to try and scare em. If you are going to shoot, don't play around, get the job done. Bears are too fast to play around with. They may run at you not away, and their you are trying to put another round in the chamber.

Scary stuff. I don't think I would enjoy that.

After talking to several bios and G&F folks in the area, I've decided 81 is not for me. I was surprised how many of the local bios/G&F folks told me they don't hunt in 81 because of the bears.

I'm looking in areas south of Jackson and also in Medicine Bow NF.

One of the biggest benefits of grizzly bears for environmental extremists, and anti hunters is that the bears keeps a lot of people out of country that they would normally go. Great places for fishing on the front of Montana never see a fisherman. If I fished those areas, I would have to tie a fishing line on the barrel of my benelli shotgun. Its unfortunate, but that is the reality.

I saw more Grizzlies near Dubois WY this summer and fall than the previous 5. More wolves too. I saw a pack of 21 in the Dunoir drainage and 22 in the East Fork.

Great advice, Been wanting to go west for an elk hunt,and bears could make things "interesting"

All my backpacking and hunting is in grizzly country... I don't let bears dictate my recreation decisions.