Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Guide and hunter mauled, guide missing

Sure thing there Grizzly Adams, I am sure the closest you’ve been to a Grizzly was watching TV...

One often hears the Lewis and Clark argument. But Lewis and Clark were 30 guys trying to feed themselves through hunting while essentially sampling along a single transect, which arguments seek to represent the whole Rocky Mountains. Rather.than being free to move about and look for game they have to remain on course and follow valleys so steep-sided they lose horses tumbling off of cliffs, even so, one of their party in the middle of all that reports a bear track, griz or black we ain’t told.

Twenty and thirty years later did the Mountain Men themselves starve? Or was it intermittent periods of hardship and sometimes plenty, much as L&C had experienced?

You seem compelled to defend some perhaps poor judgement / professionalism on the part of the guide here.

Why is this that, because he died?

Wasn't on that mountain, won't pretend to know what did or didn't happen.

But reading here - I sure hope that those gentlemen didn't employ the spray first with the hopes of avoiding the pistol. Seems like if I thought I'd need the spray, I probably needed the pistol. Having a choice would seem to complicate things. I'd rather swing big and KNOW I was using the strongest deterrent available at the time that I had than 1/2 way and hope it was enough. I hope that wasn't the case that they worried about backlash and tried the spray first because of fear of prosecution or harassment from Treadwells later.


Now before someone gets wound up - spent very little to no time in Griz country. BUT when I was 14 I did get charged by a wounded black bear and shot him at a distance of about 20 inches. Measured and witnessed by 3 other people. I've been in a "high excitement" situation with something that weighed more than I did and could eat me. I'm not saying 1:1 comparison or that I'd do the same now. Just saying - my perspective.

What you don't know would fill a Presidential Library. Somehow you think your experience is relevant and you have never seen a Grizzly bear, let alone encountered one. I don't know where you are from, but it is easily hundreds of miles from Wyoming and nowhere near where this incident took place, yet you have personal knowledge of the situation.

I have lived my life in Grizzly country, I have seen them charge, kill cattle and killed them myself. The last Grizzly sighting I had was last week at 75 yards. I have seen first hand how fast and powerful they are.

I have not defended the actions of the guide, I have not condemned him for what happened because I know enough to say that he may have done everything he could and still ended up dead. You, however, make indicting comments from a living room in some house so far removed from the country where bears and people coexist and wonder why your comments are irrelevant...

This post redeemed your ground slucing.

good post......I will say there seems to be some inconsistent statements with the stories….don't buy the horse account

did you guys hear about the grizzly hit on the road here a couple days ago?...…..here is paradise valley....have seen pics of it...….bob

shrapnel;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the day looks as promising on your side of the medicine line as it does here.

While I don't have anywhere near the personal experience with grizzly bears that you do, we've hiked, tented and hunted in areas where they're known to frequent for the past 30+ years.

As well, and I'm not comparing the two - but we're very much familiar with their black bear cousins - saw two pretty fair ones hunting this past weekend in fact and can testify to how incredibly powerful AND fast a black bear can be sometimes.

Anyway, I thought that this "because I know enough to say that he may have done everything he could and still ended up dead" pretty much sums it up, for me anyway.

A good buddy a couple hours north of us worked with a young lady whose brother and his hunting partner were killed by a grizzly out of Canal Flats about 20 years back. They had a bull elk down and two loaded rifles were found at the scene, though one apparently jammed.

Speaking personally, I've come to grips with the fact that I'm not going to live forever and if folks like you and I keep going into grizzly country, it just might be that's the cause of getting our ticket punched. Odds are in my case however some wonderful BC driver will take me out on the highway before I hit the logging road into grizzly country.

Anyway sir, all the best to you and your fine family and good luck on your hunts this fall.

Dwayne

Based on what?

That strategy seemed to have worked well for the client....

Carry on!

Another misconception about running away. All you have to do is remember that bears will chase what runs, so if you are slower, just stop and let the bear continue to chase the athlete. In most cases the bear loses because good runners are usually tough and sinewy, not that good to eat...

FWIW, and IMHO, the "clients story" has changed a couple of times....and I wouldn't trust him enough to go ANYWHERE with him...fight or flight type thing...

Personally, I wouldn't be too hard on the client. It's not his responsibility to keep the guide safe, it's the other way around.

And I wouldn't blame the guide either. No one on this board has enough information to know what happened. What is it that causes people who have no knowledge of or involvement in a tragedy like this to feel the need to place blame?

Other than the name calling, an interesting thread. To those with actual bear experience, my respects.

You’re right, No one really happened. But this for sure - two armed men were attacked my a single bear. The guide my be an amateur

Retardation

For those condemning the hunter, he probably has no experience with bears. He found himself in the middle of what is probably one of the most terrifying scenarios in which a human being can find himself. It's easy to judge his actions, after the fact, from the safety of our homes or offices as we read this thread and type away. Even foresight of what we should do and could do in anticipation of the possibility of a grizzly attack can in no way prepare one for the shear terror we may face. The hunter reacted in a manner that many on this forum may. I'm sure he, after the fact, in a cool headed, non adrenalin and panic filled state, is probably saying to himself, some of the same things as are being said here about him and what he should have done. He is not unique among even otherwise brave and cool-headed men who have behaved in a "questionable manner" when faced with high-stress panic-laden situations.

I have had several bear encounters while hunting. Coming across a grizzly at close range really does create instant panic, moreso than even combat. Each situation I faced was resolved without me becoming dinner. The closest I've come to my own demise is while bowhunting I got between a momma black bear and two cubs. I thank heaven that once I discovered my predicament I was able to gather my wits quick enough to drop my bow and climb a tree just before she began her charge.

No blame game here. And I have not read all the pages. But an observation.......

There is a definite downside to sticking an arrow in an Elk in the afternoon. Bone soured in the morning......plus a grizzly buffet!

Afternoon thermals can also be wish washy.

Punctuation, grammar and spelling are important to not look like an amateur.