Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Study shows grizzly bears follow elk hunters

"No grizzlies in Oregon". For the most part no elk either.

Have you ever thought the bear is following the elk hunter because he is in the woods. Grizzlies don't follow anyone or anything that isn't in the woods. I doubt the bear is thinking "If I follow this guy I can get a free meal" other than eating the hunter. If you tracked the same bears, I bet they would even follow a democrat through the woods, bears can't distinguish one person's reason for being in the woods over another's...

I read about a situation in MT just outside the park some years ago. 2 hunters were dragging a buck by the antlers when it hung up on something. When they turned to see what the problem was, there was a griz on the other end.

@rickbin

Can we get a like button?

Bears are smart enough to identify a food source and seek it out.

Bears definitely understand hunters, carcasses, and gut piles. Is this supposed to be some sort of news?

When hunting hoofed stuff in bear country carry a gun that will stop a bear. Not exactly rocket science...

but...but...but....they recommend bear spray!!!

Hence my looking at a 300 wsm. Got a 308, and it is plenty for most things, but looking for a bit more thump in case I ever need it. Thought about building a 35 whelen or 358 wsm, but the 300 with heavies should handle the lower 48 fine, and is more versatile. Probably never have to worry about it, but no need to find out I should have, when I have a .243 with 95 bt's in hand...

I think the 300WSM with 200gr Weldcores and the 325WSM with the 220s are uniquely suited when hunting elk in a place that has big bears. The .338 RCM is too, but there are almost no guns. I'd definitely look at it.

"They" being bears that like spicy food presumably

I killed quite a few elk with a 300 WSM. It's an excellent elk caliber. After 7 or 8 years, I looked back at all the elk I'd shot and found that there wasn't a single one that I couldn't have got just as easily with a 30-06 that weighs a lb. less. At my age, that lb. adds up in a hurry so the 300 is gathering dust.
disclaimer - we don't have griz in this part of Idaho.

wish they had spent some of that study money asking me and my hunting partners about this.
but i guess first hand encounters don't count unless you have a degree from a lib college.
when breaking down an elk or anything else for that matter we always have one person on sentry duty.
there are BEARS in them woods!
we have never lost any meat to bears but i did lose a whitetail to wolves.
a buddy over at upper Priest Lake lost a elk to a bear that followed him to or smelled the quarters he had stashed in his coolers in the back of his PU. when he came back from the second trip it was gone, with plenty of bear sign on the side of the PU.

There are some pretty light WSMs out there - in fact a WSM should be LIGHTER than a .30-06 all things being equal.

That said the power usually isn't needed but when you're trying to get a decent trajectory out of a 200+gr bullet so your elk and bear loads are the same, the case capacity is nice.

Having Bears and Wolves and Lions, Oh My, is part of the attraction of some places. If you spend the day on an out and back trail w/ fresh snow on the ground you will usually find that interesting critters crossed or followed your track.Makes for a fun tingle in your 'taint.


mike r

Just happen to have a 300 WSM Remington model 7 XCR if your interested don't think it's ever been shot

Given their behavior, I would assert that a case can be made that these bears ARE Democrats.

In Shrapnels defense he probably didn't notice any bears following him because he runs elk down with his truck on the plains in Montana.