Spring Grizzly Hunts

chewyman55 · Feb 17, 2009

So I picked up a DVD at the expo from a guide out of Alaska. He specializes in spring Grizzly hunts. First of all let me say that I fully support harvesting bears but, the manor in which these guys did it was a bit unsettling. The guides fly around and mark the dens with a GPS from the air...then drive the clients in by snowmachine,park, and wait at the den entrance until one pops out. In one case, a bear was even taken while still inside the den. It seemed equivalent to shooting a giant ground squirrel. This practice is apparently growing in popularity. I realize grizz numbers need to be kept in check and support that but, this method seems to have taken every bit of sporting chance and thrown it out the window. What are your thoughts?

MountainWest · Feb 17, 2009

I agree with you 100%. I don't think it would be fun at all to shoot something that has pretty much no chance of getting away. I for sure think that crosses the line.

moseleymiddleton · Feb 17, 2009

sounds like parrie dog hunting with a twist!! lol but you can only shoot one. not very sporting on an animal just emerging from a long winter nap, i wouldnt do it.

moseley middleton

Stubaby · Feb 17, 2009

Kind of like those guys who chase down the Caribou as they swim accross the lake. They have them dead in about 2-3 feet of water. Those poor things haven't even shaken themselves dry yet. I would, however shoot a bull elk while he is wallowing in the mud below my tree stand.

cjboz · Feb 18, 2009

A poorly placed shot on a squirrel does not make it attack and maul you! I dont think I could be by the entrance and shoot one as it came out. What is the difference than using dogs or bait?

mntman · Mar 5, 2009

Shooting them when they come out of the den doesn't bother me, the flying around marking them on GPS does though.
They should get off their lazy @$$ and hunt.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

deepforks · Mar 5, 2009

you guys dont think they spot caribou from the air, track the migration and set up ahead of them? just remember, if its legal they are doing nothing wrong. not saying that i agree with it, BUT we are all hunters and what one might do another may not. who cares. the bait/dogs thing was the first thing that came to mind, but it was previously stated. +1

BRWNBR · Mar 23, 2009

spotting stuff from the air...oh man is is a debate for the ages.
Moose, sheep exspecially and bears in the spring....moose are worse and sheep are the absolute worst for guides spotting them from the air. Guys paying money want to know theres a fish in the pond so to speak and really endorse this activity. bigger guide operations need to put more animals on the ground in a shorter time peroid and will do things that seem unethical to get that done.
could you PM me the name of the outfitter who you got the DVD from? i'd like to see it.

chewyman55 · Mar 23, 2009

BRWNBR I wish I could recall the name for you but, to be honest...the DVD went straight from the player to the garbage can. My father and brother, who both have lived in AK and have taken their fair share of coastal and inland brownies, were pretty disgusted with it all. The old man was looking for something a 72 year old could still handle and he found it...and thankfully refuses to stoop that low. I will see if my father can't remember the outfit and get to you.

Hunting_Oregon · May 11, 2009

I have seen a couple hunts on TV where they wait for the bears to come out of there dens. But in the show I watched they would wait for hours and hours only to find out that the bear is a sow with cubs. So I mean it isn't guarantee that every den is going to produce a shooter. I feel there is nothing wrong with the practice of shooting them as they emerge out of the den.

"Life's tough... It's even tougher if you're stupid."
- John Wayne