Bowhunter – September 2019

elkhas beenprocessedandyou’vebegun
topackout.Oncea bearclaimsthecar-
cassandfeeds,thehungryanimalwill
proceedtorakeupeverythingcloseby
and buryit, eitherlyingon topor nearby
toprotectit fromotherscavengers.This
isanextremelydangeroussituation,
and it’swhyyoushouldmovemeatbags
awayfromthecarcass.MydadandI
surpriseda bearona kill,andit made
for a tensefewsecondsthatendedwith
usbackingoffwithbearsprayinhand
aftera bluffcharge.I alsousedthewind
andelevationoncetomyadvantageto
photographandfilmanextremelylarge
grizzlyonthecarcassof my wife’sbull.
One determinedbeara coupleof years
agoevenfoundthelowerlegswe’dcut
offthebullandtossedawayandbrought
thembackto theburiedcache.
Occasionally,despiteyourbestefforts,
a bearwillclaimyourkillbeforeyou’ve
evenfinishedworkingon it. In 2014,three
ofus werebreakingdowna friend’sfirst
archerybullinheavytimber.We made
noefforttobe quietwhileworking,and
wewereconstantlytalking.Withhalfof
thebull skinnedandcaped,welooked
upafterhearinga buglingbullcloseby.
That bullsavedoneor all of us frombeing
mauledor killed,becauseasowgrizzly
andtwofull-growncubswereclosingin
fa stdowntheverytrailwe’dwalked.By
the timeI reachedformy spray,shewas
only15 yardsfromus as we backedaway.
It was too close, too fast, and too danger-
ous for spray. We backed out to the safety
of a clearing 40 yards away to regroup. We

hollered and threw rocks, but that just re-

sulted in her charging us twice. My friend

lost his bull.

GUN OR BEAR SPRAY?

I say take whatever you’re comfortable

with, but I personally recommend spray.

One caveat to that is now, if possible, I will

carry a gun during the recovery. You can

get bear spray into action fast if you prac-

tice, and can even flick the safety off and

spray from your hip if needed. Whatever

you plan to use, practice getting it into ac-

tion quickly. That’s the number-one take-

away from this article. PRACTICE! You’ll

be surprised how fast a charging bear can

be on you.

Don’t be dissuaded from hunting elk

in grizzly country. Common sense and

adhering to a few basic rules can be your

best defense.

The author is our newest regular Contributor,

and he hails from Cody, Wyoming. He is active

in his state bowhunting organization and with

Wyoming Game & Fish.

BOWHUNTER.COM 111

Grizzlies are a fact of life in places
where I hunt elk, including where I
killed my 2018 bull.

FromTheHillsof“WestVirginia”

TheonlyPurePatentedPRE-ORBITALGLANDLURESintheWorld

Call: 304- 564 - 4087 http://www. smokeysdeerlure.com^

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