Grizzly Experiences

What experiences have you had with grizzly bears?

  • I’ve never seen one

    Votes: 58 29.6%
  • I’ve seen a few

    Votes: 75 38.3%
  • I see them regularly (several per year).

    Votes: 24 12.2%
  • I’ve never had a close encounter

    Votes: 25 12.8%
  • I’ve had a close encounter (bluff charge, very close range encounter)

    Votes: 47 24.0%
  • I’ve sprayed or shot a grizzly before.

    Votes: 15 7.7%

  • Total voters
    196
Probly adds a new dimension to playing the Shelby golf course. mtmuley
Speaking of golf courses, first time I ever had a cart marshal hold us at our tee location as there was a bear crossing the one ahead. That was at the Waterton golf course. Figured it was a griz though that was the talk at the "clubhouse" afterwards.
 
Speaking of golf courses, first time I ever had a cart marshal hold us at our tee location as there was a bear crossing the one ahead. That was at the Waterton golf course. Figured it was a griz though that was the talk at the "clubhouse" afterwards.
Had one on the course in Stevi. Seems they are wandering into the Root more often. One was spotted on the East side about 5 miles from my house last summer. mtmuley
 
They are. I’ve seen one a long ways down the Marias, and I’m waiting to see one on the Milk.
I have a friend who has a little farm near Fort Shaw on the Sun River. He has had several different Grizzly's on his game cam's the last 4-5 years. This is 25 miles west of Great Falls. Mt. FW&P are aware of the bears there and other areas on the Sun River.
 
This evening, about 200 yards across the river from the house. We think sub adult, probably siblings but didn’t go ask. Learned years ago to look out the window before stepping outside.
 

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This was the only time I got photographs of a grizzly, in Yellowstone, and a long way away so the photos are poor. I found the apparent hierarchy amusing. The bear was just wandering along the river, rounded the corner and came face to face with the bison. After a 10-15 second stare-down, the bear turned around and went back the way he came.
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today at about 1600 hours had a young, sub adult, bear circle around about 30 yards behind us while we were fishing.
1hour later had two bears pop out of the brush about 20 yards below our dock while I was filleting sockeye. Just now a good size boar walked down stream on the other side of the river.
 
Been on plenty of fresh tracks and had their tracks in mine later in the day up in the Bob. Definitely amazing how reclusive and secretive they are.
 
Had a young boar get a little too close while fishing the S Fork of the Shoshone, stopping about 20 yards from us, then crossing the river & running off.

Had our dog stop us from going down a trail on Monture creek. You could smell that bear from where we were. Came up the creek a few days later and found the day bed.

Lots of sightings in Jellystone, one or two in Glacier and a few follows & proximity alerts on the Front.

Always sign in the Blackfoot, never an encounter, luckily.
 
I've only had a 3 close encounters that I can think of. The first one I saw was turning logs over about 75 yards from the trail I was hiking down. He never acknowledged my presence and I just high tailed it out of the area. The second was shed hunting last spring with my wife. We came up over a ridge and I saw him running away. It was a bit harrowing seeing how fast they can run when they want to. Obviously could have been bad since I'd surprised him but thankfully he took off. The last encounter was freaky because we never saw the bear... I was hunting with a buddy and we set up to glass a ridge. It started snowing pretty good so we backed out, only to find very fresh griz tracks about 75 yards from where we'd been sitting. It was pretty clear that he had been watching us and had moved without us ever knowing he was there. Needless to say, we were a bit freaked on the hike back. It is wild how sneaky they can be
 
my first season as a MT Resident we got bluff charged 3 times by a sow w/a cub in the Absarokas while going in to hunt Mntn Goat. It was a great introduction on how to handle a situation and ended with nobody getting chewed on. That same season I crossed grizz tracks during archery season in the snow on 2 other occasions south of the Blackfoot R., I learned really quick how to hunt slowly and methodically viewing anything out of place w/binocs, it has made me a better elk hunter. I'm on point and hyper-focused when I elk hunt in grizz country.
 
Not in any danger, my only encounter was funny. Walked out of the gas station in Meeteetse and two biologists had pulled in next to each other to talk. I never saw one before in person so I didn't recognize the trap and walked right around it to my truck. Damn that bear scared the hell out of me, he was pissed!
 
Have seen them in YNP, GNP, and Banff. Have seen them in the Gravellies numerous times but nothing too close. Got cell coverage one time up high and one of my hunting buddies said there is a griz by where you parked the ATV. It was pitch back by the time my brother and I got back to the ATV. All was fine until a pack of coyotes lit up about 75 yards away....just before we got to the ATV.....that was pretty mean spirited on their part!

Had a black sow with cubs at 6 yards last year archery elk hunting when we were sitting a waterhole midday. She was a fairly small bear. Huffed a couple times and the cubs went up a tree. She turned around and left. Cubs followed.
 
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