The big one was not blond, but dark brown. Stood up and showed some lighter tips of the fur. The guide filmed it. But we have never seen the film. The guide just sent me and my friend some minutes of the moose part. Would have been interesting to see.

One thing that happened is that the bear stood up and dissapeared. After some minutes it came back and stood sniffing by the shoreline of the lake. Then the bear smashed its big right front claws in the water sending water in all directions as the bear growled loud. Almost as it tried to tell us something. Later that evening just as I left a vantage point 30 meters outside camp, a bear wrowled at us very close to the camp. It was dusk and we did not see it, but guides raced out of tents and yelled ' bear in camp, grab your guns '. The bear had come around the lake heading for the moose meat. Guides got nervous. But nothing more happened.

Morten

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
The ankles are also a telltale sign. Slender ankles on a mature bear means a sow. More stovepipe like legs equals boar.

So, the opposite of people, then?

here is a very good start:

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/st...females_in_field.pdf

but again this can be different locally.

It's probably a good idea to get in the contract exactly who your hunting guide is going to be. I've heard lots of stories and seen first hand, being pawned off on first-time or apprentice guides.

If I plan on a big dollar grizzly hunt or similar hunt, who the guide is would be a make or break deal on who I book with.

Yes - I seee that. My AR fellow have some problems getting the contract and photo up, but that contract named the guide. It was the same guide I had in 2010 which was very experienced. But he quit a couple of years later and I trusted Chris Widrig to put me up with a experienced guide. However, Chris seem to have some issue with people coming and going all the time. I ended up with a guide that had never guided before, just had some years as a wrangler with another outfit. Of course he got nervous ( I understood after the hunt ) when his first client With Chris Widrig shot a sow.

Having studied the brouchure Medved put up, my opinion is that the first grizzly could have been a male, the second was a female and the last big one was a male. The first one and the last one did not have that slim legs in my opinion and shoulders were broader than head etc

But I would very much like to see that film of that last grizzly…


Morten

Hi Morten
thanks for sharing this.
I think any balanced report is of value for all of us.
I understand both sides here. I think you had reason to be not fully satisfied and it is understandable that you contacted the outfitter.
The outfitter did a bad job communicating and handled the complaint very unprofessionally.

We will never know if the bears were male or female. You should have known the rules upfront, even on a guided hunt. At the same time, it seems like neither the outfitter or guides communicated clearly as well.

Best Regards,

Dennis

quote:

Originally posted by Caracal:
Hi Morten
thanks for sharing this.
I think any balanced report is of value for all of us.
I understand both sides here. I think you had reason to be not fully satisfied and it is understandable that you contacted the outfitter.
The outfitter did a bad job communicating and handled the complaint very unprofessionally.

We will never know if the bears were male or female. You should have known the rules upfront, even on a guided hunt. At the same time, it seems like neither the outfitter or guides communicated clearly as well.

Best Regards,

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

My contract said Grizzly. Period ! A sow is legal as long it was without cubs. I was very surprised first time I was denied to shoot. I was aware of the saying in the web site… trying to concentrate on old male bears . In my opinion the expression TRYING and CONCENTRATE allows a lot of room for misunderstanding and it is a fact that Widrig receives a sow quota every 3 year period. But this was not underlined in any correspondance in the 3 year period from booking and signing contract until after I was denied first opportunity. Even then Chris Widrig was not very informative. I had to ask several questions and kind of drag the information out of the guide.

I must say that I feel strongly misguided in what I could expect and what to hunt..

Morten

I never blamed you for that Morten. Like I said the outfitter did a bad job communicating his policy.

quote:

Originally posted by Caracal:
I never blamed you for that Morten. Like I said the outfitter did a bad job communicating his policy.

No problem Dennis !

Morten

quote:

Originally posted by WannabeBwana:

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
The ankles are also a telltale sign. Slender ankles on a mature bear means a sow. More stovepipe like legs equals boar.

So, the opposite of people, then?

Haha...ain't touching that one with a 10-foot pole!

If you are not sure about the contract hire a lawyer to go over it with you before you sign it.

I was not unsure about the contract. The contract is very clear saying it is a grizzly hunt. No other spescification was made. I will try to find a way to upload the contract so you can see for yourself !

In my opinion - if we hunters need a laywer when making a contract with an outfitter - I think we have lost !


Morten

Bears are one of the harder animals to field judge. I've seen firsthand more than one master guide mis-judge bears, mostly it is shooting smaller bears than estimated, but they can get the sex wrong as well.

quote:

I've seen firsthand more than one master guide mis-judge bears, mostly it is shooting smaller bears than estimated, but they can get the sex wrong as well.

Seems getting the sex wrong would be more common the misjudging the size.

A bear without cubs at their side is just that.

Sounds like the outfitter was thoroughly afraid to shoot a sow due the quota system.

The vast majority of outfitters strive to harvest only males....a bear without cubs in not just that......getting the sex right isn't that difficult and it's critical to the future of the hunt. Occasionally you get it wrong but the majority of time you get it right if you know what you are looking for. The future of the grizz hunt anywhere it exists depends on a primarily male harvest!

It would seem after what happened with bear hunting in BC.

It is far more important to elect politicians that agree with bear hunting,

And Alberta. Let's not screw it up in the rest of Canada!

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
And Alberta. Let's not screw it up in the rest of Canada!

there is a main goal to stop hunting and it will start by grizzly ... we are not united that is for sure and i can tell that even if the speech is about harvesting male or boar the relity is not exatly like that and we can that every 3 years some outfitting concession are harvesting more female than given on quota not all outfitters are equal when we are talking about ethic ...like hunters on that matter.

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
And Alberta. Let's not screw it up in the rest of Canada!

there is a main goal to stop hunting and it will start by grizzly ... we are not united that is for sure and i can tell that even if the speech is about harvesting male or boar the relity is not exatly like that and we can that every 3 years some outfitting concession are harvesting more female than given on quota not all outfitters are equal when we are talking about ethic ...like hunters on that matter.

I always wonder how shit get's started in our society. Seems you get a few Whack jobs on the fringes and next thing it's Gospel ?

Griz

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
And Alberta. Let's not screw it up in the rest of Canada!

there is a main goal to stop hunting and it will start by grizzly ... we are not united that is for sure and i can tell that even if the speech is about harvesting male or boar the relity is not exatly like that and we can that every 3 years some outfitting concession are harvesting more female than given on quota not all outfitters are equal when we are talking about ethic ...like hunters on that matter.

Despite the obvious irony, I do agree!

There are many hunter's out there that if your not hunting their waythey are willing to sell you out to the other side.

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by sheephunterab:
And Alberta. Let's not screw it up in the rest of Canada!

there is a main goal to stop hunting and it will start by grizzly ... we are not united that is for sure and i can tell that even if the speech is about harvesting male or boar the relity is not exatly like that and we can that every 3 years some outfitting concession are harvesting more female than given on quota not all outfitters are equal when we are talking about ethic ...like hunters on that matter.

Despite the obvious irony, I do agree!

i do get that you got my irony but it is obvious that among us some do not have the same goals on conservation and they want it all now without prejudice for the next generation ...

Wow, really?

Sound like another crap Canuk hunt.

Good reason for you never to cross the 49th

I AGREE WITH SAEED, IDAHO RULES AND REGS ARE SO DAMN COMPLICATED THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A LAWYER, AND A GOOD ONE TO UNDERSTAND ANY PART OF IT..I THINK SOME FOLKS JUST HAVE TO JUSTIFY THEIR EXISTENCE, SO IF THEY CAN'T SOLVE A PROBLEM THEY BAFFEL US WITH BS.

IF THAT DOESN'T WORK THE CREATE ANOTHER RULE OR PROBLEM THAT SO OUTRAGEROUS THAT WE FORGET ABOUT THE ONE BEFORE IT...

I can't help you sort out your outfitter/grizzly problems, but if you get on a horse all bets are off... you cannot hold someone else for the behavior of a horse. You assume liability as the rider - however skilled or unskilled. As the victim/participant of many horse crashes I am pretty sure of this.

quote:

The contract is very clear saying it is a grizzly hunt. No other specification was made.

And that`s basically the bottom line whether points/sows/boars are in the mix

quote:

Originally posted by gryphon1:

quote:

The contract is very clear saying it is a grizzly hunt. No other specification was made.

And that`s basically the bottom line whether points/sows/boars are in the mix

a grizzly license did not say about boar or female. contrary to most of our game .... points should not be told to hunters if they are coming for an hunt and if no grizzly allowed then to do not offer the hunt ...