Harper's Round Table, February 23, 1897

by Various

No boy of mine should ever go after a grizzly unless he was accompanied by a hunter whose nerves had been tried by "Old Ephraim," and whose experience was undoubted. The grizzly is such an uncertain beast in his temperament, and is so ferocious and so dangerous when once his ugly temper is aroused, that it is not safe to take any liberties with him, and it is certainly not safe for boys to take any chances about venturing into his country. For this reason I do not think boys ought to go bear-hunting, even for the black, in localities frequented by the grizzly. As a rule, grizzly and black bear do not live in the same localities, although in some parts of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado and New Mexico, I have killed both within twenty-five miles of each other.

If, having your father's permission to hunt grizzly, you set out with an experienced sportsman, the latter will advise you as to your rifle. There are many different opinions on this rifle question. I have always used a .45-90-300 or a .45-110-340, preferably the latter. The dangerous feature of grizzly-hunting is the bear's wonderful vitality. If you were certain, absolutely, of putting a ball through his brain every time you fired at him, there would be no need of such concern as to your rifle, for a much smaller calibre would answer the purpose equally as well as the larger; but rarely are you in a position to put a ball into his brain, even if you are a sufficiently expert shot to do so. You may fire at 75, 100, or 150 yards—you will more often see him at the shorter distance than at the longer—but the chances of your dropping him in his tracks are not good. Occasionally you may do so, but not often. Now this is the danger. When you put that bit of lead into the grizzly, no matter how thoroughly it may do its work, most frequently "Old Ephraim" is going to make a bee-line for you; and, what is more disquieting, he is likely to sustain life long enough to reach you, unless meanwhile you stop him. I know of a case where a grizzly was shot through the heart twice at close range, and yet got to the hunter and fearfully injured him before the bear fell dead.

I have seen many illustrations of the inefficacy of lighter charges of powder, and known several instances where, had men using them been alone, they would have fared very badly from the wrath of the grizzly. My own experience has taught me that the heavy charge is desirable. I certainly should not go after a grizzly with anything less than a .45-90. That is why I have always advocated plenty of powder back of the ball when you come to tackle "Old Ephraim." Lately a cartridge has been put on the market, a .30-40, of smokeless powder, which is said to be very killing. Theodore Roosevelt has used it on antelope, and tells me that it does splendid execution—certainly as good as, if not better than, any of the heavier charges. Archie Rogers, who is a noted bear-hunter, also used the gun out West last season, and killed a bear with it. These are two of the most experienced sportsmen in the country; but a gun in the hands of Archie Rogers after grizzly is a very different matter from its being in the hands of the ordinary sportsman, to say nothing of a tyro. The next time I go after bear I shall take along one of these guns and try it, but it seems to me it has not yet had sufficient trial against the grizzly to warrant its being advised for inexperienced hunters or for boys. The boy who reads this article and starts for grizzly, and values my advice, will provide himself with the old reliable .45-110-340. For black bear the .45-90 is sufficiently powerful, and many rifles of smaller calibre have been used on this member of the bruin family.

The best time to hunt bear is in the spring, when they have just come out of their winter's holes, in which they have been sleeping away the coldest months. They are then very hungry, and constantly on the move, and to be seen in the open more than at any other season of the year. This is the time, too, when their fur is long and silky, and of very much better quality than later, for very soon after coming out of their holes the fur becomes thinner and coarser. It is at this time of the year that the bear is a meat-eater; and, in fact, he is almost any kind of an eater, being so ravenous as to take what he can. If in the neighborhood of a ranch, he will prey on the live-stock, particularly on pigs and chickens. A few months later, when summer comes on, he goes up from the foot-hills into the high mountain plateaus, where he lives on vegetable matter, grasses, and weeds, and becomes a very diligent seeker after beetles, and all the insect life that lives under stones and logs. The true time of plenty for bear, and certainly when you are most likely to get a shot at him, is in the last of the summer, during the berry season. This is when you must hunt for him on the sloping sides of the hills that are covered with berry bushes, and frequently they are so absorbed in devouring the luscious fruit as to be rather easy of approach, although do not get the idea it is too easy; a bear is never easy to approach, and approach is only a small part of the game. Later on in the autumn he again goes up on the high plateaus, where game is plenty, and again becomes a meat-eater. When the winter sets in, and the heavy snows come, he seeks a cavernous hole in the hill-side, or some natural cave in the mountains, among rocks, where he remains sleeping until spring.

It is very difficult to still hunt bear; in fact, it is the experience of most hunters that bear have been more frequently come upon unexpectedly when out hunting for other game. You will probably have to make many trips before you see signs or before you get sight of a bear, and yet again you are apt to go out and stumble on to one. It takes the most careful hunting, because a bear, once aware of your presence in his vicinity, is very difficult to approach; he is certain to secure a position from which he can view an approaching enemy. And when you are looking for bear be very careful how you go through brush. It is not often a bear will charge you without your molesting him, unless it happens to be a female who has cubs near by. But nevertheless, as I have said, the grizzly is so uncertain in his temperament that he is just as apt to charge you as not to do so; and, at any rate, it is best not to run any chances, and therefore advisable to be very careful in going through heavy brush or any place in which he might be lurking. Bear-hunting is not popular with the average man who goes out with a rifle, because reward is so long delayed; it takes lots of time and plenty of patience and experience and skill to get your bear, and it is not every hunter who has this combination.

A GRIZZLY AT BAY.

Bear are baited, but I have never cared very much for that sort of sport. It seems to me that to lay behind a stump awaiting the approach of your victim to the bait you have put out to lure him takes all the hunting out of it. You are simply there to kill, and all the pleasure of pitting your woodcraft and skill against the animal is entirely lost.

See that your rifle is clean and in good working order, and be very chary how you follow a wounded grizzly into cover. It is an old dodge of "Ephraim's," when he does not attack openly, to slink into cover and lie in wait for the hunter who rushes in after him in the thought that he is retreating. Go slow; and do not do any hurried shooting. You should not hunt grizzly unless you are a good shot; and being so, take careful aim before you press the trigger. A painfully wounded grizzly is a dangerous beast.