Breaking down an elk at night... in grizzly country...

[Pepe55]

Sounds to me like you've gotten more experience than most

 

[AaronMColeman]

I've never actually had to quarter an elk through the night, to be honest. But in the event I do, I always carry a few small flashlights (uco I think is the manufacturer) and they pop up into small lanterns. The plan is to make some amount of normal noise, and surround the carcass with the lights while I work, and move the actual meat away from the carcass as I work. I think the light helps with not cutting myself, and it's a weird thing for a bear to see, maybe it'll be a nice deterrent. I really don't know though what the best solution is (other than shoot them in the morning).

 

[Wapiti1]

A couple of comments from my experiences with grizzlies in MT on the front range. At night, you aren't going to catch it coming in from any distance that you would feel safe. They are silent in their approach. Their eyes don't tend to shine much either. A buddy acting as a sentry will likely just exclaim "oh shit! there's a bear!!". And the bear will already be feet away.

Talking, singing, etc work to keep bears at bay better than other things. Even if you sound like an idiot talking to yourself or can't carry a tune in a bucket. Remember the bear doesn't necessarily know there is food there. Human presence is usually enough to keep them away for a time. Figure you have that night, and have to get that elk out the next day. Most bears are not habituated, so let them know you are there and they will leave you alone.

Don't spread your stuff out. Keep your pack and rifle ready to just grab and leave with. If a bear approaches, grab your stuff and go, if you can grab your stuff. Either way, back away slowly, but purposefully, and let it have the elk.
You should be far more worried about retrieval later on. I would NOT recommend packing it all out that night. Take a load out, then go back in the daylight. Why risk walking into a bad situation at night? Go back in the daylight, get upwind so the bear smells you, get eyes on the quarters from a distance away and assess the situation.

My last comment is to get it done fast and only do what needs to be done. If gutting it is enough, just do that. At night you are at an extreme disadvantage. No need to compound it with time spent in the woods. Throw a hat and a few stinky clothes on it and hope for the best in the morning.

Jeremy

 

[Dos Perros]

Don’t know what your deal is man just giving insight to what I did and a common piece of advice to be smart...


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No deal man. I'm just saying...because it worked once doesn't prove that it's a good idea or best practice.

 

[mossyhorn]

Thanks guys. I use to live and hunt in Alaska, been to kodiak a couple times, Brooks range many times. Dealing with breaking things down in the dark was never an issue. I feel like the bears are not the same either. Lower 48 bears, I get the impression, are far more aggressive than Alaska bears. Not always, but I just hear of so many more issues down here, than up there.

I would never purposefully leave it overnight. I’d work on it till it was done. I’d bag up all meat and then move it when I’m done, making short quick trips. Then look at getting it hung up and pack what I can. I don’t have a large caliber handgun, just a 9mm which is probably not worth much in a bear situation. So a couple rifles and bear spray would be it.

 

[Idaho Sandman]

I’ve lived and hunted in some of the highest grizz dense areas in the lower 48. The odds of one coming into a kill are extremely low during the field dressing process. The only time I’ve had a bear encounter is when moving meat away from the carcass leaving it unattended.
Twice we had to back out and come back in the morning to recover what was left. We usually moved meat about 50 yds away as quick as possible then another move of a hundred or so yards.
If in the evening hours I will Indian quarter the animal, remove backstraps and loins via gutless method and leave the hide attached so as to remove the meat from the carcass ASAP.
Once moved a good distance we will then skin and prepare the meat for final move or compete extraction. Killed plenty of game with and without a partner and man it sure is a little more comforting with a buddy knowing you won’t die alone....

 

[ScreamingPotato]

You guys playing music aren't worried about it hurting your ability to hear something approaching?

 

[tdot]

You probably wont hear them approach anyways.

Making noise is pretty effective at keeping them away.

 

[cnelk]

I don’t hunt elk in grizz country but I did shoot a moose in Alaska a couple years ago. It was in the evening and in an high population of grizzly.
We only had time to gut the moose, remove the quarters to let cool. No way are you moving over 500lbs of moose meat in any quick fashion.
We left the kill site and returned the next morning with chambered firepower but all was ok the entire day we packed moose meat down to the lake.
We were extremely lucky that we had no bears come into the game pole for the 2 nights it hung near camp waiting for the airplane to show up.

Definitely pucker factor times.

 

[tdot]

I've always made sure to have a couple exit routes, and to know where the wind is coming from, they use the wind and will often approach with it in their face.

Know your surroundings, is it tight brush, or more open? Have a head lamp on, if you need to look up, you want to be able to see what your looking at, just dont be blinding your partner with it.

As was said before, working fast will likely be better then having a lookout.

Other then the headlamps, it's more or less the same for us, day or night. Just the anxiety level is a little different.

 

[Journeyman]

Shot my bull 2 Fridays ago 10 minutes before last light. Pretty heavy griz country and it was definitely on our minds but honestly it was a great time. We built a big ass fire and took our time taking pics then one guy cutting and one guy feeding the fire/keeping watch. We continually talked to eachother and broke lots of branches feeding the fire, as much for our enjoyment but also to make our presence known.

Turned into a long night, didn’t get off the mountain till 2 in the morning but super fun. If I was solo I likely would have field dressed him and come back in the morning if the temps were going to be cool enough.

 

[Wrench]

If you hear a bear, it's because he let you, or he's crunching your bones.

In all seriousness, think about your escape plan every second of your work. Do you have a big tree behind you that shades you from a rear attack? Can you clear a spot to work before you get started and get blood on EVERYTHING? is your gun loaded and ready for quick action?

Beyond making noise and good situational awareness you're at the mercy of the odds.....which are in your favor.

I'd add to pay extra attention to the blood trail and down wind. ...but beyond that just let those emotions add to your story. You have a 99% chance of no issues.

 

[cgasner1]

I hunted the country in Montana that keeps popping up on this forum with grizzly attacks and closed forest left it for the purpose of chasing bigger bulls in other parts of the state we killed bulls right at dark break them and hang them a few hundred yards away make noise be smart when you come back if your gonna love in fear of them maybe consider golfing I’m more worried about a lot of other things than a bear be smart in the woods and you’ll be fine


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[mtnkid85]

I’ve often thought it would be quite comical to film myself working on a bull in the dark. I don’t think any living creature would put up with my bad singing, I’m putting on a real show while I’m bent over working. My throat is soar afterwards. Lol

 

[Dustin the wind]

A big mistake I always read about from attacks and especially the recent one that killed the guide in Wyoming is to have your sidearm on you always, especially in this situation and equally important is to have at least one other person doing the same. People are taking their sidearms off or leaving them on their packs. Keep you sidearm on you at camp, in your tent. I understand people get excited with an animal down, so do I, but I've never taken my pistol off of me even when I was not in Griz country. It sleeps with me like I'm an eight year old that just got a red ryder.

 

[Werty]

Maybe it was said and I missed it. If you can, position yourself so you can watch down wind, that is generally going to be the direction it comes from. Where I hunt in MT is where a lot of attacks are coming from. Luckily I have not had an issue yet. I killed
a bull next too some timber, I gutted him then drug him done the mountain a few hundred yards away from the gut pile " thermals were still going up hill at time". Not sure if it really helped, but made me feel safer.

 

[805Bowhunter]

You guys playing music aren't worried about it hurting your ability to hear something approaching?

Its a good question/point. I used to think that music or noise would keep me from hearing a bear, but then I started having bear encounters and was learning that they are virtually silent until they are almost on top of you. It is amazing how quiet they are. My thinking is that the noise I make will help me far more than being quiet and listening. Probably some people that are going to disagree but it is what makes me feel the most comfortable when an animal is on the ground.

Like other mentioned above, the odds are drastically in your favor that nothing will happen. Do your work quickly but also safely and efficiently, be very smart about your surroundings and you will almost certainly be fine.

 

[hobbes]

I've never broke an elk down in the dark in heavily populated grizzly country (I consider all of Western MT grizzly country). After a couple days of freeze dried meals and protein bars, not even a hungry bear will be willing to approach me from down wind.

 

[Dos Perros]

When we were shuttling meat down to the trail this Sept in Wyoming some sheep hunters came around the corner and yelled that they saw a grizzly hauling ass down the mountain towards us. Our wind was going up and across, directly to where the bear was coming from. Enough time had passed that the bear should have been on us if that was his intent. We think he was patiently waiting for us to leave the carcass before he came in. We moved all our meat and gear about a half mile across the mountain before taking what we could and returning the next morning for the rest.

While I think making noise doesn't really provide any downside, I think a bear is going to come in down wind, and if he comes he knows you're there and he's decided he's coming anyway.

 

[Indian Summer]

I know an outfitter in the Gros Ventre that takes the problem seriously... because you should! They don’t kill elk in the evening. Once there’s only 3 hours of shooting light left they are just locating elk for the next day. No hunting. You can talk all day about what you’d do if a grizzly comes crashing in out of the darkness. But that’s like saying you have a plan if you see lightning about to strike you.