Idaho Spring Bear

[LostWapiti]

Well, headed to unit 21 on May 11th, anyone else going?

With this weather this past few days, really reminded me how the spring time will be not predictable for snow for bears.

Curious how much snow we'll be getting this coming week up in the mountains.

I’ll be in a different unit with probably a little lower average elevation that same week. Good luck! Definitely have a plan to be encountering snow anywhere above 5500 feet.

 

[PNW CAMPER]

Last year I asked this thread about opinions on carrying a pistol while rifle hunting in Idaho outside of grizzly country, and thought I'd give an update on my thinking after a couple hunts up there.

Last fall I was solo elk hunting up in 36. I was packing in pretty deep and left my pistol in the truck, partially for load considerations and partially because I hadn't decided yet on a great carry system. I ended up taking a cow about 8 miles from the nearest trailhead, and proceeded to pack it out over several days starting by shuttling the meat to a cool spot a couple hundred yards from my camp. After two trips of hauling meat and gear to my truck I decided to ditch my binos and bring my pistol in my HPG chest pack for the last load.

That night I returned to camp a little after dark, gorged on some food after my 21 mile day, and noticed some eyes lit up at the treeline. Initially I was worried about wolves, so I retrieved my pistol and scanned my surroundings with my headlamp quickly. It appeared it was a lone animal so I started yelling at, pistol in hand. It then began to circle me and my camp with some tall pounces and I noticed its large tail and determined it was a lion. It then set up at a shrub line much closer to me. I took aim with a fully prepped trigger and continued to yell at it. Not sure how long the standoff lasted, but it was quite the experience. Eventually it turned and returned to the hills.

The next morning I realized my distance estimations the previous night were pretty far off. The shrubs were probably only 10-15 yards and the treeline maybe 30. Much too close for comfort, and in retrospect I should have fired. I did have a lion tag in my pocket, but no ear pro or game bags, and my last load was a doozy. After retrieving the last of the meat hanging 4-5ft up in a tree I found one of my front quarter bags was ripped open with a chunk of meat missing. I probably smelled a lot like the lions snack which I'm sure increased its interest in me.

Anyways, I was incredibly glad I had my pistol that evening. I don't think my rifle would have been a good tool for that situation. I plan on carrying a pistol while solo hunting in a lot more situations, and have already outfitted my bino harness with this setup for the future: https://savagethreadworks.com/product/the-beast-adapter/

Obviously this was a very rare occurrence, and I'm not making any generalized suggestions based off of it. Just FYI and a hopefully interesting hunting story.

That is quite the adventure and enough to make one question their life choices. Like you I hunt alone quite a bit and additionally I bow hunt as well as rifle hunt. I have gotten into the habit of carrying a pistol attached to my Marsupal bino holder/pouch. I like that the pistol is centrally located and easy to grab when needed. Yup, its additional weight and many people don't carry a side arm at all. To each, their own is the old saying. I rarely stray into the woods with out a side arm, even if I am carrying a rifle as well. Just my thoughts.