Old Ephraim

[gcreekrch]

Named for what the mountain men referred to grizzlies as. Saw him for the second time ever in his 15+ years of killing cattle this evening. Going out for supper and no gun in the truck, He didn’t waste around leaving the road for the timber. Photo of hind paw print was taken 90 minutes later on our return. I wear a size 12.

 

[Brute 23]

My first thought was... I'm going to need a bigger gun!

 

[puzzled in oregon]

How old do you think maybe this "Old Ephraim" is?

 

[gcreekrch]

How old do you think maybe this "Old Ephraim" is?

Maybe 20, be nice if he would die in his den.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

That would be good. But should your paths cross, and what needs to be done is done, no matter how dead he may look you always put one at the base of the skull. Because the buggers do occasionally try to get back up. And I know you already know this :)

 

[kenny thomas]

Maybe 20, be nice if he would die in his den.

Any chance you know where his den is?

 

[gcreekrch]

Any chance you know where his den is?

If I did he wouldn’t be here…….

 

[tex452]

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that.

 

[SmokinM]

If I did he wouldn’t be here…….

Those tracks are easy enough to follow…….

 

[kenny thomas]

Those tracks are easy enough to follow…….

I might not have enough nerve to follow that track.

 

[gcreekrch]

I might not have enough nerve to follow that track.

You can follow it now Kenny.

 

[SmokinM]

I might not have enough nerve to follow that track.

Don’t be askeert Kenny! You might want to step up from the old Taurus though!

 

[kenny thomas]

Don't be askeert Kenny! You might want to step up from the old Taurus though!

What do you recommend? Yep i carry the Taurus 8 3/8" 44 mag in a shoulder holster.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Would be an interesting hunt. Walking through snow, wearing snowshoes and you hear the snow behind you crunching.
I'm not sure how fast a person can pivot on snowshoes.
I have had people tell me that when hunting/tracking bull elk in snow, the bull elk will sometimes double back to check their
back trail.. I suspect a bear is smart enough to do the same.

 

[farmerjan]

NOTHING could entice me to track a KNOWN cattle killer with a paw that sized...

 

[kenny thomas]

NOTHING could entice me to track a KNOWN cattle killer with a paw that sized...

Oh, my mind says i could, but my body knows better. Imagine running into an animal that can ambush a cow.

 

[gcreekrch]

NOTHING could entice me to track a KNOWN cattle killer with a paw that sized...

Smarter to let them come to you.

 

[SmokinM]

What do you recommend? Yep i carry the Taurus 8 3/8" 44 mag in a shoulder holster.

For that one in particular I would likely go 45-70 with some heavy cast or 12ga slugs tracking him. Sitting and waiting on him, anything 300 mag on up. My go to for the ivy bushes around here is a 480 Ruger mostly but last year switched up to a 629 S&W 5” barrel in a chest rig. Really like the way that carries.

 

[kenny thomas]

I like the 629 but its double the cost of my Taurus to shoot the same slug.

 

[Dave]

I had a S&W 29 with I believe a 8 inch barrel when I worked up north. The one run in I had with a bear next door to Kodiak I looked at that gun and the size of the bear and decided I needed to pack a bigger gun. The next trip south I bought a 375H&H which is the standard rifle in that part of the world.