Bob Marshall

Talk about Cougar Hunting with Dogs
badlands13
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Bob Marshall

Postby badlands13 » Wed Jul 11, 2018 2:51 pm

With 2 units in the Bob Marshall wilderness opening in September I am curious if anyone had hunted these units before. I see the quotas show that lions are rarely taken in these units. I think it would be a fun hunt but my question is with the high wolf population in these units, am I just asking to get my 2 dogs killed?
pistol
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Re: Bob Marshall

Postby pistol » Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:50 pm

I think it would be very fun to run up there. You would definetly have to use horses to pack in though. There are probably more grizzly in the bob than anywhere else in the state so that's what I would be worried about the most. If your dogs are broke off of bear than I think you would have no problem catching a few cats. There is a few wolves but probably just as many as anywhere else in the state that has a wolf population. If you had the time and the money to make it happen I think you would have the whole place to yourself in most the northern areas
badlands13
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Re: Bob Marshall

Postby badlands13 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:07 pm

Thanks Pistol! Good point about the dogs not running grizzly bears. They have never been on bear so that should be good. I have horses but was have a couple spots I could hike to back there as well. Not sure if the elk hunters would be very happy though.
Mike Leonard
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Re: Bob Marshall

Postby Mike Leonard » Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:58 pm

It's been years since I have been in the Bob, but if you have horses or mules use them. Getting into likely spots can be a killer, and once you get there that's when the hunting begins.

I had some of my first encounters with grizzly's in there and it is doubtful if your dogs are not hard-core bear dogs that they will mess with them, and quite likely by the time you are heading in which would likely be when some snow has hit the ground, and the bears won't be very active. The real dangers of the Bob are weather changes, and it can go from bluebird weather to a howling blizzard coming over the wall in short order and it can lock you in.

I would spend time talking to local outfitters that regularly hunt late season in there and get a feel for it.

I recall many years ago on a fishing trip in there and I was just a young guy with my Dad and a friend who had grown up packing in there. We had a German Shorthair female with us with a bell on her and she would sort of alert the bears we were coming and give them time to clear out so we wouldn't blunder in between a sow and cubs or something else dangerous. A few times she would come flying back to us like she was scalded with her stub tail tucked and looking over her shoulder. We would give it a bit before we moved up and many times we would find boulders almost as big as a VW bug rolled around where griz had been looking for grubs. At those moments I would have much preferred a big rifle as opposed to the fly-rod I was packing.

On a main trail I was setting looking at the scenery and I thought I heard bells. I sat an listened and before long I could hear the sounds of shod hooves rattling the rocks and soon, a skinny little cowboy came up the trail leading a long string of mules packed behind him. He stopped and talked to our friend and I found out it was Howard Copenhaver who was a very famous Outfitter in the Bob for years. He was packing in early elk camps, and after he left two of his other packers came following in each with a big string of pack animals.


It has always been sort of a close knit group that really occupies this area during the big-game season so it might be good to check before a guy just moves in on them and cuts loose a pack of hounds.


good luck it is some of the most beautiful county this side of Heaven.
MIKE LEONARD
Somewhere out there.............

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