BENT "FRAME!"

I got in a bit of an altercation with a dirt and rock bank and messed up my bumper, fender and grille. I just ripped off the bumper (literally) to find out that the bulkhead between the uniframe rails is indented and has a wrinkle. Also, where the bumper brackets rear most bolt goes through the rail, the rails are dented inwards because the forward-jutting tabs were pushed flat with the bulkhead.

Has anyone recovered from this kind of damage? I am thinking of pounding everything flat and plating it. Could anyone tell me if a bodyshop frame jig can help this? Thanks for any help!

Without pic's it's hard to say but I think you can "pound it and armour it" Yes a body shop frame machine could tell you exactly what's wrong. Most shops would charge you 2-3 hours of labor to assess it on the machine though. If your sheetmetal isn't out of alignment I'd say repair as you can and drive, it is after all a Jeep and not a Mercedes.
Being a former bodyshop manager, post some pix and I'll try and give you an idea of what you are facing.

the frame horns look true and level, but the front section between the channels is curved backwards. they must have been pulled towards each other some bit, for this to be possible. i will have to pound it back into 90º shapes for the new bumper to bolt on. i couldn't unbolt it because of the way the mounting brackets were bent, so a friend and I tore it off by hand (the holes were stretched way out). is this kind of stuff typycally repaired or would the vehicle be considered un-fixable? i can drill out all the spots and get a new one wedled on, but this seems excessive.

By "bulkhead" I assume you are referring to the lower cross rail that connects the ends of the front frame extensions, and runs beneath the radiator? The correct fix is to drill or grind out the spot welds and weld in a new piece. It's commonly done and is not at all "excessive" '-- for a shop it's easier to do it right than to mess around spending a lot of time trying to straighten a bent piece that will never be as strong as it was originally.

Eagle is right. One thing you may wish to consider is to get a stiffener from rigidco.com. Excellent upgrade and I'm thinking of making one myself. Weld in the new OE panel and then add one of the rigidco stiffeners. Won't be able to tear a bumper off by hand again. Remember the HSLA (hi strength low alloy) steel used in the structural components can be bent and repaired pretty easily. The official rule is "Bent fix it, Kinked, replace it. It is likely you COULD fix it but as inexpensive as it would be to make it really durable I'd do it.

I was planning on geting the RIGID front bumper anyohw. the reinforcement is definitely stronger than the OEM frame cap. where would i get a part like this? it would be would a pain to remove mine and one from the junkyard and reweld it all. is this a piece that is sold as a new oem replacement? thanks.

you would be time and money ahead to get a new one at the stealership. hacking an old one off will take a while and then you aren't getting a nice straight part. I doubt it will be too expensive OEM. You won't be able to get one aftermarket unless it's a reinforcement like Rigidco's.