kidso

Lets see some bears in the trees, borntohunt!

Did the rains pound your area? Increasing water access also can move the bears away from "solid" water spots.

When did you first give your bear skin to Jeff? I gave mine to him last July. Lucky that your hide was not at the tannery behind held in storage on his unpaid account. Glad you reacquired your possession!

Mike, you need to buy a .454 casull to put your mind at ease!

A Trick of Fate A week before my hunt, Lonnie was up checking my game cams in unit 23 and excitedly reported that a solitary bear had posed for a picture a few weeks earlier. He asked me what I thought about its size and I commented that it was pretty small and that I wouldnt shoot it if it came in while I was sitting water. He pushed me a bit more on this issue and I prophetically added that the only way I would ever shoot a bear that size would be if it came in during one of my predator calling stands. Little did I know that fate was listening to our conversation that day and marking my words for future reference. The next week passed as slowly as molasses drizzling off a stack of sweetcakes, but eventually Sunday afternoon arrived and I prepared to leave on my bear hunt. I was just about finished packing my Jeep when my wife said she had a bad feeling about me leaving on the Sabbath, so I told her I would wait until Monday in order to keep the Lords Day holy. Monday, at 1:00 AM my alarm clock screamed directly into my ear, and thirty minutes later, I was rolling down the highway towards my date with destiny. At 4:00 AM, I was stalking quietly into my naturally-built ground blind 50 yards away from one of my favorite bear spots. Not that I had ever tagged a bear over this or any other water source, it simply was a great spot based on the accumulation of trail cam evidence it produced. While sitting water, my patience usually runs short after an hour or two, and the caller in me reluctantly slunks away to start blaring away into nearby canyons. By 5:30 AM, my internal nemesis achieved his victory and I optimistically left the blind to begin my bear calling spree. Ten long, hot, grueling stands later, I found myself plodding back to re-enter my blind to sit water once again for the final two hours of daylight. At 7:47 PM, I heard a branch break out in the distance. My heart began pounding like a herd of stampeding buffalo as I soon heard a second stick crack in half. I reached down and picked my bow up and accidentally bumped one of its limbs against a rock. This greenhorn move produced a loud scraping sound that shattered the silence and halted the movement of whatever creature was lurking just beyond my eyesight. I shed a tear. At 8:05 PM, the dry oak leaves littering the forest floor around my blind began to crunch under the weight of a moving beast. Redemption? Was I being given a second chance for my foolish error? A few moments later my eyes spotted the moving limbs of a whitetail deer approaching the tank to water. After that, the surrounding area once again become quiet and then menacingly dark. Very dark. I returned to my Jeep somewhat dejected and hoped that the morrow would provide me with better luck. Tuesday morning found me once again sitting my favorite water hole from 4:00 to 6:00 AM. Other than the fact that I was able to observe a few turkeys drinking it up, the sitting-water-hunt-mode was pretty much uneventful. I soon made my predictable escape and began calling some nearby areas. The first 60 minute stand I called proved to be fruitless, as was the second. I was becoming increasingly fearful of repeating the same long, drawn out calling sequence I had experienced the day before and decided to go and check on a broken trick tank in the area to see if it had been fixed. On the hike over, I cut through a canyon I had called four or five times in the past three years without success, and decided to make stand number three for the day in that yet unproven location. I planted myself on the forest floor and began calling into this small canyon with high pitched squeaks and squeals on one of my no name open-reed calls. I had been shrilling away for some 15 minutes when a chocolate colored creature emerged out of a wrinkle in the canyon topography with deliberate and targeted pacing in my direction. It was coming directly at me from a slightly higher elevation, so all I could make out in that instant was a head with a pair of ears, which I knew belonged to a hungry bear! As fast as a lightning strike during a monsoon storm, I raised my rangefinder and clicked the disappearing brownish head at a distance of 50 yards. Scanning in front of the creature, I spotted a clearing in the trees at 22 yards where I figured I could make a clean shot. I quickly moved my single pin slider sight to just above 20 yards and let out another pitiful squeal. The bear immediately took off with a trot and closed to that anticipated distance in just a matter of seconds! My adrenalin was now operating in overdrive as I lifted my bow from off of my lap. The bear saw the movement and stopped in his tracks. I looked down at my right hand so I could attach my wrist release to the D-loop on my string and saw that my release was still folded back on itself in the unoperable position! (If anyone shoots with a Tru-Fire Hardcore Release, you know exactly what I am talking about.) It was then that time seemed to move in microseconds that lasted for an eternity. First, I lowered my bow back down on my lap. Next, I used my left hand to fold open my wrist release. Then, I attached the release to my D-loop. After that, I lifted my bow up. Finally, I drew back to my anchor point, which I am not even sure if I found in all the excitement, and prayed that I would still be able to see the bear through my peep sight and that he had not spooked and exited stage left already! As I pressed on my arrow release lever, the bear was turning to flee and my Easton Axis 400 skimmed across his face before pounding its way through a shoulder and lung. The bear turned his head and snapped off the half of the arrow that was protruding from its body and thundered away into the canyon. I stood there shaking in amazement and drinking up the incredible series of events that has just unfolded before me. What an incredible experience!! After waiting a painstakingly long hour-and-a half, I began tracking the bear from the sight of impact. It left a difficult trail to decipher, as any blood sign was nearly nonexistent and comprised of little more than a few scattered scarlet dots the size of pin heads. Fortunately, I had carefully observed the bears trajectory after his impaling and methodically stalked through the woods in that general direction while scrutinizing the terrain before me. After migrating 150 yards, over a 30 minute time frame as Sherlock Holmes, I let out a sigh of relief as I finally spotted the chocolate treasure that would soon be marrying my 2014 archery bear tag! Fate had definitely interacted with me, for the brown boar was definitely a young juvenile and smaller than I had judged it to be in the few seconds that I was able to view it, but I was assuredly grateful to now categorize him as MINE! We were now coming home together, my newest trophy and I. Postscript Note: This bear measured 4'-4" which was 2 inches longer than my cinnamon bear I shot three years ago, making it my second smallest bear harvested and second juvenile overall. However, I also have three adult bears under my belt, so its not just the small ones that respond to calling, the big boys do too. I chose NOT to cuddle up to this bear since it was a male; I save that maneuver for the females!

Great idea! My have to try! Run into any rattlesnakes while picking fruit?

Thanks Norteno. Always great to meet someone serious and dedicated to their archery practice!

That is the bear from that old 70's movie, "Prophecy"!

I have switched to the 3-blade100 grain Wac'Em Triton XLs, which give you a larger cutting diameter than the standard Tritons. Huntjunkie, sorry to hear you lost a bear. It seems that their thick coat is notorious for soaking up blood before it hits the ground. I'd like to hear more details about your experience with that one!

Looks like a bit of everything. Is that the spot the bears sacked your camera?

Wholly bear rug James! Shoot already, and I will be there to help you skin it!!!

Top 5 for tastiness? ...or color scheme?

Like HuntHarder, I too have taken a javelina or two with Shuttle T's. I switched to 100 grain Wac'Em Tritons, and now just increased to 100 grain Triton Wac'Em XL's, which provide a larger fixed blade cutting diameter of 1.25 inches. Both the standard and XL's fly exactly like each other and my field tips out to 80 yards.

Good creative thinking!

How long did it take to fill that bucket with the berries, and how many hands were helping you? That is a lot of berries!

That last bear is a nice color phase, or the one solo picture you have of the 4th bear from the end!

That cardinal on the cactus should be sold to the Arizona Cardinals marketing group. Sweet shot!

Everyone love a little piggy!

Sweet deal! What unit was God's Country, since it changes for each of us?

So much love to select from!

That is the same bear in both pictures.

I use Loc-tite Ultra Gel Control. Never lost a fletching yet with that glue.

If it is carrying a sack of nuts, it is a male. Usually hard to tell as their long thick fur conceals that area pretty well.

Rope or snare? Someone may be doing some illegal baiting for bear. Should contact Game and Fish and ask if any studies on bear are being conducted in that unit and whether or not snares are being used. Great spot, great bears!

Advice is great, hands-on tutoring is better. I shoot at Paseo Vista Park on most Saturdays at 6-7:30am. I would be happy to shoot with you and look for any weaknesses in your form or release habits. The park is in the "near" East Valley off the 202 and McQueen.