My "Do It Yourself" Bear Hunt.....

[COOSEFAN]

Well with all the talk about bears lately I started getting the itch to go. I've killed 1 bear already with a bow but it was on the Rez, which was awesome, but in my mind is a different trophy. One of my lifelong goals, and one that's been fairly high on my "Bucket List", was to kill a bear on state land! I've helped on 1 successful stateland hunt before and have tried several times for myself but have never pulled the trigger...that is until yesterday!

 

With elk hunts right around the corner and coues cams needing to be checked I really didn't have the time or money to go hunt for myself. I kept reading about the successful bear hunters on here and talking to my buddy Bryan, "Butters", about the bears he's been seeing and I couldn't stand it anymore! It was Friday night and I had Saturday and Sunday open for myself so when the wife wasn't looking I stole some cash out of her purse. I then ran up to Wally-World, bought a bear tag, a six pack of Mountain Dew and a package of hot dogs! I then ran home, threw my rifle, packframe and optics in the truck and was on the highway before the wife knew what I was up to! By now it's late at night but I was on schedule to arrive about an hour before light and the closer I got to bear country the better I felt! I love helping others on their hunts but hunting for myself is all I live for and it's been too long since I'd done it. I knew what I was doing was crazy but I just had to do it, I had to be in the woods with my rifle and a tag in my pocket! The weather was right, the pears were ripe and I felt confident I was gonna find a bear and get my butt kicked but I was ready for the challenge! I've been on a ton of bear kills over the years and know full well how hard it can be to kill a bear and get em' back to the truck, even with friends there to help! The country I was gonna hunt isn't extremely nasty, but it's nasty enough and being by myself scared me but what the heck, ya only live once and I was goin' bear huntin'!

 

So, I arrive on schedule, load my packframe and have everything ready to run and gun once i find a bear. The clouds I'd hoped for weren't around so I knew the morning could be a quick one and it had me scanning way to fast with the binos! I finally slowed myself down and just like I had envisioned, there he was, sittin' there pulling fruit off the prickly pear pads! I said to myself, "got em'", and quickly evaluated the terrain and distance. I couldn't see how deep the ravines were between the bear and I but I could tell that a shot was highly unlikely because I'd lose visibility in the thick bottom country. I grabbed my pack and rifle and ran anyway, hoping to cut the distance down from the mile that it was to hopefully shooting distance. My rifle is a new one my friend built for me, it's a custom 7mm built super lightweight and it's range isn't as good as my "Coues Cannon" but we've got it shooting M.O.A. at 600 yards consistently. After a short run my thoughts were confirmed, no way to get closer and still have a shot, so I sat down at just over 1200 yards to hopefully watch were he heads to bed. The sun was close to shining on him so I figured he'd head down or up and over soon.

 

 

Here's a cell phone digiscope pic through my 15's......

 

 

 

 

After watching him for a while and scanning closer areas for different bears, he finally headed down into a ravine. I figured he'd be there for the day so my plan was to hike up on a big mountain located directly above the ravine he went into and wait em' out until dark. I hadn't slept in two days at that point and even though the hike was gonna suck, I was excited to get up there and take a nap! As I got closer to that mountain I stopped to take a break and pulled up my glasses to evaluate my options for the climb up. I immediately saw my bear walk between some trees just below the top! He didn't stay in the ravine, instead he climbed out and up the same mountain and was now at 900 yards! My blood started pumping as I knew I could possibly get a shot! I took off running again, paralleling the mountain but gaining elevation and distance on him. The ridge I was on ran past the mountain he was on but would keep me out of the thick bottom and the further I could take it the less angle I'd have for my shot. I stopped in one window, relocated him, threw down my tripod and laid the rifle across my 15's, ranged him at 650 and settled in behind the gun. He had stopped to feed on some pears and I had a shot but I was uncomfortable with the distance and really uncomfortable with the steep angle. Frustrated, but knowing he won't stay long in the sun like that, I took off running again! The ridge i'm on still goes higher and gets a little closer, I just need him to stay put a little longer! Finally, I find another window and can see him walking broadside. I range em' at under 500 and instantly go into setup mode! Tripod down, flip the head over and drop the rifle in the pocket against the 15's, and slide in behind it. I range him again using the tripod to steady the rangefinder, he's still walking so I yell at him, he stops, I get 476 yards on the rangefinder, spin the turret up to 475 and because of the angle I steady the crosshairs at the bottom of his chest right behind the front leg..BOOM! The gun recoils up as I jack another round in while listening to the bullet fly! I can still hear the shot and hissing noise echoing back at me as I drop the gun back on the tripod then...WHOP! I knew it sounded like a solid hit and as I got my eye back in the scope I immediately see him rolling and running down the hill, I hold in front of him and a little lower and sent another round his way for the heck of it and missed. As I got back on him from loading a 3rd round I see him stopped behind a bush, he stands halfway upright and tips over!!!

 

 

I reached into my pack, got my camera and took a pic right after that all happened.....

 

 

And here's a different veiw of the setup I end up using a lot, not the best but usually how it happens on the fast setups......

 

 

 

Now, as I sat there amazed that I had finally killed my stateland bear, I came back to reality and knew all my prior concerns would be realized! The sun was up, it was warm and getting warmer, and I had to haul butt! I grabbed my stuff, ran to a point in the bottom where I figured I'd be hiking through later and emptied my pack except for some water, camera and my trusty Havalon Piranta knife. I hiked up there, quickly found him and luckily he'd fallen in the shade of a tree. I was glad to see he was a boar and had a great hide on em with no rubs plus he's got a gorgeous color to him! Probably the best thing that I noticed immediately about him, and one of the very rare times that I've been happy about this, is "ground shrinkage"!!! LOL! I knew he was at least an average sized bear when I shot him but thought he could be bigger than I thought. I was actually relieved when I saw he wasn't a big bear and thought to myself at that moment that he was perfect size! I rolled him down to a decent spot for the pictures and had to get creative using my packframe as a tripod for the camera which was extremely frustrating and knowing I didn't have time to mess with it made it worse! I eventually got a couple pics taken and that's when my nightmare started! The slope was so steep (camera doesn't do it justice) the bear and I kept sliding downhill the whole time while I was skinning and quartering! Not having somebody there to hold a leg or help you roll the critter is no fun! I had to use my head to get it done (literally!) or my face to hold the legs up while using a knee or foot to keep the bear from sliding or rolling! When it was all said and done, I had quarters, straps or chunks of meat hangin' in multiple trees back up the hill towards where I had started! Somehow I managed to keep it all fairly clean and it all cooled nicely in the shade.

 

The pack out consisted of 2 trips, should have made it 3 trips but I REALLY didn't want to hike up and down that mountain again! With the heat, exhaustion and especially because I hadn't slept in 2 days, it was the hardest pack out I've ever done! All the work and exhaustion sucked but I knew what I was getting myself into that morning and I have no regrets at all! The experience, the challenge and the memories of my first stateland "D.I.Y" bear was all worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While cutting up the meat this morning I found carbon arrow slivers in one of his shoulders! I never noticed any wounds on him or on the inside of his hide and never noticed any damged meat, even around the slivers! I checked to shoulder bone for any damage or sign of being shot and it all looked normal. I also double checked the hide but we'll have to wait until it's fleshed to see what's there because nothing looks wrong other then my in and out hole from the bullet.

 

 

Here's a pic of the first peices I found, they were in the muscle close to the shoulder blade, and I found a few more after cutting around so I just threw that part in the trash, don't need any o' that! I did the gutless method, maybe the rest of the arrow was inside the chest cavity somehow? I'll never know, but I'll let ya'll know what we find when we flesh the hide!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks if you read through my whole story, I know it was long winded but I appreciate you taking the time to read it! Definitely a hunt I won't soon forget! JIM>

[DUG]

Awesome! Just awesome, way to go !

[GameHauler]

[BML]

Awesome Jim!! Thanks for sharing the story. Great photos too!! Congrats.

 

[jnobleinaz]

Thats fricken crazy Jimbo! Good job.

[mr.smith]

Nice work Jim. Great write up too. Congrats.

[The Coues]

Great Job!!

[jeffro]

Nice bear

[Chef]

GOOD GOING!

Now that was a tough gig.

Congrats on your bear Jim!

[lucky2hunt]

Congrats! Dedication and persistence (and a little craziness ) pays off!!!

[bonecollector]

Great looking bear, Congrats. Your write ups always makes me feel like im there on the hunt. Thanks for sharing.

[ehunt]

Congrats!!

[Pixman]

What a great story Jim, it's one thing to have a planned hunt with family or friends but to just decide to go and throw in a few things in your pack and go! And to be able to spot and take a bear is amazing. Good job!

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

Way to go my friend! Great work! Way to set an example of how to work your arse off to save the cape AND MEAT!! Great example of to sacrafice to prevail!! Thanks for sharing it!!

[standman]

Wonderfull story!! Congrats!!

 

 

Brian