Re: Follow up your shots on bear eh?
Happens all the time, and not just with bears. Lots of moose and deer left to rot because some unethical hunter couldn't be bothered to confirm the missed shot. These are usually the same people that toss beer cans in the ditch and leave campsites full of garbage. I think there are also lots of bears just 'shot in the guts' so they run in the bush and die types out there.
Re: Follow up your shots on bear eh?
Like Ruark says 'Use enough gun' , theres no such thing as over-kill
Chances are the young girl was not, leading to wounded bears, if she was at all proficient with a rifle
But it has been known that bears are sometimes used as 'practice' leading up to the real deal in the fall
There is a reason the bears and shoulder shots are synonymous
SOP should be Hit the shoulder(s) to stop him where he is, the shot may ruin some meat, but then fill that second tag
Re: Follow up your shots on bear eh?
Bear fur can soak up lots of blood, but they do leak when properly hit. This bear ran for cover after a TSX bullet hit it, but didn't go far. Blood trail was evident. :)
https://scontent.fyyc6-1.fna.fbcdn.n...8b&oe=5ECAA3BE
Re: Follow up your shots on bear eh?
Seen alota bears taken in the last three decades. Some leak and leave a trail, some don’t. One thing I do know, you pull the trigger, you go lookin for a dead or wounded bear. Only responsible thing to do, and it ain’t just a peek from the side of the road and call it good.
About ten years ago fellow I was hunting with shot a bear at 80, good rest, bear spun and ran off the road. He figured it was a good hit, but we found no blood trail, and no bear. Bush was thick but had small openings. We very slowly and quietly moved from clearing to clearing. We split up at about 50 meters and I angled away to the left and downhill with a plan to try to stay about 10 - 15 meters apart . Moved slowly 5 yards then stand quietly and listen. About 40 meters after we split up while standing in a tiny clearing I heard a branch snap. I saw the bear at about 10 yards through a small opening and shot it.
His shot entered the chest. Took out a lung, and we never found one drop of blood. It was a hundred yards from the road when I put it down. We didn’t see one thing while tracking that bear that told us it was hit. Seldom this is the case, but it happens. After the big boom, this is the only next step.
Re: Follow up your shots on bear eh?
Hmmm hardest animal to track once wounded...use enough gun as Bill repeated Robert Rurak..use the front leg from the side 1/2 way between elbow and point of shoulder.I am not a fan of high shoulder shot.
if you have to track..give it 1 hour or so unless it's at dark.come back in am, when raining go while there still may be blood.
Use flagging tape..red for blood..yellow for area searched..
Be patient be methodical. .step..by step..by step.
The hide is not firmly attached to the body..lots of wiggle room when a bear moves..fat and tissue plus thick hide means a lot of blood is retained by the bear.be prepared for the unexpected..animals don't always do what we think they should do.
Bears shot head for safety..thick cover.bleeding causes any animal to breathe faster..faster resps" to deliver same oxygen with less blood to carry that oxygen.adrenaline and effort add to bears thirst...seek out water...
Bears laying dead..are not the 40 inch height of a standing bear...less than half that..death run can lodge a bear under a downed tree..into thick undergrowth..
Bent grass, newly torn up ground, bent broken branches..and blood..use that red flagging tape for blood trail..every once and a bit look back and see what has actually happened on this wounded bears trail...
Cheers
Srupp