Just for back from a pretty good trip.
First morning we walked into our spot... thinking about the cinnamon I saw last week... hopeful... we ran into one of our spring blacktail friends. It was just standing there 3 yards away and didn't care at all. The deer in our area have accepted us to the point we probably couldnt spook them if we tried. Thought this was a bad sign though... deer hanging around in a bear feeding place, so there sure as heck won't be a bear standing right there, right? Well, we'll walk over to a log and have a sit anyway. We walk a little closer to where we want to sit... BEAR ! It's a decent one, guessing 300lbs or so. It's about 15-20 yards away, and I could have taken a poke at it through an opening in the brush with a standing shot, but 1) I want to have a better look and make sure its not a sow with cubs and 2) I want caddisgirl to shoot it and need to get her in a better position to set up the shooting stick. It's a gamble, as the bear seems to be wandering out of the feeding area towards the thick crap. We work our way around towards the bear and sure enough blackie has left the building.
We sat on our log for a bit, then I decide I would leave caddisgirl, maybe trick the bear into coming back out (still not sure if it busted us or we just had bad timing)
I went for a walk, maybe 500M or so. I ran into some more of our pet blacktails... a buck, a doe and a yearling fawn. I wave, I whistle, I "meh" and just keep walking. I don't stop and they start following along side me. What the heck is happening? I walk another 200M or so with my herd and stop by a creek. I sit down and light up a smoke. They all stand 10 yards away just starring. I don't really know how much these deer have going on upstairs but I start to wonder if they actually comprehend we are hunting the fawn killers... or maybe after all my failed attempts hunting them in the fall, they just find me to be good entertainment.
I head back to caddisgirl leaving my BT's behind while they stare. Nothing came of that bear, so we decided to recharge and cover some ground in the late morning and early afternoon.
We pass by our BT's, again... now there's a 4th one, wave, whistle... wait no, sit, stay! Lol ... we make our way up to another spot a 2-3kms away. It's getting super hot and we have yet to layer down. Getting towards a spot we use as a lookout point, we have no hope of seeing a bear... just going through the motions... and then crap, another bear! This one is about 12-15 yards away. It's a small bear. I would be surprised if it was 200lbs soaking wet. Still, I want caddisgirl to shoot it. Problem is we are busted, it's looking right at us and only quartering slightly toward us. It is also behind a bit of brush. I am waiting for caddisgirl and look over at her. She wants me to shoot it. I put my rifle up, but between the brush, the angle, my heart pumping, my naturally shaky hands and the scope magnification a little higher than normal, I am all over the map and procrastinating. The bear books it up a few yards. caddisgirl hands me her shooting stick. I have this bear in my scope as he wanders up the mountain. I am thinking of putting one in his upper back, but it still didn't feel right... watched him for several mins until he vanished up in the mountain.
That's about it. We ran into our BT's a few more times, saw about 15 different deer, some grouse. Lots of eaten grass and found one giant pile of scat.
Will check it out again next weekend and hopefully put one in the freezer. First and foremost, I want caddisgirl to get every opportunity at her first big game animal. I'm ok with missing a season. I know where to find them in the fall too. Still lots of time though
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Originally Posted by caddisguy
