Last bear hunt. Fear, Joy and heart break.

[caddisguy]

Losing an animal is always going to be traumatic for any hunter with a conscious. The fact you are heart broke over it says a lot about your character. That said, try not to beat yourself up much more than you already have. I know that's easier said than done, add the fact you are a new hunter and it would have been your first big game harvest, now the whole deal probably feels pretty tainted.

Reality is, you'll probably dwell on it or think about it more days than not for some months to come. As time goes on, you'll think about it less and when you do, it will be more constructive with less emotion attached to it. It's an experience to learn from and do everything you can do never repeat.

I have lost an animal too despite searching for days and evening coming back a week later to check for bird activity. I have also had shots I would take back if I could, even in cases where I did eventually track down the animal. Anything short of a quick clean kill will weigh on you some and make you think.

Chin up there. Take the lesson and get back on the saddle.

And thank you for sharing the story.

[Bugle M In]

I am pretty sure everyone who has put in the time and done plenty of hunts and had opportunities to squeeze off the pin gave had it happen.
Thanks for the share.

[Gateholio]

It happens. I lost a bear once. Never found any blood or hair but couldn't see how I could have missed. We even tried trailing it with a dog and nothing came up. That's the only animal I shot at and didn't recover that I didn't feel was a clean miss but I just didn't have any evidence of a hit.

Bears will often go find a hole to lie down and die in when they are in a forested area. Can walk past them and not see them until "ohhhh there he is!"

I don't like the standing frontal shot on a bear for the same reason Willy gave. Unless it's dead center and you hit the spine or get lucky and hit the heart it can be a marginal shot. I have no problem with shooting a bear that is on all fours facing me though. Squat down and put it right below his chin and he's not going far, in my experience. Ultimately a broadside shot is the best one as it has the biggest margin.

[wildcatter]

Who else has experienced something like this, and how do you get over it? I know that this can happen and it’s always a risk…but to have this happen for my first attempt at killing something is seriously defeating and depressing.

Smilar thing happened to me on a nice 4 point mulie.
I was aiming behind the shoulder and just as I was squeezing the trigger it took a step forward and hit it in the gut.
I searched for a very long time but didn't find it.
Still think about it often.

[HarryToolips]

Given the placement of your shot I agree with Willy that the bear most likely passed away, that being said, it is truly amazing how tough wild animals are, and how they can recover from wounds..

What I do recommend for next time is the next time you hammer an animal and it runs off like that, and even if it is hot out, is waiting at least a half hour (from my experience) before embarking on the blood trail (need to provide them time to lay down, the adrenaline to wear off, and then they expire)..I have also tracked game on a blood trail before and had them backtrack then take a new trail, which can be confusing..

As the others have said, to an ethical hunter, leaving a wounded animal never feels good, but all you can do now is learn from it and move on..

[britman101]

In BC it is legal to use a dog to track wounded game. So if you have a friend that has a dog, my preference would be a hunting dog, you can leash the dog up and go back to the spot it was shot and begin tracking the wounded animal. if the animal is down I would say the dog will find it for you. Be sure to bring along some type of flagging tape to mark your trail too. Just my humble opinion on the matter.

[Jagermeister]

1. Most often, when wounded, bears will head to a flowing stream. Give at least half an hour before taking up the track. You don’t want to jump him while he may be quite agile and attack or run further into the bush. The longer he lays, the harder it is for him to get up.
2. When bear hunting, it is best to use an un-scoped firearm as most shots are taken at close range making it difficult to find the lethal target area on magnified scope image. Having a tip-off mounted scope or a low power scope would be a good choice.
3. Get a blue coloured lens cover for your flashlight. Why you ask? Blood is highly illuminated under the blue light spectrum and really stands out under low-light and dark conditions. Makes for easier tracking.

[huntingfamily]

In BC it is legal to use a dog to track wounded game. So if you have a friend that has a dog, my preference would be a hunting dog, you can leash the dog up and go back to the spot it was shot and begin tracking the wounded animal. if the animal is down I would say the dog will find it for you. Be sure to bring along some type of flagging tape to mark your trail too. Just my humble opinion on the matter.

Best suggestion right here!