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Thread: My Second Bear

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    952

    My Second Bear

    Originally, I was a little hesitant to hunt blackies, being omnivores, I was always afraid they would taste nasty, and I didn’t see the point.

    After hearing from many people that they are actually quite tasty, reading tons of reports on HBC, and seeing a few bears, I decided it was time to try.

    It took me nearly 2 years of trying before I finally got things dialed in. I read a bunch on here and started poking around where I thought they might be. I started seeing scat and tracks and after a few miles on the boots narrowing down locations – I finally connected.

    Bear meat is now my 12-year-old son’s absolute favorite. I think part of it is the thrill of telling his buddies that he’s eating bear, but it’s still a great excuse for me to keep chasing them. My freezer is empty of bear and he’s begging me to go get another one.

    I have a big boy boar that I’ve seen twice in my neck of the woods. The second time was deer season and I passed on him because it was my last day out for that outing and I thought it was too much for me to deal with solo. Honestly, it wasn’t too much, I just decided in the moment that I didn’t want to deal with a 300# bear on my own that day. I put my crosshairs on him and watched him march across the field like a boss. All of those ‘do I?’ or ‘don’t I?’ questions that go through your mind the in the milliseconds before you pull the trigger came up – ‘not today’- and I didn’t pull the trigger. That was last fall.

    This spring I’ve gone back to where I’ve seen this bad boy – I call him ‘The Boss’ - and there’s nothing – not a single sign. No mowed grass, no scat, no tracks, no nothing. That’s fine, I’ve only seen him twice anyway – he’s the ghost. The first time I saw him he scared the crap out of me crashing across the swamp in my direction at dusk - right at the end of shooting light. It was still legal shooting light but past what I really WANT for shooting light. I didn’t see more than a huge shape and no shot. The second time, when I had the upper hand, I passed.

    Overall, this year has been bizarre. I’ve seen one pile of poop and 2 tracks. Where I normally see piles and piles of scat and grass that looks like it was mowed – nothing. I spent 4 days two weeks ago tramping around where there should be bears and saw one tiny pile of scat.

    This week I saw a short window of opportunity, a gap in Little League games and a practice I could skip while my son is at his mom’s place. One last shot for a spring bear. It’s a bit warm but I wanted to head to the cabin anyway. The loons are back, and I can sleep to calling loons with all the windows open. Who needs a bear to be happy?

    On the drive-up Monday, I have some business calls in the car, spend a couple hours on the computer after I arrive, load up the rifle and recovery equipment, and drive to my spot. My window is Monday-Thursday afternoons (after work) and then a quick drive back to Vancouver on Friday so I can pick my son up from school – and a return to the baseball practice routine. A bear would be great but it’s good weather for hiking with a rifle and my expectations are not high. Life is good.

    My afternoon plan has 3 stops. It’s not dark until after 9 so I head out around 4pm. First stop will be a couple acre meadow a few kms down an FSR. It’s the kind of place that looks perfect for bears, but the FSR runs right through it and there’s an old muffler, a bunch of shotgun hulls, and old, old beer cans if you look hard enough. People generally blow by here and it’s too close to anyone driving down the FSR for me to spend any time there. There’s not a lot of traffic but occasionally some and I don’t like seeing people much when I’m hunting. The secret about this spot is that I bumped a small bear out of there a year ago.

    Second stop will be my honey hole. There’s some ground to cover her and I need to walk ¾ of a mile to get to the prime spots, but I know the path and there’s a lot of varied terrain which might be nice in the heat, wooded areas, open space, grass, etc. It’s where I shot my first bear. I haven’t seen any bears there since but it’s a nice out of the way spot and feels perfect.

    And, because the sun doesn’t set until 9 and I can’t see myself sitting in one spot for 5 hours, the third stop will be where I wait for sundown. It’s where I’ve seen The Boss and last fall, I had a sow practically walk into me. She turned up the hill and walked directly to me, at 10’ she realized I was there, and we made one another’s acquaintance. After she gave me a good long look and went the other way, her cub that must not have been 10 pounds clambered up a tree to get a look at what the commotion was about. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had hunting. The good thing about The Boss’ spot today is that the wind is coming the right direction for me to walk into the clearing with the wind on my nose. Seems like it’s usually the coming other way.

    I parked my car about ½ mile from the clearing that will be my first stop and headed uphill and into the woods so I could drop into the meadow without coming down the FSR. I got to the top where I had a decent vantage and sat there for 20-30 minutes hoping that no one would come screaming down the FSR.  Nothing. In short sleeve shirt temperatures, with low expectations, no bear was no problem.

    After a quick sit I decided to walk down and look further down into the meadow. I slowly made my way across the FSR and the meadow. No bear poop, just a little bit of trampled dandelions. It didn’t look like anything was eaten so I was guessing not bears.

    As I slow walk over the crest, OH SHIT! There’s a bear! I’m pretty sure he’s the one I kicked out last year. I don’t know much about bears, but in my area, they seem to have different personalities and looks about them. Maybe I'm anthropomorphizing a bit, but I think I can usually tell if I’ve seen one of them before. I even give some of them names. This one was ‘The young fella I saw last year’ – I think that’s his Indian name. He’s not too big but has grown a lot since last year and seems to have a lot more confidence than when I saw him scurrying away a year ago.

    I had circled from the edge of the clearing and the wind was in my face. Luckily, because he was at 40 yards and angling towards me. There were 2 very small scrub bushes between us, so I stayed behind one and waited for him to clear the other. A quick glance around showed that he was alone with 100 yards to the closest hiding place. Certainly not a sow with cubs. Besides, he looked like a boar. He was nibbling on grass and talking to himself as he slowly sauntered in my direction.

    Crosshairs on him. Yes or No decision point was imminent. It’s only 30 minutes into my allotted 3 days of bear hunting. He’s not The Boss. He is the first bear I’ve seen this season. He’s big enough but not huge. Maybe I’ll see The Boss in 2 hours. Do I want to deal with him on my own? Sure, it’s not a sow? Damn, it’s getting closer. Gotta make a decision. He’s not The Boss. My son wants a bear. This is a new rifle; will it shoot straight? It was fine at the range. Did I sight it in properly? Am I aiming far enough back? Should I take him and then wait until fall to try and find The Boss? How close should I let him get? What if he winds me and takes off? Will I feel bad if I shoot him? Remember that this trigger has a lot harder pull than your other rifle. Is it important enough to shoot a bear with the new rifle to take this one? Or should I try to find The Boss?

    He was quartering towards me at about 20 yards, and I know I was calculating angles towards the important parts in his chest but that was automatic and drowned out by the millions of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ decision questions.

    I am here for meat this time and dropping The boss is just a fun fantasy.

    Bang

    He was a bad ass. I hadn’t planned to go for the shoulder, but he was quartering towards me and that was the angle towards his vitals. Now I know why the old timers aim for a shoulder. He tried to bite what bit him, fell down and was finished in a few seconds. I had chambered another round, but he wasn’t going anywhere. I got to hear the bear death moan for the first time. It makes you feel mortal.

    I sent my son a picture and he was ecstatic! His reply was ‘yesyesyesyesyes!’ I was a happy papa. I told him this was serious business asked him to thank the bear.

    He sent me another text:

    ‘Thank u bear’.


    First thing shot with my new rifle:
    https://i.imgur.com/rD8lLVTb.jpg

    Perfect access and the first time I've missed my truck:
    https://i.imgur.com/5Y5ATnpb.jpg

    I think I hit him in a good spot.
    https://i.imgur.com/JwnBi3Qb.jpg
    No tag soup this year.
    https://i.imgur.com/AYcUBunb.jpg
    Last edited by jlirot; 06-08-2023 at 01:39 PM.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    952

    Re: My Second Bear

    trying again.



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  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    17

    Re: My Second Bear

    Good job staying committed and not giving up. You have the right idea , don’t be swayed by no normal sign volume.

    I’m no biologist but I believe what is causing a slow start to this year is bears will chase the “green wave” until it’s gone. Those fresh, post winter, sprouts/grass etc has the most nutrient value per mouthful for them. They start low and work uphill from what I’ve seen, capitalizing on the higher quality new growth. Then when the snow is all gone they turn around and come back down to low areas for breeding etc. just my $0.02 on the lack of sign cause . I believe it’s due to higher than normal snowpack and slower melt off and green wave speed to finish melting. They will be a couple weeks off from my read in region 7-A. Awesome to hear more people starting to enjoy the bear hunt, 150 000 in bc they say. plenty of opportunities and a good way to keep your tracking skills fresh . Welcome to the black bear club.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    I'll just keep being..
    Posts
    3,026

    Re: My Second Bear

    Nice work! Shot through the heart and you re to blame lol Ive got the canner sputtering away right now trying out your recipe.
    "Our arrows will block out the sun!" "Then we shall fight in the dark!" K.L. Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem. R.R. “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” M.F. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClJ...fYFveARiWyqjQA

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Chilliwack
    Posts
    227

    Re: My Second Bear

    Awesome! Congrats on the bear.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2022
    Posts
    1,903

    Re: My Second Bear

    good going, way to break in the new2u rifle , not much damage if any bone was encountered?
    Glad to say I have hunted Northern BC

    Simon Fraser had pretty good judgement on what he found in BC

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Location
    As far back as my feet will get me.
    Posts
    1,834

    Re: My Second Bear

    Congrats buddy, he'll be good eatin for sure nice one! Maybe next year or in the Fall you will connect on "The Boss".

    What butcher did you end up going with?
    Last edited by TheObserver; 06-09-2023 at 07:37 PM.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    952

    Re: My Second Bear

    Thanks guys. I dropped it off with Josh.

    I definitely broke some bones but I didn't break it down myself so I didn't closely examine the damage. His leg bone/shoulder was smashed to hell.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2021
    Location
    As far back as my feet will get me.
    Posts
    1,834

    Re: My Second Bear

    Quote Originally Posted by jlirot View Post
    Thanks guys. I dropped it off with Josh.

    I definitely broke some bones but I didn't break it down myself so I didn't closely examine the damage. His leg bone/shoulder was smashed to hell.
    I took a Buck to Josh last year and he did a good job.

    I'm not sure if you've ever been to Country Meadow Meats in Pitt Meadows, the owner Manny retired last year and now it is called Iron Butcher, same location. Turns out my buddy from highschool and his Brother are the owners now had no clue just found that out when I took my Bear there couple months back, they also do good work.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    mission
    Posts
    2,227

    Re: My Second Bear

    Very nice bear.
    Now that Boss bear will be your next bear I bet.
    Nothing is like climbing a mountain, and then feeling like you are at the top of the world.

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