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Thread: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

  1. #21
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    not the lower mainland
    Posts
    5,909

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Story will follow later got back late last night here is a teaser- squares at 7



    Ok here is a brief one and I will do a story on the trip later.

    I gotta say thanks to Glen ,Rick , Colin and Ernie for all your tips, sightings and info and it was a pleasure meeting all of you

    The day started lucky and got better from there


    After drying out all our clothing to a comfortable dampness from getting caught in the rainstorm the night before and adding a pair of winter work coveralls we went out for our late afternoon/evening hunt.

    We had been noticing alot of tracks and figure that the heavy rains interupted their feeding and now they were out hungry.
    Bumped a couple and noticed that as soon as you turned the engine off they would stop running.
    Engine start they run, engine stop they relax a bit pretty quickly. We figured that quiet and no engine noise is the key to educated bears and they seemed to run till they couldnt hear the engine any more .



    We started on our ascent into the mountains and once we got to a suitable elevation we started hikeing . We would hike, glass then when we wanted to move a section we would go back to the bike and idle it to the next section . On blind corners we were shutting down waiting a bit and creeping around to make sure it was clear so we didnt bump one.

    I was looking over a slide while Leah was about 10 yds from me and i saw the distinctive humped sillouette across a small valley closer then expected , I whisper excitedly for Leah to get down .

    I watched the bear for a bit and motioned to Leah to come over to where i was laying which had a few young trees for cover and the wind was in our favour.
    I took out the rangfinder and the bear was within easy distance. (156yds) I watched it for a bit more and determined that the bear seemed a healthy representation of what i wanted and alone.

    By now i was lying there with the rifle trained on it waiting for the right angle, first it faced me , then turned with his ass towards me and then finally he settled broadside. at this point i figured it couldnt get any better so i touched one off.

    The bullet met its mark and there was a slight moment that everything stopped as if a pause butten had been pressed. Then all of a sudden the bear sprung straight up as if it was standing on a hot fry pan ripping at the earth everytime it landed going like an angry bull trying to shake its rider.

    I had allready cycled the action as I recovered from what felt like rimfire recoil and pasted the crosshairs on the bear ready for the next shot as it tried a stiff donkey run up hill only to watch it tip over and expire after a few meters of labour .



    We made our way over to the bear checking to make sure it was really truly dead I climbed up to it and was gonna roll it down to a nice area for photos but Leah insisted we take it exactly where it fell as it fell and there was no need for positioning . (in looking at them they turned out perfect )

    She took a few Photos and then after saying a few respectfull words to the bear I rolled it down to an area to work on it.
    The 250g ttsx had done its job and was nowhere to be found, Its Lungs were liquid and it sounded like i was rolling a half full drum .




    Now the fun stuff starts as the night was closing in fast and we were getting sprinkles of rain.

    We used up the daylight and worked well into the night with a headlamp and two knives and our rifles beside us .
    At about 2/3rds through the bear we figure we should bring the bike over so we hike over there and bring the bike back.
    The bike had burnt out its headlight so all i had was one of those piaa lamps to navigate with so the ride out was slow going. (it also didnt like the altitude)


    We skinned it out leaving the head and paws intact and takeing some meat . tied and strapped it together with cord into a package as best we can and then realized it was bloody heavy and awkward.
    Placed it on the tank /bars of the bike with me hugging it, holding it on with knees , elbows and desperation as leah piled on the back and did her part holding the bear on also .
    We then made the long (several hours) very slow and taxing descent to the mainline then back to camp .


    rifle used win mod 70 Classic SS in 375 H&H , Barnes TTSX 250g bullets
    Last edited by Barracuda; 05-22-2011 at 03:00 PM.
    “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Walnut Grove, Langley
    Posts
    14,198

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Tick tock, Tick tock. The ban button is close Kyle but your lucky I'm leaving for the L/W in an hour LOL
    Take a kid hunting its more rewarding than shooting an animal yourself!!

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Kamloops
    Posts
    758

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Entry #1

    Got this guy about a week ago up in region 6. Had a great week long bear hunt, seeing about 10 bears a day. Decided to pull the trigger on this guy on the last evening of our hunt. Should of had a bow, shot him with my 300 win mag from about 10 yards.


  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Burnaby B.C
    Posts
    4,998

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Holy crap kyle nice bear
    I'm just here to provide moral support......Hey nice (insert animal here)congrats.

    In memory of you dad..."you always leave a campsite cleaner then when you found it"

    There's only one thing in life that constitutes insanity..... continuing to do the same thing you have been doing but expecting different results.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Middle to upper, lower fraser valley mountain
    Posts
    2,555

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Loaded the truck and was on the road by 10am. After stopping by the brother in laws house to say hello, i got to my camp spot and had lunch. After some much needed relaxing I decided to get hunting ( 5pm ) Being the long weekend there were lots of people enjoying the outdoors. I wanted to hunt as low as i could as there was still ice on the lake ( up high ) and 3ft snow banks on either side of the area. I started my hunt covering many miles of cut block with no sign what so ever. Not even a hint of Bear movement or action.

    Feeling a little out of sorts with no sign, I decided a snooze was the thing to do. Had an hr power nap from all the driving around and then it was getting close last light. Off I went back down the mountain and low and behold there's a 6ft bear standing beside me at about 40yrds. I grabbed my gun cycled a bullet and then he did an about face and started to run broadside of me. I let one rip and he didnt even twitch. Feeling a little beside my self at what just happened I decided to enlist some help tracking this bear. It was pretty dark by the time my help arrived. Didnt see any blood and very little tracks. We looked for close to 3 hrs and nothing.

    Was feeling pretty bummed by this time and was positive i made a great shot. We packed up and decided morning was going to be better time to look.

    Man what a difference day light can make. We track his prints for probably 100 yrds before we saw just a little bit of poo. That's right poo it was a tall tale sign that he was hit when you see little bits of poo every 8 to 10 inch. Then we came to an area where he had stopped and that's when we saw the blood. I take a quick look around and spotted him 30ft from where we were. Man I was pumped. SSSooooo glad we found him. I have no problems missing and having the animal get away, but when your positive you made a good shot, you never stop thinking about it......


    "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life."

    I'm a vegetarian. I eat things that eat vegetables..........

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Coquitlam
    Posts
    358

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Got my spring black bear

    Left Thurs night over to Vancouver Island and met my cousin in Nanaimo. We made the 3 hour drive to Gold River to look for spring bears but due to the amount of snow and lack of bear sightings we decided to head back to Duncan and try our luck there. This was a good choice because the first morning out I was able to connect on this nice boar. He measured out 6.5 ft and was quite an old warrior with scars and fresh bite marks all over his face and paws. His teeth were worn down to the gums except his bottom canines. I shot him at 280 yards straight uphill with my 375 Ruger. Just want to say thanks to my cousin Kenny (aka huntaholic) for spotting him. He will look good on the wall. Here's some pics.









  7. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Truck
    Posts
    95

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    Saturday am decided to go chase some bears. Seen this boar in a logging slash, decided he would be a good one for the dogs so cut loose. Off they go-right on his ass. Finally went to tree, I snuck in and this is what I saw.


    http://

    So I get him and his understudy tied off and decided to shoot this one out. I had nothing better to do that day than pack out a bear, so - Boom! Big red mist flash through the scope, I thought that was pretty dramatic...and as I reloaded (single shot rifle) the bear must have settled in to a crotch and didn't even wiggle....so I went over to the other side of the tree to investigate.

    hmm, a bloodtrail- 7mm seems to be enough gun for black bear.....

    http://

    follow the blood trail on up

    http://

    and very dead still in the tree is this:

    http://


    Head scrathing ensued. How to get him down? Well I made a ladder out of some nearby small trees, and tried for a couple hours with several close calls losing a bet with gravity and decided enlist some help.

    Longe story short, the bear almost got the last laugh several times as we just escaped maiming ourselves trying to retrieve a several hundred pound animal some 30 plus feet up out a first growth cedar. I was very thankful for the help of my Son and a great Buddy, (both who had good strong backs, ha ha), and jumped in to help without a second thought.
    Bear went 6' 4" with a good sized noggin.
    Last edited by black 'n blue; 05-30-2011 at 10:21 AM.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    williams lake
    Posts
    5,682

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    So yesterday (the 29th) after hanging out with family and friend's, I raced out to my dad's house for an afternoon hunt. We went back to the same area as the first day. It was prime conditions again... but started off a little grim. We were cruising the road then in a cut we seen a bunch of crows and hawks scatter. I said "there's something dead down there". So my dad pulled over and we wandered in to take a look. We came across a cow moose carcass. There was only the hide, head with no nose and guts. No bones or meat anywhere. The guts hadn't even been ripped into. So we carried on seen two other cow moose. We checked out the local lake and turned around and headed for home. On our way out I spotted a black bear about 600 yards down the road. My dad stopped the truck and with the aid of binos confirmed it was a decent boar. I had come up to find a bear and it was my last day so I said I'd take him. We bailed out of the truck and loaded out weapons of choice. We made out way down the ditch. Keeping our eyes on the bear. The bear stepped off the road and out of sight. So we gum booted it down the road as fast and silently as possible. We slowed up just before the spot he walked off the road. We came to another cross road into a cut block. I spotted him off to the side of the road a couple hundred yards down. We worked up the ditch once again and the bear turned his back to us again. I ran down the road and found a stump for cover/rest.

    The bear was now only 60 yards from me. I lined up with Sleena (my weatherby vanguard .30_06) not yet baptized I looked through the sights of my weaver 40/44 series 3-9x40 powered scope. I squeezed the trigger and sent my 150 grain sst flying at 3040fps. I hit the bear and it ran off towards the timber then fell over. My dad said watch him as he went to get the truck. When he got back we carefully closed in on the bear. We could see he was still breathing for a bit and put one more into his neck. He was done!! Success.



    He skinned out to 5 foot 6. He was a little shorter than we thought he was going to be but he still has a big head on him. The skull isn't dried and cleaned yet. But a taxidermist says it should dry out and make 19 inches. I'm thinking it'll be a high 18 incher.



    I spent this morning deboning hiim for pepperoni and hamburger. I also took a few steaks off of him and had them for lunch. He is tasty.

    full story here

    http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...463#post922463

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Coquitlam
    Posts
    633

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    I managed to cut both my tags in one day with the help of my bud bearslayer who also cut one tag and should've cut his second in the same day

    Anywhoozle this first bear is my personal best. I spotted him staring at us between two beaver ponds. We approached him and he stood his ground, until the bullet blew his heart! made it only 10 yards before he piled up and a long hard, gruesome, mosquito involved drag out of the marsh. He measured at 6'-7" and an 18" skull.




  10. #30
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Coquitlam
    Posts
    633

    Re: HBC Spring Bear Contest 2011

    The second bear was taken because we noticed it was injured (his paw/fore arm was broken & lacerated) maybe due to fighting or being hit by an atv/truck?

    I didn't mind filling my 2nd tag (more pepperoni ) and also putting this boar out of his misery. One shot

    He's around 5.5' and around 200lbs


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