On May 10th BCbillies, 6 K and I headed out for 5 days of grizzly bear bliss. All went according to plan on the way in to our camping spot, aside from the standard “whoops I think I forgot to bring a...” that seems to happen from time to time. On our way in we spotted a very large griz just outside of our zone. Even though it was tempting to stay and admire, we decided to move on...we had business to attend to. We arrived at our planned location a little after 7:00pm and after unloading our gear 6K offered to set up camp while BCbillies and I went for an evening hunt. We slipped into the canoe and started paddling. Within an hour, we had our first grizz spotted. He was walking towards us on a tidal flat, but hadn’t seen us, and there was a gentle wind in our favor. It was on. We landed the canoe and pulled it up securely. There was a small strip of eerie looking trees between us and the bear. After carefully surveying the scene we decided that we would slowly make our way to an opening in the trees where we would gain a large vantage and hopefully a good look at this bear. As we made our way through the clearing, there was no sign of the bear, but as we continued we realized there was a gulley just past the trees that we weren’t aware of. As we cautiously made our way towards the gulley, the ground was not bad, but just a little noisier than we would like. Still, we had to keep moving because we were losing light. We were about 25 yards away from the gulley when we heard splashing. It was show time. The bear walked out quartering away from us. He looked lanky, which isn’t abnormal at this time of year, and was a nice light brown color and after about a second or two I set up and told BCbillies, I’m gonna take him. Gun up, crosshairs on, safety off, and then I hesitated. I thought “don’t rush this, just take a quick look and make he’s not rubbed.” After all, we had 300 yards in any direction for him to cover before he would be out of sight. Just as I hesitated, he turned and walked straight away from us, leaving us with only a view of his derriere. CRAP! I hesitated and lost my opportunity. That seemed to be my lot when it came to g-bears. I have had safety off on a number of bears over the last 7 or 8 years and inevitably something goes wrong...chalk up another one that would haunt me year round as I lay awake at night wishing I would have squeezed.
May 11th, the three of us carefully explored all day, and didn’t see a bear. We did, however, see some tracks. Upon seeing the footprints in the sand, we all agreed...THAT is what we’re talking about! The pad was 8” across—presumably a 9’+bear. After going for a walk for a few hours and sitting and waiting for the evening, we passed by where we had seen the tracks, only to notice that while we were gone, he had returned. Fresh tracks were there almost taunting us. All we could do was laugh as the stuff he walked into was thick and loud.
May 12th 6K decided to gain some altitude and get a better vantage to see if he could lead us to a bear. BCbillies and I set out in the canoe. Minutes after we left camp, we were onto a bear. This time a nice blonde looking bear. We set up for an hour and he came out again a few hundred yards away, but in the end we never got a chance at him. 6 K didn’t see much and so we all returned to camp late morning. BCbillies went for a hike, while 6 K and I decided to set up the crab traps and check on the boat. A ½ hour job turned into 5 hours of work. With the tide going out the rocks were covered in slick vegetation. I slipped and slid down a big rock and fell into the ocean. On my way down I opted to literally throw my gun into the boat instead of having it come for a swim. Great. New dings on the stock, and scrapes on the scope made left me wondering how badly my scope was knocked. We had no choice but to test it. So, between that, and a few other things that seemed to go wrong, it was clear that it was one of those days. Sometimes that can turn out to be a good thing.
We went out for an evening hunt. BCbillies went up to a better vantage and 6 K and I went and set up in the tidal flats and watch for something to come out. And of course, we had our “eye in the sky” ready to tip us off. At about 7:45pm we received word. There was a big griz out. It was in a terrible location for us, and after a few minutes, he stuck his nose in the air and wandered into the timber. We moved locations slightly to account for the wind. After a few minutes we received another word. Another g-bear. This time in a good location. We were on the move, but with the wind blowing at our backs, it seemed pointless. Still, we continued, expecting to hear any second that the bear had bolted. Then, almost on cue, the radio came alive again. The message though was unexpected. “Screw that bear, I got a bigger one for you—turn around!” We made our move and the stalk was on. We canoed our way roughly 400 yards at which point we gently beached the canoe and climbed up to a huge tree root. There he was. He was not a small bear. He was big and dark. I had seen enough. I would not let this opportunity slip away. 6 K and I set up. The bear was about 185 yards away and quartering towards us. I clicked my safety off. I had been here before. But this time it would end differently. One squeeze of the300wm’s trigger, and it was on. Bear down. Sweet. Then...bear up. 6 K’s 338 then went off. Bear down. Then, again, bear up, clearly damaged by 2 direct shoulder shots. I shot again, bear down...and up. I shot again, down. In the end we shot this bruin 6 times, all of which were revealed to be on target, kill shots...they are just tough animals. Wow. We slowly made our way to him and there was no ground shrinkage. He was a big dark boar. Some thanks were given and some time was spent just admiring the impressive creature. Finally, after years of hunting, my first grizzly tag was cut. What a great feeling. We made it back to camp at 12:30 a.m. Dinner and stories until 2 a.m. and it was lights out, but there was no chance I would sleep for quite some time. I’d been kept awake by the replaying of grizzly bear hunts many times in the past, but this time it was for a different reason completely.
This was a trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. Thanks to two great friends for their selfless commitment to helping this dream come to fruition.
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Re: Success on a Grizz Hunt, Finally!
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