My first black bear!

[bcd]

I had been putting in quite a few weekends this spring looking for a bear, without any luck, getting discouraged as this was my last weekend to try due to other commitments. Several long weekends in a row of 4am-11pm days and a lot of kilometers on my bike and boots were taking their toll but made it all the more satisfying when I got this one in the last few minutes of the last day of my spring hunt!

I had spent most of the weekend exploring the road closure on the Elaho G-Main, and had seen some sign, but nothing materialized. Saw some fresh wolf tracks and found an old moose skull and antlers. Thought that would be all I was bringing home. On the way out on Monday I decided to take a quick walk up a spur branch that I'd seen sign on a few weeks ago. Got about 2 kms in and hadn't seen anything new, was about to turn around but thought what the hell I'm here I'll take a quick look up the next hill and around the corner to see what it's like for next time.

As I neared the top of the hill I caught a glimpse of something black through the alder branches. But this time something was different - this stump had ears, and it was moving! I quickly stepped to the inside of the corner and knelt to give myself time to ready for the shot, and let the bear come to me. The wind had not been in my favor for the past few minutes, so I expected it to turn tail at any moment. The head reappeared. Then the body. Why hadn't I reviewed more frontal photos of bears for judging size!? It was coming straight towards me now. Head down and moving like it had somewhere to be. 50 yards. Please raise your head and give me a shot. 45 yards. Then it must have smelled or saw me, it slowed and raised its head slightly, ears perked up. 40 yards. Exhale. Steady. Squeeze.

The bear leaped off the road and into the bushes in a single bound, down hill of course. There was crashing for a few seconds then silence but for the shot still ringing in my ears. As I looked down to chamber another round I realized my hands were visibly shaking with excitement and adrenalin. In retrospect I should have waited, but in the moment it sounded like it hadn't gone far which I took to mean it was down for good. I got to it in under a minute and never having been this close to a bear before, my rifle suddenly felt awfully small in my outstretched hands as I reached to give it a poke. Nothing. The 165 gr tipped copper bullet had done its job, as had I. I took a moment to relax and take in what had just happened and what was lying before me. Sweet!! Finally got my bear. Shit! How do I get this thing up that bank!? lol.

I unloaded the gun and made double time back to the truck. About halfway back, where the road has a clliff on one side and a slide on the other, I heard rustling in the bushes. On the way in I had heard something in the same spot and assumed it was the grouse I had seen a few weeks earlier. Hey grouse, I'll be back for you in the fall. Then suddenly the grouse snarled at me. WTF!? I whirled and chambered a round to see another black bear scrambling up a tree 10 feet away. I had walked right past it on the way in. Definitely inside my comfort zone. Between that and the cougar I saw up here last year, I will now check every sound even if it's a bird or chipmunk 99.9% of the time.

I was able to drive right to the spot I had shot the bear, but getting it the 30 yards up the steep bank was a task and just about put my back out. Repeat after me, lift with the legs. It took several hours to skin and quarter it. Could have done it faster but I wanted to practice doing the hide carefully for when I get a big one. I had saved one beer from the weekend just in case, and g damn it tasted good when I was all done and had that meat cooling in a creek.

She's a bit on the small side, but still a lot of tasty meat. I grilled a small piece of back strap and it's delicious. Hanging it now and will cut and wrap on the weekend, before the girlfriend gets home!

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/bc_d/Hunting/IMG_20140519_125125_zps0ee94e8e.jpg

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/bc_d/Hunting/IMG_20140519_144157_zps40af4015.jpg

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/bc_d/Hunting/IMG_20140519_145241_zpsc6421cff.jpg

Interesting scars around the muzzle, must have got in a scrap at some point.

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/bc_d/Hunting/IMG_20140519_151000_zps49013990.jpg

Here's that moose skull, it was a good test for the new day pack.

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh514/bc_d/IMG_20140519_110645_zpse6c9d0d6.jpg

[itsy bitsy xj]

congrats!!! Looks like you had a great day out in the bush with the perfect ending

[Wentrot]

Nice, the hard work paid off.

[r106]

Great job. Very nice bear

[stubby]

Nice work! I'm looking forward to telling a similar story sometime very soon... hopefully

[Rob Chipman]

Nice work, and btw, there are no moose around there! :-)

The second bear part of the story made me chuckle...

[markomoose]

Good bear man .There are some nice ones up the Elaho!

[hare_assassin]

Way to go, man! Congratulations!

[B-rad]

Awesome job,,,,,,what a rush ehhh

[snow]

Thanks for sharing your story and the photos, congratulations!
I am curious though: from your story it appears that this was a sow, and there was not much time between when you saw it first and then shot it. How did you make sure there are no cubs following her, or perhaps waiting for her on a nearby tree?

[redthorn]

Thanks for sharing your story and the photos, congratulations!
I am curious though: from your story it appears that this was a sow, and there was not much time between when you saw it first and then shot it. How did you make sure there are no cubs following her, or perhaps waiting for her on a nearby tree?

Really? The guy gives us all what we are waiting for, Stories and pictures, and you start into him about "What if it was a sow with cubs?"


He was hiking in, not roaring around a corner in his truck and shooting at the first black patch of fur he saw. I'm sure he took looked. I am glad to hear about people hiking in and hunting on foot. They actually see and understand what's going on. Trust me, a sow with cubs makes a racket, and she will be first focused on herding the cubs to safety before heading down to check out a hunter.

Good Job BCD. You are way cooler than all these armchair critics.

[Blainer]

Good share
Congratulations
Looks like a fair size moose for that country.

[Wentrot]

Really? The guy gives us all what we are waiting for, Stories and pictures, and you start into him about "What if it was a sow with cubs?"


He was hiking in, not roaring around a corner in his truck and shooting at the first black patch of fur he saw. I'm sure he took looked. I am glad to hear about people hiking in and hunting on foot. They actually see and understand what's going on. Trust me, a sow with cubs makes a racket, and she will be first focused on herding the cubs to safety before heading down to check out a hunter.

Good Job BCD. You are way cooler than all these armchair critics.

She is a new hunter and simply asked a question. Remove the antler from your ass and settle down.

[snow]

hi redhorn, yeah i received PMs from a few people giving me a heads up i would be frown upon, after I asked my question. All I wanted to do is learn, and if this forum is not meant for that, then thanks for letting me know. Read the story again and you will see that it is not obvious if the bear was observed first, on the contrary, so that's why i asked. I want to be a responsible hunter myself and want to learn from others.

I have definitely been between bears and their cubs who were maybe 30m away, on a tree, and the sow has weighted the situation pretty carefully and has not given any signs of their cubs nearby, as to protect them.

Armchair critics? I have spent over 100 days in the woods last year. You don't need to accuse anyone if they ask a question that you may not like.

[Steeleco]

It's not over till it's over, good on you for staying with it. Congrats

[Fella]

Way to go man, nice bear! Thanks for sharing!

[bcd]

Thanks guys! I've enjoyed all the stories and photos on the site over the years so it's nice to have one of my own to share.


Thanks for sharing your story and the photos, congratulations!
I am curious though: from your story it appears that this was a sow, and there was not much time between when you saw it first and then shot it. How did you make sure there are no cubs following her, or perhaps waiting for her on a nearby tree?

No offence taken; it's a valid question and I'm happy to discuss in the interest of my own learning. My thought process was that the wind had been blowing fairly steady in my direction of travel, so there was a good chance the bear had caught a whiff of my eau de hunter and wouldn't be heading directly toward me with cubs in tow. Secondly, she appeared to be bee lining it down the road, only looking straight ahead, never over her shoulder. When she noticed me she didn't stop or look back or to the side, but continued to look forward and advance towards me, which I took to be indicative of a bear without cubs. I felt that if I waited I might lose the opportunity for a humane shot, or have to shoot on a moving target at closer range, given it continued to approach after having seen me.

I would love to have spotted a bear in a meadow a km away with plenty of time to observe and stalk in on it, and that has been my primary approach. But that's not how it happened in the end, and I made the best decision I could given the limited time and information I had to work with. If anyone has suggestions on how to better assess a similar situation in the future, I'm open to suggestions (other than shoot the first bear that I walked past and didn't notice ;)) Cheers.

[fearnodeer]

Hey congrats on your first.

[albravo2]

BCD,

Nice bear and a great story. Very happy for you.

I was curious about the sow/cub thing too. I was glad Snow asked and I think your answer was very reasonable.

I took a picture of an Elaho cow with two calves a couple years ago, I wonder if they were the offspring of that bull you found. Not many in that area, but definitely a few.

[B-rad]

BCD,,,,,,proud of ya for backing up ur story,,,,,,was a legit harvest,,,,,,,congrats again on ur bush pig

[Witko]

Awesome, man! Congrats. I'm in a similar position. This is my first year hunting. I've spent a few full days out there so far. Had one sighted in on my second day, but wasn't sure if it was a sow or boar and didn't really have a chance to take a good look for size on it before it "presented" so I didn't shoot on it. Saw it later in the day in exactly the same cut (assuming it was the same one anyway) this time I got a much better look and he was definitely a shootable bear... but this time he was too far away and the second he caught site of us he was gone.

I'll have one more chance to get out before my spring bear tag becomes a fall bear tag... so here's hoping I can catch some of your luck!

Congrats again, and thanks for sharing your story and a few decent pics.

[ryry4]

Congrats, nice bear!

[whitespringer]

Good story, thanks for sharing.

[Glenny]

Nice first bar. Looks like sumpen did clamp down on his snout pretty good.

[hotstuff]

4844............................................

[DrMike]

Congrats on a fine first bear. No doubt some fine dining there.

[Mulehahn]

Nice bear! And you learned the cardinal rule of bear hunting, only look up hill. Are you going to do anything with the skull (since probably not worth a rug?

[gerrygoat]

Congrats on the bear, great job :) I would bet a bunch of cash the second bear was a boar, the rut is starting now and he was keeping tabs on her, seen it a bunch of times here.