Follow up your shots on bear eh?

[MontyLake]

Several years ago I was on a moose hunt in a part of Region 5 crawling with black bears. At least it was for the first week we were there then they disappeared.

We met this family when they had their truck stopped in the middle of the road and there was a girl standing there with a rifle and the dad was standing on the bank looking down and saying "Nope, you missed. there's no blood and no hair." They didn't make an effort to look any farther.


One day we were driving along and spotted a black bear at the edge of the road about 90 to 100 yards away. My buddy shot at it and it wheeled and dove for the bush. I'd seen it hunch up on the shot so was certain he'd hit it, but when we got to the spot where we thought the bear was, Gone. No sign. No blood, no cut hair and not even a scuff mark on the ground. We shoved our way through the tangle of second growth and looked downhill where we estimated the bear might have gone and voila, 20 yards down the hill was the dead bear.

To this day I wonder how many "missed" bears ran off and died from that hunt.

[303savage]

the first and only bear I shot with a bow just looked at me when the arrow went right threw it, the bear wandered down the hill about 30 ft and fell over,

[likemaple]

Not sure if the dad's claim of ten bears is from the same hunting trip. If it is, pull the trigger ten times on bear and still did not get one, simply means the dad is a terrible mentor about hunting.
Usually if get hit around vitals will definitely leaves a blood trail, but not sure about furs, thought.

[bigredchev]

Last bear I shot had zero blood. Took out both lungs and piled up 30 yards away. I knew the shot was good.



some people’s children...

[r106]

Without a big exit hole bears don't leak much. Doesn't mean you missed. Shot my first bear with a 30/06 180 gr at 30ish yards not a drop of blood. Saw him fold up good though he went 20 yards

[ElectricDyck]

Yep dad is a horrible mentor lol...I mainly hunt bears in spring and 90% do not leave any blood trail...I've seen 3 that were hit and not found and not by lack of trying...wish we had a good dog with us, I'm sure we would have found a dead bear close by, we just couldn't find it....One we found curled up in a creek covered with dead fall you couldn't see it 2 feet from it, the only reason we found it was the creek water was red....my policy after those experiences is my son and I shoot until it's down..works out good, the last one went 2 feet lol

[Squamch]

The bear I shot last weekend left zero blood until he fell over and died. He also covered a lot of ground with only 1 functional shoulder, before noticing he had holes in both lungs.

[Rattler]

Bear hair soaks up a lot of blood, hence the reason why they don’t leave a lot of blood.

[argyle1]

I shot a bear through the heart with a .338/.375 from 30 yards. The shot knocked it over the bank and out of sight. In seconds it came ripping back up over the bank, and as it ran past me I shot it through the heart again from the other side. It still ran a hundred yards or so out through the fire weeds. There was definitely blood, but not nearly as much as what I would have expected

[Ron.C]

I agree with you Monty that some game animals get left because there was no blood or hair where the animal was standing. That's where having a good mentor for a young/new hunter is so important.

I have nothing against road hunting and those who do it. I do it myself on occassion. But I hate rushed shots and tend to dislike taking shots a running game and I think road hunting does lend itself these situations. And with bears you really need to be patient as a lone bear on or just off the road you come across, jam on the breaks, jump out and shoot may have a cub(s) near by that you haven't seen yet.

Concur with most of what's being said, most bears I've taken dont leave much blood on the ground. And if the bear runs off into the thick stuff, it's extremely challenging and potentially dangerous.

I have a video of my buddy shooting a bear, frontal shot with a 7mm mag at a range of about 60 yards bear walking slowly straight at him. Bear bolts after the shot, like many animals do. No indication (blood, hair, body movement, thump you sometimes hear when a bullet hits. Bear ran downhill (very steep) into a nasty thick spot. Buddy wasn't rushed on the shot, an experienced hunter and an amazing marksman. We wait an hour and start down. Can't find anything except some tracks for about the first 20 yards. We keep looking for tracks, hair, blood and push down hill, Nothing. We were both certain he hit the bear.

I had my late dog Buckley with me (avatar pic). We brought him to the spot the bear went off the road followed him down and sure enough, he picked up the scent. But instead of going down,
hill like we thought it would, the bear hooked left and went crosshill and found the bear within 80 yards of where he was shot. Lacking sign, we assumed he ran downhill and without the dog I dont know if we would have found that bear.

It doesnt happen often, but when someone in our group shoots at an animal and we dont know 100% that it was a clean miss (i.e. clearly saw bullet impact off target) then that's pretty much the day (or more) gone for trying to find something. I often have my dog with me in camp and they are great to have if and when this happens.

[HappyJack]

Happens all the time, and not just with bears. Lots of moose and deer left to rot because some unethical hunter couldn't be bothered to confirm the missed shot. These are usually the same people that toss beer cans in the ditch and leave campsites full of garbage. I think there are also lots of bears just 'shot in the guts' so they run in the bush and die types out there.

[boxhitch]

Like Ruark says 'Use enough gun' , theres no such thing as over-kill
Chances are the young girl was not, leading to wounded bears, if she was at all proficient with a rifle

But it has been known that bears are sometimes used as 'practice' leading up to the real deal in the fall

There is a reason the bears and shoulder shots are synonymous
SOP should be Hit the shoulder(s) to stop him where he is, the shot may ruin some meat, but then fill that second tag

[Gateholio]

Bear fur can soak up lots of blood, but they do leak when properly hit. This bear ran for cover after a TSX bullet hit it, but didn't go far. Blood trail was evident. :)


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[bc7mm]

Seen alota bears taken in the last three decades. Some leak and leave a trail, some don’t. One thing I do know, you pull the trigger, you go lookin for a dead or wounded bear. Only responsible thing to do, and it ain’t just a peek from the side of the road and call it good.

About ten years ago fellow I was hunting with shot a bear at 80, good rest, bear spun and ran off the road. He figured it was a good hit, but we found no blood trail, and no bear. Bush was thick but had small openings. We very slowly and quietly moved from clearing to clearing. We split up at about 50 meters and I angled away to the left and downhill with a plan to try to stay about 10 - 15 meters apart . Moved slowly 5 yards then stand quietly and listen. About 40 meters after we split up while standing in a tiny clearing I heard a branch snap. I saw the bear at about 10 yards through a small opening and shot it.

His shot entered the chest. Took out a lung, and we never found one drop of blood. It was a hundred yards from the road when I put it down. We didn’t see one thing while tracking that bear that told us it was hit. Seldom this is the case, but it happens. After the big boom, this is the only next step.

[srupp]

Hmmm hardest animal to track once wounded...use enough gun as Bill repeated Robert Rurak..use the front leg from the side 1/2 way between elbow and point of shoulder.I am not a fan of high shoulder shot.
if you have to track..give it 1 hour or so unless it's at dark.come back in am, when raining go while there still may be blood.
Use flagging tape..red for blood..yellow for area searched..
Be patient be methodical. .step..by step..by step.
The hide is not firmly attached to the body..lots of wiggle room when a bear moves..fat and tissue plus thick hide means a lot of blood is retained by the bear.be prepared for the unexpected..animals don't always do what we think they should do.
Bears shot head for safety..thick cover.bleeding causes any animal to breathe faster..faster resps" to deliver same oxygen with less blood to carry that oxygen.adrenaline and effort add to bears thirst...seek out water...
Bears laying dead..are not the 40 inch height of a standing bear...less than half that..death run can lodge a bear under a downed tree..into thick undergrowth..
Bent grass, newly torn up ground, bent broken branches..and blood..use that red flagging tape for blood trail..every once and a bit look back and see what has actually happened on this wounded bears trail...
Cheers
Srupp