Last bear hunt. Fear, Joy and heart break.

[savage10]

My recap of what happened during the final hunt for spring bear 2022.

First of all, I am a new hunter. Harvested some grouse in the fall but that’s it, no big game yet. I have accompanied my dad in my teens on a couple successful hunts, so I did have some experience and knowledge going into hunting along with tons of reading, research and just getting out into the bush.

So my and the girlfriend (she got all her courses/licenses with me) wake up at 4:45 to head out to a spot my family has hunted for a long time in region 3. I know the area extremely well and know there’s an abundance of bears. My uncle has a cabin and property in the area since before I was born that we use a base.

As we’re driving the highway, I tell her jokingly, that the plan was to drive up the fsr, see a bear on the road, shoot it and go home.

We hit the fsr approx 8:00Am. As we come up at 2km, bear on the road. Beautiful red colour phase. I jump out the truck to load the rifle, and as I’m watching the bear I start to hesitate and think hmmm. That looks like a pretty small bear. While I’m thinking it over the bear takes off across the road and into the bush.

ok, no big deal. We just got here and it for sure was a smaller bear, probably 3 years old at most. So we continue on.

We get to a spur road that we planned to hike. We head down a few km and set up to glass a hillside for the morning. Time passes and nothing. So we plan to head back to my families cabin for lunch.

As we’re heading back down the main fsr, we see some fresh scat and then a flash of another bear bolting across the road. I get out to see if it’s hanging out in the bush but can’t locate it. This one appeared to be on the smaller side as well but we only got a glimpse of it. We continue down to the cabin and have a lunch break with the family.

About 4pm we decide to head back out. We drive up and over the mountain, into some fresh burn areas and I decide to park and see if we can find some morels. 10 seconds of looking and we fine a bunch. Spent about an hour harvesting a couple pounds to have with dinner later and share with others.

We check out a couple spur roads up high and don’t see much sign so we decide to head down to the lowest spur road where there was a good amount of scat around and go for a walk.

It’s around 6pm as we start walking this road. It’s looking good with lots of sign and lots of grass, clover and dandelions covering the road. The road curves to face west and now we are pretty much blind as the sun is slowly coming down and directly in our eyes.

We continue walking, and I’m constantly holding my hand up to the sun in order to see.

Then we heard something we had never heard before. It’s hard to describe, but it was a loud raspy hissing noise with some huffing and snapping. We stop dead in our tracks trying to figure out what made that noise as we’re still partially blinded by the sun. The noise happens again. We’re frantically looking around and suddenly we both see this huge black body leaping 10
yards off the road about 30 yards in front of us. Huge bear.

it stands on its hind legs, and I’m trying to find it in my scope but the sun is making it impossible. It leaps again a bit further into the bush and starts going parallel to the road coming in our direction. It makes the noise again. I tell my girlfriend to get behind me as I’m holding the rifle. The bear is pacing back and forth in the bush, slowly getting closer to us.

Then miraculously, the sun disappeared behind the mountain. The bear paces again and makes its noise, louder and more aggressive. We’re now in a direct line from each other. It drops broad side, I crouch down on a knee and take a shot. I was shaking of adrenaline and a clear miss. The bear didn’t even flinch. It stares right at me and stands on its hind legs again trying to figure out what just happened. I move over slightly and have a clear shot at its chest while it’s still standing. I’m calm now and steady, aiming centre chest. Boom. Bear drops, it’s hit. It leaps back up and jumps over some dead fall and after that we don’t see or hear anything. Great. It’s over, we think.

I look over to my girlfriend and she’s basically hyperventilating at this point. The surge of adrenaline from hearing the noises of aggression, to shooting it was nothing we’ve ever experienced before. I help her calm down, and we agree to wait 10-15 minutes before heading in after it. Giving time for the bear to expire and for us to control our emotions and hydrate.

it’s hot out, I took that shot at 6:30PM and it’s 25+ degrees out. We give it 10
minutes then head in after the bear. We rush in and don’t find anything, no bear and no blood. I tell her let’s go back, find the shell (shot location) and head in slowly.

We head in and within 5 minutes we find blood. Awesome. We slowly continue on, finding more and more. It looks like the blood was spraying from its nostrils the way it was patterned. Great I think, lung shot. We then find a piece of spongey lung tissue along with a good amount of blood.

We go a bit further and the sign starts drying up. To the point that the last sign we could find was one single drop of blood on a leaf. Anxiety is setting in. Could this really be happening?

We split up, and cautiously look around further and further from the last drop, analyzing every little thing hoping to find at least one more drop. Nothing. We go back to the last drop and start over I don’t know how many times. Each time we go further and further hoping to see a bear on the ground. Nothing. I check the time and it’s now 8:45pm. We keep searching as sorrow and regret starts to set in. I can’t believe this is happening. We searched as far as 400 yards or so off the road, when I shot the bear was only 50 yards off the road, max.

it’s getting dark in the forest. It’s been over 3 hours since the shot. We went back to the last drop countless times, hoping and praying to see something that we missed.

Nothing. My girlfriend tries to be the voice of reason. We need to get out of here before it’s pitch black and we get lost. I finally agree. It’s over. We leave, broken and depressed, covered in scrapes, and thorns.

[savage10]

Who else has experienced something like this, and how do you get over it? I know that this can happen and it’s always a risk…but to have this happen for my first attempt at killing something is seriously defeating and depressing.

[Ron.C]

Despite what many might say, this is not uncommon. So thanks for sharing!

I've been there. Adrenaline is spiking, you think you made a good shot and it turns out bad. Blood trail dies off and the animal seems to vanish. A tough situation for any hunter, let alone a fella on his first animal. Wounded bears can be notoriously difficult to track. Bottom line, it sucks. It's a shitty feeling and thats just the way it is. And to be frank, it should not feel good nor easily forgotten.

All you can do is search for the animal until it's obvious you've lost it. By obvious I mean time has worked against you and there is no way the animal is still edible.

Another side of this is it may not be dead. I've killed deer with healed bullet wounds and have found broadheads in the shoulders of 2 deer that were completely healed over. The elk in my avatar also had a healed broadhead wound from a previous year in its shoulder that the cutter found while butchering.

All that said, don't let it stop you. Best thing you can do is use this a learning lesson and do you best to prevent it drom happening again. Tough pill to swallow on your first animal no doubt, but chin up!!!!!! Reflect over the summer and get back out there this fall

[Steeleco]

Agree with Ron. Shitty feeling but one to learn from. It will haunt you down the road but that's a good thing, keeps you humble. It won't help you feel better today, but remember noting goes to waste. The birds and other critters will get nourishment from the carcass.

[Bustercluck]

Are you beating yourself up because you lost a big bear? Or because you wounded it and it might be out there dying a slow death? Or because you shot an animal and wasted the meat? or all three?

I don’t think I’ve ever wounded anything and not found it, but I have been in a couple shitty situations that I felt pretty bad about the outcome. I’ve shot two moose that were with other moose and my brother did the same. After seeing the distress it put on the other moose in the group I don’t think I’ll do that again. I had to listen to a cow ball from a couple hundred yards for what seemed like an eternity while we gutted her offspring or mate last fall. There was three moose together, a cow, spike fork and another almost mature bull. I took the biggest one.

Live and learn and try not to make the same mistakes. Feeling guilt is probably a good thing. It just shows you respect the animals you’re chasing. I’d be more worried about someone who repeatedly wings animals without any consideration for the animal itself. I remember talking to an east-coaster a couple years ago who told me he took a headshot on a deer at 400 yards and he wasn’t anywhere near capable of taking said shot. His rationale was “headshots, you either make them or you don’t”. All I could think was “what a ****ing idiot”. I ran into another fellow on a fsr who took what he estimated was a 700 yard shot on a moose. There was blood all over the road and he said he was just giving the animal some time to lay down and die. He didn’t find that moose and I doubt he even looked for it.

[savage10]

Despite what many might say, this is not uncommon. So thanks for sharing!

I've been there. Adrenaline is spiking, you think you made a good shot and it turns out bad. Blood trail dies off and the animal seems to vanish. A tough situation for any hunter, let alone a fella on his first animal. Wounded bears can be notoriously difficult to track. Bottom line, it sucks. It's a shitty feeling and thats just the way it is. And to be frank, it should not feel good nor easily forgotten.

All you can do is search for the animal until it's obvious you've lost it. By obvious I mean time has worked against you and there is no way the animal is still edible.

Another side of this is it may not be dead. I've killed deer with healed bullet wounds and have found broadheads in the shoulders of 2 deer that were completely healed over. The elk in my avatar also had a healed broadhead wound from a previous year in its shoulder that the cutter found while butchering.

All that said, don't let it stop you. Best thing you can do is use this a learning lesson and do you best to prevent it drom happening again. Tough pill to swallow on your first animal no doubt, but chin up!!!!!! Reflect over the summer and get back out there this fall

Thanks, I appreciate this response. It’s definitely quite emotional but I’m sure will be looked back on as an experience and story to tell. Will be taking the summer to sharpen my skills to get ready for fall.

[savage10]

Agree with Ron. Shitty feeling but one to learn from. It will haunt you down the road but that's a good thing, keeps you humble. It won't help you feel better today, but remember noting goes to waste. The birds and other critters will get nourishment from the carcass.

Very true points, thanks.

[savage10]

Are you beating yourself up because you lost a big bear? Or because you wounded it and it might be out there dying a slow death? Or because you shot an animal and wasted the meat? or all three?


Hardest part is not having closure, not knowing was exactly happened.

[willyqbc]

Losing an animal is always tough, but from what you described, the bear is almost certainly dead and not wandering around out there wounded. sucks to not recover him, but its a better outcome than wounding him and have him out there suffering.


Hardest part is not having closure, not knowing was exactly happened.

Having hunted bears for almost 40 years and having been involved in upwards of 100 bears on the ground, I think I can piece together a reasonable guess for you that may at least let you square things up in your head.

First off, there was very likely a sow you didn't see on the other side of the road and you managed to get yourself between her and the boar, this would account for his behavior even after clearly seeing you guys.

secondly, from what you describe, due to taking a face on shot to a standing bear, you almost certainly only hit one lung. This is evidenced by the fact that if you had been centered enough to catch a bit of both lungs, you almost certainly would have hit the spine and he would not have taken a step. A bear can travel a long ways in a short time when motivated, and they can go a ways on one lung before falling to blood loss. The other thing that often happens, particularly on bigger bears, is that fat oozes in and closes the wound, stopping the good blood trail,making it very tough to follow.

All that being said is the reason I don't advocate frontal shots, way too much chance of a single lung hit. Not pointing fingers at you in any way, just passing on my own advice.

We often learn much more from a failure than a victory....learn from this and carry on!

Just my opinion
Chris

[Bustercluck]

Just out of curiosity, what bullet were you using?

I think Willy hit the mail on the head there. You likely only got one lung. My brother shot a big moose with a Berger a few years back broadside double lung, but the bullet disintegrated on one lung and didn’t touch the other. The moose ran quite a ways into the bush and was still alive and trying run away by the time he got to the animal.

A frangible bullet might have been better in your case, but not on a normal occasion.

[caddisguy]

Losing an animal is always going to be traumatic for any hunter with a conscious. The fact you are heart broke over it says a lot about your character. That said, try not to beat yourself up much more than you already have. I know that's easier said than done, add the fact you are a new hunter and it would have been your first big game harvest, now the whole deal probably feels pretty tainted.

Reality is, you'll probably dwell on it or think about it more days than not for some months to come. As time goes on, you'll think about it less and when you do, it will be more constructive with less emotion attached to it. It's an experience to learn from and do everything you can do never repeat.

I have lost an animal too despite searching for days and evening coming back a week later to check for bird activity. I have also had shots I would take back if I could, even in cases where I did eventually track down the animal. Anything short of a quick clean kill will weigh on you some and make you think.

Chin up there. Take the lesson and get back on the saddle.

And thank you for sharing the story.

[Bugle M In]

I am pretty sure everyone who has put in the time and done plenty of hunts and had opportunities to squeeze off the pin gave had it happen.
Thanks for the share.

[Gateholio]

It happens. I lost a bear once. Never found any blood or hair but couldn't see how I could have missed. We even tried trailing it with a dog and nothing came up. That's the only animal I shot at and didn't recover that I didn't feel was a clean miss but I just didn't have any evidence of a hit.

Bears will often go find a hole to lie down and die in when they are in a forested area. Can walk past them and not see them until "ohhhh there he is!"

I don't like the standing frontal shot on a bear for the same reason Willy gave. Unless it's dead center and you hit the spine or get lucky and hit the heart it can be a marginal shot. I have no problem with shooting a bear that is on all fours facing me though. Squat down and put it right below his chin and he's not going far, in my experience. Ultimately a broadside shot is the best one as it has the biggest margin.

[wildcatter]

Who else has experienced something like this, and how do you get over it? I know that this can happen and it’s always a risk…but to have this happen for my first attempt at killing something is seriously defeating and depressing.

Smilar thing happened to me on a nice 4 point mulie.
I was aiming behind the shoulder and just as I was squeezing the trigger it took a step forward and hit it in the gut.
I searched for a very long time but didn't find it.
Still think about it often.

[HarryToolips]

Given the placement of your shot I agree with Willy that the bear most likely passed away, that being said, it is truly amazing how tough wild animals are, and how they can recover from wounds..

What I do recommend for next time is the next time you hammer an animal and it runs off like that, and even if it is hot out, is waiting at least a half hour (from my experience) before embarking on the blood trail (need to provide them time to lay down, the adrenaline to wear off, and then they expire)..I have also tracked game on a blood trail before and had them backtrack then take a new trail, which can be confusing..

As the others have said, to an ethical hunter, leaving a wounded animal never feels good, but all you can do now is learn from it and move on..

[britman101]

In BC it is legal to use a dog to track wounded game. So if you have a friend that has a dog, my preference would be a hunting dog, you can leash the dog up and go back to the spot it was shot and begin tracking the wounded animal. if the animal is down I would say the dog will find it for you. Be sure to bring along some type of flagging tape to mark your trail too. Just my humble opinion on the matter.

[Jagermeister]

1. Most often, when wounded, bears will head to a flowing stream. Give at least half an hour before taking up the track. You don’t want to jump him while he may be quite agile and attack or run further into the bush. The longer he lays, the harder it is for him to get up.
2. When bear hunting, it is best to use an un-scoped firearm as most shots are taken at close range making it difficult to find the lethal target area on magnified scope image. Having a tip-off mounted scope or a low power scope would be a good choice.
3. Get a blue coloured lens cover for your flashlight. Why you ask? Blood is highly illuminated under the blue light spectrum and really stands out under low-light and dark conditions. Makes for easier tracking.

[huntingfamily]

In BC it is legal to use a dog to track wounded game. So if you have a friend that has a dog, my preference would be a hunting dog, you can leash the dog up and go back to the spot it was shot and begin tracking the wounded animal. if the animal is down I would say the dog will find it for you. Be sure to bring along some type of flagging tape to mark your trail too. Just my humble opinion on the matter.

Best suggestion right here!