Goin' huntin

[Archer]

Well boys, am I PUMPED!! Finally, the weather out here in Calgary is getting nice, and on Wednesday, I am heading out for a 4 day bowhunt in the Rockies/high foothills in SW Alberta. Been planning it for months, and I think I've packed everything. I'll be using the old subaru tank(92 wagon) as my base, and travelling around, hiking different drainages each day looking for likely areas. The numbers of bears out here is not near what it is back on the Island, so I'll be a bit less picky than normal. Seeing as I'll be solo, and the season in the southern area ends May 15, basically any lone adult bear will be considered fair game. One bonus to hunting here as opposed to the Island is the possibility of a nice color phase. If I enjoy success, or have some cool experiences/encounters, I'll be sure to update this thread when I get home. Good Luck to everyone else heading out!:biggrin:

[BigBanger]

Good luck .

[Wild one]

I have seen lots of nice colored bears in porcupine hills.Another good area is 3-26 between Nordeg and Drayton vally I seen more bears there then anywere else I hunted in Alberta.In the fall try out 3-26 and 3-39 for WT deer My old hunting partners and I used to get 1 or more a day when we went there.

Good luck

[Archer]

Thanks Wild One, the porcs will probably be where I end up, and as far as fall, well, I'll have 10 days of archery season to bag some game before we move home to Duncan (VI). Gonna miss some things about Alberta, but overall, I can't wait to come home!

[Mr. Dean]

The Island isn't what it used to be. The Bear populations are nearly decimated.... You best put in the strongest of efforts there in the Foothills and post some pics upon getting him back home.

Best of luck. ;-)

[Bowzone_Mikey]

I have had luck down near westcastle and Beaver mines area .... But as mentioned nordegg is prolly the best area in the southern haf of Alberta ...if you wanna go up further the trunk road ... check out south of Cadomin

[Bow Walker]

BZM - how's the wife coming long? Have you and the little lady become proud new parents yet?













Hijack alert ! !

[Bowzone_Mikey]

its happening tomarrow morn the Kid is getting an eviction notice ...after 4 false starts in a week ....

[Archer]

Success!!!! Got a blondie on Wedensday night! Not a whopper, but his hide was his selling feature, not his size. My photobucket account has crapped out, so if someone can post the pics for me, that would be much appreciated. Thanks,Archer

[greatwhitehunter]

Congrats Archer.
Can't wait to see the pics.

[Mr. Dean]

Success!!!! Got a blondie on Wedensday night! Not a whopper, but his hide was his selling feature, not his size. My photobucket account has crapped out, so if someone can post the pics for me, that would be much appreciated. Thanks,Archer

dean014@telus.net

SEND!!!@!

[Natalie]

Right on Collin! Get those pics up :-)

[Archer]

Pics sent, story to follow. Thanks Mr Dean

[Mr. Dean]

Nithin in, yet....

[Archer]

I'll send them again if they don't arrive soon

[Mr. Dean]

Still nadda....

[moosinaround]

Holy crap Archer! get those pics to mr dean!! I need a fix!! Moosin

[Archer]

Sorry for the wait, guys. I accidentally sent the pics to a hotmail.com address. Someone is in for a surprise when they open their email,lol. Not to worry though, they should be in the hands of Mr Dean by now .

[Archer]

Heres the story, boys. Its not the prettiest story, and its a long one. I could omit parts, but I have chosen to tell it like it was. Also, I have a few locations named here because it was copied/pasted from my post on the Alberta board, so please don't mind the name dropping.
Wednesday morning I set off and throughout the day, I covered most of the side roads off the Forestry Trunk rd, south of K-country. I found some sign from a couple of bruiser blacks, (one set of tracks was a measured 6 inches across), as well as some grizz sign, but no sightings. I ended up on the Dutch Creek rd in 402 right around dusk, and had almost given up looking for bears, when I spotted what I first thought was a cow just down the bank from a side road. When I realized it was a blondie, I kept driving and pulled over about 500 metres down the road. After a quick self-debate, I decided that I still had time to make a play for it, so I quickly got my boots off and put a couple sets of wool socks on, and began to sneak over. I checked the wind with my puff bottle and it was so still that the cloud of dust just hovered in front of me. Perfect! Upon arriving at the bank where I had last seen him, he was nowhere to be found. After a minute, I heard a crunch right below me, and peered over the bank to see him about 12 yrds away. I eased back a bit for a better angle (and so I didn't have to shoot point-blank with no backup), and quickly ranged him at 30 yrds. Another self-debate began, as I knew that he was a small bear, but the color/condition of his hide, as well as the thought of many fine meals persuaded me to take him.
At the shot, he was quartering away, and I knew instantly that it was a bit high. The arrow lodged against his opposite shoulder and he tore off into the thick stuff. I immediately followed him in to sound-track him, as I knew that rain/snow at night would ruin any trail. After a few yrds I noticed some pieces of lung on a shrub that he had brushed, and hearing him stop, I figured that I should wait until morning, as my backup rifle was in my car half a click away, and it was pretty well dark by then.
After a restless sleep in my old Subaru, I awoke at dawn and made my way to the scene of the crime. Sure enough, the bear was where I had last heard him, but when I was about 30 yrds away, I saw him move his head slightly when I stepped on a twig. The arrow must have clipped the top of one or both lungs, but apparently didn't do the job. I hate the thought of the poor guy suffering through the night. I quickly nocked an arrow and found an opening at 22 yrds and hit him right between the shoulder blades, and it passed through his chest. He sprang up and smoked a small tree with his paw, then began looking for what had hurt him. I had another arrow nocked and let fly again, followed up by another, at which point he collapsed. After the shot between his shoulder blades, he was basically dead on his feet, but I figured I may as well shoot til he dropped. Amazing how tough bears truly are. Also, I guess my story just proves how important shot placement is (I went back and ranged my original shot and realized that in my haste I had ranged a tree 4 yrds behind the bear, hence the high shot).
Upon inspecting the bear, I noticed the tag, which I hadn't seen in the shadows and failing light the night before. Man, was I dissapointed when the back of the tag said "Do Not Eat". While skinning him, it became apparent that this bear was in poor condition. He had not an ounce of fat, and very little muscle mass. At 5' with the hide on, he should have been maybe 170-190 lbs, but I would be surprised if he broke 140. He was a young boar, maybe 3 or 4 yrs old, and had it not been for his color, I would have passed on him.
When I got home, I called the Fish and Wildlife # on the tag to see what they had to say. They did some digging, then called me back to say that he had been raiding bird feeders near Cochrane last summer, and was caught in a culvert trap. He was tranquilized, (hence the "Do Not Eat") and weighed/measured, then released near the southern boundary of K-country. They were quite vague about the exact drop-off location, but using some of the landmarks that the guy mentioned, I figure that the bear had travelled a minimum of 32 kms as the crow flies to get to Dutch Creek. I'm assuming that in his travels, he was probably chased off any decent food source by larger dominant bears, and that may explain why he was in such poor shape. The F&W gave me the impression that its good that the bear has been harvested, as these guys can cause problems down the road (half-starved, habituated to human food, etc.).
All in all, it was a pretty exciting hunt. Got the adrenaline going!!!!
Sorry about the long post, and thanks for reading.
Islander

[Mr. Dean]

HEEEEERE WE GO!!!!!

Bute! :cool:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_0161-1.jpg


http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_0184-1.jpg

[Mr. Dean]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_0167-1.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/IMG_0191-1.jpg

[bsa30-06]

not being able to eat it sucks,but its a beauty color.

[Mr. Dean]

Doesn't the 'sleepy' medicine neutralize in the tissue's at some point, allowing it to be eaten?
Because this animal CAN'T be consumed, does AF&G issue another tag to the hunter?

I agree with their view that this was a good Bear to be killed. Considering its history and condition, it surely would've been a troublesome animal.

Excellent story. Very glad it turned out for ya.... You don't find Blonde's on the Island. :cool:

[huntwriter]

Congratulations on a nice looking bear. I see another smart hunter wears ASAT camouflage.:smile:

[longwalk]

Nice bear, great colour, going to be a nice rug.

[springpin]

Beauty coloring, to bad it's a no eater.

Springpin

[Archer]

The CO I talked to said that they use to advise 30 days after tranqs were used til the meat was OK, but now they advise 1 yr. Also, seeing as this bear was only 5 km from a busy rec site, I'm sure he would have been trouble this summer. As far as meat, this just gives me an excuse to head North for bear#2. Too bad AF&G won't pay for the tag. Oh well, I think its only about $8.
Finished the fleshing yesterday and took him to the tanner this morning. Gonna do a half mount on this guy, as I just finished the rug from last years blackie, and one can only have so many rugs.
And yeah, ASAT is nice camo, really breaks up your outline better than most. You can actually blend in instead of looking like an out-of-place dark blob.

[The Hermit]

Awesome!!! Great story and a real nice mount he will be!!

[huntwriter]

And yeah, ASAT is nice camo, really breaks up your outline better than most. You can actually blend in instead of looking like an out-of-place dark blob.

Lol. Have you read my ASAT camouflage product review? The wording is almost the same as in the conclusion of the article.:mrgreen:

The bear should make a very nice mount. Look forward to see pictures of that when it's done.8)

[NaStY]

Very nice bear you got there. Too bad about the no eat zone.......

[Wild one]

Archer did you hunt a farm in jumpingpound last sept?I think I met you there one morning.

[Phil]

Impressive color! That'll make a great rug.

[Archer]

Yeah Wild one, that would be me. The guy who showed up late and spooked the little whitetail, right? LOL:redface: I take it your the guy who hunts the blacktail on the Fraser?

[Wild one]

Yeah if you want I can give you some good spots out in Alberta since I don't live there no more.I did find a farmer in 3-05 with alot of big mule deer I just broke my leg before I could get one.It's no skin of my back since I wont be hunting out there this year.

[Archer]

I'd definitely be into that, but I probably won't get a chance to hunt them, as I am moving back to the Island on the 15th of September. My 10 days of archery season here will likely be spent hitting a few properties that I'm quite familiar with already (including Jumping Pound). If you want to PM me with some spots, that would be awesome, but unless they are close to Calgary, I might not make it to them.
Thanks, Islander

[Wild one]

Too bad you are moving back so early because my best spots the farmers won't let you hunt till they have there cattle out in the end of sept.If you want go down to 3-05 and talk to the farmers on the east side of the oldman river 90% welcome hunters as they look at the deer as pests.The big guys are in the properties with coulees with water and trees near the hills.GO DOWN beacause there are way! more deer and big ones by the oldman than there is in Jumping pound(one property alone I would count at least 100 deer and 7 trophy class every morning)just make sure you are hiding in the coulees before first light and they will come to you.

[Archer]

Thanks Wild One, that sounds pretty tempting. May just have to make the trip down that way. I appreciate the info. Good luck on the blacktails this fall:biggrin:

[Bowzone_Mikey]

305 provides alot of Big Muley and decent elk too .. I used to hunt a 5000 arce ranch with access to another 5000 neighboring it straight north of Pincher .... and ya the coulees are where its at ...

You dont need to be there first light tho ... they bed down usually around 830 9 am .... put a stalk on em ...way more fun ...

we would go hunt whiteys in the morning in 110 near glendale, have some breakfast some coffee etc .. be out stalking Muleys for 1030 /11 ... possibly hook up with some elk if they are above the house ... and make it back to 110 for the eve whitey hunt