BiG Boar
05-22-2008, 10:26 AM
Hello HBC.
First off, thanks for all your input on making this hunt successful for my first black bear! Specifically I want to throw out a HUGE thanks to "Dad" from Dad and Son for bringing me out to his honey hole and teaching me a lot of hands on stuff I didnt know. Also a thanks to Derp for his good eyes on seeing this fleet footed bruin. Next I want to thank srupp for all his help with all of my endless questions! Listen to these experienced hunters you rookies, you will find the animals exactly where they tell you they are! There are many others who have replied to my endless posts on here also, too many names to mention! So thanks everyone! Now for the story!
I have no hunting partners really to speak of so I started asking a few guys on HBC for help, and if they wanted someone to go hunting with. Soon Dad from "dad and son" replied and I met with him for an afternoon down in Vancouver. Looking him over in his suit and tie at the remax office I had little idea what he was capable of in the woods. He told me that he had taken many bears from the island and that is the place that we should head. So for the long weekend we headed to a remote region of the island. Dad brought along his camp trailer as he called it, and in reality it was a sweet ass house on wheels. Thanks so much for letting us stay there with you! Sayward area is all I am permitted to suggest. Well he did put us in a honey hole, I mean this guy really knows what hes talking about! There were many bears and 5 tags to fill between the 3 of us. As another rookie "Derp" came along. I will let him tell the tail of his bear later if he likes.
It was an on and off again sort of weekend, mainly raining at night, which was perfect for hunting in the sunshine! I definitly got some color! So used to living in the lower mainland, sometimes I forget that the sun even exists!
Early in the trip each of the others bagged a bear each, and though I wasnt up as you could say, I had yet to bag my bear. However I was hunting primarily for size and to make a rug. However, spending the money for the weekend and having 2 tags, the itch started to get the better of me. However, so far in the season I had passed on a few mid 5 size bears, its hard to do, but if you are patient and put the time in, you will find big bears out there!
So we headed up the mountain again in hopes to fill 3 more tags. It was around 8:15pm and the sun was just peaking over the mountains. I had earlier in the day passed on a large boar in another area, and unfortunatly one of the other hunters missed him when I had hezzied on the shot. I didnt like the shot, something didnt seem right to me about it, the bear was slowly walking at 250 yards, heading for cover, and I just plain hesitated, I really wanted to check him for rubs and stuff. Anyways, that bear took off unscathed. A clean miss. So back to the story. We are quading through the mountains up and down trails, all evening looking for sign and as we round our last corner "derp" excitedly says, BEAR BEAR BEAR! He is out of tags as he only brought one, and so its first person sees it next shoots it. He ran down into the woods, in a new growth of timber about 20 feet high cedars. I hadnt yet seen him but as I peered over the edge after dismounting the quad and running while loading my clip I saw what I had come for! The head on this bruin was large. He was nestled in between two shorter trees and quartering away, looking up towards me. I couldnt see his whole coat but what I did see looked great! This was unmistakably a large boar. The head was massive. He sat about 40 yards away, downhill, at the bottom of a small mountain stream. I raised my sako 300 winmag then pulled off my sunglasses realizing It wasnt ideal for looking through a scope with. When I looked through the scope, he was filling the oposing end of it. This wasnt one of the 5 footers I had passed on earlier in the season. It was trigger time. My finger slipped into the trigger gaurd and felt the cold steel feeling of the ribs on the 3 lbs trigger. BooM!!! I saw the bear shudder from the impact and he lunged forward sort of stumbling. I reloaded. He was headed right towards a thick cedar grove. I knew I had made a good first shot and had heard him come to a crash 40 yards in. Was he hiding again?
Down we flew to the bottom of the stream, I checked to make sure I was reloaded and that the safety was on, these trees were thick. Couldnt see 5 feet into them. He could be hiding anywhere I thought to myself and it was getting dark soon. Looking for blood I found none. Not a sign. These guys have such thick fur in the spring that you are luck to find a few drops. I kept on. Exploring deeper into the woods I looked over a fallen tree and my eyes came to rest on something big and black under a cedar tree. Could it be? I called the boys over for back up. He wasnt moving. I gave him a few pokes in the butt with my rifle. The monster had given up his life and a feeling of final accomplishment overwelmed me. I could feel my eyes welling up. It had been such a jorney! (kidding about the welling part) Pulling apart the cedars I experienced ground growage for a first time. The other two bears taken were close to 150 lbs each. This guy was a fatty. 2 inch claws, and a head on him like you wouldnt believe. He was blind in one eye, and had a lot of scars from fighting, that or the blindness made him walk into low objects a lot. We had to pull him up the 70 yards up to the trail he had fled from. This bear must have wieghed 250-300 lbs. We loaded him up and took him home on the quad. I kept the skin, he squared 6'3.5"and deboned him in camp. His bones alone must have wieghed 80 lbs. All in all, a great hunt. I have a second tag and though I was up in 150 mile with srupp for the last two days we were rained out, and I passed on another 5 footer which I treed. Included in the pics. Thanks goes out to srupp for taking me into his camp, feeding me terrificly, thanks to his wife also, and teaching me so much about bear hunting over the last few months. I have learned a lot from a few good people, and it has paid off. Thanks HBC. Dave
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/hbc6.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9389&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc3.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9390&limit=recent)
Sako 300 win mag and the pumpkin
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc4.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9391&limit=recent)
Meat bear, and my bear.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc5.jpg
A small meat bear I passed on. 5 footer.
First off, thanks for all your input on making this hunt successful for my first black bear! Specifically I want to throw out a HUGE thanks to "Dad" from Dad and Son for bringing me out to his honey hole and teaching me a lot of hands on stuff I didnt know. Also a thanks to Derp for his good eyes on seeing this fleet footed bruin. Next I want to thank srupp for all his help with all of my endless questions! Listen to these experienced hunters you rookies, you will find the animals exactly where they tell you they are! There are many others who have replied to my endless posts on here also, too many names to mention! So thanks everyone! Now for the story!
I have no hunting partners really to speak of so I started asking a few guys on HBC for help, and if they wanted someone to go hunting with. Soon Dad from "dad and son" replied and I met with him for an afternoon down in Vancouver. Looking him over in his suit and tie at the remax office I had little idea what he was capable of in the woods. He told me that he had taken many bears from the island and that is the place that we should head. So for the long weekend we headed to a remote region of the island. Dad brought along his camp trailer as he called it, and in reality it was a sweet ass house on wheels. Thanks so much for letting us stay there with you! Sayward area is all I am permitted to suggest. Well he did put us in a honey hole, I mean this guy really knows what hes talking about! There were many bears and 5 tags to fill between the 3 of us. As another rookie "Derp" came along. I will let him tell the tail of his bear later if he likes.
It was an on and off again sort of weekend, mainly raining at night, which was perfect for hunting in the sunshine! I definitly got some color! So used to living in the lower mainland, sometimes I forget that the sun even exists!
Early in the trip each of the others bagged a bear each, and though I wasnt up as you could say, I had yet to bag my bear. However I was hunting primarily for size and to make a rug. However, spending the money for the weekend and having 2 tags, the itch started to get the better of me. However, so far in the season I had passed on a few mid 5 size bears, its hard to do, but if you are patient and put the time in, you will find big bears out there!
So we headed up the mountain again in hopes to fill 3 more tags. It was around 8:15pm and the sun was just peaking over the mountains. I had earlier in the day passed on a large boar in another area, and unfortunatly one of the other hunters missed him when I had hezzied on the shot. I didnt like the shot, something didnt seem right to me about it, the bear was slowly walking at 250 yards, heading for cover, and I just plain hesitated, I really wanted to check him for rubs and stuff. Anyways, that bear took off unscathed. A clean miss. So back to the story. We are quading through the mountains up and down trails, all evening looking for sign and as we round our last corner "derp" excitedly says, BEAR BEAR BEAR! He is out of tags as he only brought one, and so its first person sees it next shoots it. He ran down into the woods, in a new growth of timber about 20 feet high cedars. I hadnt yet seen him but as I peered over the edge after dismounting the quad and running while loading my clip I saw what I had come for! The head on this bruin was large. He was nestled in between two shorter trees and quartering away, looking up towards me. I couldnt see his whole coat but what I did see looked great! This was unmistakably a large boar. The head was massive. He sat about 40 yards away, downhill, at the bottom of a small mountain stream. I raised my sako 300 winmag then pulled off my sunglasses realizing It wasnt ideal for looking through a scope with. When I looked through the scope, he was filling the oposing end of it. This wasnt one of the 5 footers I had passed on earlier in the season. It was trigger time. My finger slipped into the trigger gaurd and felt the cold steel feeling of the ribs on the 3 lbs trigger. BooM!!! I saw the bear shudder from the impact and he lunged forward sort of stumbling. I reloaded. He was headed right towards a thick cedar grove. I knew I had made a good first shot and had heard him come to a crash 40 yards in. Was he hiding again?
Down we flew to the bottom of the stream, I checked to make sure I was reloaded and that the safety was on, these trees were thick. Couldnt see 5 feet into them. He could be hiding anywhere I thought to myself and it was getting dark soon. Looking for blood I found none. Not a sign. These guys have such thick fur in the spring that you are luck to find a few drops. I kept on. Exploring deeper into the woods I looked over a fallen tree and my eyes came to rest on something big and black under a cedar tree. Could it be? I called the boys over for back up. He wasnt moving. I gave him a few pokes in the butt with my rifle. The monster had given up his life and a feeling of final accomplishment overwelmed me. I could feel my eyes welling up. It had been such a jorney! (kidding about the welling part) Pulling apart the cedars I experienced ground growage for a first time. The other two bears taken were close to 150 lbs each. This guy was a fatty. 2 inch claws, and a head on him like you wouldnt believe. He was blind in one eye, and had a lot of scars from fighting, that or the blindness made him walk into low objects a lot. We had to pull him up the 70 yards up to the trail he had fled from. This bear must have wieghed 250-300 lbs. We loaded him up and took him home on the quad. I kept the skin, he squared 6'3.5"and deboned him in camp. His bones alone must have wieghed 80 lbs. All in all, a great hunt. I have a second tag and though I was up in 150 mile with srupp for the last two days we were rained out, and I passed on another 5 footer which I treed. Included in the pics. Thanks goes out to srupp for taking me into his camp, feeding me terrificly, thanks to his wife also, and teaching me so much about bear hunting over the last few months. I have learned a lot from a few good people, and it has paid off. Thanks HBC. Dave
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/hbc6.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9389&size=big&cat=recent&limit=recent)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc3.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9390&limit=recent)
Sako 300 win mag and the pumpkin
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc4.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=9391&limit=recent)
Meat bear, and my bear.
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/hbc5.jpg
A small meat bear I passed on. 5 footer.