Gateholio
06-15-2008, 01:27 AM
So my little friend Bridget went out for bears a couple of times with me last year, just as an observer (She didn't have a HL yet)
This year, while in school in Kamloops, she did her CORE (thanks to those who recommended the instructor, she said he was great) and she got he first ever HL and bear tag. Bridget has been shooting for quite some time, and routinely gets a good score at our clubs .22 rifle shoots. (And yes, I admit she has beat me on more than one occasion) This isn't surprising as she comes from a family of hunters/shooters.
I haven't' had a tonne of time for bear hunting this spring, and we kept making plans only to have them thwarted by something. We made plans for today, and there was no interference! I asked her to meet me after I finished work and we both arrived right on schedule.
I had intended to get her to use my bolt action 30-30 Winchester Short Magnum with 130gr TSX bullets, but I couldn't find the 2 magazines..(Later found them in the top pouch of my pack, the only place I didn't look!) So she carried my 300WSM loaded with 130gr Tipped TSX bullets.
We hiked down a old road bit, then made a 90 degree turn, heading into a cutblock area that had been nicely cut, leaving some trees still standing, and lots of vegetation. All roads were deactivated, criss crossed with ditches, etc. No way to drive in there, so few hunters (if any) had bothered to get out of their trucks.
Looking at the cutblock on the ridge, the wind was coming from out left, so we got to the far right, and started climbing, intending to get around and come down on any bears eating the lush vegetation that was lower. The thermals hadn't changed, the wind was strong, so we were good to go.
We headed up one section,intending to get to the road above and cut around,but as we got to the top, I saw a nice bear. All of a sudden a smaller bear ran from it, and climbed up into the higher slash. I said "Sow and a cub, it just ran off. Might as well take a picture" the "sow" was pretty close
Then I noticed that the bear didn't look like a sow, and looked over at the"cub". Not a cub, that was a sow, and the boar was trying to make her his girlfriend when we showed up! I said "nice bear, do you want to shoot it?" She replied "You shoot it if you want" and I said "No, go ahead, shoot it" and she said "I don't mind if you shot it" and we went back and forth until the boar got tired and went after the sow! Ha Ha..
We climbed up a bit and noticed they had run about 100 yards..So Bridget chambered a round and kneeled down, trying to get a shot. There was lots of vegetation that made it challenging. The bears kept moving in and out of cover. Then the sow did something funny, made a little stalk on a grouse! She nailed the grouse, it flew for a moment, then crash landed and she pounced on it! I don't think I've ever seen hat before!
We played around a bit, going up and down the road, the boar presenting tantalizing shot opportunities for a second, then back into cover. Wisely, Bridget held fire...
Finally, 40 minutes later, we circled down the hill and onto another deactivated road, as the bears had gone over a knoll and were feeding back to us. Then the sow spotted us, and decided to get out of there. The boar followed, of course, but he stopped to check us out. I was wearing a black t-shirt and I bet he was wondering if I was another boar, out for his sow. He stood up on his hind legs and I whispered to Bridget to take him in the chest, at 75 yards.
She did, and he went right down, but got up and started to move, but not very well..She put another through the shoulders and he was messed up bad!! I walked up to the bear while Bridget grabbed the packs with the knives and cameras, and he flopped around a bit so I gave him another and that completely finished it...
In retrospect, I wouldn't recommend to a novice that they take the standing up chest shot. Too much can go wrong, especially if you are at a step angle, like we were. You can hit too high and miss the main portion of the lungs. Broadside shoulder shots always work. But she did her job well, and it all worked out. She is a pretty good hunting partner. :)
The intrepid hunter, with my Custom 300WSM
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/chefone/0.jpg
Bridget makes her first acquaintance with Mr Bear, whom she named "Lucifer" of all things. Guess he was a devil to get a shot on!
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/Rifle/0.jpg
happy hunter with her bear.
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/0.jpg
We skinned and butchered, and then got my brand new Mystery Ranch pack. We put the hide (skull attached into the pack, which Bridget insisted carrying down the hill to the truck, while I packed some meat. It was heavy enough (and she couldn't attach hip or chest belt since it was a large) that it almost knocked her off her feet a couple of times, but she made it down and up ditches and over logs, without real problems. 2 trips and we were all done.
We woke her parents up as we returned, and they both came down to check out her bear. We both had a great time!
This year, while in school in Kamloops, she did her CORE (thanks to those who recommended the instructor, she said he was great) and she got he first ever HL and bear tag. Bridget has been shooting for quite some time, and routinely gets a good score at our clubs .22 rifle shoots. (And yes, I admit she has beat me on more than one occasion) This isn't surprising as she comes from a family of hunters/shooters.
I haven't' had a tonne of time for bear hunting this spring, and we kept making plans only to have them thwarted by something. We made plans for today, and there was no interference! I asked her to meet me after I finished work and we both arrived right on schedule.
I had intended to get her to use my bolt action 30-30 Winchester Short Magnum with 130gr TSX bullets, but I couldn't find the 2 magazines..(Later found them in the top pouch of my pack, the only place I didn't look!) So she carried my 300WSM loaded with 130gr Tipped TSX bullets.
We hiked down a old road bit, then made a 90 degree turn, heading into a cutblock area that had been nicely cut, leaving some trees still standing, and lots of vegetation. All roads were deactivated, criss crossed with ditches, etc. No way to drive in there, so few hunters (if any) had bothered to get out of their trucks.
Looking at the cutblock on the ridge, the wind was coming from out left, so we got to the far right, and started climbing, intending to get around and come down on any bears eating the lush vegetation that was lower. The thermals hadn't changed, the wind was strong, so we were good to go.
We headed up one section,intending to get to the road above and cut around,but as we got to the top, I saw a nice bear. All of a sudden a smaller bear ran from it, and climbed up into the higher slash. I said "Sow and a cub, it just ran off. Might as well take a picture" the "sow" was pretty close
Then I noticed that the bear didn't look like a sow, and looked over at the"cub". Not a cub, that was a sow, and the boar was trying to make her his girlfriend when we showed up! I said "nice bear, do you want to shoot it?" She replied "You shoot it if you want" and I said "No, go ahead, shoot it" and she said "I don't mind if you shot it" and we went back and forth until the boar got tired and went after the sow! Ha Ha..
We climbed up a bit and noticed they had run about 100 yards..So Bridget chambered a round and kneeled down, trying to get a shot. There was lots of vegetation that made it challenging. The bears kept moving in and out of cover. Then the sow did something funny, made a little stalk on a grouse! She nailed the grouse, it flew for a moment, then crash landed and she pounced on it! I don't think I've ever seen hat before!
We played around a bit, going up and down the road, the boar presenting tantalizing shot opportunities for a second, then back into cover. Wisely, Bridget held fire...
Finally, 40 minutes later, we circled down the hill and onto another deactivated road, as the bears had gone over a knoll and were feeding back to us. Then the sow spotted us, and decided to get out of there. The boar followed, of course, but he stopped to check us out. I was wearing a black t-shirt and I bet he was wondering if I was another boar, out for his sow. He stood up on his hind legs and I whispered to Bridget to take him in the chest, at 75 yards.
She did, and he went right down, but got up and started to move, but not very well..She put another through the shoulders and he was messed up bad!! I walked up to the bear while Bridget grabbed the packs with the knives and cameras, and he flopped around a bit so I gave him another and that completely finished it...
In retrospect, I wouldn't recommend to a novice that they take the standing up chest shot. Too much can go wrong, especially if you are at a step angle, like we were. You can hit too high and miss the main portion of the lungs. Broadside shoulder shots always work. But she did her job well, and it all worked out. She is a pretty good hunting partner. :)
The intrepid hunter, with my Custom 300WSM
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/chefone/0.jpg
Bridget makes her first acquaintance with Mr Bear, whom she named "Lucifer" of all things. Guess he was a devil to get a shot on!
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/Rifle/0.jpg
happy hunter with her bear.
http://usera.imagecave.com/chef/0.jpg
We skinned and butchered, and then got my brand new Mystery Ranch pack. We put the hide (skull attached into the pack, which Bridget insisted carrying down the hill to the truck, while I packed some meat. It was heavy enough (and she couldn't attach hip or chest belt since it was a large) that it almost knocked her off her feet a couple of times, but she made it down and up ditches and over logs, without real problems. 2 trips and we were all done.
We woke her parents up as we returned, and they both came down to check out her bear. We both had a great time!