Pumpkinhead

[Fisher-Dude]

Went out for a combo fishin'/bear huntin' trip yesterday. Saw a nice black that hit the thick stuff fast, then a puny brown that I didn't even get out of the truck for. I checked out a new logging road that goes in behind my cabin, and saw lots of feed and a few piles of fresh crap.

I headed over to my cabin and caught a few trout during the heat of the day. About 4 pm the thunder and rain hit, so I loaded up the boat and headed down the hill. Remembering that One Shit Wonder had told me that right after a rainstorm is a good time to see bears, I figured I'd check out the area where all the fresh crap was on my way home. I saw a couple of whitetails, then turned the corner and spotted a big brown bear on the side of the road. My hound started going ballistic as the bear took off around the corner of the road. I loaded up and ran up to the corner, but didn't see the bear and figured he had bailed into the thick stuff.

I walked a couple of hundered yards up the road until there was a skidroad heading out into a big new clearcut. There he was, walking away across the cut on the skidtrail! I headed out in hot pursuit, trying to close the distance each time he disappeared into a low spot. I set up once, but he didn't stop for a shot. By now, he was nearing the far side of the cut, and would soon be into the thick stuff on the far side. He went down into another low spot and I made the final run to a stump on the high side of the road. He was just cresting the last rise before the brush when I let out a bear grunt, and he stopped about 80 yards away with a perfect quartering broadside shot. The 180 gr Scirocco went on its way, and he dropped on the spot!

It's my first bear, and just a whisker under 6 feet long, with a nice big pumpkinhead and brown colour phase! Nobody told me how much damned work it is to load one of these things into the truck by yourself, especially since I had to wedge it in beside my boat! It was a late night by the time I skinned and quartered him - I'll be a bag of shit at work today! :biggrin:


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/Fisher-Dude/HPIM0806.jpg


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e70/Fisher-Dude/HPIM0809.jpg

[Ruger4]

Congrats , nice bear !!:mrgreen:

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Good work FD!! He's a good solid bruin8).

Ran a couple hundred yards??!!:o That's an epic journey for you!! :grin:

Congrats! (didn't know you were still a bruin virgin:razz:)

SSS

[boxhitch]

Atta go F-D.


I headed out in hot pursuit,



when I let out a bear grunt,
bet there were lots of noises happening. You must have been at least a dozen or more yards away from the truck.

Did you let the mutt chew on him ?

[BiG Boar]

Right on FD! Good shooting!

[Popove]

Nice chocolate!! Love those bears.....

[gbear]

Nice bear. Real nice color. Congrats!

[Steeleco]

Well done, they are heavy aren't they? The hide is none to light either, did you manage to keep it?

[6 K]

Nice one! I Wish we had more of those colored ones here in my stomping grounds.

[Fisher-Dude]

Congrats! (didn't know you were still a bruin virgin:razz:)

SSS

Yep. The cherry is gone!



Did you let the mutt chew on him ?

Nope. He always gets excited when there are deer and grouse around, but I've never seen him get as torqued up as with this bear. Must be something in his hunting instincts that makes him want to attack it!


Well done, they are heavy aren't they? The hide is none to light either, did you manage to keep it?

Yeah, the hide weighs a lot, complete with feet and head still attached. The taxi can skin those out for me. He has a couple of rubs but the underhair is still there. I'll probably get it done complete with "character marks".

[huntcoop]

Nice Bear. Sure wish we had those colours here on the Island.

[Elkhound]

great bear..and your first awesome.....yup, a lot of work by yourself..lol

[870]

nice shootin, great lookin bear

[d6dan]

Nice bear FD, got to love the colour of him..

[doubled]

Beauty yogi, that is for sure. Well done and congrats.

[bruin]

Nice bruin, did you need a GPS to find your way back to the truck?

[Elkaholic]

Great bear. I love the color on it.

[bcfarmer]

Nice bear FD,,,congrats

you should have got that cart off of Ken on Sat.....It would have made your life a lot easier.:biggrin:

BCF

[Kody94]

WTG FD! Thats a very nice b-bear!

Cheers
4Ster

[hunter1947]

Very nice looking bear Fisher ,it looks like a clean bear ,no rubbing ,congrats on getting this fine bear http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.

[Dragginbait]

Nice bear FD, and a chocolate for your first is awesome. Congrats.

[6616]

Good goin' Pat, that beauty is going to make a great lookin' rug.

[Fisher-Dude]

Nice bruin, did you need a GPS to find your way back to the truck?

Nearly! I was lucky enough to be driving my old '83 Chev yesterday...the lift and 35" mudders came in handy 'cause I was able to drive over the stumps on the skidroad right up to the bear. Pulled him on a tarp with the truck up onto a rock ledge, then was able to drive around him and back into the bank. Still lots of sweatin', cussin' and gruntin' to get him loaded up, but it sure helped using some 350 power to move him to a high spot! :wink:

[boxhitch]

:rolleyes:What?? you don't a have a winch in the box ?:rolleyes:
rooky

[GoatGuy]

:rolleyes:What?? you don't a have a winch in the box ?:rolleyes:
rooky

Sure he does - the pullin', cussin' and sweatin' refers to pulling out the cable and shuffling the bear around to get it loaded.

That's a lot a work ya know.

[Fisher-Dude]

Sure he does - the pullin', cussin' and sweatin' refers to pulling out the cable and shuffling the bear around to get it loaded.

That's a lot a work ya know.

Ha! I was tryin' to get cell reception so I could call ya and get your ass out of your HBC computer chair to come and help me...WTF, I can see a cell tower but no reception! Digital cell sucks!

Do you even drive dirt roads anymore? Or just vicariously through the stories on HBC?

[Flinch]

It was a late night by the time I skinned and quartered him - I'll be a bag of shit at work today! :biggrin:



So, just a regular day at the office then?

Pretty bear Dude

[GoatGuy]

Ha! I was tryin' to get cell reception so I could call ya and get your ass out of your HBC computer chair to come and help me...WTF, I can see a cell tower but no reception! Digital cell sucks!

Do you even drive dirt roads anymore? Or just vicariously through the stories on HBC?

We were busy catching whoppers on the Shuswap sorry..............

[wolverine]

Same color as mine last year but bigger. Nice job buddy! Congrats!

[Fisher-Dude]

I'm lookin' forward to next spring already. I saw a beautiful blonde - yellow boar on the May long this year that winded me and bolted. He wasn't nearly as big as Pumpkinhead, but was a very unique colour phase - almost grizzly bear silvertip colouration. He'll be a foot longer next year. ;-)

Now, time to start savin' my scheckles for the taxidermist's bill. I'm getting Pumpkinhead rugged despite a couple of small rub marks (they still have the underfur left in them). What the hell, they will be conversation pieces! :smile:

[budismyhorse]

Jeez.....sounds like you were in danger of breaking out in a sweat at one point.

hey nice bear FD, I love the colour and pumpkinhead fits the bill for sure.

what did it score btw?

[Fisher-Dude]

Jeez.....sounds like you were in danger of breaking out in a sweat at one point.

hey nice bear FD, I love the colour and pumpkinhead fits the bill for sure.

what did it score btw?

Don't know the score yet - I'm gonna let the taxi skin the head out and boil the skull for me. $$$$$$$$$$ :tongue:

[budismyhorse]

wow, you really have too much money ....on second thought its much to nice out to be wasting time boiling skulls. that just seems like winter work;)

[hannibal]

Perfect, dude!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Don't know the score yet - I'm gonna let the taxi skin the head out and boil the skull for me. $$$$$$$$$$ :tongue:

You taxi will tell you to wait to decide if you want a rug until the hide comes back from the tannery. Sometime later season bears will lose quite a bit of fur during tanning.


If that happens...at least you'll still have a nice pegboard bear.

SSS