I had only seconds to make the call...Bear in 8-07 question

[JAFA]

So I am driving slowly on the FSR and come around the corner to find a very large B-Bear on the road. Big ol pumpkin head, little bitty ears... belly low to the ground. Bear kinda lifts up on the back legs checking me out then starts to lope down the road.
I hit the break, bail out and slide the clip in, smooth and slick, rack a round. The ground is sloping away and I can see the Bear and the background should I miss... so I feel good about the shot.
As I bring up the rifle a little voice is going on in my head. "How long have you been watching this Bear, do you really know what you are about to shoot" He is about 30 yards away but making ground quickly so I needed to decide immediately.

I had no real way of knowing it was He, or a single She... and not Mama with a couple of cubs in the ditch so it killed me but I let it go.

Feel like it was the right call, but curious as to how many on this site would have pulled the trigger?

Jim.

[Steeleco]

It's a tough call with such a short time frame. There's always that chance the cubs (if any) may not have shown up till your were into the thick of things?

If there was even the slightest bit of doubt in your mind, you did the right thing.

[Jelvis]

You absolutely did the right thing, you had that feeling and you did it right on the button, good call all the way .. you went with the first thought.
Jel .. You did the right thing .. Now you can feel good about your quick decision ..

[betteroffishing]

spidey sences only tingle when theres trouble , you did the right thing

[islandboy]

spidey sences only tingle when theres trouble , you did the right thing

Agreed. Kudos to you on your call. :cool:

[Yotapup]

I feel your pain man. I had the same situation, only it walked out in front of me about 20yds ahead and started to walk away, oblivious of my presence. Poor shot, no idea of cubs. Had to make the call and steady my trigger finger.

Funny thing, I think it's the same boar I tagged a month or so later, was in the same place and same size

[3006pg]

personally i would have shot it then taken the cubs to guard my grow op ;) haha jk tradeshowguy you absolutely did the right thing kudos to you

[Badbrutus]

Good call rarely is that little voice in your head wrong..

[coach]

You definitely did the right thing. Well done. I'm betting the support you are getting here goes a long way toward easing your mind. There will be more opportunities in the future.

[Fisher-Dude]

Good choice. I saw a great bear last fall that would have got 'er if I hadn't glimpsed a cub bolt off into the brush as I stopped and watched for a while. If I had popped it right away, I would have had many regrets.

Always best to take your time and know you did the right thing.

[peashooter]

great decision. no shortages of bears, you will find a boar and it will be even bigger. i had the same last year. i watched this pig feed in a cut for a while, the whole time she is in grave danger with the cross on her shoulder, talking myself into the shot and my hunting partner on the binos says no go, cubs coming in at 3:00. sure enough 2 little fur balls come strolling in and ruin my hunt.

[Jelvis]

We decide real quick when dealing with animals in hunting season, because it's a now or never type of response. We want to or don't want to which ever is stronger at the time, it's a thought and emotional process predetermined already. If we go against that predetermination we feel bad so know what your going to do before you face a situation by visualizing the different scenarios that you could imagine would happen on your hunting trip which has certain limitations, like time, opportunity etc.
Jel My Uncle used to say go with your first thought ..

[dutchie]

Good call... Something like this happened to me this year...

Driving to my hunting spot and i see a bear and I hit the binders... Watched it for about 5 mins, had a clear shot the entire time but I saw something moving in the bush... i did not know what it was so I let the bear go.

I was fairly confident that it was a Boar but i would feel horrible if it was a sow with cubs. It had all the characteristics of a mature Boar, but the rustling in the bush was the no-go for me.

Dutchie

[thecoug]

Classic Hunter Ethics call.. You did what a responsible hunter SHOULD DO!! I have had similar situations.. Karma will bring a big boar your way... The urgency of most shots is PERCEIVED given the moment..

[JAFA]

Thanks for all the support here, I really appreciate it.

As a new hunter,(having a rough season) I was afraid that there could have been more I should have done to prove (and take) the shot.

I see I did right, as my gut tells me.

Jim.

[tomahawk]

Nothing tough about that call. You made the only decision that is right or ethical and for all the right reason that you have listed in your post!!
Congrats, there needs to be more hunters like you in this world!!

[835]

On a side note.
Its better if you have to work a bit for the big ones. The story is better. Its not " i was driving down the road when WHAM there he was!"

story for the brute is " I was pussyfooting down this deactivated road that was covered in grass. Then out he came, we played cat and mouse to make sure he was a good boar. And then i spent the rest of the day recovering my bear." See..... You made the right choice. There is so many bears around here there is no point screwing up.

[dabat]

Always listen to your inner voice, its rarely wrong. You made the right call.

[aggiehunter]

Tradeshow...well I think you did the right thing but shit can certainly happen. I had the privelage of watching what I thought was a pretty good bear for 15 minutes feeding in a patch of wild raspberries...I planned my stalk and started down the slope towards it...I got within 75 yards with the 'rcurve and lo and behold two babies wandered out of the trees beside the patch of berries.....shit can happen.