SKYLINE
06-08-2011, 11:15 PM
I finally got to pack a real load in my Mystery Ranch NICE 7500 when my cousin and I got out for a recent spring grizzly bear hunt. Here’s a quick recap of our hunt.
Day one: We left town at five am loaded up with five days worth of gear, hoping to get a chance at a spring grizz. Not long after entering my zone, we noticed some of the slides were visible and began to glass the ones that looked promising. At around ten o’clock we spotted our first grizzlies; a sow and a cub. Seeing these two motivated us to press on towards finding a boar.
Several sections of the road were still completely covered in snow, but we were lucky enough to get our truck and trailer through these sections and set up camp at our predetermined site. Once parked and organized, we were ready to begin hunting and we loaded the quad with a chainsaw and winch cable, in hopes we could get to the slides we were after. We only made it several hundred meters from camp to find the road had been washed away by the spring run off. The best slides were beyond this, further up the valley, so we spent the rest of the day cutting our way around beaver dams, swamps and washed out trail.
By six pm we had made our destination where we watched several moose and goat feed for the evening, but no bears.
Day two: Up with the sun, we quickly made it back to the slides to continue glassing. Almost immediately I spotted a sow with two cubs. They fed for a couple hours before retreating into the timber to bed. We glassed this area for the day and watched moose, goat, black bear, elk and grizzlies, but no boars. By the evening we decided to head to another set of slides closer to camp and saw two adult grizzlies together and figured it was likely a boar with a sow. Because it was getting late we had to leave them, but hoped they’d be back to feed this slide the next day.
Day three: The weather didn’t cooperate much for glassing, as it was foggy and raining/snowing. However, we went to the back end of the valley anyway, in hopes that the weather would break and the bears would be out. We spent the morning huddled around a fire under a large spruce tree. By two o’clock the weather broke and the sun came out. Almost immediately we spotted the same sow and cubs from the day before. After watching them feed across the slide, another bear appeared, seeming to come out of nowhere. This bear looked to be a lone boar in a stalkable area of the slide. I watched and filmed him for awhile and knew this was a shooter bear. At four o’clock we checked the wind, made a plan and decided to go for it. This plan wasn’t easy; it involved pumping up a raft, crossing a river, and getting around and above the bear on the slide.
By six o’clock we’d made our way up the slide, past some goats and above where we thought the bear would be. He was nowhere to be seen, but because we had a good vantage point, we decided to sit and wait. We agreed that at 7 o’clock we would have to head back to camp to beat nightfall. We sat waiting and ironically I checked my watch at 6:59, just as I saw some willows move and the bear emerge onto the slide below. He fed unaware of our presence 150 yards away. I waited for a clear shot. He stopped perfectly broadside and I put one just behind his left shoulder. The bear sunk down and then took off running toward the edge of the slide, about twenty yards away. I knew it was a good hit but I didn’t want him to get into the alder so I put another shot into him; he crumpled and rolled down the slide. Knowing what was ahead, with the river sections and washed out trail, the photo session was really short. We got the cape off and headed back to camp. It was midnight when we finally got to bed as the river crossing was an experience, to say the least. He ended up squaring 7’4”.
Special thanks to my cousin (non HBC member) for all his hard work during the hunt.
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080060.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080072.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080054.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080079.jpg
Day one: We left town at five am loaded up with five days worth of gear, hoping to get a chance at a spring grizz. Not long after entering my zone, we noticed some of the slides were visible and began to glass the ones that looked promising. At around ten o’clock we spotted our first grizzlies; a sow and a cub. Seeing these two motivated us to press on towards finding a boar.
Several sections of the road were still completely covered in snow, but we were lucky enough to get our truck and trailer through these sections and set up camp at our predetermined site. Once parked and organized, we were ready to begin hunting and we loaded the quad with a chainsaw and winch cable, in hopes we could get to the slides we were after. We only made it several hundred meters from camp to find the road had been washed away by the spring run off. The best slides were beyond this, further up the valley, so we spent the rest of the day cutting our way around beaver dams, swamps and washed out trail.
By six pm we had made our destination where we watched several moose and goat feed for the evening, but no bears.
Day two: Up with the sun, we quickly made it back to the slides to continue glassing. Almost immediately I spotted a sow with two cubs. They fed for a couple hours before retreating into the timber to bed. We glassed this area for the day and watched moose, goat, black bear, elk and grizzlies, but no boars. By the evening we decided to head to another set of slides closer to camp and saw two adult grizzlies together and figured it was likely a boar with a sow. Because it was getting late we had to leave them, but hoped they’d be back to feed this slide the next day.
Day three: The weather didn’t cooperate much for glassing, as it was foggy and raining/snowing. However, we went to the back end of the valley anyway, in hopes that the weather would break and the bears would be out. We spent the morning huddled around a fire under a large spruce tree. By two o’clock the weather broke and the sun came out. Almost immediately we spotted the same sow and cubs from the day before. After watching them feed across the slide, another bear appeared, seeming to come out of nowhere. This bear looked to be a lone boar in a stalkable area of the slide. I watched and filmed him for awhile and knew this was a shooter bear. At four o’clock we checked the wind, made a plan and decided to go for it. This plan wasn’t easy; it involved pumping up a raft, crossing a river, and getting around and above the bear on the slide.
By six o’clock we’d made our way up the slide, past some goats and above where we thought the bear would be. He was nowhere to be seen, but because we had a good vantage point, we decided to sit and wait. We agreed that at 7 o’clock we would have to head back to camp to beat nightfall. We sat waiting and ironically I checked my watch at 6:59, just as I saw some willows move and the bear emerge onto the slide below. He fed unaware of our presence 150 yards away. I waited for a clear shot. He stopped perfectly broadside and I put one just behind his left shoulder. The bear sunk down and then took off running toward the edge of the slide, about twenty yards away. I knew it was a good hit but I didn’t want him to get into the alder so I put another shot into him; he crumpled and rolled down the slide. Knowing what was ahead, with the river sections and washed out trail, the photo session was really short. We got the cape off and headed back to camp. It was midnight when we finally got to bed as the river crossing was an experience, to say the least. He ended up squaring 7’4”.
Special thanks to my cousin (non HBC member) for all his hard work during the hunt.
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080060.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080072.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080054.jpghttp://i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww325/CDS80/P1080079.jpg