First bear of the year

[BromBones]

Not much of a story for this guy.

Was out looking to fill my grizz LEH, and bumped into him. Me and the pup followed him into the thick stuff and he stopped at 12 yards broadside. Tough to find a good line in the alders to shoot, so I just squared off on his shoulder and touched off my 450 Marlin.

Bear hit the ground and so did a couple skinny alder trees that were in the way. He bounced up and whirled around, and I smoked him through the shoulders again. He dropped, and I gave him one more at the base of his noggin to quiet him down for good. Skinning him out I found both shoulders were busted up badly. Recovered one bullet that was very distorted (the one that hit trees on the way) but still weighed over 300 grains. Gotta love those big slugs for close range in the brush.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/931348_498031133578806_1135046105_n.jpg

He might go 6'3'' or so and has a good sized melon. Really fat for a spring bear, and a nice thick hide with no rubs.

Other than the major hearing loss from firing a ported 450 in thick brush without earplugs, it was a pretty good day. :)

Cheers

[revarchery]

Nice Bear, great story hope your grizz hunt goes as well.

[Bear Chaser]

Nice bear.
Is that a wool coat?

[BiG Boar]

Good work. Cool looking pic with your dog.

[ThinAir]

Awesome. Your dog looks proud! What bullet? Trying to decide on a bullet for my 45-70... thinking A-frames.

[pnbrock]

That's a great photo nice big bear aswell congrats.

[BromBones]

Nice bear.
Is that a wool coat?

Yep. They are made in New Zealand by Swanndri. Best piece of hunting gear I own.

[BromBones]

Awesome. Your dog looks proud! What bullet? Trying to decide on a bullet for my 45-70... thinking A-frames.

These are Hornady 350 grain flat-nose. The A-Frames are a little tougher but dont expand out as much.

[Bear Chaser]

Thank you. I'm checking them out right now.

BTW somebody was supposed to tell you that you can't kill anything without the latest camo head to toe and high tech gotchies. Did you miss the memo?

[BromBones]

Thank you. I'm checking them out right now.

BTW somebody was supposed to tell you that you can't kill anything without the latest camo head to toe and high tech gotchies. Did you miss the memo?

Haha yep, you'd think that with a wool jacket, carhartt pants and black gumboots, I wouldn't have much of a chance. Musta got lucky.

[adriaticum]

Lol, look at that dog pose.

[chinookkiller]

wow,that is a strong boar,when shocking by that ammo still could active a little time!congrats!

[Mr. Dean]

NICE noodle on that guy - Good goin.

[BromBones]

Thanks guys.

Just finished caping him out. A little bigger than I thought, squared out at 6'7''. Skull might squeak by 19''. Not too bad.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Good bear, but why port a 450?

[BromBones]

Good bear, but why port a 450?

Marlin built them that way from the factory for a few years.

[LBM]

Nice bear and very nice picture.

[mikeman20]

im checking out the coats aswell, need a quality coat this season. how do they fit?

[BromBones]

Good fit, they're cut well for upper body movement. Long coat keeps your legs warm and your ass dry when you sit. Almost as good as a rain jacket, it takes a nasty downpour to actually get water to soak through the inside. Heavy but worth carrying almost anywhere.

I've had a bunch of pm's about the coat - here's a Canadian supplier of the Swanndri coats

http://www.workwearcanada.com/products/detail.cfm?product=810

[nature girl]

Very nice bear. And your dog looks great in the photo.

[604redneck]

Nice looking bear for sure!

[betteroffishing]

funny what gear sluts us hunters are . after admiring the bear then the dog , what kind of coat is that ? was the next thaught in my mind. this wet coast guy likes his wool, but 250.00 seems steep to me. nice bear.

[Bear Chaser]

funny what gear sluts us hunters are . after admiring the bear then the dog , what kind of coat is that ? was the next thaught in my mind. this wet coast guy likes his wool, but 250.00 seems steep to me. nice bear.

It's a bit steep for me too but you have to consider wool apparel an investment much as you would a pair of fine quality binos or a spotting scope. Should get many years of hunting from a quality garment.

[d6dan]

Great looking bear Brombones!..I hope your hearing comes back.:-D Mines still ringing from a 1993 wolf hunt.

[kennyj]

Very nice Black bear!
kenny

[Caribou_lou]

Nice boar. Actually seen this one on FB earlier but it wouldn't let me comment. Great looking dog too!

[cloverphil]

good job, nice bear, congrats !