Bear Chaser
05-30-2013, 12:27 PM
May long weekend my son and I decided to camp with a few of the guys I work with and do a little bear hunting during the morning and evening. Since my son had just turned 16 the week previous he had more important things to do than go camping right away. Seems a barn dance for teens on Friday night and a sleepover with his friends Saturday was more important than heading out bear hunting so we didn’t leave town until after lunch on Sunday.
We pulled into our camp spot about two o’clock and got the trailer parked. After we got settled we had a short visit with the guys. We planned to go out and do a little target shooting followed by a drive around looking for Mr. Bear and then idle back to camp for a supper that somebody else had cooked an hour or so before dark. The following day we would take a serious drive into some country I hadn’t seen for over twenty years where I hoped we would be able to do some glassing and exploring.
About five o’clock we drove off to a spot I knew we could check our guns at with a good backdrop to shoot against and little chance of endangering others. As I expected nobody else was in the vicinity. After blasting through a couple boxes of rounds with the 10/22 we each took a few shots with our hunting rifles to be sure of our equipment. Satisfied that my .35 Whelen and the boys 7mm08 were both hitting where they needed to be I decided we should go check some pipelines.
We checked into several sideroads leading to well pads where I knew there was some good greenery starting to fill in but had no bears feeding yet. As we drove past one pipeline right of way I remarked to my son that we should stop and walk out onto the line when we came back through. We got to the end of the road, turned around and came back. After parking the truck we grabbed our rifles and binoculars and walked out to where we could glass down the pipeline right of way. We could see about two miles of line that dropped downhill from us about two hundred vertical feet.
The line was greening up very nicely and after watching and glassing for several minutes I told my son I justcouldn’t believe there wasn’t a bear out feeding on it. As usually happens the words had no sooner left my mouth when a bear stepped into view about a mile down the line. I threw my binoculars up and from what I could see he looked like a good sized black. After watching him for a minute we decided he was definitely worth a closer look. Fortunately the slight breeze that was blowingwas coming straight up the line toward us although as we would be heading west the sun was shining right in our eyes as it dropped toward the horizon.
We got about one quarter mile down the line when the disadvantage of the sunlight did cost me the chance to see a bear coming out about 70 yards from us until it was too late. I heard a crack and just caught a glimpse of a smallish cinnamon running from us back into the bush. Oh well I thought “he’s too small anyway.”
We continued down the hill stopping to glass the bear several times as he fed. Each time we stopped I became more confident that he was a mature boar. His gait appeared to be more of a lumbering swagger and his head was quite small compared to his body. As we got to about 400 yards he was feeding in the middle of the line heading away from us. As he fed he walked right past a survey stake that had some ribbon tied to it. His back was easily as high as the top of the stake and he appeared quite wide across the back end.
The bear continued to feed away from us and finally crested a small rise in the pipeline. As we hurried down the line I kept watching to see if he would come into view beyond the rise but he didn’t. Finally we got almost to the point where we had lost sight of thebear and I whispered to my son to put a round in the chamber as the bear was either gone or just out of view. We eased ahead a couple more yards and I caught a glimpse of the top of his back. He was still feeding and only about forty yards away. I quietly motioned to the boy that the bear was right there and we moved toward some large spruce trees on the side of the line which I hoped we could conceal behind while waiting for a shot. Unfortunately there was some small shrubbery and branches that looked to be blocking a clear shot.
The bear was now in full view about thirty yards out and unaware of us. Instead of continuing to the spruce trees I whispered to my son to take a knee and we would wait for the shot. Aftera couple gentle squeaks from the cow elk call I had with me which the bear paid no attention to he finally gave us the angle I was looking for. I asked my son if he was ready and to take him if he was. The 7mm08 barked and the bear immediately spun biting at his front shoulder before wheeling away and crashing into the bush out of sight.
After a minute of waiting and listening we heard the bear bawling his last few breathes. I gave him a couple more minutes before slowly walking up the line to where I thought he had gone in. As I looked into the bush I could see him piled up not twenty yards from me. After a few good sized roots were thrown at him I walked in and gave him a poke with my rifle but he was done.
Congratulations to my son for a pretty good mature boar. He was an honest six footer and about 300 lbs. When we skinned him he had about 2 inches of fat on his hams and an excellent thick long coat. I couldn’t have been any happier than I was with my son at that moment. He stayed cool and waited for the right opportunity and made a good clean kill. The bullet was a 140 grain Nosler ETip for anybody who might be interested.
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We pulled into our camp spot about two o’clock and got the trailer parked. After we got settled we had a short visit with the guys. We planned to go out and do a little target shooting followed by a drive around looking for Mr. Bear and then idle back to camp for a supper that somebody else had cooked an hour or so before dark. The following day we would take a serious drive into some country I hadn’t seen for over twenty years where I hoped we would be able to do some glassing and exploring.
About five o’clock we drove off to a spot I knew we could check our guns at with a good backdrop to shoot against and little chance of endangering others. As I expected nobody else was in the vicinity. After blasting through a couple boxes of rounds with the 10/22 we each took a few shots with our hunting rifles to be sure of our equipment. Satisfied that my .35 Whelen and the boys 7mm08 were both hitting where they needed to be I decided we should go check some pipelines.
We checked into several sideroads leading to well pads where I knew there was some good greenery starting to fill in but had no bears feeding yet. As we drove past one pipeline right of way I remarked to my son that we should stop and walk out onto the line when we came back through. We got to the end of the road, turned around and came back. After parking the truck we grabbed our rifles and binoculars and walked out to where we could glass down the pipeline right of way. We could see about two miles of line that dropped downhill from us about two hundred vertical feet.
The line was greening up very nicely and after watching and glassing for several minutes I told my son I justcouldn’t believe there wasn’t a bear out feeding on it. As usually happens the words had no sooner left my mouth when a bear stepped into view about a mile down the line. I threw my binoculars up and from what I could see he looked like a good sized black. After watching him for a minute we decided he was definitely worth a closer look. Fortunately the slight breeze that was blowingwas coming straight up the line toward us although as we would be heading west the sun was shining right in our eyes as it dropped toward the horizon.
We got about one quarter mile down the line when the disadvantage of the sunlight did cost me the chance to see a bear coming out about 70 yards from us until it was too late. I heard a crack and just caught a glimpse of a smallish cinnamon running from us back into the bush. Oh well I thought “he’s too small anyway.”
We continued down the hill stopping to glass the bear several times as he fed. Each time we stopped I became more confident that he was a mature boar. His gait appeared to be more of a lumbering swagger and his head was quite small compared to his body. As we got to about 400 yards he was feeding in the middle of the line heading away from us. As he fed he walked right past a survey stake that had some ribbon tied to it. His back was easily as high as the top of the stake and he appeared quite wide across the back end.
The bear continued to feed away from us and finally crested a small rise in the pipeline. As we hurried down the line I kept watching to see if he would come into view beyond the rise but he didn’t. Finally we got almost to the point where we had lost sight of thebear and I whispered to my son to put a round in the chamber as the bear was either gone or just out of view. We eased ahead a couple more yards and I caught a glimpse of the top of his back. He was still feeding and only about forty yards away. I quietly motioned to the boy that the bear was right there and we moved toward some large spruce trees on the side of the line which I hoped we could conceal behind while waiting for a shot. Unfortunately there was some small shrubbery and branches that looked to be blocking a clear shot.
The bear was now in full view about thirty yards out and unaware of us. Instead of continuing to the spruce trees I whispered to my son to take a knee and we would wait for the shot. Aftera couple gentle squeaks from the cow elk call I had with me which the bear paid no attention to he finally gave us the angle I was looking for. I asked my son if he was ready and to take him if he was. The 7mm08 barked and the bear immediately spun biting at his front shoulder before wheeling away and crashing into the bush out of sight.
After a minute of waiting and listening we heard the bear bawling his last few breathes. I gave him a couple more minutes before slowly walking up the line to where I thought he had gone in. As I looked into the bush I could see him piled up not twenty yards from me. After a few good sized roots were thrown at him I walked in and gave him a poke with my rifle but he was done.
Congratulations to my son for a pretty good mature boar. He was an honest six footer and about 300 lbs. When we skinned him he had about 2 inches of fat on his hams and an excellent thick long coat. I couldn’t have been any happier than I was with my son at that moment. He stayed cool and waited for the right opportunity and made a good clean kill. The bullet was a 140 grain Nosler ETip for anybody who might be interested.
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae69/BearChaser/DSC01043.jpg (http://s958.photobucket.com/user/BearChaser/media/DSC01043.jpg.html)
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae69/BearChaser/DSC01048.jpg (http://s958.photobucket.com/user/BearChaser/media/DSC01048.jpg.html)
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae69/BearChaser/DSC01051.jpg (http://s958.photobucket.com/user/BearChaser/media/DSC01051.jpg.html)
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae69/BearChaser/DSC01056.jpg (http://s958.photobucket.com/user/BearChaser/media/DSC01056.jpg.html)
http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae69/BearChaser/DSC01059.jpg (http://s958.photobucket.com/user/BearChaser/media/DSC01059.jpg.html)