So I settled on this Blackie in Williams Lake on May 29 2011
So I got to my dad's house on the night of the 20th. The next morning we got up and did some things around the house and went out for a drive in the afternoon just down the road from his place. The conditions were perfect. Sunny and warm with dandelions in full bloom. We seen a 6 footer that had a nice hide but since it was the first day out I let him walk. On our way out we seen a small 4.5 footer that I could have killed ten times over.
The next couple days I twiddled around town and did some things I needed to do. But on the 25th me and my g-pa headed out to another spot out of town that is usually pretty productive. When we got out in the area we like to hunt we seen nothing but mushroom pickers and deer. The conditions weren't the greatest... cold and raining.
On the 26th me and my dad headed out to an area that he had seen a blackie that was pushing 8 feet. Yes 8 feet. We spent the thursday friday and saturday trying to find him. The 8 footer did show up on my dad's friend's trail cam twice when I was there... just in the middle of the night. I had seen one other booner blackie. When we first saw him we assumed it was a grizzly bear. Upon further review and a couple double takes... turns he was a colout phase blackie. Me and my dad made the stalk. He had cut down off the road we were on. He dropped off the road and my step mom who was back at the truck said he had doubled back on us. However I had seen live cariboo for the first time in my life.
Talking to the local rancher, he said the big 8 footer should be around come the fall!!
So yesterday (the 29th) after hanging out with family and friend's, I raced out to my dad's house for an afternoon hunt. We went back to the same area as the first day. It was prime conditions again... but started off a little grim. We were cruising the road then in a cut we seen a bunch of crows and hawks scatter. I said "there's something dead down there". So my dad pulled over and we wandered in to take a look. We came across a cow moose carcass. There was only the hide, head with no nose and guts. No bones or meat anywhere. The guts hadn't even been ripped into. So we carried on seen two other cow moose. We checked out the local lake and turned around and headed for home. On our way out I spotted a black bear about 600 yards down the road. My dad stopped the truck and with the aid of binos confirmed it was a decent boar. I had come up to find a bear and it was my last day so I said I'd take him. We bailed out of the truck and loaded out weapons of choice. We made out way down the ditch. Keeping our eyes on the bear. The bear stepped off the road and out of sight. So we gum booted it down the road as fast and silently as possible. We slowed up just before the spot he walked off the road. We came to another cross road into a cut block. I spotted him off to the side of the road a couple hundred yards down. We worked up the ditch once again and the bear turned his back to us again. I ran down the road and found a stump for cover/rest.
The bear was now only 60 yards from me. I lined up with Sleena (my weatherby vanguard .30_06) not yet baptized I looked through the sights of my weaver 40/44 series 3-9x40 powered scope. I squeezed the trigger and sent my 150 grain sst flying at 3040fps. I hit the bear and it ran off towards the timber then fell over. My dad said watch him as he went to get the truck. When he got back we carefully closed in on the bear. We could see he was still breathing for a bit and put one more into his neck. He was done!! Success.
He skinned out to 5 foot 6. He was a little shorter than we thought he was going to be but he still has a big head on him. The skull isn't dried and cleaned yet. But a taxidermist says it should dry out and make 19 inches. I'm thinking it'll be a high 18 incher.
I spent this morning deboning hiim for pepperoni and hamburger. I also took a few steaks off of him and had them for lunch. He is tasty.
After the real work was done heading out of the bush my dad asked if we'd see lots of bears or no bears. I said lots... sure enough we seen a sow with a cub (can't se the cub in the picture)
And we seen this big boar... Sucks that I had already filled my tag so we let him walk. But hopefully he'll be around in the fall
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Originally Posted by Freshtracks
