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Topic Archives => Memorable Hunts => Topic started by: joe skipp on June 09, 2008, 10:51:00 PM
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Got home early Sunday morning and I'm taking a lunch break here at work now...11pm. Seven of nine were successful, that included 2 gun hunters. I will have some photos and the story tomorrow....
Finally settling in...A great time, great weather, just a fun filled week. Left Sat night and drove all night arriving in New Brunswick Noon on Sunday. Our Wilderness Lodge turned out to be a Ski Resort back in the woods thats used for training Olympic Biatholon competitors. What a place!
I was the only "stickbow" hunter there and the first one the guide ever had. Pressure was on as my gear was scrutinized by everyone. I had my Kempf Stealth and I brought my Stewart Multi Cam as a backup, broke it out of retirement. All my arrows were tipped with 160 grain Snuffers and Zwickey No Mercy heads but the Snuffers got the nod.
Here's a pic of the Chalet....
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5030006.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5030009.jpg)
All baits were being hammered and the guides asked everyone not to shoot the first bear as there were some bigger ones coming in. His trail camera photos verified this....I'll break this down into a diary....
Night 1: Roch had me set up in Ameristep ground blind, 15 yds off the bait, downhill shot. Very tough..my limb tip was hitting the roof and I had to lean way back to draw, raise up, hope for clearance then release. First night, I didn't plan on shooting, I wanted to see what comes in.
Between 5 and 8:30, I had 4 smaller bears come in all skittish. Wouldn't hit the bait, come close then crash off. Bear scat was all around my blind...off to my left a twig snaps and I can see a black form....he decides to run off and crashes into the back of my blind! Almost taking it down! 9:20 a nice bear shows up, feeding, giving me a head on shot. He never moved into a shooting position so I took these pics...
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5020003.jpg)
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5020004.jpg)
Night 2: Nothing...Real quiet all night. I was forced to hunt with the 56" STewart bow, this gave me a little more room to draw and maneuver.
Night 3: 2 small bears came in, sniffed around and left. 9:00pm here comes the same bear I photographed. He walked right in and stood broadside at 15 yds. As I eased the bow back my Snuffer scraped the front of the blind. He looked right at me but having the headnet on helped...my white face didn't give me away. When he buried his head back to eat, I shifted my weight, drew back and eased up to the opening for my shot...Unfortunately, the bear now moved 4 yds closer, broadside and I struggled to raise high enough to clear the opening. I thought I had clearance as I aim split vision...my perfect shot. The arrow didn't clear the bottom of the opening and like a limb deflection sailed over his back and into a tree.
The bear took off, stopped and started popping his teeth. He was TOO CLOSE when I made the shot. Now the bear comes back and is heading my way. He stops and stares in maybe 8 yds...turns and goes back to the bait. Giving me a no shot. He runs off when the guide came in to pick me up.
Time for a ladder stand....
Night 4: I started feeling queezy in the morning.
The guide was getting over a virus and I think I was coming down with something. My body just didn't feel right. We headed out and put up a 14ft ladder stand 15 yds from the bait. The guide wanted to film me shooting a bear with the recurve but when we got to the bait site, our "Ground Blind" was destroyed! Sorta ripped apart...Around 7:30 that queezy feeling turned to stomach cramps and headache. Since the guide knew I don't like heights, he made me wear a full harness and thank God he did.
The stand was a little noisy so I decided to shoot from a sitting position. That large belt attached to the tree allowed me to lean out for good clearance. With my Stealth back in my hands, I settled in. The woods were deathly quiet from 8pm to 9pm..the only sounds were me vomiting off the stand. I went through my Gatorade and downed some Tylenol hoping to make until 10:30 when he ususally picks me up.
9:30 I see a black form easing in off to my right. The bear came in cautious but I could tell he planned on hitting the bait. If opportunity presented itself, I was shooting. The bear walks into the bait, I came to full draw and waited for him to reach out and remove a log. when his left leg went forward, I released. The arrow passed through him and stuck in the log, the bear snapped the arrow as he sped off. He crashed off about 40 yds...stopped...rolled over and started his death moan. Bear Down in less than one minute!
We got him out of there and were back in camp by midnight. Four bears were taken on the Night 4. Out of our group of 9 hunters, 2 gun hunters scored and 5 bowhunters. The other 2 bowhunters wounded bears and we couldn't find them. We found their arrows and it showed fat and hair...low hits, no vitals. My 13 hr drive back was long...we had to make some extra stops as the "bug" began to make its way "down". I was a hurtin pup on Sunday...popped in Tylenol and forced myself to mow the lawns. More pics to follow.
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:coffee: getting cold so Please start typing Joe......
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Welcome home Joe, cant wait to hear the details.
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nice look forward to it!
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It's tomorrow already!
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I've been wondering how things went..... :pray:
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Oh Joe.............tap, tap, tap, tap,.......
David
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What a tease. :p
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:coffee: waiting patiently Joe.....Is it tommrow yet? :D
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It's tomorrow in Australia, for sure!
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Joe, it became tomorrow 1 hour after you break. I was on my break then. so I've been waiting almost 8 hours all ready.... :banghead: :biglaugh:
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JOE!!!!!! as you can tell, we cant wait. Welcome back my friend.
Paul.
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:knothead:
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I like stories and pics
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Looking forward to the tales Joe!
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I edited out the first thread...some pics and the story at the top...More pics from the hunt...
Large 12 ft high wrap around deck allowed daily practice every day.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060014.jpg)
The end result of a good hit....Snuffer and blood stained Dougherty Natural
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060011.jpg)
My cop friend Bingo and his nice bear....shot at 22 yds, Steelforce broadhead.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060019.jpg)
How tired were we after a 60 yd drag through some God awful brush?
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060022.jpg)
Roch was so happy that I took my bear with a recurve, he wanted to hold it in the pic...
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060026.jpg)
Roch and Daisy on the trail of a wounded bear..
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5070032.jpg)
Three hours of searching, we were all tired...
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5070034.jpg)
Finally, I nicknamed this Detective Kojak...shot his bear on Night 2 with a gun...he was our camp cook and believe me, Culinary meals served every night...even baked us 3 cakes....
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/P5060028.jpg)
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great Story & pic Joe.
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Thanks for the story and all the pics mate, well done.
Regards,
AK.
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:clapper:
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Well done Joe, happy to hear the happy ending...and glad you survived the bug. Nothing worse than being sick in the bush.
Hope to connect with a blackie myself in a few days.
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Nice job Joe and nice pictures, glad your on the mend
Kurt
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Well done Joe! Great story and a really nice bear! Congrats!
Thanks for sharing! :D
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Man I love bear hunting, sounds like a great hunt!
Thanks for sharing, this will be as close to a bear as I get this year :(
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Congrats Joe...enjoyed the story and pic's.
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Great story and congrats on the bear!!
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Great story and photos...Congratulations!!
David
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CONGRATULATIONS MY FRIEND!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup:
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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That's what i'm talkin' 'bout!! Congrats buddy!!
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Nice Joe. Congrats
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Congrats Joe. Very nice bear and great pictures.
Who/what/where was your guide service?
Thanks for sharing.
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Congrats. Nice bear.
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ATTA BOY SKIPPY!!! WOOOFAAA! Congrats! Way to go. I'm happy for you. See I told you about that human vomit being the perfect scent to bring'em in. How do you think I shot so many Bucks in my drinkin' days!!?? Great story and pictures Bud. Thanks for sharing.
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I think you should edit the title of this thread to read "Chuming for Bears" :D
Nice job - way to represent the traditional community and show them what these sticks can do :thumbsup:
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Congrats pal.Great pics and story.Hope your feeling better.
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congrats on your bear joe! thanks for the story and pics.
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Hey Skip, what part of New Brunswick were you in? I'm livin' up there!
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Congratulation Joe!! Real nice Bear ! Sounds as though you had a real good time. Nice Bears out east. Those Snuffers sure do the job!
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Great stuff Joe !! I got back from Alberta last week.I'll send you an email.
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thanks for the story and pics. Congrats on a beautiful bear with your recurve.
Bears are without any doubt my favorite animals to bowhunt. Great story !!!
John III
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Excellent story and photos. Thanks for sharing your hunt!
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Way to go Joe!! Nice bear and showin' off the stickbow too...Doc
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Great job Joe! Sounds like a great hunt. And looks like you made a few new friends. I'll bet you got a couple of them thinking right now. Congratulations!!!!!
Mike
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Way to go Joe!!!!!! Does this mean you might start hunting from trees now? :D
By the way, I used to love those JDA arrows when I could get them, always thought they made a nice arrow.
David
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Thanks for the compliments...
Dave...Terra Firma....14 ft was high enough and you notice I shot from a sitting position. Still not 100% but I'm here at work. The compound shooters were impressed with my bows speed and quietness. My guide even tried it and said he would contact me about getting started.
Hopefully next year, I'll be shooting the new Mikuta one piece recurve and maybe christen that.
Compound boys shot Matthews and Hoyt bows, gold tip carbons tipped with 100 grain Muzzys or Thunderheads. On bears...tough to beat a big ol 160 gr Snuffer.....
Dave...notice the Team Pink arrow in the quiver? Needed some kind of luck...
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..........Congrats Joe-------Nice Bear and great story------- :thumbsup:
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Thanks for including us.
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Joe,
I was wondering if you were going to try it from the tree's :scared: And to make matters worse, you had to spew off the top. But true to form you stuck it out and got your bear, Congrats :thumbsup: . Thanks for the story.
Paul.
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Great story. Looks like a great time. Too bad for the "bug". Hope you are feeling better.
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Hmmmmm.....A one piece Mikuta recurve..... :archer:
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Great story, Joe, in so many ways. I think a little more gin with the limes woulda killed that bug on entry. Oooh, maybe Kojak pulled a fast one on you... :p
You sure overcame a lot to bring that good bear home, and you did our bows up proud. You are a full-bore hard core hunter, and I am honored to have spent some time with you.
Team Pink rocks! :thumbsup:
Killdeer
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Well done Joe. Sounds like a great trip, thanks for the story.
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Great job buddy! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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Joe I did see the Team Pink Arrow, cool......maybe we should require all team members to carry at least one in their quivers when they hunt........
Good job my friend,
David
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Great Story Joe!!!!!
Thanks for sharing and Congrats!!!!
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Joe,
What poundage were you using with the big snuffies? Thanks for sharing.
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Good job, I'm going to N.B. in september for a bear hunt, hope I have a good hunt as you. Again, good job!!!
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Dave....I actually had the Pink arrow nocked from 4:30 to about 8:30. When the "zipper" started coming down in the forest, I switched over to florescent dipped arrows with Chartruese feathers. I had the No Mercy heads on "pinkie".
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Joe great thread the pix are great..Your good with the bear's from coast to coast.. Lookin forward to hearing the story first hand..Maybe a winter night in a hotel room. With good food and drink..Tdog
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Tdog...
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Congrats Joe!! Well done!
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Atta Guy!
Nice bear, Joe.
JD
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Hey Joe great story! Hope you're feeling better.
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What outfit were you hunting with and would you recommend it?
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Thanks for the trip Joe. Been kind of a bummer summer(spring ?). Appreciate being able to tag along w/you.
Congrats!!
Larry
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Nice story and pics,good shooting Joe,looks like a fine bear ;)
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Sweet!! If ya want more company next year, talk to me!! Very nice thread and good pics.!! Shawn