Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: wasapt on April 04, 2009, 10:55:00 AM
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Harvested my musk ox here in Holman, NWT and now on to do my polar bear hunt. After sighting 2 loan bulls, I got within 15 yd and made a perfect heart shot, complete pass thru, my eskimo guide said, put another one in him which I did. 4" above the first, I buried to the feathers, the 480gr Beman MFX tipped with a 2 blade phantom. My Black Widow PSA lll, 56lb at 28" performed flawless in the -30 degree temps. I'm on to Yellowknife today with the hide and horns to Robertson's Taxidermy and then to Pond Inlet for the the polar bear hunt.
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We need pics!!!
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Yeah man, ya cant post something like that without pics!! :readit:
Sounds like one heck of an amazing hunt, or two. Nicely done!
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Brrrrrrr!!! and congrats.Id love to hunt a muskox 1 day.Early fall preferably.Good luck on nanook and be sur to post pics and stories when you return.
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Incredible!!!!!! Congratulation's on the Musk Ox. One down, one to go!! Good luck!! :thumbsup:
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Here ya go Bud! Awesome job!
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w29/ishiwannabe/Untitled-1.jpg)
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There you go,,, awesome beast.Those wolf gloves aint too shabby either.
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AWESOME!!!
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WOW!!!! musk ox and polar bear, now that's a dream hunt. :thumbsup:
Right on
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Congrats on your muskox! Sounds like an amazing hunt.
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Congrats, :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: thanks for sharing your hunt with us,looking forward to story and pics of the polar bear hunt!!
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Thanks for posting that pic for me, hope to learn how to do it sometime. I'll send more of the story about the polar bear hunt when I'm done 4-21-09 , say a prayer for me and my family (wife and 4 young kids 11, 7, 7 and 3 y/o ) waiting home for me in Lubbock, TX
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Awlllllllllllllllllrighty then....Very cool. Must be a hunt of a lifetime for anyone
jer Bear
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Wow! What a hunt! What is your set up for the Polar Bear?
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Awesome! Congrats, and good luck with the bears.
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thats amazing thanks for showing us
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Nice job and good shooting. Hey, is that Russia in the background? :bigsmyl:
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Very cool. Good luck with the Nanuk!
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Great job and best of luck on the white bear!
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well done!! :cool: :thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper:
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Cool adventure !!! Congrads on a nice critter.
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that's awesome, hope you smoke a big ol' bear before he eats you
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My polar bear set up is my Black Widow 56lb @ 28", 4 blade 125gr Muzzy Phantom on Beman MFX shaft, arrow weight is 480gr. Strategy is to get as close as safely possible, 25 yds would be awesome. I'll keep ya posted. I'm staying in Yellowknife tonight, heading to Ottawa tomorrow and then on into Pond Inlet on Monday. Will buy my tag and license and headout out with the dogs tuesday morning.
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Good luck and congrats on the muskox.
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:thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper:
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That's cool in more ways than one congrats!!! :thumbsup: :notworthy: :clapper:
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Originally posted by wasapt:
My polar bear set up is my Black Widow 56lb @ 28", 4 blade 125gr Muzzy Phantom on Beman MFX shaft, arrow weight is 480gr. Strategy is to get as close as safely possible, 25 yds would be awesome.
wasapt, Please take lot's and lot's of pic's, so we can show the kids this is what daddy looked like before the bear ate him :scared:
Just kidding you, I hope you have already done your home work, because your already there.
I love what your doing and can only hope and pray that I, also will be able to live that dream.
The 56lb sounds OK, still I would of tried to build up to another 10lbs for this hunt, but the 480 grains sounds way to light.
56lbs with 600-650gr. would give a lot more penetration.
Please my friend don't take my post the wrong way, I love what your doing and am vary thankful your sharing it with us.
So, get nice and close, thread the arrow through the hart/lungs, take 2 million pic's and get back to those that love you. :clapper:
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Superb, not to many can say "Ya wanna come over to the house and see my Ox mount"?
Very cool(NPI). Good luck on the bear.
T.J.
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Didn't know you could shoot a polar bear. I need to get out more. I figured what with the world turning into a green-house that they had all the polar bears safely tucked away in a government sponsored "safe" place. You reckon someone has been lieing to me about them being endangered and running out of territory and food? I sure hope you kill a big one so that all the others will have a little more breathing room. Good luck, can't wait to see pictures!
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Walking the walk.
Something that few will EVER do.
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Congrats and good luck on the next leg! :thumbsup:
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Congrats :thumbsup:
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very nice! Congrats to you
an best of luck with the next hunt keep us updated
:thumbsup: :archer:
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Gratz on that bro! good luck with the polar bear!
keep safe. jake
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That is just flippin cool. Congrats on an amazing trophy.
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Well-done! It's great to see a fellow chasing his dream! Good luck on the polar bear!
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Kingwouldbe
I had your thinking previously, 480 gr would be too light but after speaking to many who have done the deed, Eichler,Dunn,Beeler,Leqve,Fromm ( 3 of whom all have taken each of the 28 via archery equipment) I have changed my mind about the need for heavier bows and heavier arrow weight. I appreciate your post as I am am sure many may have thought the same thing but I believe it will be plenty to get the job done quickly and sufficiently. I will certainly let you know how it turns out.
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You-da-man...congratulations on your accomplishment. Good luck with the bear.
Looks too cold for me but you look right at home out there.
Love the mittens.
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Rock-on dude! :clapper: :goldtooth:
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:clapper: :clapper:
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Way cool! Congrats to you.
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Congratulations on the beautiful Musk Ox!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Good luck and Shoot Straight on the Polar Bear !!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Be sure to take lots of pics. This may be as close as I ever get to either one,so thanks for sharing it with us!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:campfire: :coffee:
David
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :notworthy:
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Great job!! Here's wishing you plenty of luck and mojo on the polar bear!
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Congrats Bryce! Good luck on the great white bear!!!
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Congrats for the OX good luck with the POLAR; I love your shooting glove I wish it could fit my Javelina hunt!
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Wow. . . just a dream for most of us- so once again- Tradgang is awesome. Good luck. . . jeesh, polar bear! And I can get panic on a Big whitetail buck. . . I do not think I would have the guts for a polar bear. . .
Dan in KS
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Awesome! Good luck.
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May the Spirit of Fred Bear lookover your shoulder at the moment of truth....takinga Polar Bear with a bow is a dream few of us ever get the chance to take, I wish you well on your hunt.
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That'd cool. Not many people get to hunt Musk Ox.
Congrats,
Bisch
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Wow, a response from Bill Langer, I love that man, i have and have watched all your DVD's, thanks for posting!
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Congrats on the ox.Good luck with the polar bear.That's a hunt of a liftime for sure.
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Bryce, Congrats on the Musk ox bud...very cool :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :pray:
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Congrats Bryce on that great animal and keep us informed on the rest of your progress. Be sure when you get back to get us some pics and a brief story as well, would love to add that in our Muzzy Moments page. Just e-mail that to me here at Muzzy. [email protected]
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Congrats and BE SAFE! on the bear hunt!
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So, you are going out Tuesday morning...tomorrow!
I think maybe some people might get somebody else's junk mail, as I suspect I might be daydreaming a little.
Killdeer :archer:
Walk the Earth correctly. May your steps be balanced and harmonious.
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I left Ottawa this moring at 9a in a blizzard snow storm and arrived here in Pond Inlet at 5p via 1 stop and plane change. I met my guide, Sam, a very experienced polar bear hunter guide and also the inuit who took Les ? ( survivor man TV show )out in the artic to see if he could survive in the elements here in Pond Inlet. Sam also was a guide for Michele Leqve, the first woman to harvest a polar bear. Michele told me she hoped I got Sam when I came here because of his knowledge of the P. bear and many years of experience so I am obviously blessed and highly favored. The land here is not flat like in Holman. There are huge glaciers around and from the air, the land scape has many more crevices and frozen bodies of water. It certainly is cold here and brutal, we head out in the morning via snowmobiles pulling a sled with me and the gear and another snowmobile will be pulling the dogs who will ride on a sled in box that has dividers to make seperate spaces for each dog. The dogs can look out and about and yet won't be prone to fighting. We will ride this way to our hunting area, some 90 miles away. After a meal at the hotel dining room for all the guests here at the hotel, of t-bone steak, shrimp, potatoes, rice and chochlate cake, The guide coordinator came to my room tonight to certify my gear. He went over each piece of clothing, my underware, my socks and boots, my camo, my coat mittens, head gear goggles, balaclava, boot covers and neck gaiter. Next, my sleeping gear, sleeping bag, thermorest grounf pad, goose down sleeping clothes, footwear for when my boots are off and sleeping hat. Next, my hunting gear. He quized me on my arrow weight, bow draw weight, set up, checked my quiver, spare quiver, broadheads and fletchings on the arrows, bow strings, my limbs including tips, my riser, arrow rest, padded bow case and then my spare bow and arrows. He gave me the thumbs up and the game plan for the morning. I will get my tag and license after an early breakfast, load my gear and we are on our way. My laptop will stay here at the hotel. I can't sleep, i'm so excited! It's 1145p and I can tell it will be a long night. The adventure begins!
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Wow!
I am digging the details. Had no clue about the microscopic examination you would get, but it is completely understandable. That is a long way out, and the right equipment is a must.
Are you awake with anticipation, or wisely snoring in your bunk?
Killdeer :campfire:
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Bryce,
From an Ole Texas Tech grad. "Put the grease where the squeek is on that bear!"
Best of luck and write us when you can. Can't wait to hear about your adventure.
Paul
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"If some of our teenage thrill-seekers, really want to go out and get a thrill, let them go up into the northwest and tangle with a Grizzly bear,
or a Polar Bear, or a Brown bear...they will get their thrill, and it will cleanse their soul."
I realize you are not a teenager, but maybe the message still rings the same bell.
Since I read about your Musk-ox, and about your quest for the bear, it`s all I can think of.
Be brave. It`s Tuesday. :)
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Bryce, Good Luck and keep us posted. When I grow up I wanna be able to hunt places like you are doing :notworthy:
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Great story so far. Congrats on the ox. Good luck on the Nanuk. I envy you.
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Congrats on a terrific musk ox! You picked the best taxidermist in yellowknife. Robertson's Taxidermy did a great job mounting my musk ox...tell Greg I said hi.
Best of luck on the polar bear.
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Bryce, I'm digging your avatar :thumbsup: The only better one I could think of is a WHITE BEAR.
Smoke one for the team, your probably doing the deed right now.
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:scared:
You said "POLAR BEAR" - with a bow!!!
How do the boys fit in your britches?
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Nice...now go fill that Bear tag!....Good luck
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Congrats on The Musk Ox, Good luck, Hunt Safe and shoot straight. Looking forward to the Bear excursion details. Big Ed
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Great story and good luck on the man eater. I wonder what the feeling would be like to pull back on a polar bear at 20 yards or so. Not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
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Wasapt:
Congratulations on living the dream. Please write the story for we who will continue to dream.
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Congrats on the muskox and good luck on the polar bear!!! What an awesome adventure, thanks for taking your Trad Gang buddies along!!! :thumbsup:
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bohuntr, I really wish you would change your avitar. I REALLY want that buck! Industrial mass!
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Jon, I really would love to change the Avatar ... if I shot a cool double drop tine buck like yours I definitely would. No muskox or polar bear for me in the forseeable future so I will have to see if I can get a bigger elk or whitetail this fall!
Hopefully we will get an update on the polar bear hunt in the near future!
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bohuntr, what did that thing score? I can't tell but it looks like a main frame 8 but maybe a 9. The mass and spread on that thing makes me stare. Bet he did not have much left for teeth. My fiance says I've got "big buck envy"!
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I LOVE big 4x4's the best!
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PM'd you Jon.
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Bryce, congrad's on the Musk Ox, and shoot straight on the Polar Bear. Stick and string on the artic ice cap, what an adventure it must be. Good luck and God's speed, Mark
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Hi you men ( Ladies too I suppose?) of traditional archery, my husband is Moosehunter, or Bryce and I am his wife. He is so crazy about reading this forum, he does it practically everynight in bed instead of watching TV. Sometimes he wakes up in the night and I hear him click, click, clicking away on the keyboard and there he is, sending some message. I had to send you a quick note from him, I spoke to him via satellite phone and he asked that I pass this along. Let me see if I can get all these details, I took some notes. After he got his tag and lic. Tues morning, he got his gear loaded on 1 of the 2 sleds. It was on the sled he was riding on along with the food, tent, fuel for the snow machines, ect. The second sled carried the 11 sled dogs and stacked on top, the dog sled which is smaller and has some sort of plastic runner lining so it goes easier in the snow. The trip that first day was 82 miles to where they spent the first night. He said the ride was really rough and quite jarring and very cold. It was windy, gray and snowing ice crytals he said they call it, a really fine and powdery like snow. He said he took alot of pictures of glaciers and rough broken up ice and they also saw bear tracks. He said the inuit's would stop every few hours and melt snow and make tea - but he brought hot chocholate since he prefers it over tea. They ate bannick (spell?) bread with butter, apparently that is what they eat up there, some dense short bread without yeast. Also, slices of a sort of summer sausage, and would be on there way. He got a caribou coat to wear and said it was quite warm but had started to mold on the inside because it was stored damp and he didn't like the smell so he won't wear it anymore. When they got to the first night to camp, the inuit's climbed a glacier and spotted a bear so they came down and got the dog team harnessed up and went after it. It ended up being a 7' bear but Bryce wants an 8' or better, if possible. He said the inuits said 7 to 7 1/2 are good bears and better to eat but he said to them, not on the first day. Apparently earlier on the trip, they saw a mom and a smaller cub as well so 3 bears the first day was exciting. He said the had boiled "chicken" wings for dinner along with vegatables, mashed potaotes and bannick bread. Later the inuits said they were raven wings, not chicken. He sounds really excited and said the ride on the dog sled was way cool. He said it is colder than Holman was and that was -30. since -40 F and -40 C is the same ( so I'm told )I guess it is just flat cold. Anyway, all for now. I'll check back. Liesl ( Aspen says hi)
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Thanks a lot for the update. It sounds like you got the lingo down pretty good!
Hope the hunt goes well, we are all keeping up.
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Mrs. Moosehunter--that is just about the coolest post I have read in a long time! Keep the updates coming... :thumbsup:
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Thanks for the update. This is an adventure many of us will never experience so it is cool to read about.
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Thank you Liesl. You did a wonderful job of rendering the account of the hunt so far. I am looking forward to more.
Isn't Liesl a name from "The Sound of Music"?
Allan
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Awesome...thanks for the update.
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Go get the awesome beast of the north!!
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This is so cool to share in someones hunt like this. Saves the rest of us a ton of money.
Good luck on the bear.
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Wasapt Wife. Great job and loving the story. Will be following the adventure. Thank you.
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Awesome stuff, keep it comin!!! :thumbsup:
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Thanks so much, I've been checking this post a few times a day.
Right on Bryce, we are living this dream with you Bro.
The Bad Boy of the north
(http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w27/kingwouldbe/polar-bear.jpg)
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Hi guys, this is so fun, thank you for writing back! alan, yes, my name is German and from the Sound of Music although mine is pronounced like Cecil or diesel, but with an "L" and there is no "z" sound, just the "s" sound. This is going to be a long hunt, I guess we didn't realize how long it would seem The kids and I miss him so much, seems he has been gone a month already. We have 4 kids, an 11 y/o girl, sloan, 7 y/o twins, Aspen and Elle, and a 3 y/o son Gunnar who is the biggest daddy's boy you ever saw. Before he left, Bryce wrote them letters I open for them every morning so he can send them some words of encouragement while he is away. They were so happy when he sent word about the musk ox. I hope all is well, I know this is a dangerous hunt, thanks for all your prayers ( and again thanks to all of you who prayed last year when our daughter Aspen had heart surgery, she is doing great!) He spent hours out back shooting all those animal targets and making arrows and I know he is ready but God be with him. Stay tuned, I'll be back later. Liesl
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It is a real pleasure to get your updates, Liesl! Thanks for a great job passing along the hunt details. Your family and your husband are in my prayers!
Daryl
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I`m sure that leaving the family is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in accepting the challenge of a hunt such as this!
Thanks again for the update.
There alot of folks who, in spirit, are right beside your husband.
God bless.
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Polar Bear Down
I'm back to Pond Inlet and I got my bear, what an adventure! Too many details to include them all, but on with the short story; It was a gray, cold and windy morning, ice crystals were falling, we would call this a light snow in Texas. The visibility was getting worse and was down to less than 100yds. We started this day after waiting awhile for the wind to blow and clear the air for better visibility but my 57 y/o guide Sam, decided it was not going to improve so we left camp. After being on the ice 3 hours or so, searching for tracks, we just finished our break of bannic bread and hot tea/chocolate made from melted blue glacier ice. We came on the boar and a sow before we even saw the tracks. These were the 6th and 7th bears we saw since it was only the 2nd morning of the hunt. The bears split and the 11 dogs pulled the sled with my guide and I on it, over the bumpy ice. My guide kept them on the trail of the boar yelling “ Geee” and “Hohh” that kept them mushing around the pushed up, broken ice, like thread thru an eye of a needle. We lost the second Inuit who was along to help us, we got separated when my guide spotted these 2 bears. I’m holding on to the handle of my soft sided bow case with one hand and on to the dog sled with the other as I sit behind the guide who is keeling on front caribou skins padding the sled. He occasionally cracks his seal skin 50’ whip at a dog off pace, the feeling I have is surreal, as the sled moves along in pursuit of this bear. My Eskimo guide, Sam, says “it is good bear, big bear” in his broken English. Then it happens, the bear stops and turns to face the barking, frenzied dog team held back at 20 yards, the snow anchor pushed into the snow to hold the sled. My guide jumps to his feet and yells, “shoot, shoot”. I am trying to get off the sled, my knees are bent, the sled is low to the ground and I my 7 layers of clothes have me so bound up it’s hard to move. I stand, my fur mittens come off, I’m trying to get my bow out of the padded case and before I can get my outer coat off, remove my optics and camera from around my neck, the bear is off again running away along the same heading as before. We get back on the sled and resumed the chase. My hands are trying to warm back up inside my fur mittens and I’m trying to figure out how to get ready faster to shoot, should I get a second chance. It happened so fast, I am doubting my next chance will give to get enough time to get ready to shoot if I first try and remove my outercoat and apply a bow arm compression sleeve, and pull my face mask off and put on my glasses. Soon, the bear stops again, this time ready to fight, the dogs have stopped our sled 15 yds away. Expected, the guide leaps up and yells, “shoot, shoot” I could not of conceived what was to happen next. I am looking to the left where I plan to step onto the snow and get off the sled and shoot. Looking the ground over for footing, my mind racing, my nerves firing my back and leg muscles into action to stand, the dogs are at the front of the sled, barking and tugging at the sled's harness unable to loose the sled from the snow anchor. I feel my right leg stuck, and I am unable to extend my right knee, my boot top is caught under a sled crossbar and I am struggling to free it. Suddenly, I hear the bears roar, it was like a jet engine, deafening, it seemed to shake the ground it was so loud. I whip my head from left, back to the right, to look where he was and he had leaped from where he was, to a spot in the middle of the dog team! He covered the ground as fast as lightening and had a dog locked in his jaws who was yelping as the bear lifted him over head and then shook him. The dog flew to the end of his tether and fell to the ground. Dogs are attacking the bear on every side, his big paws swinging to bat them away. Just feet from the sled, the bear caused a surge of adrenaline in my blood and I freed my leg from the sled, dropped my mittens, nocked an arrow and drew on the bear. He turned to run back to his original stopping place as my arrow missed the mark and stuck in his front leg. He roared and bit at the shaft and I drew arrow #2. As the bear turned to face us and assess what danger we posed to him, I still had not a clear view of his vitals. My guide yells, he’s dangerous, he’s hurt shoot, shoot. I took the only shot I had and buried the arrow into his right chest, angling into his Left lung. The bear, angry and confused, bit off the unpenetrated portion of the shaft which gave me a second of time to pull a third arrow from my 6 arrow Selway bow quiver. “Not good, not good, shoot again” Sam cry’s out. Arrow number 3 is on the way, despite my bulky coat, camera and optics around my neck, the bowstring clears but my form is not as I practiced. This arrow's 4 blade phantom found the left jugular vein; the bears piercing stare squarely at us, was all I could see. Blood instantly appeared on the boars white coat and was coming out with such force, it began splattering on to the ground. “Don’t shoot my bear, don’t shoot my bear”, I plead, “he’s going down, he’s a dead bear”. I put another arrow on the string and when the bear began to move again, this time towards us as we stood behind the sled, his steps were slow, no lunging, but not he is not yet down. I can’t believe it, do I need to shoot again? “Shoot, shoot” Sam yells. I flub the shot, my 3 fingers under tension against the bottom of the arrow nock, causes the arrow to move off the shelf while I am at full draw. I shift my focus off the bear and onto the arrow now off the bow shelf. I let down, reposition my fingers on the string and draw again. What is happening I ask myself, the arrow moves off the shelf again! I cant my bow but decide to let down again. I do, reposition, and look once again at the bear but fail to pick my spot. My concentration is suffering, The bear is a slow step closer now, the arrow fly’s true to where I am looking, just not where I should have been looking. It lands and sticks in his skull, above the bears left eye, I missed his chest, I tell myself. The bear turns to his right as if to go back to the dog team. Smelling the blood, the dogs are fighting to free themselves and get on the bear but their seal skin leads hold them back, the sled is firmly anchored in the snow. The bear circles to sit, his back to me, I drill him with arrow number 5 between the shoulder blades. He pauses, obviously weak and losing strength fast, he try’s to resume his escape at this point and leave our position. The snow is blood soaked, he steps away and falls to his side and kicks. “He’s dead, he’s dead” I say to Sam. Sam answerer’s back, “bear not dead, I scared, move back away, back, back”. I feel the cold on my R foot, and I look down, to see no Boot! My sock liner and thick wool sock succumb to cold snow and biting wind. I had not noticed till now, I point this out to Sam, “Where your boot?” I said, "beside the sled, it got hung up there and I jerked my foot out of it." Sam cautiously retrieves it and I quickly put it back on. We back up to 40 yards away and all of a sudden the bear stands back up. He turns to face the dogs, he is unsteady on his feet and rocking to keep his balance. He’s broadside now, finally my first motionless view at this area of his vitals. “Do you want me to put one more in him, behind the shoulder?” “ No”, Sam answerers, “it is OK”. The bear steps a few more steps away and goes down with his head on the snow between his front legs. After a long few minutes, he raises his head to look about then turns on his side, his 4 legs extended and kicks his last kicks, we hope. Meanwhile, the dogs have settled, the ice crystals continue to fall and there is still no sign of the Eskimo helper named Caleb. Sam says “you go shoot 1 more arrow in him, if you in danger I shoot” “Now?” I ask. "Yes, you shoot now". I said, “Sam, I don’t want to ruin a bow kill now with a rifle shot? Let’s wait on Caleb and give the bear a while longer.” My guide says, “alright. Where my helper? He supposed to stay behind me, I fire my gun, maybe him come” He points his old, beaten, 22-250 rifle in the air and pulls the trigger, click, he lowers the barrel , looks down at the bolt action, re-aims, and pulls the trigger again, click. Once more, click – our eyes meet, we both smile and laugh and then I hug him and say, “thank you Sam, thank you, we got my bear!” I don’t mention the inoperable gun, we go back to the bear. He takes his whip and I knock another arrow and we approach the bear. He cracks the whip near the bear and we step closer. The bear is motionless. Again, he cracks the whip, this time across the bears head. No motion. Once more across the back and he says, “Bear dead” We measured him, 9’ 2”, “big bear, you like?” beaming I say “ I love this bear man!” The skinning and quartering and rolling the hide passed more time. Caleb still didn’t show. We load the sled and head back to where we first spotted the bear, probably a mile, and there was Caleb. “The ice crystals too much, I not see where you are, I worry for you” The dogs are each given a piece of meat, they wolf it down having not been fed for 2 days which is customary. I also learned on this hunt they are not given water all winter, they just eat snow. Pretty low maintenance. We enjoy another round of bannic bread and hot tea/chocolate and relive the hunt as we tell Caleb the story. Someone who knows how to post the pic, shoot me an email and I will send the pic but please pardon the graphic picture. [email protected]
Thanks for your prayers!
Bryce
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Thank you Liesl. As Bryce's safety and success are in our prayers, be sure that you and the kids are in his!
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Wow just a little late with that post! Congrats Bryce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup: JUST AWESOME!!! Congrats on both animals!
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Congratulations on completing the hunt of a lifetime!! Great job :clapper: :clapper:
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Now THAT is some excitement.
I can post your picture for you...
[email protected]
Congratulations! That is an incredible experience you just had :thumbsup:
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Sent an email to ya to offer the same as Steve. I could also photoshop some of the blood out to, if you want.
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:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Great job Bryce!!!! how much time elapsed from the first shot till the bear went down for good?? story was fantastic though..felt like i was right there with you..congrats again on a wonderfull adventure..
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Thanks for your help posting the pic and as far as time from first shot till he was down, I'd say just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, it could of been less, it is just a blurr now. We waited 30 minutes or so though before we approached him ot be sure he wasn't getting back up and by then, he was frozen. so much for posing him for a nice picture. I wish now I would of pressed Sam to shoot some of those pics at different angles.
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YEEEOOWWWW!!!!!
Way cool (cold?) :scared: :scared: :scared:
Good job and congrats, can't wait for the picture.
:notworthy:
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WOW, that was a great told story, I felt like I was right beside you!! Big Congrats to you and thank you very much for sharing it with us!!! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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What a hunt and a adventure, well done!! :thumbsup:
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Man that was one Great Adventure and Congrats to you ...Thanks for giving us the details and the Photos of the Hunt...I hope the Dog is O.k. that got tossed and I would of Soiled my underpants being that close ...I pray you keep safe...Keefers , <")))><
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Edge of my seat...and will likely be at the edge of my seat the next four times I read that passage!
I assume the sled dog is dead. Tough life for those guys.
You really captured the stress and tension, the multiple distractions and the danger in your account of the hunt. New drawers for me, buds, and I would hope that you were there too!
Killdeer
Yow! :scared:
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Thanks for the story! That's the most awesome polar bear hunt I've read about! Congratulations!
Did the dog die?
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Good work Bryce!
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Congrat's
doug77
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WOW! Just .... WOW!
My heart is pounding out of my chest.
THANK YOU so much for sharing that.
I am in awe.
Congratulations. :notworthy:
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Congrats, That is an awesome accomplishment. Thank you for sharing. Big Ed
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Great story Bryce. Thanks for keeping us updated with all the details. You just finished a hunt of a lifetime for sure!! Congrats!!
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Awesome story and two awesome trophies! Definitely the hunt of a lifetime.
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good ending to the dog trauma, I checked the pack over after we loaded the hide onto the sled. The dog had blood in his fur but did not appear to be hurt too bad. He ran with the sled team and was quite resilient. I don't know how he survived that but some how he made it through. I asked Sam later about my unexpected way the hunt unfolded, no dogs were released to distract the bear. He said this team was 10 new dogs and I old one. He reminded me when he first saw the bear, he loosed the old dog but that would not run to catch the bear so he put him back on the tether to pull the sled. Every polar hunt story is unique, I am very fortunate mine turned out so well.
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That is an awesome read. Thank you for bringing us along.
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:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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Here you go. What a bear!! Congrats again!
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/steadman_2006/polarbearfix1-1.jpg)
(http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/steadman_2006/polarbearfix1bw.jpg)
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WOW!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!! I love it :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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Man , that's amazing. I bet you about ready to go down south and hunt some hogs in short sleeves. great story . thanks for takeing us along. Don
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Holy Smokes! :scared:
Great story. Thanks for sharing!
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What an amazing story-can't imagine you ever forgetting this hunt! Thank you for sharing this exciting story.
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Holy cow.
I am awestruck!
Congratulations!!!
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just read all nine pages..awesome !! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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WOW. . . no other words. In awe!!
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What a dream you are living. Thanks for taking us along.
Congratulations!
Todd
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I'm humbled to think this but ... most people think they are ready when they go out for something of this magnitude and most aren't. Truthfully, I'm not sure I would be mentally prepared for this hunt, especially with such a loving family waiting at home. I can't imagine how it was to be there, it was frightening enough sitting at my desk! Congratulations is too weak of a word. In fact words fail me. To accomplish this goal/dream and in all that chaos and mayhem perform as you had trained (and training in Texas ain't exactly the same) is the mark of profound courage. And to think, you still had the presence of mind to not want the guide to shoot. Wow. You lived a real life dream and survived to write about it, and did so in a manner that was honorable. There will never be a need to express any regret or add any embellishment. You can share my camp any day - and I'll make the hot chocolate.
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:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Absolutely awesome!
Thank You!
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:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :clapper:
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:thumbsup: Thanks for posting your adventure! Congrats on the wonderful bear and muskox. Hunting that bear must have been an adrenalin rush that would be very hard to duplicate. Heck I got an adernalin bump just reading your story. :eek:
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:scared: I was shaking just reading it!!! What a rush. Congratulations :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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Simply amazing. What an adventure. Congrats.
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Awesome job!!! I almost forgot you shot a musk ox as well!!! Congratulations, you deserve it!
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Thanks for the kind words! This is why I read this forum, you guys are so generous. It is a real bonus to me to read what a thrill you got living the hunt thru my story. The time in this hotel waiting to get back home has been as long as the hunt!
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Really exciting,now wild boars look like mices
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Truely a awesome adventure, thank you for shareing it with us. Congrats!!!
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Congratulation Bryce !!!!!!!!!! my heart was pounding as I read your account, felt like I was right beside you. Your the man!
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Excellent!!! :notworthy:
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WOW!! :thumbsup: :clapper:
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Incredible read :eek:
Congrats on your hunts and what seems to be an incredible family life :notworthy: :notworthy:
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Wow Congrats :wavey:
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Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bannick with jelly and hot tea...that brings back some memories.
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Man, I was getting nervous reading your drama. Glad you didn't run out of arrows. What are your thoughts on the archery equipment, you were using lighter stuff than I think most would have expected?
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WOW that was a great story.
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What an adventure Bryce. Maybe you will even get a repeat with grizzly and brownies! We'll all be waiting!
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What a story, Congrats !!! Ive dreamed of hunting big bears since I was a kid, glad to see that someone is not just dreaming. He looks to be huge in the pic, "how big of an ole bear was he ?"
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Bryce, I'm still jacked up from just reading and re-reading your Polar Bear Trad-Bowhunt.
I think the way you wrote it was action packed and we could see it unfold in our minds eye.
I would love to have heard him GROWL and JUMP into the dogs :eek:
Like a lot of animals we hunt the habitat they live in and call home is just amazing, " He was frozen stiff :scared: when we got to him 30 minuets later" now that's inhospitable habitat.
May I ask a few questions:
How hard was it to shoot in that cold.
Was you penetration what you expected.
What would you have done different.
Can you bring him back to the USA.
What was your cost door to door ( you can PM me or if this is none of my business that's cool)
Thanks :archer:
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Imagine being able to go back to your personal
"archives" and re-live an EVENT such as this.
I re-live my Whitetail hunts that happened within minutes of my back door with such fondness, that it is hard to describe...I can`t even begin to imagine what something like this would be like.
I have enjoyed following along on this so much, I feel like I should pay admission.
For a final time, CONGRATULATIONS, and thanks again for including everyone who has logged on.
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Thank you so much for sharing this. I felt like I was there with you. Awesome story. Great bear and musk ox. Congrats.
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That is too cool! Congratulations, you just accomplished what most of us get to dream about. I hope you have a safe journey back home.
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Are you kidding? Your hunt was impossible but you did it! I'd like to know if you ever consciously thought about becoming bear bait? How did you keep it together with a twisted Goliath man eater spitting distance and coked up on adrenaline? Story of the year!
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Bryce, Congratulations on a great story and superb hunt, thanks for taking us all along. Best Regards Doug
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Wow , i just found the thread and read all of the 10 pages!!!!!
I am so excited and wish i could read more,
CONGRATS on both hunts and adventure ,
I imagine what can you be feeling right now, with the sense of acomplishing the hunt and the emotion to get back to your familly, I wish you the best on future hunts and health and love to all of you family
thank you for sharing your adventure to all of us , I feel as if I am still up there with you
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Bryce, are you saying Polar Bear mounts cannot be brought into US from Canada or ALL mounts??
Brian,
There are 2 kinds of polar bears you can select to hunt, importable ones from alaska and non importable ones from Canada. The alaska PB hunt is 15K more in cost, I just didn't have that kind of cash. the canadian ones are less expensive but you cannot take a mount a hide, hair, tooth, fang or claw, skull, any single piece of it across the border from Canada into the usa. isn't that a shame? The Canadian gov't is really fighting the US on this one, they don't want to lose the hunters revenues for the inuit people. Hunters like us have a voice to reverse this idiotic decision so make yourself heard. My musk ox is not problem, it will be shipped to me around Christmas.
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Kingwoulbe, I just got in to Ottawwa where I will spend the night here on a bench in the airport and catch a 6a flight out to Detroit, then Dallas, then Lubbock arriving to see my wife and kids at 745p. Let me try and answere your questions and by the way, thank you for asking. Here goes;
1. How hard was it to shoot in that cold. I practiced with all my gear on, including the white cover ups which I never even got a chance to put on. I found however my bowstring catching the coat due to the bulk so I figured out if I put on a bungy cord around my chest girth, I got the compression I needed for the string to clear. I had it tucked neatly in my pocket that covered my L thigh for "quick access" , ha!ha!little did I know.....Now how I shot the bear was a different story, I didn't have time to put on my chest strap, plus I had my optics and movie camera around my neck adding bulk to the coat, and worst of all I was not able to use my natural shooting form. I got to my anchor, index finger to my corner of my mouth and cock feather to my nose tip, but i was stooping forward somewhat in an effort to hold my bow out and away from my chest. I was worried about no chest strap. Plus, I had more bend in my bow arm than normal because I also didn't have on my sleeve compression. I was disappointed in my shot placement, i certainly didn't plan on shooting the bear from the angles presented to me nor with the bow held unnaturally away from my obstacles. i know this, my Almighty Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gets all the credit for the shooting to result in this bear's demise. Short answere, If I use a bungy strap on my chest and have nothing hanging on my neck, the shooting is actually quite doable. For cold weather shooting, up there you have to keep your hands covered or in seconds they will freeze and you can't shoot. That happened to me on the musk ox during my time to prep and put on my chest strap, take off my coat and optics, and put on my glove liner, plus a Filson wool glove, then my leather shooting glove. i actually had to take a minute and tear open a chemical hand warmer and jam my hand back in my fur mittens to get my fingers warm enough again so I could put my R hand liner, wool and shooting glove. Keep in mind it was my first day of the M.O. hunt so I was not expecting 3 hours into it to be on a herd of M.O. Now for the bear, i already had all the gloves on and just was wearing them inside my double fur mittens. The kiner and one layer of wool however will only protect you for a few minutes and the cold begins to stiffen your hand, followed by the pain and then weakness.
2.Was you penetration what you expected. yes,i had confidence the 56lbs was good, and at my draw length it was actually 62lbs. Considering I never took a broadside shot, i can't say what the penetration would of been but for my 2nd arrow to go thru the right chest and and comeout the L ribs, that that was good. In the bear pic, you can see what the bear bit off laying on the gound - at least in one of my pics you can see it. It was short, maybe 8" or so.
3. What would you have done different. the plan was to have Caleb shoot a video of the live action but he was not there, if that cold be changed, obviously i would have wanted that. I would have put my chest strap on over my coat as soon as Sam saw the 2 bears just in case what happened, happened - meaning we would be off in a flash after them. there was a minute looking back I could of done it. I would have removed my camera and optics at that time also. I would have used that 6th arrow for a broad side shot when I had the opprotunity. This way we would of had 1 more assurance the bear was dead so we coul dof approached it sooner and positioned it for photos before it froze and i would have tried to put snow all over it to hide the blood. After the kill, i would have asked Sam if we could have a more time just to soak in the moments, and not be in such a rush to get started skinning and quartering. In his defense, he may of known up there the weather is too unpredictable to lolly gag around. you could die trying to find your way back to camp and he was quite concerned about Calebo. I would stuff my camera in my coat let it warm up and take more pics. My low battery light came on at the end of the pics I took so I thought I was about done being able to take pics but later after my camera warmed back up, it still had enough power to shoot more pics. I think that would be it.
4. Can you bring him back to the USA. No, i can't bring him back but he is on the way to yellowknife to Robertson's Taxidermy on Monday( go check out their website www.ssimicro.com/~wildart) (http://www.ssimicro.com/~wildart)) and he will be a full mount because i believe someday the US will allow the trophies to be brought in and if they never do, i will donate it to a place to display it. Or who knows, i may become a citizen/land owner in Canada with a cabin where I can hunt and have my traditional buddies like you guys come and spend some time.
5. What was your cost door to door? I don't have the exact total yet but roughly the outfitter fees were 5K for the M.O., 27K for the P.B. then you have airlines which ran about 5k and mine ended up more since I had to change my flights to come home early, then you have hotels at $200 a night - and it wasn't the ritz carlton, it was economy dirt cheapest you could get. meal swer $20-$25 each. The tags for M.O. and P.B. were $52.50 each and the export fee paid to Canada for the M.O. was $157.50 and they call it a harvest fee for the P.B. and it was $787.50. The pricing for the taxidermy will be roughly 5K for the M.O. and for the P.B. is roughly 8K. Then there was extra baggage weight costs of over $500, guide tipping fees that are unique to each hunter's own conviction. Now if you add cost to be away from work that could be another factor to consider.
I hope I didn't miss anything but fire away if you have more. i am here all night in the airport, online. moosehunter
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OK, Bryce has more photos to share, so I am going to put them up for him along with his comments:
R hand is pond inlet, where the hunt started from and sled departed, Left hand is 103 miles later
where I shot the bear, via GPS coordinates required for the wildlife harvest papers
as you can see it is literally on top of the world!
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB1.jpg)
This is a ring seal breathing hole, the polar bears primary food source, the bears hunt the
ice looking for these and they lay waiting for the seal to come for a breath
and snag him out for lunch
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB2.jpg)
82 miles from Pond inlet, at the end of the first day, my guide climbed a glacier and
spotted a bear so we took off after it but it turned out to be a 7 ' bear.
This photo was taken as he and the team were heading to me before I jumped aboard to join them.
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB3.jpg)
taking a break, my guide sam
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB4.jpg)
glassing for bear
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB5.jpg)
the beast is down - an easy blood trail to follow
(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b351/osminski/PB6.jpg)
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Awesome hunt...congrats!
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Hey, congrats again, awesome, literally. Did you get to taste some PB meat? I know they harvest for food, just wondering how it would taste.
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No I did not, I should of. My brain was so scrambled at the end of all the excitement, we could of easily cooked some up but we had artic char for the celebration dinner. Another regret I would change if I did it over.
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Way to go Bryce! Looks like Steve beat me to the pics. What a HUNT!!!
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Awesome pics. I gotta ask, what is with the seal strapped to the sled? Food???
Mike
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You gotta know when that bear mangled the dogs, he was a thought from you as dessert. From your supercharged story, I can feel his nasty blood slinging breath in my face. Did it happen too fast to be scared? Cool under fire is a rush junkie's fix. Easy one of the best stories I've ever read.
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Great story and storytelling. You need to change your handle to 'iceman' or 'cool hand luke' though!
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Right on Bryce, thanks for the details.
Your on your last leg of this journey back to the one's you love.
All I can say is thanks for taking us with you.
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Yes, the ring seal is food but mainly for the dogs. the inuit say that eating the iron rich seal meat causes you to stay warm better than eating fish, and whale and raven.
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Just 2cents. . . if you wanted, you could edit the pics for color etc. I also think that some of them in Black/white could be quite impressive. Ask tradgang member Jerry Gowins (I am sure there are others too).
Again- congrats on an amazing experience.
Dan in KS
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This whole thread is just amazing. Super story and thanks for taking us all along. :thumbsup:
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What an amazing adventure of a lifetime! Congrats!
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Awesome!
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What an amazing story. Its a cryin shame you can't bring such an ultimate trophy back into the US. It got me wondering about a couple things.
One of the big points the global warming alarmists keep throwing out is that it is allegedly resulting in the demise of polar bear populations? Sure doesnt look like any shortage of ice up there to me.
While you were on this hunt, what did the Inuits have to say about the population of the bears?
The animal rights idiots have obviously placed enough political pressure (money) on the politcians to again bloc k importation of these trophies back into the US.
What does it take to put an end to this kind of mindless decision? And worse, what's next? All bears?
Thank you for sharing such an incredible story and adventure. Please post a slideshow of more of your pics when you get home and settled back in .
I'm sure Fred Bear is smiling.....
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Congrats on a nice bear and musk ox! And thanks for sharing your story.
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I read about the Musk OX and thought I would see another story for the bear later. Well, after seeing how far the thread was going, I thought I better look again. WOW DUDE!!!! That is an insane story. Experience of a life time. Congrats!!!! WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!
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What a great post! I couldn´t stop reading. Congratulations on both hunts and thanks for sharing with such vivid detail. The picture was the icing on the cake.
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ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! Congratulations and thanks for taking us along! :thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
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Wow, what an awesome hunt. Had me on the edge of my seat. Lucky nobody got killed, especially with the jammed firearm. While I was reading, I could picture the whole scene. Unbelievable. Congrats! What a hunt! :notworthy:
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I think this is the third story where the gun is jammed or not functioning while on a bear hunt. Tim Wells shot a grizzly in the head dropped it and found out later the back up rifle was jammed. I can't remember what the deal with Chuck Adams back up rifle was other than I know that is was very small caliber maybe a 243. Did I read that right a jammed 22-250 holy cow. Good for you. I know you did not want to have to use the back up but that small caliber had to be in the back of your mind.
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One of the best write ups ever THANKS
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You gotta have some big ones dude! Way cool!!!!!!!!!!!! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper: :goldtooth:
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Way to go! Gotta love those back-up guns :)
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Great story! You make all of us trad bowhunters proud. Buck
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Bryce,
Congratulations on a wonderful and successful hunt.
A 9'2" polar bear is a HONKER of a bear! Very, very well done. I hope you can bring him back into the US some day.
John
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that is a truly amazing story, and glad you made it home safe & sound. congratulations on an amazing hunt!
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Congrats and good luck on the Polar Bear hunt.
Paul
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Autum Archer, Let me answere your questions; Regarding the environment and possible demise of the p. bear, I have a local news paper article that cites the P bear population is so closely monitored these days with tagging, lip tattoo's, GPS coordiates citing locations and sightings, cub counts, ect... the population has grown from 8,000 to 25,000 P bears. The Inuits say from their experience, there is no change in temp, it is as cold as it has always been. While the months of Jan and Feb are not as cold as they were, the months of Mar and April are colder thatn they ever were. They do not buy the concept of global Warming and laugh about how ridiculous that whole idea is.
Every town I visited was so freindly, it was not uncommon to have every other or every third person you walked by stop, hold their hand and introduce themselves and say welcome to our town. Are you a hunter, yes I would say and they were happy I was there to hunt Polar bears. It is the life blood of the community. I almost felt like a celebrity or something.
We can all do our part by supporting our national organizations ( NRA, P & Y, Compton's, PBS ect..) and informing our politicians of our feelings about hunting and these issues we have close to our hearts. I hope more will turn out and join our fight to make hunting safe and a sport we can pass on for generations to come.
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Mistagain, fortunately, a good ending to the dog trauma, I was curious and so I checked the pack over after we loaded the hide onto the sled. I love animals and beings how my father and brother are veternarians, i have been around dogs all my life. The sled dogs took well to me, the eskimo's commented that is not common. Most of them let me sit amoung them and pet them as much as I wanted. A few were more "wild" and not interested in a freindly neck rub and ear scratch. After the skinning and 1/4 ing, several of the dogs were all around me liking the blood off my gloved hands, boots and pant legs. The injured dog had blood in his fur but did not appear to be hurt too bad. He ran with the sled team and was quite resilient. I don't know how he survived that but some how he made it through. I asked Sam later about my unexpected way the hunt unfolded, no dogs were released to distract the bear. He said this team was 10 new dogs and I old one. He reminded me when he first saw the bear, he loosed the old dog but that would not run to catch the bear so he put him back on the tether to pull the sled. Every polar hunt story is unique, I am very fortunate mine turned out so well.
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Totally awesome Bryce :notworthy: :notworthy: :clapper:
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wasapt, thatnks for the insight. I was curious,as my kids are constantly bombarded with the gloabl warming BS at school. I can't wait for them to drop that info on the next teacher who tries to fill thier heads with nonsense LOL.
Congrats on your adventure.
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Excellent...thanks so much for sharing your hunt and telling the story so well. Getting your wife involved was great and probably helped her to cope with you being away so long on a dangerous game hunt. She sounds like a "keeper".
Welcome home to the "Hub City of the South Plains" and God bless you and your family.
Paul
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What can I say.... :thumbsup:
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Very exciting and fun read. Congratulations to you and your family, as it was truely a family affair. It's great that you had such support.
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U might as well get your polar bear before they all dissapear. Buy the time I can afford one ill have to go to the ft. woth zoo
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I am pretty sure I couldn't shoot a target with all those clothes on,much less a roaring Polar Bear at close range... :scared:
My hat is off to you sir... :thumbsup: :clapper:
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I'm right there with you Santiam , not to mention the overload of excitement with all that was going on , good job keeping it together Bryce.
Thanks for sharing , great hunt
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Autumnarcher, to say global warming is BS is to ignore a whole heap load of data. Whether part of a natural cycle, man-made or man-assisted, the average global temperature is increasing ever-so-slowly. What is extremely unfortunate is how many people, on both sides of the issue, are misusing, misinterpreting and misrepresenting the data. Changes in global weather patterns are being seen and Bryce cited one above. Some areas are getting warmer, some colder, and the pattern of the seasonal changes are differing from the historical patterns. 'nuf of that.
Bryce, I enjoyed the story! You've done something special way up North!!
It's a damn shame politics won't let you bring the bear home. With the bear population growing every year though, hopefully reason will prevail in the near future!
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I'm believing with you Jeremey that in time enough pressure will be brought that they wil allow bears to be brought in. I will really be excited when I next see that critter, harmless of course, and able to size him up again.
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I have read that the Inuits like the 222, 22-250, 223. The small caliber is not an issue as it is great on seals and I read they will gut shoot a bear or other large animal and follow til it is done.
I gleened that from a book or magazine a long time ago.
Cool story!
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Jeremy, I too beleive that man made global warming is junk science. There is plenty of data countering the "Truth" of couse there is little money to be made and much power to be gained selling the Captrade, carbon credits etc. The nasty fact is that the majority of Climatoligists do not aggree with the MMGW model. In fact data supports that we have been actually cooling the past decade.
Is there climate change? Of course there is and it has been going on before man was here and will continue long after we are gone.
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I am speechless...
I guess the firing pin was frozen? And only a 22-250??????
What a story! THAT is a hunt of a lifetime! Thanks for taking us along!
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greg I believe you have something there on the gun caliber. Those guys are survivors up there and have plenty of skill to make do what what they have. this way they can carry 1 rifle as sort of an all purpose gun instead of needing 2.
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Bryce new pics posted on pg 8 for you
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Wow!!!! Thats as real as adventure gets.Glad your back home to your family.
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I wanted to read my daddy's story again, thank you for praying for him when he was away. I am glad he is back. We are going to shoot our bows together. I just turned 7. Aspen
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The official skull score is 25" so it made P & Y
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Congradulations Bryce!!! Thank you for sharing such a great hunt. I look forward to talking to you at Compton in June.
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This thread is awesome.
The Inuit are amazing.
The things they could teach about the outdoors...
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very good.... Joe
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WOW!!! what an adventure , it makes me proud to be part of this family of bowmen & women .
god bless ,john
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Great Job--looks like a very cold place!
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This thread will be as great now as it was in 2009 and possibly even greater in the future.
What a wonderful read.
My thanks to you for sharing.
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That is awesome Congratulations
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Thanks for bringing this back up. What a great read and great adventure.
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Just read it, one of the best stories ever!!
Congrats!
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Nice work bud..
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I must have been chasing turkeys when this came up but thanx for re-posting it. I didnt get a thing done this morning..... WOW ! again...WOW !
:notworthy: :notworthy: :clapper: :clapper:
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Incredible. Thanks for bringing this back up. Somehow I missed it the first time.
Travis
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TTT
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I can't believe I missed this post!! What a great adventure, musk ox is one of the top animals I'd like to hunt. Never really considered polar bears but it sure does sound like a fun rodeo!
Sometimes on a hunt we don't get the pictures, video etc. that we want, sometimes we have to be happy with our own memories and just a snapshot to remind us that we were really there.
Thanks for bringing us along on your adventure.
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Awesome read. Congrats on your bear and musk ox and the adventure of it all.
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Great thread!! Enjoyed reading it the second time as much as I did the first time.
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Having joined Trad Gang a short while ago I appreciate whoever brought this back up to read. Bryce - OUTSTANDING!! Jesus was good to you my brother!!!
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My first read of your adventure. and what an adventure it was!
Bryce did you get your musk ox mount? Pics? Any pics of the polar bear mount as well? Thanks for bringing it back up for those like myself who came aboard after your hunt.
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WOW, great thread awesome!!!!!
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I have a more philosophical question. Is this a measure of prowess, or wealth?
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One or both ( never had much use fer* phillysoficall* questions) who cares as long as I can live vicariously through the story.
**Disclaimer: this site is not responsible for the spelling error of rednecks typing on a little electronic device at this early in the morning. Especially when done for the amusement of the speller with no regard for the English language :laughing:
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It takes money, but not everyone with money has the will to make these hunts happen. It's a lot easier sitting by the poolside drinking fruity drinks with little umbrellas than bouncing around at -40. Give hunting in cold weather a try for a few days then come back and let us know if you've decided if its prowess or wealth that makes you stick it out :)
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Pretty awesome read! Congrats!
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I did a full body mount of the musk oz and the polar bear. You can see both if you can shoot me an email. I'm hoping the idiots in Congress change the law regarding letting the polar bear trophies return to the USA but until then, mine will stay in the showroom at Robertsons taxidermy in Yellow knife. As for prowess or wealth, I'm much richer from the soul cleansing received as Fred Bear stated regarding chafing the great bears will provide. I still drive my '99 suburban with 218,000 miles on it and provide for 6 kids aged 7-14. I work lots of hours- weekend, evenings and holidays to pay taxes that support many who choose not to work. And I will still plan adventures and read of and write stories for many of my bro's of the traditional Bowhunting clan, God willing. It's been 4 years since the great white bear hunt and hopefully soon I will pen brown bear and grizzly success adventures. Just saving money and vacation time.......
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Well that just proves why I don't like fillysoficall uestions. Now instead of just blissfully living vicariously I may have to get off my lazy rear end and chase something through snow ( which I'm also not too keen of) or should I say have something chasing me through snow. Heard them white bears like that sort of thing. :jumper:
Nice story Bryce
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I didn't mean to minimize all the positive attributes it takes to pull a hunt like this off. Dedication, commitment, will, cold tolerance, heat tolerance (I'm even more impressed that you practiced in all that gear in Texas!). However, given the relative ease in which your guides put you in proximity to these animals, (if I read the timeline correctly, both were taken on the second day?) I wonder if from a purely hunting standpoint, if these were your most challenging hunts and if it didn't seem somewhat anticlimactic after all the planning and preparation that went into them?
Also... Isn't your taxidermist in the states? How come they can keep the bear in their showroom?
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Planning and preparation is what makes over 90 percent of hunts successful. Then there is the occasional coincidence followed by dumb luck. Then beginners luck. The guides live that work so they are hired and charge not just for the time they are on the hunt but the countless days they live and scout and get to know who is where, animal wise.
Meanwhile the hunter has planned this for years as Bryce said so as to make hard earned time and money well spent and successful.
Gone are the days of mountain men wandering around the dingleberries doing it all themselves so today the success and excitement of the hunt isn't just the week one is in the field but in preparing for it.
If a person didn't like the preparation, planning , map reading and scout scouting ( getting to know and have confidence in your guides) then I suppose on the surface it could look like taking 2 days to plug a bear in a zoo but I would guess there is more to it than that. I could be wrong but it takes me all winter to get a turkey.
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I enjoyed this the second time around as much as the first. Any pics of the full mounts??
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The pics are awesome and he has a painting of the hunt he will send if you PM him. Loved it
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Yep he was kind enough to email the pics. Loved that painting.
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Wow, cool story. Thanks for sharing.
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I guess my polar bear hunt and my musk ox hunts being successful soon into the hunt did not allow me the experience of weathering the harsh elements multiple days with no trophy. I have great respect for hunters who persevere thru those elements and finally get the job done. Even worse, the hunters who have to repeat the hunt cuz they return empty handed. I fully give my Lord and Savior the credit as I prayed for safety and success. I have hunted multiple species, multiple times, and not returned successful the first try- coues, bison, pronghorn, Blacktail deer, and have yet to punch my tag on mountain goat, Canadian moose, brown bear, Rocky Mountain elk ( 3 tries) ....... It was not anticlimactic to harvest my polar bear. Fred Bear hunted the great white bear multiple times because his back up gun man had to shoot the charging bear. Mine was not bayed up by dogs, mine charged us so it was quite an experience. My musk ox hunt was not easy either, the frigid cold was tough as well. I will always hold my great north hunting days as dear memories cuz it tested me greatly. As for my mounts, Robertsons Taxidermy is in Yellowknife , in Canada. My musk ox shipped but my polar bear is not able to make the trip until the fools in D.C. change the laws they made to " protect the polar bear" The idiots in Washington are doing more harm than good and are too stupid to know what damage that legislation is doing up the bears habitat and the Inuits economy who depend on the outfitting/guide income. Last, seems like we all see a different degree of challenge in the details. To date, the near death moment of a raging monster bear 15 yards away attacking the dogs, and coming after me as I loosed 5 arrows into him, with one boot on, and an inoperative back up gun, was my greatest challenge to date. I have waded the icy streams at 1am with bow in hand, bear pistol in the other, in the dark over slippery moss covered rocks, with no tracking poles. Staying on high alert for the 60 minute hike back to spike camp praying no bears would attack us, night after night, was a whole different challenge. Being snowed in on top of a mountain in a 2 man tent for 3 days chasing goats was a challenge. Cat walking logs across rivers, climbing mountains and over coming narrow trails with no safety lines.... That is quite challenging as well. My experiences pale in comparison to the legends that we look up to and read about. I do enjoy being out there and look forward to sharing more hunts in the years to come.
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http://s973.photobucket.com/user/bolson1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_9379.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
I commissioned an artist to paint the moment of the bear charging the dog sled. It turned out really nice!
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SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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That is so cool :archer:
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That is awesome my friend!! It is simply amazing to look at all you have accomplished since we met in the Tulsa airport. When was that...10, maybe 11 years ago? You done well Pilgrim!! Wishing you all the best for the New Year and Merry CHRISTmas!!
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Bryce, both you and the artist 'did good'.
Shick
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This post is like a great book. You have to read it again every now and then!! Wow!! I keep picturing the polar bear in the dogs and you ripping your foot out of the boot and coming out launching arrows!!! Amazing experience!!
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This is such a great story that you almost forget it was two real hunts by a guy with a stickbow. I wish the artist could have caught the detail of you without a boot on one foot!
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Way too cool. A real adrenalin rush. :thumbsup:
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That is awesome...I would love to be able to do that.
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Incredible.... Well done :saywhat:
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Double post
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Bryce,
I always like very much all your hunting stories. Living far oversea, all of theese North American adventures with the bow makes me dream. Thanks for sharing it.
I was willing to chase the Greenland musk ox as it is now open for bowhunters and affordable here in Europe but only legal bow is the compound bow there and I am not interested in doing it that way.
Merry Christmas to all
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:thumbsup: :archer:
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Well done! :thumbsup:
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What a great thread. Big white bear down.
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Sure looks like a 2nd mortgage hunt to me.