did it...my first out-of-state hunt!

[MnFn]

I really enjoyed that story and the photos.
I have Bowhunted/backpacked for elk four times and came close to getting a bull only one time. All with my son in CO.and never saw a bear.

It is a tough way to hunt, especially for bear, I think.  The only thing I could offer would be to get some help from locals for areas with higher bear densities.

[Etter]

Just goes to show that the hunt isnt about the kill. I drove from my home in north Atlanta to SE Arizona two years ago to hunt javelina for the first time. I hunted my butt off for five days straight and never even saw one. Still one of the best trips of my life

[Mike Vines]

Very nice recap of your hunt with excellent picture support.  Thank you for bringing us along.

As for scent control, I have tried quite a bit, but have settled on the product Lavilin.

I used it for the first time last summer on a fly-in fishing trip.  I rubbed it into my pits and groin, and a week later, I still smelt good.  Wife told me, so it must be true.

 Now for the real test...my 12 year old is at that point in life where if he forgets his deodorant, his armpit smell is so bad, they would make a maggot gag.  He too was on the fishing trip and used Lavilin.  A week later, he was easy to sit next to.

Having tested the product, I relied on it last fall for a two week moose hunt.  Had a shower halfway thru and reapplied the product to finish out the hunt.

If you are gonna try the product, it's best to shop around.  It is not cheap, and you don't get that much (does not take much product when applied), but the performance is well worth the price in my eyes.

[CoachBGriff]

That's an awesome experience!

Thanks for taking us with you.  I sounds like you had a good experience.

I hear what you're saying on the mental aspect.  

A buddy and I do a backpack trip each spring to shed hunt, and even that can get mentally challenging at times.

[Walt Francis]

What Mike said, I use Lavilin year round; it just works.

That said, I love your recounting, I have been there and done that.

Having been there and done the same, these are my recommendations:

Cover more ground.  If bears are not in an opening one evening, the odds of them being there the next evening are slim.

Hunt until you encounter bears, then you might, I repeat might, find them in openings later in the day or around the same time the next day.

It doesn't matter what scent cover you use, It dosen't work with a bears nose, NO MATTER WHAT, WHEN BEAR HUNTING (AND EVERY OTHER Critter I HAVE HUNTED) wind/scent is by far the most important factor to finding and taking game.  If the wind is not in your face, your odds of success are exponentially lower.


If I had written an account of my first few bear hunting excursions 30 years ago it would have been identical to yours.

One last thought: Analyze every hunt, and most importantly, apply whatever your experiences are to every future hunt.  

We are creatures of habit, don't keep repeating the same mistakes!

[oldrubline]

I jut want to pause and thank all of you for your contributions of wisdom. I am taking what each of you have said and looking back at my hunt with reflection. I am already formulating a new 'strategy' for the next time I go. Even though I can look back and see that I did the best I knew how to do at the time, I can't help but get excited about the 'next time' and how it will go as I build experience. One 'curse' of such a trip is that my mind wants more of the wilderness and I am dreaming more than ever about getting back out again!
The scent issue is an interesting one. When that bull came out to feed in front of me the wind was just right. He only knew I was there when I tried to stand up and move in even closer to get a better photo. Wow! What a sight it is to see such a beautiful, and large, magnificent animal crash up a steep mountain side above a meadow! I have written about my method of hunting whitetail in other areas of this forum. This is something I feel more and more confident about. I left the tree stands 5 or so years ago and have hunted the ground since. I have actually had no more difficulty getting close to wary northern deer in that time. Both my partner and I use very clean approach with showers or sauna before the hunt. Our clothing is 100% wool and kept outside or in closed boxes with balsam boughs. We smoke ourselves and our clothing regularly. I have many brush blinds up to 3 miles walk in and will often stop and build a small smoky smudge before I proceed the final few hundred yards to the stand. Of course, wind direction is THE MOST IMPORTANT factor, but we are often having face-to-face ground level action at 10-15 yards and  there is nothing like that....its thrilling in a way I never got up in the tree. Of course, we do all the right scouting and set up in the spring to increase our odds in an area with some of the lowest deer densities in the country.  (as Greg Miller writes in one of his bowhunting books, hunting in areas with low deer numbers means your not going to expect to see deer on a stand every time) The use of smoke, I believe, is not a cover up, but does something else. I used to trap and it is a regular practice for fox trappers to 'smoke' the traps to 'kill' the scent. It does something...
Its this type of approach to deer hunting that I wanted to expand into my other big game hunts. To learn methods that rely on hunting skill, hard work, and determination to increase the odds in the hunter's favor. I could slip over to Ontario to hunt a spring pre-baited stand...and I have nothing against that AT ALL, ...its just not the way I want to PERSONALLY take bear on a regular basis- I don't rule out a bait hunt and will probably do one eventually. (Baiting of bears goes back for centuries and native peoples would often kill bear in baited deadfalls).
Speaking of Ontario, I love the bush country and often go fishing up there by canoe (my parents own a cabin above the Saulte). One of my dream hunts (you'll see I suffer from romantic visions) is of an 'old fashion' moose hunt by canoe. My hunting partner and I have built wood and canvas canoes. I would love to camp by canvas tent and call during the day along a northern water route. The difficulty is that you have to hunt through outfitters. I wonder if any reader out there on the forum has ideas about hunting Ontario or has done such a hunt as I describe?
Anyway, thanks for reading along with my ramblings and thank each and every one of you for your helpful campfire advice!

Dan

Best my iphone could do in low light...

 

[bunyan]

Fantastic pics and thanks for sharing your adventure and experience!! Trust me when I say that you aren't alone in your feelings about how you do your trip and not just the outcome of the hunt. That's why we shoot the bows we do!! I've always considered myself a traditional hunter, not just traditional bow hunter. Wool, leather, and canvas have a warmth and magic to them that comes out when you add woodsmoke!! Good hunting!!

[Jim Wright]

Enjoyed your post. Long ago I lived in Billings  and I have spent quite a bit of time scouting and hunting Sheep in the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness Area, always alone and miles back in. You are aware that at altitude weather can change rapidly to cold and wet. One suggestion, I would  lose the down vest in favor of one insulated with Primaloft.

[CRM_95]

Great pics and really enjoyed the write up. I'm jealous!!

[Michael Pfander]

Things to make the evenings and other times go by.  Keeping a journal.  I always take a thick book in case the weather gets bad.  I got caught in a hurricane above 10,000' in CO.  Spent the day in my tent reading.
MAP

[J-dog]

Great read, trip recounting. I laughed at the part of the women screaming in the bushes!

Bobcats can do that, not sure bout a fox? They make a weird bark but that sounds like a bobcat, I have heard a mtn lion can make that scream to but I have no experience in country where they roam. I camp out a bit and have been off in a swamp on a kayak trip and heard them on couple different occasions. It will make the hair stand up on ya! No doubt! Made me throw a couple extra logs on the fire that night.

j

[fujimo]

x2 bunyan  

[fujimo]

i have really enjoyed this thread!

[Russ Clagett]

Bears or no bears...that was quite a trip. Thanks for sharing that with us..I felt like I went with you.