I just returned from my first bear hunt, drove back from Quebec to Georgia this past week... Long drive, but got to see 1300 miles of the beautiful east coast. I assumed the hunt would be a good time because my guide always takes us on an adventure, but I had no idea how thrilling it would really be. I sat in various tree stands and ground blinds, saw at least 20 bears ranging from 60 pound yearlings to 300+ pound monster boars, all of which had my heart pounding out of my chest. One of the coolest experiences was when a small cub hid under my tree stand; he didn't climb the tree, but had the other bear chased him any farther, that bear would have been up in the tree with me, and momma probably wouldn't have been happy. Seeing those monster boars creep in silently in the evening was also incredible, especially while sitting on the ground only 10 or 15 yards away holding nothing but a stickbow.
I ended up watching a small boar with a brownish coat for a few days before taking a shot at him... Though he was small (maybe 130 pounds), I decided to take a shot because I had many great memories watching him eat, nervously look around, and fight with other bears. Unfortunately, when I shot I missed his vitals. We tracked the bear the next morning with a Frenchman and his wirehaired teckel, which was amazing to see with a 24 hour old trail and extremely poor blood. The small dog jumped the bear after a mile or two, and the bear took off running. That was enough to clear my conscience, knowing that if the bear survived the night then I definitely missed the lungs, and his wound was not life threatening. We headed back to the truck to prepare for another hunt.
Later that day, I was astonished to see my bear (now named Broken Arrow) feeding at a different bait miles away from where I originally saw him. He did not appear to be wounded, exept for the dried blood on both sides of his upper back. A few days later, I saw this bear, fully healed, at an entirely different bait. I only hope that nobody kills him and I have the opportunity to take another shot at the one that got away.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. The food and lodging were excellent, but it was the laughs and stories shared with fellow hunters that made the experience most memorable. Huge thanks to Jerry Russell of Russell Outdoor Guides for an awesome first bear hunt (The first of many--I already booked for next year). I would recommend this hunt to anyone who has never had the pleasure of watching black bears interact from only yards away, and also to the experienced black bear hunter looking to drop a massive boar in the beautiful, pristine Quebec wilderness.
Topic: First Quebec Bear Hunt (Read 255 times)
