Bear Quest 11......START YOUR ENGINES!!!!!!

[oldgoat]

Any reports from this bunch ! Probably couldn't believe the story's but just checking in.

[Yellow Dog]

Looking forward to all the great stories to come from this hunt.

           

[bruinman]

Yep, I'm looking forward to the stories.

[ron w]

Originally posted by bruinman:
Yep, I'm looking forward to the stories.

Me to........      

[meathead]

Me 3.

[Barry Wensel]

I got inside info on who won the biggest bear in camp pot (I thought pot was illegal), but I can't tell. I'll say this, I'm not surprised because he's a friend and a very impressive bowhunter. Stay tuned.  BW

[Barry Wensel]

I got inside info on who won the biggest bear in camp pot (I thought pot was illegal), but I can't tell. I'll say this, I'm not surprised because he's a friend and a very impressive bowhunter. Stay tuned.  BW

[Tony Z]

Thanks for the update Uncle Barry. I was starting to think we'd have to go up there and pick through bear scat to identify the boys. Haven't heard a word yet.  Tony Z

[Sean B]

Ha Barry, I'm getting bits and pieces here and there. I ain't saying nuttin!

[Pine]

R Combs brought the first bear back to camp .

[R. Combs]

First I would like to give a big thank you to Tom Phillips for arranging an awesome hunting experience. This was my first ever bear hunt and didn't realize the work that goes into setting up a hunt like this. I know Tom and Brian Vincent made a couple trips up to Quebec to bait and set stands and cameras before we ever arrived to camp.
 There were a lot of experienced hunters in this camp that have hunted bears and just about every big game animal in North America. I'm kind of a quiet person but am a very good listener when the stories start flowing(I believed most of them).
 The first day was spent checking baits and cameras. Our stand locations were drawn from a hat and I drew the beaver pond stand. When we checked the bait barrel it was empty. We then checked the camera and seen multiple sows and cubs and one lone bear that could be a boar. Needless to say never seeing a bear in the woods before I was excited. The camera showed him at one point checking out the tree stand.
 Sunday morning we went out to check baits and cameras again and it looked like the same boar came in again. At 4:15 pm I climbed into the stand for the first time after grabbing the card from to camera to check again. The boar had come into the bait a half hour after we left that morning.
 At 5:15 pm I saw my first bear ever while hunting. He was coming in slow but eventually came into the bait area checking his surroundings and eventually came over to my tree and glanced up at me for a split second just like he did on the camera. He then made his way over to the bait barrel and stuck his head in but his front leg was back so there was no shot and he eventually wandered off.
 About 10 minutes later he showed back up, this time when he put his head in the barrel his front leg was foward. When I shot I remember hearing a clank sound so I wasn't sure if my arrow hit the barrel after passing through the bear or it was the bears head when he banged it on the barrel when he bolted out of there.
  The bear ran right by the bottom of my stand and I could hear him crashing down the hill below me but I didn't hear a death moan so I didn't go check on him. After an hour and a half I headed back to camp. Tom was there and asked if I had had a flat tire or something because I was back so early. We waited until after dinner to go look for him.
 We went back to the stand about 11:30 pm and Tom found the first bit of blood. I am amazed that even with a low exit hole just behind the opposite shoulder that the long hair soaks up the blood and doesn't leave a great blood trail.
 The bear did a circle on the side of the hill and crossed his own blood trail which threw us for a few minutes. After getting back on track I stayed on the blood trail while Tom went farther down the hill toward the road. Although I thought I had made a good shot it was a relief to hear Tom say your bear is over here. It was laying in the ditch right next to the road that I had drove down to go back to camp. In total he might have traveled about 150 yards.
 The rest of the week was spent hanging out with a bunch of great traditional bowhunters including one Don (bow doc) Ward which was camp cook and head entertainment.
 Thanks everyone in camp for a great experience, I'm sure I'll be back for round 2.
 
Rick
 

[Caddo]

I guess they're all bashful! Another great hunt hosted by Mr. Tom Phillips. Absolutely fantastic, great hunt, great camp, great bunch of Trad folks to hunt with again this year.I started out this hunt by drawing the "Cove " stand. I was really excited, I love hunting the water baits! Due to some unforeseen issues with the folks moving out of the cabin, we got a late start on Saturday. By the time we got all situated, baits checked and stands adjusted, it was just too late to hunt that evening. Sunday and Monday at the Cove stand were pretty uneventful, no bears sighted and not a lot of evidence of bear activity. Still, just being able to sit out in the Canadian wilderness as mosquito and black fly bait was just magnificent! Tuesday I decide that a change was needed so I moved over to the "Hillbilly" stand. The Hillbilly stand hadn't been hunted yet and is historically a good bear producer. After the short boat ride, Jay dropped me off and I was in the stand shortly after 4:00 PM. As I sat there I remembered what Bill Terry told me as I left camp. "Hurry up and shoot your bear so I can hunt it tomorrow and kill a bigger one!" That Bill, always encouraging!
  At 5:30 I saw my first bear of the hunt. He was about 30 yds out and making his way to the bait. As he got closer I could see that he was a beautiful bear, with a rich black hide and a huge white blaze on his chest. Unfortunately he could walk into the bait barrel without touching! He stayed around for about an hour and a half or so then suddenly gave a woof and ran off. I'm thinking  that this means another, probably bigger, bear is coming. If there was, I never saw it. About 8:00 I see my second bear coming down the same trail that the first bear came in on. Immediately I recognized this as a different bear, definitely bigger! As he slowly made his way into the bait, stopping and sitting down, sniffing the air every 10 ft or so, gave me the chance to stand up and get ready. I determined, thought not the big 300 pounder that I was looking for, this was a shooter candidate. He came in close, and made a left turn towards the bait, concentrating on scarfing up the marshmallows that I had placed earlier. He was broadside, with his head down, facing away from me at 6 yds. I'm thinking, man it doesn't get any more perfect than this! He stepped forward with his right leg and I guess I lost all self control. Next thing I knew, my arrow was disappearing into his side and the string tracker was playing out!
  He let out a woof and ran straight away rom me, back up the trail he'd come in on. At about 30 yds I saw him fall, get back up and move to the left out of sight. I could hear the crashing as he went down for keeps and heard the death moan. Game over. Since the Hillbilly stand is a good ways up the side of a hill, I determined that the best thing I could do was gat out of there and go get a sled to drag him out with. Bedside's I didn't want to bugger it up any more, knowing that Bill Terry would be hunting there the next night! By 8:30 I was back on the shoreline waiting for my pickup.
  Of course, true to his word, Bill hunted the Hillbilly the next two nights and of course shot a bigger bear there Thursday night!

 

Thanks again Tom for another Fantastic Bear Quest hunt! The good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be back next year, hoping for a chance at that 300#er!

[Warden609]

Congrats fellas!!

[Sean B]

LD, that's a good looking bear for sure!!  Dontcha hate it when they practically beg you to shoot them!!  Congrats Rick!!  Post a picture if you can!!

[bruinman]

Congrats guys!! Keep um coming.

[ron w]

Outstanding.....  

[Pine]

Well I came home empty handed but had a wonderful time .
I did get to watch a couple of cubs playing near the bait while momma circled me about 30 yards out .
I did get a little nervous when she was behind me and I was between her and the cubs . ( Did I mention that I was hunting on the ground ? )      
Buy the time she got back around near the cubs , it was so dark that I couldn't hardly see so I desided to leave the blind and walk out .
To my surprise , the cubs just stayed there and momma started making a sound kinda like a hoot owl and snapping her teeth .
Well at that point I changed flashlights​and grabbed my 5,000 lux and on full power I shined it in her face .
That stopped her but as I walked out she kept making that noise and snapping her teeth .
Every few feet I would shine her in the face .
She followed me for about 150 yards and when I got to the road there was no sign of her .
That was a very neat experience .
And to top off the evening , I saw a cow moose in the road on my way back to camp .
What a great experience .

[R. Combs]

You'll get em next time Dale. I'll definitely have to check into the string trackers some of you guys were using for the next bear hunt.

[Ray Lyon]

Great job so far gents.    

[Pine]

Well that's what Trad Hunting is all about .
If you gotta harvest every time , it's not for you .
Fred Bear said , it's not about the trophy or the harvest , it's about the hunt .
Just seeing some bears makes it a successful hunt .