June 18, 2017
I'm a little late in posting this because I've been sick with a bad bout of diverticulitis... and I wasn't sure if I could figure out how to post the pictures properly. I may have to try more than once, we'll see!
Dealing with health issues is a stark reminder of our mortality and makes us appreciate even more every day we're able to spend out in the bush with bow in hand.
Some of you may have seen these pictures already since I have sent them to friends that posted them but I wanted to share this with TradGang friends too.
Anyhow, as far as the bear goes, I had first seen his signs about three years ago, but like many big bears often do, he roamed a large area and lived like a ghost.
During that period we had had one brief encounter where he simply raised his nose and slipped back into the thick cover.
He was often on my mind this past winter and I wondered if he was still alive.
Where I hunt, bear hunting is popular with both the non-natives who have a spring season as well as one in the fall, and then also with the natives who have no season restrictions.
The fall season is particularly risky for bears since there are a lot of moose hunters with bear tags too.
All those hunters use firearms, so even a short exposure during daylight at any time during the bear's non-hibernating season may have proved fatal.
Our spring was very late this year and when I was finally able to start scouting around a bit and to make some preparations, I found his tracks in the snow.
Back tracking, I found an open spot he travelled through that was conducive to both a brush blind and bait (*note: unless I was to road hunt - which I DON'T, in this region there is no place to spot and stalk as I've done elsewhere).
I was anticipating his return, but since he didn't have a fixed schedule (LOL), I hunted whenever I felt the conditions were right.
Occasionally, from my gut feeling and a few subtle clues I could tell he was around but nocturnal (I don't use cameras much, trying to figure them out gets me upset, LOL).
As I mentioned already, the late spring actually shortened the bear season and then throughout that time the weather was far from ideal - thundershowers, wind, cold, and more rain.
There were no flies until June, but when they came out, they came out with a vengeance. They were bad even for me and I'm sure that if I took a lung X-ray at that time, several mosquitoes and black fies would have shown up on the screen.
Because of Zoning laws, I have to drive 3 hours south to bear hunt.
I mostly hunt bears alone and since I don't need much luxury, LOL, on the days I could hunt I slept on the ground beside my pickup (too much stuff in the back).
When the flies got really bad I slept in the bucket seat of my pickup truck - I don't bother with a tent for several reasons, one of which is that I don't like leaving a good tent setup unattended over there.
To get back to the hunt, I'll simplify things for the sake of space by saying that I took advantage of a front moving in and then (like my father used to say) managed to be at the same place as the bear at the same time, LOL!
He gave me a very quartering away shot at about 15 yards and I concentrated on a spot between his shoulder and his hip. Upon impact he exploded away and I saw the fletching end of the arrow fall out when it hit a tree. I listened for a few minutes and then I got out of my brush blind and walked over to check it out. All the arrow except about 7" was there but the colour was right.
I went back to the truck to get my dragging rope and a bottle of Gatorade- and boy, did I end up needing that as well as another and a big jug of water.
The 4 1/2 hours it took me to get him to and then into the truck is a story in itself.
He had gone straight for about 20 yards and then had turned 90 degrees and dropped 40 yards further.
Propelled by my 75 # Cari-Bow longbow the VPA 3 blade 250 grain broad head had entered about at the last rib, went through the liver and diaphragm, through major blood vessels as well as at least one of the lungs (probably both from the angle of the broadhead holes), out the rib cage and then into the opposite shoulder.
My cedar arrow was in three pieces - I had the shaft with the fletching, the broad head we found in the opposite shoulder when we butchered, but I don't have the short piece that broke off at the exit between his rib cage and opposite shoulder.
I donated this bear to our community for Aboriginal day on June 21. The meat was smoked and cooked in a large tipi called a "michiiwap". It was completely eaten in a matter of hours.
Topic: Another Bear... But Always Grateful (Read 1788 times)
