Fred Bear’s fame as a bowhunter surely has a lot to do with what he hunted and where. Dangerous African game, Alaskan Brown Bear, and what Mr. Bear calls the most dangerous bear, the Great White Polar Bear. Facing such animals with a bow and documenting the proof on film, has endeared him to many as the greatest bowhunter.
I have read his Field Notes book and watched his films. The adventures to far off lands for exotic and dangerous game are exciting, but I still find myself wanting to read about and watch Fred Bear hunt the White-tailed deer. I guess it is because I love to hunt the White-tailed deer and would be content to do so for the rest of my life, without any far off adventures. At 25, I still have plenty of time to pursue adventure, after all, Fred Bear did not venture west until he reached 50; but back to Fred Bear and White-tailed deer (which I will from now on refer to as ‘deer’).
Fred Bear shot his first deer with a bow in 1935, at the age of 33. From that year until 1970 he killed 38 total deer (see Dick Lattimer’s I Remember Papa Bear). The number of deer after 1970 is presumed small. From the various books about Fred Bear, I have gathered that besides Michigan, he deer hunted in Nebraska, Kentucky, Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. There were surely more trips as I can imagine the invitations to hunt from archers around the country were abundant. It seems that most of his deer hunts in the 1930’s and 1940’s were in Allegan and Blaney Park, Michigan. Also noted are early hunts in Ogemaw and Newaygo counties, the Porcupine Mountains of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Wisconsin. In the literature there is not much information on his deer hunts beyond the 1940’s. I would speculate that the move to Grayling from Detroit in 1947 may have kept him deer hunting around Northern Michigan. Beginning in the early 1950’s he also began taking trips out west, pursuing pronghorn, mule deer, and grizzly bears. I believe that he began hunting at the now famous Grousehaven in the eary 1950's. Grousehaven is/was located in Ogemaw County, MI. I do not have a plat book, but I would guess the property has changed hands and possibly been split up since Fred Bear hunted there. In the 1960’s he made at least one trip to Pennsylvania and a few to Nebraska. In the 1970’s and 1980’s his hunts may have been limited to Grousehaven and Nebraska. I have not heard if he pursued southern deer while in Florida.
As part of my interest in Fred Bear and deer, I have assembled all the pictures of him and his deer that I have come across. In total I have located 13, from books, magazines, and the internet. Through looking at these pictures one may notice a lack of any from the 1950’s. Actually most are from the 1930’s and 1940’s, which may have been the peak of his deer hunting success. It may also be that the pictures we see are of the larger antlered deer as opposed to smaller ones. I do not know. I would like to note that Fred Bear apparently never shot a Pope and Young record deer. His 1946 8 point from Allegan, MI is listed in the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan with a score of 116 7/8. According to Dick Mauch, Fred’s 1964 Nebraska buck was his largest. In 1944 he also shot a very wide beamed buck that would seemingly meet the P&Y minimum, but may suffer from abnormal points and somewhat short tine length. The Nebraska buck probably suffered the same fate. I do not mean to get caught up in scores, but that seems to be the measure of success these days. These three bucks are great trophies, make no mistake. If Fred had hunted in Allegan the rest of his life he may have shot a few book bucks, Allegan County is one of the best counties for trophy bucks in Michigan. The fact is that Fred spent most of his time hunting deer in very poor trophy areas. For example, Ogemaw County, the location of Grousehaven, is one of the very worst counties in Michigan for book bucks. As a last note, Fred shot most of his deer from the ground with a recurve, making any deer a trophy.
Following are the pictures I located, with the years and locations as I could best determine. Some may be wrong; if anyone has information to add please do so. Some of the deer are also in other pictures, for example, his 1943 Ontario buck can also be seen in a canoe, and being dragged with his bow under the antlers. If any additional pictures of Fred and White-tails are out there, please post them.
1. 1935- Blaney Park, MI
2. Before 1944?- Looks like Blaney Park (no bowquiver)
3. Before 1944?- Looks like Blaney Park (no bowquiver)
4. 1941- Boulder Junction, WI
5. 1942- Blaney Park, MI (Friday the 13th buck, and first film)
6. 1943- Ontario
7. 1944- Allegan State Forest (now Allegan State Game Area), MI
8. 1946- Allegan State Forest (now Allegan State Game Area), MI; score: 116 7/8
Topic: Fred Bear and White-tails (Read 1488 times)
