Bears in high places....

[Barney]

They are a blast to shoot!

[Guru]

WOW!!! Good shootin big feller!!    Nice bow too

[herb haines]

might hard on the meat ain't you Charlie ------ herb

[Longbowwally]

Ok Charlie, this is great stuff but you're taking to long between 'stories'    .....I want to hear more!

[Puma Tom]

Those rubber blunts not only bag your game they tenderize it all in one shot. Nice shootin !!
                 >>>>>> Puma Tom.

[Charlie Lamb]

The days went by too quickly... as they always do.
I called high and low and far as well as wide. No bears.

   

 
 
As a matter of fact, at one point I was calling more deer than anything else. (I made a note of that to try and fill doe tags this fall)
I tried high in the dark pine forests and low in the light and airy Aspen groves.
I used my binoculars as well as calling to no avail.

There's always things to see and do out there. Among the list of critters I saw were bald and golden eagles, weasel, moose (lots), ravens and crows and magpies and gray jays. I even spotted a badger one day... I'd found out they can only be taken in season by the possessor of a Furbearer permit.

One of my trips in to call for bear involved an area I've hunted for years for rockchucks. I loaded my ruck with stuff to keep me happy all day and set off to see what I could get into.

The calling set up was a bust except for half a dozen mule deer does that were very curious and a little upset... I figured having them around making a racket was a good thing in this situation.

I covered most of the mountain that day, stopping in a secluded glade to lunch. Cold clear water sprung from the ground there and I filled my filter bottle from it.

I wasn't seeing a thing. Once again the weather pattern was throwing me a curve. The chucks weren't up stirring around yet... they sleep a long time out there.

At the end of a long day up on the rocky mountain side, I heard a shrill whistle. I was less than 200 yards from the truck and somewhere out in the boulder field around me was a chuck telling the world I was there.

I eased out my binoculars and in just a few I had him spotted.
The odds of any kind of stalking plan working were nil. The chuck sat facing me on a large boulder 45 yards away.
I had some very heavy ramin arrows with .308 cartridges mounted for blunts. (I cut them down to 130 grains)

I had a little trouble getting the arrow out of my pack, but the chuck sat there through everything. Every once in a while he'd let out a whistle.

I took my time with the shot. The bow came up and found it's own level. I just worried about alignment and a solid hold.
When it slipped away the heavy arrow flirted a little, but corrected quickly and hurtled toward the unsuspecting rock chuck. It would be hard to hit him bad...if I hit him at all.

My heart stopped beating for that instant as the arrow raced in on the chuck... and disintegrated in a hundred tiny pieces on the boulder under the chucks feet.

He immediately dropped from sight, but almost instantly appeared on top of a neighboring boulder.
I had a second arrow ready to go.

   

Once again the arrow arched in on the chuck with immense promise only to dash itself to bits on the granite back stop.
This time he went down for good.

[Mudfeather]

   

[Charlie Lamb]

Thanks Terry! Couldn't figure that one out!!  

[Charlie Lamb]

One thing you realize in short order as you move around the state of Wyoming... it's got the corner on antelope! Everywhere you go there are oodles and bunches of them.

 

I've had a ton of fun with these incredibly sporty critters. Sometimes it amazes me that people will go sit in a hole in the ground or pop up blind for a week hunting them, when they could be out stirring around with the goats stalking them.
It's dang tough...sure!! Just fun as all get out. I've shot a bunch of antelope and never have taken one at a waterhole. (I'm gonna fix that this fall)

[Charlie Lamb]

By the way... that buck in front is a very respectable animal!

[Charlie Lamb]

Sometimes when you are hunting hard you have to try unorthodox methods to improve things.
Since the altitude and rough country were taking a toll on this old body, I figured if I turned my hat around backwards it would make me look ten years younger...ergo, feel ten years younger.
It didn't work, but was worth a try!  :D

[Charlie Lamb]

After the incident with the cat, I did a lot of thinking about how I was setting up to call.

I had been pretty careful about background cover and staying "unseen". After the cat thing, I became even more conscious of it.

In most cases I moved far enough into heavy cover or dark timber so I wouldn't be silouetted against whatever opening I placed at my back.
Staying in the shadows is always a good idea and a trick I learned many years ago from the North Vietnamese army.

 

After this picture was taken I tried to find situations with multiple trees for background and protection of my back.

Anyone who would attempt this method of calling should take it seriously. There is a very real element of danger and you need to be on your toes at all times.

Black bears are known to approach calling agressively and are always unpredictable, who knows what a mountain lion will do and we all know the reputation of grizzlies.

[Charlie Lamb]

I called from this spot with negative results. It really didn't matter... it was gorgeous!! Had to knock around a little after the stand and shoot a few.

 

[Randy Morin]

Hey Charlie, I've been waiting anxiously to hear about your travels.  I'm a few days behind but I just caught up.  Great reading and pics.  I know to well how finicky the weather has been this bear season.  Besides all the scattered rain showers I was in 10 inches of fresh white stuff on June 8.  Made for some a memorable day with lots of baby ungulates of all types but no bears that day. Keep her comin.....Randy.  

[Tree Killer]

Can't wait for the next installment Charlie, keep it coming!    

Ron

[RayMO]

Thanks Charlie

[Guru]

Enjoying this bud    .

[cjones]

Man Charlie, This is some good reading. Nice pics BTW  

[RICHARD BURDYSHAW]

CHARLIE Wow I feel like I should be paying for this kind of reading. And the pictures great.When in utah I would loose at least a half day scouting chaseing the ground squirrels. I miss the cool spring days up in the high country

[Charlie Lamb]

I hunted hard until the season finally ended on the 15th.
I'd met Larry near his home in Kemmerer, Wyoming and we set off to call all the way back north at as many different locations as possible.

Around noon Larry had to turn around and head back south, so I continued on.

I'm comfortable hunting alone... even this kind of hunting. It's just what I do most and says a lot about who I am I guess.
I'd learned a lot this trip. A lot about bears and calling them, and a little bit about myself.

With each stand I made as the sun dropped toward the mountains a little bit of sadness seeped into my being.
It's always like that for me. At some point in the hunt I'll be tired and sore and thinking in the back of my head that I'll be ready for the end.
In the end when I finally have to face it, I'm never ready and find myself wishing for just one more day. Sigh! Yep, just one more.

On the up side and attempting to make lemonade from a bittersweet ending... my permit is good for the fall season too!
I already had plans to be out that way anyway so maybe the bears will cooperate better in fall.
It's stacking up to be one busy fall season this year... just the way I like it.

I finished my stay visiting with old friends and promised to return soon. I'd even been provided with a set of house keys to use whenever I wanted and offered a couple of jobs. (some of my friends wanted me to stay for good and that always makes me smile.)

I managed to get away for a few more sunsets and even a few romps with the local squirrels.
The Rockchucks never did come out during a time I could get after them... it's more a July type hunt anyway.

Though I cruised the sage brush near some hay meadows and a couple of "no fail" places I knew of down on the desert, I couldn't find a Jackrabbit to shoot at.
Somebody said they thought it was the low part of the Jack's cycle and I guess that could be so. I didn't see a one while hunting and very few while riding to and from various places.
They always seemed thickest where I couldn't go.

I finally said good bye to friends and the state I love and began the long drive home.
Even in that long drive I'd poke along and savor the sights, the cool air blowing in my window and the smell of sage brush.
It all calls to me and as long as I have strength to answer that call you'll find me out there from time to time just being part of it all.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little bit of rambling as much as I enjoy the telling.

For those who complain about how long it takes me to tell these stories, remember... this is the condensed version.      :D