of Bears and Bloodtrails...

[beachbowhunter]

I just completed a hunting trip that included many firsts. Among them, my first time in Alberta, my first time in a tree stand and my first time in the bear woods. I won't soon forget any of them!

Due to scheduling issues we arrived on Monday May 22 instead of Sunday as is normal for our outfitter, Ryk Visscher. He picked us up at the airport and hustled us up the 4 hour drive to the northern boreal forrest. It was unseasonably hot and spring had sprung about two weeks early in Alberta.

We met up with a couple of his guides about a half an hour south of bear camp. He had planned an "extra" hunt for us. We quickly changed into our camo and readied our bows. Two of the four of us were shooting recurves this day.

I sat in a tree stand for the first time in my life that night. Those 4.5 hours were very intersting. I'm a ground pounder and prefer to hunt at eye level.

Someone on an earlier hunt had seen a blonde bear at this stand. I didnt see a bear that night but it was a good chance to get the feel of how the week would go.

 

[beachbowhunter]

On the advice of another TradGanger who offered me the opportunity to sit in one of HIS tree stands this November, I bought a Seat O The Pants harness system. I got used to it quickly. The part I liked best was the little bow string clip you can see in the photo below. I was able to keep my bow, arrow nocked, on my lap while I waited - a real bonus when it got chilly.

 

[John Krause]

Keep it coming.  I know this is gonna be a good one  

[2ndxarnd]

Where'd it go???  

[beachbowhunter]

The forest was thick with poplars, spruce and aspens, both perfectly vertical and laying down on the carpet of lichen-covered muskeg. It was also a wet, mosquito heaven.

Did I say thick....?
 
I am now a firm beliver in the power of the Thermacell. Oddly they are not yet available in Canada but you can get the butane at Canadian Tire in the beauty section    

[Wannabe1]

Man your just teas'n us. I stayed up late hoping to get more! Come with it man, I'm raring to go:)

[Ray Hammond]

that sure is an ugly bow you're shootin' there!- NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[beachbowhunter]

My weapon is terrible in its beauty! Thank you Mr. Thompson.

My second night in the stand would be far more interesting but I'll hold off on that description for now.   :D  

Bear camp was located in an abandoned paper pulp mill site that was quickly going back to forest.
 

The kitchen tent was ably "manned" by Kelley Semple, an outfitter and bowhunter in her own right...and a great camp cook!
 

We even had a walk in beer cooler

 

[Firstarrow]

Sounds like you had a blast and your not even to the second day.

Rich

['46]

Keep it coming.

That looks alot like Wingnuts cook tent...only not as messy.    :D

[Charlie Lamb]

Bring it on Norb!    

Thought I found one of your arrows at the Mod Melt. Don't know why except that it had a Stinger 4 blade on it... black carbon with blaze orange cap and what used to be yellow fletch.  :D

[the Ferret]

Hey George I don't think there's anything I could do to improve that cook tent ha ha..hope Wingnutty see that pic..that's how a camp kitchen is supposed to look!

Bring on the bars    

[beachbowhunter]

Charlie, that would be the one I airmailed over a lucky desert piggie. You wouldnt have found it near the spoke-and-hub hunting ground would you? Maybe look a little like the one that hit home?
 

[beachbowhunter]

The area is full of beavers and one of our guides, a retired school teacher and yukulele player named Reed, was a trapper with lines in the area. The beaver ponds create a swampy mess for everyone....
 

This one, along with a bunch of others, was used by our outfitter as the choice morsel for our evening hunts.

 

Fresh beaver meat went into a metal cage along side of the barrel as we took our stands for the night...usually between 4 and 10:30.

[beachbowhunter]

On Tuesday night, I took my seat in stand CS-2 (Camp South, 2). At about 6pm, I saw my first ever bear in the wild. He came in quietly from my right. There was water in that direction and that is what gave him away. He walked by the drum and his back came up to the second ring - a mature bear "representative of the species", a phrase the kept going through my mind as I decided whether or not to take a shot.

I was quite nervous at first, sitting in a tree near bait designed to attract a tree-climbing carnivore. The bear seemed to know I was there almost immediately. He came to my tree, climbed up a step and looked up at me. He climbed down, circled the tree looking up all the while, then headed back to the barrel and the beaver.

He did this two more times, each time climbing higher up the tree. He climbed up to reach the end of my bow rope and proceeded to chew it thoroughly. That did it. I had two tags and 5 more days to look for a trophy, this "representative of the species" had put me on edge.

[beachbowhunter]

After boring everyone over on the Dangerous Game forum about picking a broadhead for this hunt, I finally settled on using Razorcaps. My other equipment included my trusty 57# Zipper Extreme and Carbon Express Terminator Hunter Select shafts, total arrow weight of 580 grains.

I had pre-visioned this shot for months. I desparately wanted a low exit wound to increase the chance of a good blood trail. I had already gotten the usual good-natured ribbing from the Outfitter about using traditional gear and wanted to prove a point.

As the bear raised his left arm (the side facing me), I focused intently on the lighter colored fur under his arm. I did not want to hit the scapula. My draw felt good, smooth release and POP! the arrow was off but the string hit my jacket sleeve.     :mad:  

Didnt matter though (scared the beejezus out of me though), as the arrow was true and disappeared into the exact tuft of fur I was looking at. The bear staggered off to the right, didnt run as expected. I watched him disappear after 20 yards. I listened intently, heard a splash after about 8 seconds, followed by a cough a few seconds later and all was silent.

My arrow was sticking vertically in the ground at the point of impact. You can just make it out in this pic.

   

After the guide joined me (momma didnt raise no fools), I checked the arrow and we looked for the bear.

   

You can see that it had changed color!

[beachbowhunter]

Chris, my guide and I followed what he called "a blind man's blood trail". Caution some of the following photos are graphic in nature!

[Whip]

Hee,Hee!  :D   That will get your blood flowing at high speed when the first bear you ever see decides you look lonely all by yourself up in that tree and tries to join you!  Wish you had a picture of the look on your face!  

[beachbowhunter]

Twerent my face that was puckered!   :eek:

[knife river]

And then....???  Great story!