Bear Quest 12 - Conclusion to a Great Trip

[BlkDog]

For those that attended Bear Quest in the past, you are sure to remember Bowdoc.  Bowdoc truly loved this hunt and he always did his best to ensure that everyone had a great time.  He made it memorable. He was one of the most genuine people I ever met.  Each year, it was like a family get together when we arrived in camp. 

Unfortunately, we lost Don last year.  He can now only attend in our memory and in spirit.  Memories that many of us hold dear.  Bear Quest 12 was dedicated to the memory of Don Ward, or as many knew him Bowdoc. 

We had some photos of Don in camp.. as a bit of a memorial.  It was only appropriate that he was with us. 

There is also a plaque in memory of Don.  It is in a place that was special to him.  If you ever find yourself in the forest northwest of La Tuque, you just may see it.  If you find it, launch an arrow in his honor. 

[R. Combs]

That’s an awesome plaque in memory of bowdoc!! I only got to hunt with him last year but he was one of those guys that you will never forget!!

[ron w]

I will hold dear the talks I had with Don, I killed a bear the first night so I was alone with him and gave him a hand in the kitchen. We discussed archery history and it was amazing what knowledge he had. He knew Glen St. Charles well and reflected many tales from years gone by. Last fall I sent an arrow with Bowdoc written on it into the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area in his honor. He was rough around the edges but had a good soul deep inside. It makes me sad to type this...........

[jsweka]

I spent time with Bow Doc in 2016.  He certainly won't be forgotten and we would all be lucky if we were remembered like he is.

Now this thread needs some more pics.

Here's Dave with the weight of his bear.


And a good pic of Dave's Bear that Gary Hall can use as an advertisement for D&M Arrows


Brian Vincent and his bear.


Dale Kuder and his bear.  C'mon Dale everybody wants to hear the story.


Bill Terry with his bear.  Bill swapped me the arrow I missed a bear with for one of his with a homemade head.  Although I didn't come home with a bear, that arrow will always be a reminder of a great hunt with a bunch of awesome guys.

[jsweka]

Here's a couple pics from around camp.

Dave and Bill relaxing by the fire Friday evening.  It was a really odd day that you could actually sit outside and not be bothered by the mosquitoes.


And the happy camper Larry Dix.


Hey Dave, what's that behind your ear?

[jsweka]

And finally, the man himself, Tom Phillips who makes this all possible.  Thank you Tom and congratulations on a great bear with a short recovery.

[Pine]

Dave, my story is just not interesting.
My hats off to Chad Orde for his string tracker.
My bear ran over 60 yards and we could not find any blood. That string tracker was worth every penny.

[BlkDog]

Home sweet home...….

It's just terrible waking up each day to a view like this out the kitchen door.  Look at that sky!

[BlkDog]

A small tribute to a special person, in a special place.

[Pine]

Nice

[Tom Phillips]

Thanks gents for posting all the pics and writing in some of your thoughts.I am ALMOST done putting away gear from LaTuque :-).  KEEP COOL hot weather is upon us.

[drewsbow]

congrats on some fine bears 

[drewsbow]

I had a great time and meeting Susan just made it that much better , she is a fine lady and hunter.
I was on beaver pond stand the first evening and chased a small bear out to get in the stand. It however came right back and I got to watch it feed in and out for a couple hours . The little bear ran off and sure enough a bigger one came in 15 minutes after that  very slowly and carefully , though this looked like a good bear I had decided no shooting on the first night. I did get a couple of pics of each and ended the night with a good look at a couple bears.
 I went out to coleman stand the second night in hopes that my son Adam would get a shot at the second bear from beaver pond that night . We switched stands as he had been on coleman the night before with no bears seen.
I got in stand and settled down for what I thought might be a tough wait but soon had a bear behind me in the brush . This bear looked small to start with because of the long legs but after breaking trees and making much noise he came in with many false starts , retreats and do overs , not a bad looking bear but rubbed some on the back . I took some video of him and watched his behavior around the bait and it was pretty cool.
When he ran off I took a chance and added a layer as I was getting cold , I looked back and he was gone. It didn't take long and I had another bear circling to the bait and right away I thought this bear looked fat , bigger around then the barrel I thought and went right into shoot mode . ( no pics before )
She came in and made it to the bait and as I was at half draw she bolted at the sound of a truck coming up the road . She came right back in and once again I went into shoot mode and when the closer leg went forward and her head was down I came to full draw and released . The shot went right in behind that leg and out the bottom between the front legs and fell out down the trail a short ways. I thought I heard a exhale of air after and quietly got down for the night. I thought I saw a big black blob off in the woods and was very confident in the shot .
I returned to camp and after a quick meal we went out to retrieve my bear. The black blob I saw turned out to be a log end and we started to follow the blood . The moss sucks  up blood but the trail was pretty easy to follow and into the thick brush I went . I found her in the thick stuff 100 plus yards from the bait  , dead in mid stride. Now this bear didn't look as big as before and but a good clean kill and recovery was made , now let me tell ya after the drag out she seemed heavier than before .
 We returned to camp after midnight and went to bed . After weigh in she was 113.4, not what I was expecting but I am proud of her all the same . I had a great time and got to meet a great group of folks , Tom and Paula worked there buts off for us. Thanks again Drew

[drewsbow]

[drewsbow]

[drewsbow]

[drewsbow]

wuff tracks

[Tom Phillips]

working on pics from 1st weeks hunt.  stay tuned.....

[KAZ]

 

[fmscan]

Drewsbow, Great pictures! Butterflies sure was a good one.  Thank you for the post. Congratulations!