It's Time for another Bear Hunt

[just_a_hunter]

Continuing on.....

[Gary Norris]

I think Charlie and I have the photos worked out so , Let's hunt another Bear.
The next morning was a little slow.  We stayed in camp and shot the bull along with a few arrows to pass the time.  Before we knew it , it was time to go.
Russ and Clyde took me to the new bait area because they said it was active.  We pulled off the main road and headed down a logging trail to the path that led into the tall timber.  You know, timber that is like sky scrapers standing together forever.  
Russ got the bait barrel ready and stood back so Clyde could get under it.  I have no idea what that thing weighed but it didn't appear that even Russ wanted any part of it.  When we got to the bear area, I could'nt believe how torn up everything was.  Trees were chewed off and the ground was bear.  Just the place I wanted to spend several hours until black as hell dark.  And I would be by myself.  Oh yeah, I had my bow and arrows.  Then I remebered how little that arrow looked the last time I hunted Bear.
As Cldye banged around on the barrel, I could only imagine the bears laying out in the darkness of midday, waiting to come in to see what was for dinner.
Now,  just where is the tree stand.  Clyge forgot to tell me that there was'nt one.  There was a pine tree that he really liked though.  With a hand axe Russ cut off a few limbs and made a place for me to stand about 5 feet up.  That's right, head high to a big bear
Just before they left , Russ pointed out some Bear tracks that were bigger than my hand.
 

[Gary Norris]

I really can't remember how long I stood there.  I just remember trying to break all of the limbs that I thought would give my longbow any trouble.  There was only one shot anyway and that was straight out and to the left at about 10 yards.  No Problem, right.
Have you ever been in the timber when it was so quiet that it hurt your ears ?  The smallest of birds sound like jet fighters flying over the start of a football game.  That is how it was.  
The small snap of a twig sounded like a tree falling.   Actually, I thought it was a tree falling this time.  I turned my head around as far as I could and looked back through the pine tree I was standing in.  Behind me was a large dry lake bed full of light yellow swamp grass.  It was neat looking especially with that giant Bear head sticking up out of it.  
If I said it once, I said it tweny times,
"Damn is that a BIG BEAR"  I know we are all big and tough and not afraid of nothing,  This Bear scared the hell out of me.  Remember, I'm not up in a tree, I'm standing on a limb not much higher than he is.  I know many of you will agree with this - I can still see that Bear in my mind and the hair on my neck is standing up like it was at that moment.  I knew I  only had one shot and there was no need to look at the Bear.  Actually, I didn't want to look at him !!  After he tore down that tree and made all of the noise, he was very quiet. ( Russ said they make a lot of noise so the little bears will leave)
 This is the time when your hours and hours of picking a spot, picking the right arrow to shoot 1st, you know the one with the little mark on the nock, and your instincts take over. This is what non - hunters don't understand and never will.  This is it!  Can you match your skill with an animal that is big enough that it isn't even concerned about you ?  
The big guy came in slow from the left and circled to below my tree and stood there.  This is the 2nd time a bear has done this to me.  After he looked around for what seemed to be an hour he made  his way through the thick brush and came into the opening.  My Ozark Hunter had been at 1/2 draw for some time , ready to do it's job.
  I needed to do mine.  There was the shot, the big right arm reached over the bait to get a chunk and exposed the entire right chest cavity.  Like so many times before, the arrow was on it's way before I had time to think.  It hit at a perfect angle into the rib cage and ripped through to the left shoulder.  A few seconds later it was over.  The arrow went to full penetration.  The huge right leg snapped off the feathered end when it came back and the left leg broke off the Ben Pearson Deadhead on it's first move.  The biggest Bear I had ever seen took 3 jumps and piled up.  Thanks to a well made bow, a straight flying arrow and some help from above, my Bear was down.
He was down right in front of me and I was really nervous about getting out of that tree.

[Gary Norris]

I did manage to get my wits about me and get down.  I didn't go look at the bear.  I knew he was down and I knew he was big.  I would wait until I had help.  
I made my way to the road and waited for the truck.  
Just before dark Russ and Clyde pulled up .  I put my gear in the back and got in.  As I remember we had a cold one on the way back.
The conversation went a little like this:
Russ - You came out kinda early didn't you.
Gary - Well it was dark in there and I could't see anything anyway.
Cldye was rolling along pretty good at this point down that old road and he said - Did  you see anything?
Gary - yea, I saw a big bear.
Russ, How big ?
Gary - Biggest Bear I have ever seen.
Russ - What the hell happened ?
Gary - He came in from behind and then into the bait.
Clyde had been gaining speed up until now and he was watching and listening and really not paying attention to the road.  
Russ, What did you do ?
Gary - I shot him.
The flatbed dually is now sliding sideways to a stop. Those cold ones are all over us. I thought Russ was going to choke me.
Did you kill him ?
 Yeah , I saw him go down.  We'll need help to get him. I filled them in on the whole story .
They agreed that we would go back to get help and see how the other guys did.  We also agreed that I would tell the story just as I had told them.
Then Russ told me something that would come up much later.
"Pay Backs are Hell"
 

[just_a_hunter]

Wonderfull!

Two awesome hunts!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Todd

[Missouri CK]

I've got the same picture as Charlie that is just a little clearer.
 

[Charlie Lamb]

The whole gang of us ended up out there with Gary and his bear. It was exciting as hell and Gary's level of excitement was off the chart... that's always infectious.

We snapped a bunch of photos that night.
   

   

[Charlie Lamb]

I'm wiped.... cont.

[Killdeer]

Can't sleep, looks like the power is out...check on the computer.
Can't sleep...edge of my seat,
What a mess of great writing! Wonderful stories, well-told, and I really oughta be snoring but just can't bring myself to break it off until every word is read.

Thanks for the insomnia!
Killdeer

[LEOPARD]

Great stories and pics guys! Thanks for sharing!    

[JC]

Very cool Gary! Really appreciate you taking the time to write for us. Charlie speaks very highly of you, and that's saying something to me. Hope we get to hear more of your stories here...I'm sure you've got a whole book waiting to be written.

Loved your pic, I killed my first bear last year with a Deadhead.  

[Whip]

This right here is "The Best of Trad Gang"!  Cup of coffee first thing in the morning, and a great story to read as told by the Masters!
I love it!  

Your stories help bring my own memories of fall bear hunts come flooding back - what wonderful times those were!  Black bears are made for bowhunters, sharing camps, stories, and good times.  Thanks for taking us along on your adventure!

[Gary Norris]

JC,
Thanks for the comments.  I'm glad to see another deadhead do it's job.  I used to shoot them all the time and kinda got away from them.  I'm going back to the Deadhead this fall for Elk.  I had to drop down in weight on my bow since I had my right shoulder replaced and I think the big 2 blade will work well.  I'm lucky to have Lamb as a friend.  He can keep making me bows as I need them.  By the way, check out the take down long bow he made on the St. Jude's auction.  It needs a good home.
Better get back to the bear hunt.  
When Russ , Clyde and I got back to the camp, Tim Taylor was drinking a victory beer.  He had killed a nice bear that evening ,too.  We had alot of work to do and it was late already.  The weather was still pretty warm and we would need to butcher the bears tonight.  I'll let Tim tell about his bear.
This hunt took place in about 1986 so my mind is a little cloudy.  I believe Walt killed his bear the next day.  Walt was a friend of Russ's that came with him.  He was  a nice guy and fit in well.  He hadn't done much of this hunting before and I think he was a little amazed at it and the success we were having.  I couldn't force myself to tell him that this wasn't really normal.  This was possibly a once in a lifetime thing.
What I do remember about his bear is this  :
Did you get a good hit on him ?
Ah, yeah, ah, I think so !

When we went after Walt's bear it was pitch black in the timber.  We used pieces of toilet paper to mark our trail because we were afraid we would get lost. We used lanterns for light so we could see the blood trail.  Down on our hands and knees following a wounded bear through the brush.  How smart was that ?  Oh, We had Russ behind us with a shotgun and double OO buck in it.  I told Russ that if the bear got me ---- Shoot Me.

All at once we hear this scream.  Walt had literally crawled right into the dead bear in the dark.  It was another nice bear.
 
  We had  just finished a fantastic hunt.  4 Bears with 4 arrows. What a hunt !

[Charlie Lamb]

Most often, hunts come back in our memories more as random thoughts than a streaming video of the entire sequence of events.

I guess the old hard drive only has so much space, so it keeps the best files and tucks away the less important stuff.
At least that's the way my mind works and I won't insult anyone by suggesting theirs is the same. LOL

Here's a few thoughts from that hunt.

I think it was the evening that Gary shot his bear... I had prepared supper for the crew. Everyone else was on stand, so I set about making this huge pot of spagetti complete with garlic bread.
I had it timed just right so it would be hot and fresh when the hunters came straggling out of the woods.

I should have known not to count on pefect timing as it concerns bear hunters.

When the guys rolled into camp there was a flurry of activity and we were all on our way back to get the bear.

By the time we returned, the nice fresh pot of spagetti had been transformed into a cold, gelatious lump of tomato flavored glue.

Most of the guys were gracious about it, but I couldn't stomach it myself and was a little disappointed.
As I recall, the bread was O.K.

[Charlie Lamb]

My bear, being younger and the first in camp, became the target of a number of meals that week.
I salvaged the hams and later had a friend cure and smoke them. I'd always been told you could treat them just like pork.... well, not quite the same, but close for a while.

I ate it for breakfast meat for quite a while and it was more like salt pork/bacon than anything. Pretty good stuff at first, but as it "aged" the flavor became very bear like and not all that pleasant.

The back straps went first in camp and they were great! Just like any other back strap with a flavor more like beef than deer.
The shoulders provided some great eating as well.

[Charlie Lamb]

After the picture taking of Gary's bear was done and it was time to get him out of there, there was a little confusion getting started.

As I recall, we'd all pretty much done the pack string thing going into the woods....nose to tail and not paying any attention to our surrondings.

When we started to leave someone said," which way is the truck?" Like something out of a Three Stooges routine, half a dozen fingers pointed off into the darkness in a half a dozen different directions.
After a little "discussion" we got lined out and got that heavy bugger started toward the truck.

[Missouri CK]

I'm going to post these pictures so the guys can tell a little more about them.

 

I'm guessing the camera angle may have contributed to the size differential between the two bear...right?  You know how those old camera distorted things pretty bad.


 

[Missouri CK]

[Missouri CK]

 

[just_a_hunter]

Really Great!

Thanks,

Todd