This was my first bear hunt and I thank you all for making it so enjoyable and memorable. Tom and Paul did a wonderful job keeping us fed and organized and I can't thank you fell's enough for this experience. As for my hunt here it is:
I drew the Moose Path stand which worked out really well condidering Mike Mitten drew the Bird stand and they were a mile or so from each other. We drove from IL. together and this allowed us to share my vehicle going to and from our stands. Day 1, arrival day was a bust with no sightings. Day 2 we were in our stands by 3ish pm. At 7:40 I had a bear at 25 yards coming into the bait. Although I'm a greenhorn, it amazes me how an animal of this size can be so quiet. I told Mike prior to the trip I was going to size some bears up before choosing one to shoot. Those were wasted words, cause the moment I saw him I was shooting if given a good opportunity. He went directly to the barrel and starting picking out dessrt. This worked well since I was sitting down and I needed to stand, however, getting to that point was easier said than done. Thinking the bear was totally occupied and looking away I began to stand up only making it an inch off the seat before him staring directly at me, or through me. This contined over the course of at least a minute, when he ate, I rose, until I finally made it up. Throughout this time the bear seemed to tolerate whatever was in the tree but at times seemed a little uneasy. Unfortunately I still needed to get my bow off the hook and this is when the bear became more curious and less tolerable. As I went to grab the bow he stared through me then turned and took half a dozen bounds away, stopped and started working back in. At 15 yards he stopped and whoffed at me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated. Then he walked around the barrel and came to a stop directly underneath me. At this point I was ready with bow in hand and tension on the string. This stand was no more than 6 feet off the ground so we were getting to know each other a little more than I anticipated and really cared for. A few seconds went by and he decided the food in the barrel was more desirable than whatever was in the tree. He went back by the barrel and paced back and forth for a couple minutes before stopping broadside at 12 yards, thanks to the orange vest making noise from rubbing during the draw. He looked at me half way through my draw but I wasn't about to stop. I held at full draw for at least 15 seconds, making sure the tip of the arrow was where I needed it to be. Without a doubt I was the worst shot in camp and prior to this moment I continually told myself to not rush the shot. The rest was a flash, the orange fletched 2117 arrow hit the bear an inch higher than where I aimed but was really amazed to see a pss thru from my 46 # Bob Lee Recurve. The arrow stuck in the dirt and the bear beat it. 40 yards down the trail he ran down I watched him struggle on his feet and let out the death moan. I only had to drag this bear a little over 100 yards but found that they are incredibly achward and now know what dead weight means. After going 10 yards I decided to gut him out to lighten the load. By 8:45 the bear was loaded, sweat was running, and the truck was rolling to pick up Mike. The bear weighed approximately 138 lbs and has a beautiful coat.
I assisted a couple other fella's in camp with dragging out bears and after assisting Tom and Fred on Freds bear I realized how easy mine was. But I'll let Fred tell his tale.
Prior to this hunt I use to sit here and read these forums, wanting to be a part of the hunt but being intimidated probably for many reasons but primarily thinking I'm not as good a hunter as most, or not wanting to screw up, or piss someone off cause everyone has an opinion, or just because it was out of my comfort zone. Well, the not being as good of hunter as most is true, guess that should be expected when one hangs out on occasion with someone like Mike Mitten. But in truth everyone in this camp was unbelievably welcoming, even Marty, whom apparently has quite the reputation. My advice, if you have ever wanted to be a part of a hunt like BearQuest don't hesitate, do it. The Mitten's, Wensels, Langers are all like the little people like myself and are a pleasure to share camp with. All the fella's in camp, thank you.
Sorry for being long winded but I'll finish with this last piece of advice, don't try sleeping in the same room as Mike Mitten, won't happen.
Topic: TradGang Bear Quest # 4 2010' Unpacking & Wheels are Turnin for BQ # 5 JUNE 2011' (Read 56482 times)
