Not good at tellin' stories, but here goes...
Archery bear(and deer) season here in California, so…Sunday I loaded up the recurve and drove an hour to a spot I had in mind up here in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I parked the truck, broke out the gear and hiked about 1/2 mile to the area I wanted to hunt. Several roadhunters stopped and chatted with me, and none of them had seen any bears in the area at all. I was a little discouraged, but no biggie. As they were tearing up the dirt roads, I decided to climb up to a small ridge, breaking thick brush on the way, to hunt along a trail I discovered a couple years ago. I set up about 15 yards off the trail. I figured they could run some thing toward me if I was lucky.
After an hour and a half, I could hear a jeep driving back and forth down on the dirt road below. After a couple minutes, they took off. Then…I heard it.. a huge crash, limbs breaking bushes rustling. Then, I saw the thick ferns begin to move, and after a minute, a huge head peeked out from behind them..BEAR! Actually…a HUGE bear….brown as all get out, rare for here. So, I stood perfectly still…waiting..then, he started running right at me! I froze for a second, not knowing if he saw me and was po'd, or he was just trying to get out of there asap. He ran right to me and stopped on the trail..8-10 yards, if that, in front of me. He was huffing and puffing, and kept looking behind him as if he had something chasing him. I quickly came to full draw…and let er fly. I remember thinking..slam dunk, bear down, I got this. But…it was not to be. I shot right under him! At 10 yards! I heard the arrow hit a rock, that sickening sound. I knew I had missed. He jumped forward about 5 feet, and turned toward me. There was a tree between him and I, and that cover gave me just enough concealment to nock another arrow. I drew back, just as he took off, snapping, huffing and puffing. He stopped another 30 yards( my self imposed limit) out but offered no shot. After a little staredown, he crashed down the mountainside, unscathed…and very lucky!
Topic: Who has had success in California so far this year? (Read 461 times)
