Quotes By Fred Bear

[Big_Al]

I found these on another site, thought I would share them with the Gang:

QUOTES BY FRED BEAR

Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person.

If some of our teenage thrill seekers really want to go out and get a thrill, let them go up into the Northwest and tangle with the Grizzly Bear, the Polar Bear, and the Brown Bear. They will get their kicks, and it will cleanse their souls.

If you are not working to protect hunting, then you are working to destroy it.

A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be . . . time to commune with your inner soul as you share the outdoors with the birds, animals, and fish that live there.

A downed animal is most certainly the object of a hunting trip, but it becomes an anticlimax when compared to the many other pleasures of the hunt.

I feel like one of God's chosen people, having had the opportunity to share, with many fine companions, these varied and lovely realms of our natural world.

When a hunter is in a tree stand with high moral values and with the proper hunting ethics and richer for the experience, that hunter is 20 feet closer to God.

Hardships are quickly forgotten. Intense heat, bitter cold, rain and snow, fatigue,and luckless hunting fade quickly into memories of great fellowship, thoughts of beautiful country, pleasant camps, and happy campfires.

If asked to sketch a mental picture of the typical archer I would be hard put.They seem to come in all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds. Inwardly they seem to have in common a love for the outdoors, a reverence for wildlife, and a close tie with history. There is nothing they seem to enjoy more than telling tall tales
around a campfire or talking about archery to others. It would be difficult to find a more interesting group of people.

The very remoteness kindles the imagination of the adventurous hunter. From the top of any mountain the challenge extends far and wide, until the mountains meet the sky.

I have always tempered my killing with respect for the game pursued. I see the animal not only as a target but as a living creature with more freedom than I will ever have. I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with the sure knowledge that nature's ways of fang and claw or exposure and starvation are a far crueler fate than I bestow.

Life in the open is one of my finest rewards. I enjoy and become completely immersed in the high challenge and increased opportunity to become for a time a part of nature. Deer hunting is a classical exercise in freedom. It is a return to fundamentals that I instinctively feel are basic and right.

I hunt deer because I love the entire process; the preparation, the excitement,and sustained suspense of trying to match my woods lore against the finely honed instincts of these creatures.

I come home with an honestly earned feeling that something good has taken place. It makes no difference whether I got anything; it has to do with how the day was spent.

The history of the bow and arrow is the history of mankind.

With a gun you can hunt deer an average of 3 weeks a year. With a bow you can hunt an average of 10 weeks more depending upon the state you hunt in.

Not only in bow-hunting fun and a real challenge, but its good for you. The
exercise in the fresh air, the chance to get away from everyday pressures and problems, a return to the basic relationships between man and his environment.

When bow-hunting, you find you get closer to the woodland critters. The flora and the forest floor becomes clearer. You look at things more closely. You're moreaware. You know the limited range of the bow is only 40 yards or so. You must try to outwait that approaching deer. Careful not to make the slightest movement or sound hoping that your scent won't suddenly waft his way. That's when you'll know for sure and appreciate deeply what bow-hunting is all about."

. . . there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.

[BCWV]

Good stuff.

 Thanks Al.

[Jack Shanks]

A pleasure to read. Thanks for taking the time to write them down and sharing them.

[Mudd]

I like them all!! Thank you!!

I will as time permits come back for a re-read. I might even try to pick out of these treasures my "cream of the crop".

I really appreciate the effort you put forth.

God bless,Mudd

[stik&string]

Thank you for posting, it is amazing how the majority of his quotes still ring true today even though the times have changed drastically.

[don kauss]

very grounding...thanks for sharing...i was just googling Fred's quotes yesterday, and never found half of these...

[dan d]

Thanks for the post !  As Al said,  Good Stuff !
Dan

[rascal]

My favorite quote attributed to Fred Bear by Dick Lattimer in the book "I Remember Papa Bear" is:

"The man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free, unless made so by the exertion of better men than himself."

It speaks to the character of good men, what they are willing to set aside their own safety to protect.  Reminds me why I am a vet and why I would rather die with good men than hide with cowards.

[Zradix]

Originally posted by Big_Al:
I found these on another site, thought I would share them with the Gang:

QUOTES BY FRED BEAR


. . . there's more fun in hunting with the handicap of the bow than there is in hunting with the sureness of the gun.

That is why I do it. That's why my compound is dusty. That's why I'm having more fun NOT shooting a deer. That's why I'm typing now.....
What a ride!!!

[DannyBows]

Thanks for sharing these!

[Gary Logsdon]

Here's one that never made it to print until now, something Fred told me the last time we spoke: "Heck, I'm the luckiest guy I know, been able to go a lot of places and write myself a check for it!"  He was winking at me when he said it.

[Hud]

Great stuff, from one of greatest gentlement anywhere. Thanks for the advice, Fred. I think I'll print them and add your name.

[Brian Krebs]

I once asked him if he could pick one quote to be known for; and I expected on of the things mentioned above.
 He thought seriously about it for a while; and then looked at me and said 'pick a spot'.
 I have to admit I was kind of shocked; but the more I thought about it; the more sense it made.
 For with effort we all find ourselves with a shot at game- and taking that game is best done with an accurate precise shot.

 I miss that guy... big ears and all  

[twitchstick]

[bolong]

He also used to say "tracks make poor soup".

[elkhunter752]

These are great! Thanks for posting.

[Doug in MN]

Thanks so much for that.

[Ron LaClair]

I got a print from Bob Munger years ago. It was a fairly large black and white on plaster board that Bob had hanging in his office. Bob himself had taken the picture on a hunt that he had gone on with Fred after Polar Bear. Bob told me the story of that hunt.

Fred and Bob had stalked the bear in the ice packs. Fred had managed to put an arrow in the bears shoulder. The picture was taken over Freds shoulder just after he had shot the bear. You could see the back of Freds head, his shoulders and his bow as he was drawing to make another shot. You could see the bear with a black arrow HANGING from his shoulder. The photo was later used in some Bear ad's with the arrow removed.

Bob told me that the bear had spotted them and charged just after he snapped the picture. He said, "I was strapped in my snowshoes and couldn't run, I just crapped my pants" He said, "Fred stood his ground and shot the bear again just before the guide dropped it right in front of us with a rifle"

Bob signed the print for me and said if I could get Fred to sign it I'd really be lucky. Fred's health wasn't very good at the time and Bob didn't think he'd be making a trip to Michigan any time soon, Fred was living in Florida then.

The following summer Fred came to Michigan and attended the MBH Rendezvous. He was toting an oxygen bottle and they brought in some couches in the area where he sat. I walked up to him and laid the picture in his lap. He looked at the picture and then looked up at me with a surprised look and said, Where in the world did you get this?" I said from your old buddy Bob. He signed it and now I'd like you to sign it too. Fred signed the picture and held it in his hands for a long moment looking at it. Then he gave a sigh, shook his head and said   "Boy...I sure remember that day"  

Living all my life in Michigan and not too far from Grayling where the Bear factory was located, I got to see and talk with Fred many times over the years. That summer was the last time I saw him, he passed away the following spring.

[Bakes168]

Great stuff...wish I could have met the man.

[bornagainbowhunter]

Thank you.