Quebec Bear Hunt--2 Bears Arrowed on Video--added pg 42!!

[JC]

Not long after dark Tom showed to pick me up. He was quite excited to hear of the shot...also telling me that Bowdoc had taken one already too. Eric didn't get any action but still wanted to sit the stand the following day, he had a good feeling.

Back at camp everyone was enthusiastic and heaped  congratulations on me. We would go out and find the obviously dead bear in the morning. The nagging feeling remained...previously I had all but one trad-shot animal fall in site...or at least a fairly short trail. By the best of my ability, this animal would make 21 straight animals that had fallen without fail. To say I didn't sleep good was an understatement. Balancing between confidence of a good shot and trepedation over the fear of a poor one was agonizing. I recalled the bitter memories of lost game with my compound; there hadn't been many but I could clearly recall each...and did as I drifted off to sleep late that night.

[Ray Hammond]

two to three miles apart at least...but there are LOTS of bears, Keith.

[Huntrdfk@Work]

Hey JC great story, kinda unnerving trailing a hit bear near dark in that area isn't it?  Keep it coming.......


David

[keith brimmer]

so ray ,sounds like you had fun would you do this again?lol

[d. ward]

Meanwhile back at the ranch,bowdoc and big bear Bob was cooken up some lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bd

[JC]

6/24/07 The next morning Tom, Ray, and Eric volunteered to help me with the dragging. Arriving at the stand site I replayed the shot and showed them to the arrow I had left on trail where I found it. Everyone seemed confident it would be fine. The moss made the search for blood difficult...and trailing commenced using signs of disturbed vegetation. It looked like the bear turned toward the creek...a good sign. Tom found the back 1/4 of my shaft right before the creek, blood halfway up the feathers but the shaft did not pass through. My mind raced as I replayed the film of the hit in my head...how could that much shaft be sticking out of the chest cavity if the fletching wasn't inside the bear? The doubt grew....

Tom also was the first to find blood across the creek. We commenced trailing...finding enough blood to make the going easy for the first 100 yards or so. Soon thereafter though, it became sporadic...then downright difficult. Halfway up the steep, jungle-like hillside, we lost the trail breifly. I'll say this, I have been on a lot of bloodtrails...and think my self a pretty good tracker...but the team of trackers assembled with me made an increasingly difficult trail an educating experience. Ray complained of his vision difficulties at short distances so he worked "from a distance" pointing out blood from 20 feet away as we stood near it but couldn't see! One would lose the trail...only to have it picked up by another. On and on this went up the hill. Three hours or so later, we realized the bear had traveled a good 500+ yards, with no real blood to speak of. It never bedded, never went to water again...seemingly meandering through the woods non-plussed, switching trails at random. Eventually, the trail stopped. We searched, hands and knees in a 10-20 yard circle...the day grew hot and well past the time we had alloted for retrieval. My comrades sat quietly, waiting for me to make the hard decision. All agreed they would continue on if I wanted to. But with nothing to continue on with....the bile rose in my throat. It was somber...their best efforts to console me certainly eased the pain...and the history of past experiences, both my own lost animals and trials when I had stood in my friends shoes, brought the finality with less anguish than the first time I had experienced it. I certainly didn't throw a fit, and kept a good face for my brothers...but they each new the complex whirlpool emotions that spun in my heart.

Compass bearing back towards the road, we hoofed it down the hill. I lead, mainly to releave some of my own tension...privately reassuring myself the bear would be fine...I would get other opportunities and the next time would be different.

We broke out of the treeline to a gorgeous day....

   

[Ray Hammond]

I'm already signed up, Keith

[JC]

A few pics of the beautiful landscape later (Ray might have one or two), we headed toward the road, and eventually the truck back to camp.

Everyone was understanding back at the camp...veterans of their own such lost battles, it was good to be in the company of those that really understood the extent of the highs and lows of our chosen lifestyle.

Lunch was good, don't remember what it was but of course Bowdoc laid out a spread that filled 12 hungry bellies...and some of those bellies were used to super-size    Yet another heart-felt thanks to Don for all his culinary efforts, Tom and his crew for planning the larder so well, and everyone else in camp who pitched in with the cleaning of dishes etc.

Tippit consoled me privately, reassuring me there would be other chances. As we skinned a bear, can't remember whose right now because my knife was on most all of them at one point or another, he gave me a detailed anatomy lesson and his synopsis of the arrow's path. Lots of loose hide, fat, muscle....I had simply hit too high, never penetrating the ribcage and causing a superficial musclar hit. There's just no way that arrow could have gone into vitals from that angle and it not died very quickly. It helped...some   :confused:  .

After the chores, re-sharpening, and a few good laughs I felt normal, ready to sit the same stand in hopes that the bear would return and I could close the book on this upsetting chapter with a happy ending.

Eric and I left to bait and sit our same stands...

[keith brimmer]

JC i can feel your pain thru the computer,been there.keep it coming

[JC]

One bear came in that night....a VERY big bear...but one entire side of his hair was rubbed completely down to the skin, giving him an appearence of a walking, blank billboard. He offered 2 shots as he carefully surveyed the scene and grabbed a snack. He woofed at me from the brush as I came down at dark. I'm not ashamed to say I had my flashlight on even though I could see without it...and I backed my way down most of the trail facing the direction of the "woof". Back out in the open the adrenaline subsided...and a smile crossed my face as I realized there just may be another chance.

6/25/07 I can't remember who shot bears the night before but there were a few..and the celebration and tales went well into the night. Bright sunshine beaming through the shade of the cabin made me think I had slept through the day...but the latitude proved to be the culprit as it was only 5:30am. We had some chores to do, moving our gear from the temporary cabin to the one next to the rest of the guys and bears to skin. It went quickly with much laughter and good natured prodding...as if 12 brothers were reunited after a long seperation.

[Charlie Lamb]

           

[JC]

I had decided to give "mile marker 42" a rest that evening and offered to help bait the stands on the water in the hopes of seeing something new and different. Tom suggested a stand that had been set and baited but never hunted, high on a hillside overlooking the lake on a bench that looked like a natural road...a potential funnel for the bears.

Though the bait had not been hit since the baiting the day before, I liked the spot and looked forward to the evening hunt with renewed interest.

Back at camp for a quick nap and a bite to eat, we suited up. Jeff would hunt the stand Brian had killed a bear off of the night before, also on the water, I would hunt the new stand that looked so promising. Brian, now tagless, generously offered to ferry us out, dropping me first. As the boat pulled away, a gentle breeze cooled the sweat I worked up coming up the steep hill. The entertainment of squirrels, mice, and chipmunks began almost immediately...each one seemingly with their own individual personalities. The time passed quickly, but no bears showed. I heard a boat gently motor into the cove and took it as my cue to slip down. It was almost too dark to shoot in the woods anyway so I carefully picked my way down the hill.

In the cove, there was no boat...but the sunset made trip worth while.

   

[JC]

Brian was surprised that I didn't see bears...it seems as if most every stand, even the new ones had at least some activity. He very quickly offered his experienced opinion...it probably wasn't worth hunting again unless something showed to be regularly hitting the bait. I certainly wasn't disappointed however, it was a good looking site...and as I said, the picturesque landscape made it worthwhile.

   

We picked up Tippit who didn't have any bears either, but like me, he was smiling and having the time of his life.

I can't remember if it was that night or the night before that we ate steamers: steamed clams with melted butter...and rainbow trout. To say I ate too much was an understatement, but it was absoultely unavoidable. The hunting camp, good friends, superb food...it was a recipe for revelry. By this time Bowdoc, Bob, Steve, Eric, Brian, and I believe Ray had all killed bears. Barry's stories, Bowdoc's antics, tales of the succesful hunts from the rest flowed freely. It is a night permanently etched into the pages of my memory.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

           

[Whip]

I'm sitting in a NM motel lobby trying to get my fill of the stories from this trip.        

[JC]

Good luck on the scouting Joe! We've got to talk when you get back....Austrailia or return to Canada...it's going to be a tough decision!  

[Whip]

So many hunts, so little time my freind.  But I'm not complaining mind you.....  

[Greg in Delton MI]

I just got back last weekend from Quebec,(Week of 24th -30th) we were a party of 4 from Michigan and we went 75%, the forth almost made it having seen 5 bears over the week and just couldn't get the right shot. Our bears scaled 240, 195, and 180 in the round. I have 12 trail cam pictures of a bruiser that should make B&C and exceeds 400#s he is bigger than the 400 pounder I took in '03 that went 20 3/4". What a trip, I love Quebec and the Laurentian Mountains.. Gibb took his bear with a stone point and his Caribow longbow, Zupko with a 59' Grizzly and a Phantom, I took mine with my Robertson and a 200 grain Razorcap.

[Greg in Delton MI]

[Greg in Delton MI]