Bear Quest V -- Stories for all Posts

[Missouri CK]

Ben,

We may ride you like a three dollar pony about your flatulence but I'm going to give you some serious props for this picture.

Old school and just plain cool!  Doesn't get much better than that.

I couldn't have been happier to carry that bear out with you that night.  You did good brother!

[steadman]

Amen Chris! I hope to share a camp with you fellas again in the near future.  

[Missouri CK]

Here is a couple of pictures of a bait run on the water.  The true northwoods experience.  Nothing like cruising (if you can call it that witha 25 horsepower motor) across the water on an early morning to check out the bait sites.

 

This picture tells you all you need to know about Mike O'Connell.  Wapiti Mike was a hoot!

[Whip]

The best part of being in bear camp is sharing the stories and the time in camp.  You guys are doing such a great job that it makes it a little bit easier for me having had to miss it again.  Reading this thread is almost like sitting at that kichen table sharing the tales with you.
Thanks for the efforts you are all putting into this!  It is an annual classic!

[buckeye_hunter]

Chris,

Her leg was fine, but her fur was rubbed off in a few places. There were a number of sows hitting the site. A sow with only one cub. Another with 2 and yet another sow with 3 cubs. I believe they saw a different one as well with cubs also on the trail cam. You shot a boar and I shot a dry sow without cubs. That makes at least 11 different bears (including cubs) hitting the site that I know of and certainly even more than that. I can understnd why there was a fight in there with that many little ones present.

[ksbowman]

Thanks, Chris I had a great hunt and the brotherhood was unbeatable!

[Pierre Lucas]

Great thread guys...  

[Missouri CK]

After my honey burn bear came in around 4:30 it was quiet except for a couple of snowshoe rabbits that came in during the early evening.  

They are noisy little suckers hopping around.

[wapitimike1]

BQ 5 was a outstanding hunt with a bunch of great folks. Baiten and chasen bears is about as fun as it gets. (as long as you dont haveta drive up there 3 weeks in a row!!!) I had fun hangen with everyone of you guys listenen to storys of each hunt and seeing so much sucess in camp was great. It was truely a pleasure meeting new TGer's and seeing old friends. That's the beauty of those kinds of hunts just hangen and haven fun. Hopefully the boys in week two will be able to match our sucess. Happy Hunten fella's here's to safe and more successful 2011

[zipper bowss]

Great stories folks!I'm realy enjoying them.
Bill

[Missouri CK]

I had plenty of time to reflect upon my trip while I was waiting for the twilight hour to come.  I could have shot two bears by now but passed on the opportunities and I was starting to feel some conflict that I might not have another chance. There were only two days left and while up to this point I had committed myself to holding out for decent bear I started to have some doubts.  I wanted the situation to “feel right”.  The green light had never really gone off in my head up to that point. But I know what it feels like to go home empty handed from a hunt and I was hoping for another opportunity.  
All the previous nights I had been pretty calm on stand, but now I could feel some anxiety starting to build. Around 8:45 doubt started to creep in to my mind. It was getting late and nothing had come into the bait.  All I had seen was the periodic hallucination of a black spot that hadn’t been there previously.  They always turned out to be the changes in the shadows that happen in the twilight hours. I tried to fight the feeling of pessimism because things can change quickly.  
Suddenly around 9 o’clock I started hearing some sounds beyond the crib. The anticipation of a bear started to churn in my gut as I knew something was close.  I was ready and when I saw a black form moving up from my left in the front of the crib my eyes opened wide.  I saw ears and and a head that looked good.  “A shooter” was my blink reaction.  I tried to turn on my camera in the failing light but the power switch made the faintest click as it came on.  The bear locked up and looked right at me.  Crap!   The bear ran back into woods and stopped.  Then another bear sprinted off towards the right, crashing through the brush.  Was it the first bear or was it another one there? Had I just screw up an encounter with a good looking bear?  

Over the next agonizing 20 minutes I could hear the bear working back to my left and behind the crib.  I wasn’t even trying to look. I kept my body painfully still to the point that my back cramped up once.   These bears were skittish and I was going to be still as a church mouse.  By 9:15 darkness was closing in on the site.  I found myself pleading with the bear to hurry up.  It was closing in but terribly slow.  I could hear its mouth making smacking noises and low guttural verbalizations.  I was using my peripheral vision as it came from behind me and to my left.  Tension on the string grew as I could tell it was a good bear.

[Kip]

Mike I have a pretty good pic of your bear if you want me to post it.Kip

[Missouri CK]

Just as I started to draw I could see the bouncing body of a teddy bear cub trailing its mom.  The string tension faded as soon as it came into the picture.  My body relaxed and I actually smiled.  I enjoyed the spectacle of this beautiful bear and the fuzzy cub.  I can’t say part of me wanted to shoot her because she was the nicest bear I had seen up to this point but it wouldn’t have felt right.   The cub went up virtually every tree around the crib as its mom moved around the bait site.
 

 Sure enough it eventually moved directly under my stand.  I was anticipating its next move as it started to scramble up the tree in a clawing, scratching pole climbing technique.  I stood quickly as I heard it coming my way and shifted my bow to place it directly in the path of the upward moving cub.  I could tell it startled the cub and gave it pause.  I was afraid he was going to spiral around me where I couldn’t stop him but he didn’t.  The sow was looking me over good by now and came up on her back legs once.  I could have reached out and touched the cub it was that close to me.  Soon the cub returned to the ground.  I turned my bow back upright which was finally enough movement for the sow to decide to leave.

[Missouri CK]

The encounter left me high on a charge of adrenaline.  My body was warm and my senses were charged with the excitement it had provided.  It was basically dark by now, but the moonlight in the background was illuminating the crib really well.  My watch read 9:25 so I decided to give it 5 more minutes.   No sooner after I looked at my watch I heard more branches breaking around the perimeter of the crib.  Another bear was here as the sow had moved off in the opposite direction.  Once again my mind was bargaining with the bear to move in faster.  I could hear my pulse in my own ears as my heart rate increased with the prospect that my evening might not be over yet.

[Missouri CK]

Two minutes passed but he was close.  I could hear his paws on the ground.  He was coming in from the same direction as the sow had.  My body was a statue with my fingers on the string and my eyes wide to catch any movement on the periphery.  When I first saw him my blink reaction was that he was small but his hair was thick. It didn’t really matter at this point.  He was coming in at a quartering away angle that would be perfect.  As his hindquarters past by I started to draw.  In an attempt to keep the rest of my body still yet lean forward into the downward angle of the shot, my arrow made a slight jump on the shelf as I drew it back.  He locked up and turned his head at the sound which changed my quartering away shot to one where the bear’s front half was now quartering to me.  I was at full draw by that point though and I tried to shift my aim back slightly to account for this change. The arrow still looked good and the bear was at 4 yards at this point.   The beman arrow and Simmons head hit him hard and he growled and twisted as he ran to my right. I rose to my feet and could make him out as he cartwheeled head over feet through the brush. He looked like he was hurt bad.  He had basically moved directly down the entry path that was used to enter the stand.  I heard him moving in the brush close by.  It sounded like he was down as all went quiet.  Still, I couldn’t tell as death moan never occurred.  Here are the pictures of him as he came into the crib.  You can see him reacting to the shot in the second picture.  
 

[WhiteOaks]

   

Awesome story telling so far.
I'm on the edge of my seat.

[LimBender]

Great stories and pics.  Buckeye when you said you felt something warm on your leg I was thinking something different after that story.      

Glad to see 2 Louisiana boys getting in on the action!

[buckeye_hunter]

Chris,

I looked that picture over again and I see what you were talking about. The hair is completely stripped on her lower front leg near the ankle joint. It didn't seem to be bothering her. Maybe she got caught up in a snare, but made it out ok?

I also didn't realize you never heard the death moan. I bet you had a second or two of thought about that heading down the trail near dark....

Congratulations again!  

[Kip]

I did not mention the gear I used.My bow was a Bob Lee 15" short riser with 60" longbow limbs 50@28".A lotta limb and little bit of riser for a very smooth bow.29" 2018 with 4 blade magnus broadheads.A four arrow EFA quiver  made a nice little package.Bear weight was 193lbs.Kip

[Kip]

I don't think Bill Terry is a member here so I will post his pic heck of a nice guy and worlds of experience.Also a few other pics I had.
 
Our attempt of a group picture on way back so a few guys not included
 
This one Tom Porter held the camera and has a better background.
 
Tilly the camp dog.Little dog with a loud bark.she is thinking "Where is your derby Tom"