Ontario Bear Hunt 2011 (we're back-pic heavy)

[leatherneck]

5-bedrooms,large living room,kitchen,2-showers/toilets. What more could a hunter ask for.

We got there at around 9:30 pm and sat down with a cold one. Not long after out arrival we meet our guide,JF.(his girlfriend Jen)

 

[leatherneck]

We got a good nights sleep and woke on 8-14-11 to get gear ready and go check baits and hang stands.

Michael unpacking/organizing his bow.

 

[leatherneck]

This is just a sight that any bear should fear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

 

[wooddamon1]

It's awesome to check on this and see it's going great! Man how I'd love to hunt bears some day...I think I'll start some research on a hunt for next fall!  

[leatherneck]

We all ventured out to our bait sites to check and pick baits. 3 of 4 had been hit the night before which was a good sign.

Here is my stand that I would also call home for an extended period of time.

Lucky me,everybody else had the metal ladder stands. I pick the one with a pallet in the tree.    


   


Keep the image of the tree to the right where the seat is. It will come into play later.

[longbowben]

Now its getting good.That looks like a real comfortable stand.  

[leatherneck]

Now I always bring my own stand whenever I go hunting. I let the guide talk me into using this stand instead of my own. Plus,I'm a whitetail hunter and being only 10 feet off the ground was just not what I was used to.

Bad move..............for my butt that is.


Here is a pic of my bait barrel from the stand. 13 yards to the barrel.

     


Keep in mind our baits were 25 miles one way from camp. 7 on main road and 18 on a dirt road. My poor black truck paid the price...

 

[leatherneck]

OK, stands done,we headed back to camp to get licenses,eat and relax.

Michael taking a break and Rob cooking up some grub.

 

 

[leatherneck]

The guide informed us that a couple of the baits were also being hit early in the AM so we all decided to go on stand in the dark and sit all day.
Yes,the possibility of sitting 15 hours on that wooden platform made me wish I would have hung my Gorilla.    

0500 came way too early on Monday the 15th.......

[leatherneck]

Monday 8-15-11 0600

Opening day found us heading to our stands. We took one quad and the truck and headed out. Once at the crossroads, myself and Michael would take the bike and the other guys would continue with the truck.

I dropped Michael at his bait trail head and headed to mine. Heres me checking the barrel and throwing more bait in. A little depressing that it had not been hit last night but thats hunting.

   

This pic was taken from my trail cam that I had set up the day before.

[leatherneck]

I mentioned my secret bait early on. Not much of a secret but something I wanted to use. If you look on the ground around the bait you will see the big white dots. Those are giant marshmallows that are soaked in  vanilla extract. These wound up working better than planned.    

 

[leatherneck]

I climbed into my stand and now the wait begins......  

[leatherneck]

My wait would be short lived. At about 0620 just as daylight set in I hear a noise coming from the pines to the right of the barrel.

Now those who have bear hunted know that it's odd for a bear to make noise coming into a bait. I dont know how they do it with the thick forage and all,but one minute they are not there,the next they are. Like ghosts.

Anyhow, I hear this noise coming to me so I grab my bow. Figuring maybe I have a clumsy bear. Through the trees I see a black flash on the ground. Bear foot for sure......

[longbowben]

:eek:

[leatherneck]

My heart is pumping through my chest as I await my quary. He sure as heck was taking his time. I check my wind puffer and the wind was in my face. All is good, now just wait Mike.

I stand and wonder,how big is he? will I shoot him? Is it maybe a cub? Will my shot be true?

I catch a glimpse at the base of the pines and see that black paw looking thing again. Then all at once he steps out!!!!!

[leatherneck]

My excitement went from an adrenaline high to a giant release of a huge breath. All I was thinking now was please dont spray me in this short stand.
Old peppy gave me a good rush for sure.

 

[leatherneck]

After peppy ate on some of my marshmallows he left me to wait some more.
Thank God for the grinnys or my day would have been longer than it already was. I enjoyed watching them play around the bait while I waited.

At about 11:30 the guide came in to check on me and freshen up the site with some chicken grease. A welcome sight cause I had to stretch my legs a bit.

 

[leatherneck]

I walked to the truck with him just to stretch my legs a bit and get rid of my morning coffee. My little jug was already full!

 10 minutes later I was back on my stand....

[leatherneck]

During our chat the guide informed me that one of the other hunters in our group(not a trad guy) had stuck a good bear. Heres a trail cam pic of that bear the night before.
 
Unfortunately this bear was never recovered. This is just to show you that these guys have some nice bear up there. They had one weigh in at 470 last year. That is a full size 55 gallon drum there.

     

     

[leatherneck]

Back to my story.......

The hours ticked by and I started to get sleepy. Not to mention this stand was THE most uncomfortable stand I have ever sat.
Because the seat was at a different angle than the platform I could not lean against the tree. So I started standing on the seat in the right hand corner and leaning against the tree. Keep in mind my bow was hanging lower than me now.  
Again, this would play an important roll later...