Sept. Ituksum Bear Hunt - We're Back !!

[Ted Fry]

Come on Rick, were waiting!

[Rick Wiltshire]

Looking behind me and to my right I noticed a rather large black shape slowly making its way to the bait.  The trail would take it right behind me and then to my left toward the bait.  I waited till it passed me on the left and put my book and glasses (yeah I need glasses to read) away and readied for a shot.  When it was about 5 yards from the bait and just a few yards away from me it suddenly stopped and bolted like it was showered in boiling water.  It was then that I heard what the bear heard, and it did not sound very nice.

[B.O.D.]

was it Leroy?, yellin' at himself????          :p

[Golden Hawk]

Nope!! Not even close!

[sswv]

sorry to hear about your lost bear LeRoy!  hopefully she did survive and the cubs will be okay. did anyone in your group kill a bear? like to see some pictures and maybe a story or two about the equipment used.

[Ted Fry]

Somebody else yelling at Leroy?

[B.O.D.]

       

[Rick Wiltshire]

From deeper in the woods to my right I heard loud growling, popping and other various nasty sounds and I thought – here comes an even bigger bear – my anticipation of the impending letting of blood was heightened.  Within a few minutes I was able to pick up the padding of bear feet headed toward the bait.  Sure enough here comes the bear – A CUB!!!  Now I know it was momma that was making the sounds and she still in the bush.  Booboo was tearing away at the bait and I was looking for mama and I noticed a big, black, four legged creature moving toward the bait from a different direction of her cub.  Unfortunately, this time she was down wind of me and sure enough she caught my wind, rose and pivoted on her hind legs and bolted.  In short order she had circled the bait and was in the bush on the opposite side of the bait trying to convince her cub to abandon the bait and join her. About 30 minutes after hitting the bait the cub wandered off.  Exciting, but no shot.

But that is not the end of the evening.

[MI_Bowhunter]

I saw two squirrels!

[Rick Wiltshire]

With BooBoo and momma gone, and about 45 minutes of shooting light left, the woods quieted down, the small creatures came back to the bait to see what easy pickings were available.  I sat on stand, reviewed the excitement of the previous few minutes and figured now would be a good time for that other bear, that was run off right and the start, to come back and wipe out the rest of the bait.  With only 15 minutes of shooting light left, coming from the same direction as it first headed toward the bait, here comes the bear!!

[Rick Wiltshire]

Walking with confidence and not fearful of anything in the woods the bear padded onward to the bait.  It was the cub again, but this time I did not see mom.  Light was rapidly fading and I found myself located between a cub on bait and mom somewhere in the woods behind me.  In an effort to get the cub off the bait I broke sticks and threw any stick or branch that I could find in the direction of the cub.  The cub never flinched and still no sound from mom.  In order to get out from the stand I had to walk right between the cub and mom.  So I had to decide if I wanted to wait out the cub and leave the woods in total darkness, not having the ability to see anything coming my way, or leave as quickly and quietly as possible while still being able to see forms and shapes in the woods.  Knowing that I would not be able to get off a shot if it was too dark, I decided to leave.

By the time I got to the bottom of my stand and knocked an arrow, the cub was still on the bait and still not sure of mom’s location I hit the trail as fast as possible.  Fortunately I never saw or heard mom, but had my heart rate up for awhile.

No shot, but great memory!!

Ted – does that remind you of getting Carl off the bait this year at Weitas?

[whitebuffalo]

Soundin like you fellas had a good time..

Seeya soon Leroy,,Its lookin good in Leota,,Deer sign is great where the big acorns are and we found a fresh buck rub today, Deer sign is looking very promising,,Jason

[MI_Bowhunter]

While I saw no bears during my stay, I saw plenty of beautiful scenery and other critters.    Much time was spent joking and sharing stories around the dinner table (We never had a bad meal).    Knowledge was shared, new friendships were formed and memories were made.

That in itself made it a successful hunt.      

As a side note, I stopped off at my cabin in MI on the way back from Bear camp.  Not even a mile from my cabin I saw and was able to tape a beautiful bull moose.  I followed him approx 1/4 mile down an old road before he finally took cover in the brush.

[cjones]

Glad to see you all made it back in one piece and nobody got ate. Keep the stories coming!  

[Golden Hawk]

Hey that's cool Mike! You're right about the meals and the memories. Great Times with Great People! That itself made it worth the trip.

[B.O.D.]

LeRoy, did you fellas forget your CAMERAS????                      

BD

[Golden Hawk]

I'm sure Rick will have the critter cam pics up soon. I know Jesse got some wolf pics.

[Tim Fishell]

Sounds like a great time guys.  Keep the stories comming.

[JC]

Great so far....got me remembering my wonderful trip from June. The North Woods are a special place indeed.

Now, fer the rest of yer stories? And pics...we GOT to have more pics  :D

[MI_Bowhunter]

Here's a vidcap of the moose:

 

What software can I use to get DVD video into a postable format?    I dubbed it from the tape to a DVD but am not familiar with how to get it into a format that I can post on photobucket or some other host.