I should have known it was going to be an interesting day when realized I forgot my camera.
I set up my jake decoy facing me about 12 yards out on a small plateau and got nestled in front of a giant clump of vines and multiflora that was climbing a decent sized tree trunk. It was a perfect set up for the ghillie. I had dense cover behind and some sparse stuff in front.
After about an hour, I see movement and hear a twig break off to my left. I turn my head and I see a black bear about 10 yards away! It had no clue I was there, and it apparently did not know I was there either. I watched it lumbering about, stopping now and again to scratch itself. It spotted my jake and slowly approached it from behind, sniffing the air hard. It was upwind of me. It started to paw at my plastic shell of a decoy and I though “HOW COOL”! I wish I had my camera! Then it started to get behind the decoy and actually bit the head of my jake!
OK, that’s enough of that! I was not going to let it destroy my decoy. So I stand up and get its attention. I took a step back, but did not seem too alarmed. I took off my head net so it could see I was a person and was expecting it to run away at any moment. It just looked at me quizzically. Now, my heart is beginning to pound harder. This thing is not scared!
I approached it a few more loud steps and it ran back a few bounds to where it approached from my left. Still quizzical, it would start coming toward me sniffing after I stopped pursuing. Now, it was behind me. Great. I can’t turkey hunt with this thing behind me! So I again walked toward it. Same deal. Just kept coming back. I reached down and threw some large chunks of bark that came down from a dead tree. It would go over to the chunks after they landed and sniff them. Great, now I am playing fetch with an adult black bear! Finally I decide to full out charge the bear and run toward it. I run about 15 yards and it runs about the same distance, stops, and starts to return again.
OK, done playing nice. I grabbed a steel blunt arrow from my quiver and decide to try to sting this thing in the ass and get it some fear of humans. I really did not want to hurt it badly though, and the 60 pound bow with heavy wood shaft would get some penetration…. I decide to try to short draw it. It was sitting about 15 yards at the base of a tree. I took aim at his big ole rump, and let fly. Of course I missed low….doh!!!
It bounded off a couple more steps and started turning over logs looking for bugs! Amazing!!!
Finally it lumbers off up the hill. I got back in my hiding spot, but it was very hard to keep still after that, and I kept looking behind me. I think the bear was a teen / adult but probably not over 150 pounds. Larger than a deer by far, but not the huge rumped gal I saw in my backyard before.
As things quieted down I hear a twig snap from the same area the bear came. Oh boy, is it back? A turkey??? Nope, 3 deer. They were slowly feeding and moving by me. It would have been another easy shot at 10 yards had they been in season. This Ghillie suit hunting is getting more and more exciting.
So I never did see any turkey that morning…but boy was it exciting!
I NEED to carry that camera every time!
Topic: Black Bear attacked my turkey decoy! (Read 598 times)
