Bear Quest 6 Start Your Engines!!!!

[Hood]

I really wish I could go on this hunt someday!

Great stories!!!

[hayslope]

Outstanding Jeff!!!!!          

Looks like you had the perfect pair of "trackers", but by the looks of that blood trail, you didn't need 'em much!  Given Don's "head wear" the bugs must have been making a good showing!!!

Looking forward to tasting "him" via some of that great CT-made bear sausage while at Denton!

 

[awbowman]

I love the "flat" black glass on that bow.

[Larry Surtees]

We finally made it to La Tuque.  Jeff and I checked into our room and had a great dinner and retired for the evening in anticipation of meeting the entire group the next morning.

 

 

 

[awbowman]

That's some pretty country

[Larry Surtees]

When 6 a.m. rolled around Saturday morning, we found the entire group and made introductions.  Most of the guys were pretty tired since they traveled all night.

 

We had a quick breakfast and then headed to the camp.  It would be about another hour before we actually arrived at the camp.

 

 

 

[Larry Surtees]

We finally made it to the camp.  The camp owners were great


 

 

[Larry Surtees]

After unpacking and storing the gear, we determined stand locations.  I had drawn a water bait.  I enjoy the solitude out on the water baits.  There were 3 out of the group that hunted the water baits on a regular basis.  

 

 


 


Bill Terry and I hunted water baits and traveled to and from camp to our stands together every day.  

 

 

[Larry Surtees]

I think I saw the most bears out of Group 1.  I was basically covered in bears every night.  I saw 7 bears the first night.  I wasn't in the stand more than an hour before I had my first visitor.

 

 

Although I was tempted to let an arrow fly the first night at one bear that looked pretty good, I waited to see what the next nights' might bring.  


 

 

[Izzy]

Wow Larry my friend, you passed on that???? Looks like a good one. Hope theres more to the tale.

[Larry Surtees]

Izzy, I have more to come.

[Larry Surtees]

I hunted a stand named the Sundown.  It was the furthest water bait.  So I would drop Bill Terry off at his stand named the blowdown and then head on to mine.

 

 

 

[Larry Surtees]

The second night on stand was the most exciting.  I saw a bear that I thought was a wildabeast (sp???).  It was rubbed pretty good.

 

 

 

 

 

[awbowman]

I'm looking for a BLOODY arrow.

[Larry Surtees]

The third night was a bit frightening to me.  I encountered a nice bear with a pretty coat not long after I climbed into my stand and got all set up.  It stayed in the crib for about 1/2 hour and then left.  

 


Then a female came in.  She was a beauty.  I was going to take her, but then 2 cubs came in.  They were small, and there was no way that I was going to shoot her.  She talked to her babies the entire time she was in there.  

   


 


 

After about 3/4 of an hour, I saw that she was eating all the bait and had no intention of leaving. It was fun to watch the cubs romping around and being 2 little clowns, but it was still early in the day, and I wanted to save some bait.  So I took an arrow and threw it at her.  It landed right beside her.  She let out a huffing sound and the babies ran up a tree.  She went over and looked at the arrow and then grunted a few times and I guess it was an all-clear message for the babies to come down.  She continued eating and the cubs continued playing and horsing (bearing) around.  She was such a pretty bear, but the angel on my right shoulder was louder and got through to me even though the devil on my left shoulder was really getting to me to shoot.


I decided I had to do something to get her and her cubs out of the bait.  So I stamped my foot on the bottom platform of my stand.  The babies each ran up a separate tree and momma ran about 10 feet and stopped and turned back toward me.  She seemed to be staring at me and then she turned toward the tree I was in and approached it quickly.  When she reached the bottom of my tree I could see her through the slats of my lock-on tree stand.  She pawed at the tree and then stood up and started swatting her paw at the underside of the lock-on.  My heart was racing and thoughts were running through my mind.  But I remained as still as possible and she finally turned and walked a few feet away and started grunting again.  She would walk a few steps and turn and look at me and continued to grunt.  Her babies started back down the tree very slowly and when they reached the ground, they joined momma and they walked out of the woods.  I was relieved that she had left and not started up my tree.  Besides there was not enough room for her and me on the stand together.

[Larry Surtees]

Continuing with the 3rd day hunt.  About an hour after momma and cubs left, I heard a lot of cracking in back of me.  There was still about an hour of light left before I wouldn't be able to shoot. It seemed like about every 10 minutes or so, I would hear some cracking and movement in a different direction.  The cracking was in a 360 degree diameter.  I'd hear it to the left of me and a few minutes later to the right of me.  But I couldn't see the culprit causing the cracking.  Then about 10 minutes before last light, I saw the bruiser.  It was a good bear.  It was very cautious about entering the bait site.  It remained too far out for a shot, and then it decided to come in and give me a nice broadside shot.  It was a picture perfect shot and as I drew back and let my string go, the bear stepped forward.  The arrow entered the bear and I could see about 4 inches of the arrow sticking out as the bear took off.  However, as the bear stepped forward, I knew that my arrow had hit further back than where it was suppose to go.  I waited about 20 minutes and didn't hear anything, so I quietly slipped down and returned to the boat.  We would track the bear the next morning.

[awbowman]

OHHHHHHHHHH YEA!!!!

Wait, I'll go get some coffee.

[buckeye_hunter]

Excellent story! Ready for the rest ANY time Larry.....

 

[zipper bowss]

Great stories so far!

Jeff that picture of the blood splatter looks like a GIANT bloody hand print!        

Larry if you get a chance give me a holler. I need to know what color Copperhead skins you prefer.
Bill

[hayslope]

OK Larry..........you have us "baited"!

That rubbed bear just has the latest fashion for Quebec.......a "mohawk 'do"!