I just returned from my bear hunt in Ontario and, man, was it a blast! Ten of us from the United Bowhunters of Missouri went on this hunt and nine of us came back with bears. Our guide was Doug Park of Wolf River Bear Baits.
The picture below is of me and my bear just after I found him. I am wet, cold, and my mascara is running but I am one happy hunter! You always hear horror stories about tracking bears through the thick brush so I was quite proud of myself for making a clean hit. My bear only went about 30 yards before piling up. He weighed 130 pounds and we suspect was around 3 years old. One thing is for sure; he's a trophy in my book! He's the first bear I saw in the stand and the first bear I have ever killed.
Here is a link to a 2 minute video of the actual shot. The bear came in 4 times before I was given a good opportunity. The video, however, is a bit deceiving. It looks like I am 30 feet up in the tree, the bear is waaay out there, and I hit him high. Actually, I'm only 10 feet up, the shot was only 15 yards, and I hit him perfect through both lungs. The only thing that is correct is the wind! The reason for the apparent lack of penetration is that I always aim for the off shoulder and I hit the bone on that side. The arrow actually went in about 3/4 of the way before bouncing out. He ran by my tree after the hit and broke the shaft off on its trunk. If you listen closely, you can hear his death moan in the last 5 seconds or so. That is one eerie sound!
The Kill Shot I killed this bear with a Thunderstick Mag 2-piece longbow and a homemade ash arrow tipped with a 200 grain Ace SuperExpress broadhead.
Darren