An Emotional Rollercoaster Ride - My 2013 Manitoba Black Bear Hunt

[Hunter 709]

With no luck with the bears in 2012, I wanted to get back out and try again in 2013. I was also motivated by the fact that I picked up a "New to me" Cari-bow Silverfox hybrid longbow and wanted to try it out.  The spring was very late here in Manitoba so I didn't get my bait running until May 11th.  After two weeks I ventured back to my bait site to find the barrels hit.  My first two evening sits on May 25th and June 1st were pretty uneventful.  I saw bears but nothing I wanted to shoot.

June 8th was my last opportunity to hunt for the spring season. Leaving Winnipeg at 3:30 pm with a buddy who came along for the hunt, I had no idea what kind of an evening I would have. The first  problem we encountered was a bridge closed due to construction, it took 45 minutes to find an alternate route into my bait site. I was annoyed at the lost time but it was okay we still had the whole evening.

We finally got to the bait, hung an additional stand (spooking a small bear off the bait as we walked it). Next we took a few practice confidence builder shots and headed to the tree to settle in for the evenings hunt.

[Hunter 709]

Once in the tree I could tell we would need the thermcell, the mosquitoes were definitely out in full force.  Once I got it fired up we got quiet and waited for the action to start. I soon noticed that the wood ticks had also multiplied and began picking them off myself.

The action started with in an hour and we were treated to a Momma and two cubs. Those little guys were pretty cute.

 

 

[Hunter 709]

The evening was going great, next we were treated to a bear I called "Rolly".  He absolutely loved the popcorn I put out in front of the barrels with the hope of holding a shooter bears attention in front of the barrels long enough to get a shot.  It not only held "Rolly's" attention but he literally rolled in it almost doing somersaults.  It was hilarious, we had a hard time not laughing out loud at the antics of this young bear.

 

 

[oldskool]

   

[Hunter 709]

Next things got a bit more serious as a larger bear came in to the bait. It was very aggressive and cleared the others out of the area very quickly. It wasn't a huge bear but it was the biggest I had seen and I started to seriously think about taking the shot.  It meandered off without presenting a shot opportunity that I was comfortable with.

I decided that if it came back I would take the shot.  Well within half an hour it was back once again clearing out the smaller bear off the bait.  It chased a smaller bear at least 20 ft up a tree and made sure he new not to come back, we saw that smaller bear later on and he was limping, I guess it got a lickin'.

The aggressive bear came back and started to feed again. It stood up noticing another bear approaching and walked a few steps behind the barrels. My opportunity was starting me in the face, sting tight, full draw, back tension, release.

   

[Hunter 709]

I picked a spot and everything, but I completely missed just shaving a few hair off it's back. It didn't even move, it just stood there trying to figure out what that weird noise was.

Slowly it wandered off out of sight.  I stood there stunned knowing full well I had just blew my shot opportunity.  I sat down buried my head in my hands and tried to stop shaking.

I always hope for a clean hit or a clean miss. At least I hadn't wounded the bear but I was totally bummed. Bow hunting can be an emotional roller-coaster ride. I had been a great evening up to this point but now I was upset at myself for the miss. I just continued to sit there trying to calm down in case I got another chance.

[Hunter 709]

Well half an hour later here comes the bear again back to the bait. The evening was getting on but we still had lots of light. As luck would have it the bear walked in front of the barrels giving me a 17 yard redemption shot.  I drew my bow and picked my spot, the arrow was on it's way and it felt good. I connected and made a perfect shot.  The bear ran 30 yards and flopped over.  My mood completely changed from down in the dumps to ecstatic about the shot I had just made and was just happy to be in the forest and share the experience with my buddy.

I decided with an animal down there was time to get everything out of the tree and back to the truck before pictures and the skinning job.  That should take 15 minutes or so I thought, man was I wrong.

[Hunter 709]

I drive a 2002 Honda CRV which isn't the best for off roading but its all I have. The old logging trail I use to get to the bait has deep ruts. As I moved CRV a little closer to the bait I snagged the evap canister attached to the under carriage and basicly ripped it off. There were still wires attached but it was dragging by the axle.  That's a problem.  Not knowing what the part was that I had just severed from my vehicle a bit of panic set in. There was no cel coverage and we were and roughly 5 miles from the nearest house, it's almost dark and there are bears all around us.

Well some quick thinking from my buddy and we soon had the truck jacked up and were able to secure "MacGyver" the part in place with some rachet straps we had used for the tree stands. It wasn't pretty but it would hold.

The problem now was it was totally dark and I still had an animal to skin.

 

[Hunter 709]

We got to my bear and found it dead on the forest floor exactly where it had gone down.  All this time I had thought I shot a boar. Turning the animal over I instantly saw it was a sow.  Shooting a dry sow is legal in Manitoba but I wouldn't knowingly shoot one.  So once again my mood changed from being happy with our truck repair and finding the animal to being upset at shooting a dry sow.  I took comfort in the fact that I had made an excellent shot and that she had died very quickly.

Don't get me wrong I am more than happy with this bear but I still wished I had been a better judge of it's sex. My inexperience with bear hunting was once again showing.  We snapped a few pics and got to the task of skinning.

   

[VictoryHunter]

Congrats! That is a great bear    

[Hunter 709]

I am not a great skinner and this is only my second bear that I have skinned, but I managed with the help of my friend and the lights of the truck.  The mosquitoes were ferocious but we got the hide and the meat and were on our way home.

The evening turned into morning and we arrived back in Winnipeg about 12:30am. We unpacked the truck and I got the meat in the fridge and the hide in the freezer. I was exhausted and after pulling off four more ticks and a quick shower I hit the sack.

The meat was off to the butcher a few days later and we got it back in time to enjoy a bear burger BBQ for fathers day. The ground meat (mixed with 50% pork) is excellent, it is very nice to have bear meat again to enjoy and share.  

   

Thanks for reading my story. As many people have said on TG before trad bowhunting is about the journey and not an end result. Although I did get a positive result I would definitely say my spring bear hunt was about the journey. On the drive home my friend and I were laughing about the events of the evening even though a few hours prior we weren't laughing at all (broken truck).  At the end of the day hunting is about the memories and the chance to share the great outdoors with family and friends. So all in all this was a very successful hunt.

[Longbowz]

What's a hunting story without a little vehicle repair!    

[Hunter 709]

For those interested, I used a Cari-bow Silverfox hybrid longbow 53lbs@28", FMJ arrows with 250 gr VPA three-blade broad heads. I was very pleased with this set up and am looking forward to the Manitoba Whitetail season this fall.

[Herdbull]

Nice job. Thanks.

[Mike Vines]

Nice job.  Thank you for sharing the experience with us.

[Cari-bow]

Congratulation Earl!!
Always nice to have a story to tell along with the success and meat on the table.
Enjoy. Abe

[Joeabowhunter]

Congratulations.  I love bear hunting in Manitoba!  

[oldskool]

   

[lone hunter]

Well done. Thanks for the story.

[FerretWYO]

The ups and downs are why we do it.

Congrats.