As the week was winding down the brown one had yet to reappear. I also had not seen what I would call a true monster black either in person or on the trail camera. Saturday would be our last day to hunt, and on the drive out to hunt on Friday afternoon my resolve was beginning to weaken. I do enjoy bear meat, and decided that if I wanted to take a bear home I had better stop being quite so picky.
I was dropped off by our guide Sandy and as he rebaited the barrel I climbed into the stand.
When I settled in I realized I had forgotten my hat in the truck. I climbed back down to retrieve it while Sandy finished his chores.
The truck was only 50 yards away and as I cleared the brush to it I saw a nice black bear run across the road right next to the truck. We had apparently bumped a bruin from the bait when we arrived.
Bears are notoriously poor mathematicians, and I hoped this one would be back as soon as Sandy left. The sound of the truck had barely faded when I looked to my left to see a bear standing on the trail headed to the bait. He was standing in an opening and was actually closer to me on the trail than he would be at the bait. I decided to take the shot.
Just as a reached full draw the bear started to turn to leave. I rushed things a bit and dropped the string as he turned. My initial impression was a bit low and forward, but hoped it would be good. But as the bear ran off his reaction didn't seem quite like a mortally hit bear and my arrow was stuck deep in the dirt where he had stood. From my stand I couldn't see any blood on it and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I decided to wait a few minutes before climbing down to confirm what had happened. I had pulled the SD card from the trail camera when we arrived that afternoon and inserted it into my camera to review while I waited.
As I started to review the images a black bear head appeared 10 feet below me directly between my feet! The bear I had just shot at had a mostly black muzzle. The one below me was Rocky Balboa with his distincly colored muzzle, and obviously a different bear.
Here's Rocky again.
Now I was stuck in my stand and couldn't get down to check my arrow. So while Rocky fed his ugly face I went back to looking through the images from the trail camera. I found that the brown bear had been back! He had been there first thing at daylight, and again at 10am, 1pm, and 3:30. He was apparently hungry! There was also another good black that had visited frequently throughout the day.
Eventually Rocky left, and I climbed down to retrieve my arrow. My fears were confirmed - the arrow showed no signs of a hit.
I hadn't been back in my stand more than 20 minutes when another bear appeared. It was a black, and had a similar colored muzzle to the bear I had missed. But I was fairly certain that it was a different bear as it didn't appear to be as round as the first one and the head not quite as wide. It really didn't matter though. The trail camera images had restored my resolve. I would wait for the brown one or go home with nothing.
The most recent visitor finished his dinner and left me alone once again. Shortly after 8pm I looked over my shoulder and caught movement in the brush. Brownie was here! But he slowly turned and left, and I wondered if once again he was too smart to come in while I sat in the tree. My wait was short this time though. Ten minutes later his head appeared directly under my stand in the same spot that Rocky had stood earlier. He slowly crept in to the open and approached the bait.
There was no question this was the bear that I wanted and I had a serious talk with myself to make a good shot. I am a firm believer that broadside is the best shot on bears and promissed that I would wait for it.
My patience was rewarded with him laying broadside on the ground. As he reached forward toward the barrel my string came back. I hesitated briefly to confirm a solid anchor before watching my arrow bury to the fletching. There was no doubt in my mind this time, and the trail camera even captured the moment as he leaped over the log.
Topic: I'm Happy I Missed! (Read 1935 times)
