Russell Outdoor Guides- Bear Camp Thread

[buckeye_hunter]

I thought the bear I shot was huge until I saw what it weighed! Not so big.... When they have a thick coat and you are a first timer, it can be tricky!

[Al33]

I had the pleasure of traveling to Mastigouche with John Abbott (aka bucksakemmer) and Stan Bennett. We took to the air to get Montreal then rented a jeep from there. Our group of five was rounded off with William Hamrick and Larry Young Jr. Larry took his compound, John and Stanley their Black Widows, and I took two self bows and some river cane arrows tipped with stone points I had made. I had never hunted big game with them but thought this would be the time to do it so I did and have no regrets even though I did not return with a rug. To say I came home empty handed would be a lie, I came home with so many wonderful memories and experiences I cannot list them all. The fellowship and excitement alone were enough to make this trip an awesome experience. I got home yesterday afternoon at 5:30 and have not had time to go through all of my photo's but hope to get a good start on them today and will post them up soon.

As we were entering the camp we pulled up alongside of the skinning shed where Luke was busy skinning. We could see several bears laying around waiting their turn for Luke's knife. Luke turned around to see who had arrived and the look on his face was priceless. He looked slap dab worn out and I suspected he was thinking; "Oh no, more hunters!!!" lol If he did think it he never complained about all he had to do. That young man is really something and I am proud to know both him and his dad. You will never find anyone that will work harder to make sure your hunt is exceptional and successful.

[Jerry Russell]

Back in the world now with 15 hours of driving behind us and 9 more to go.  Leaving the Mastigouce Wilderness always leaves me depressed for a few days.  That place and the many friends, new and old are hard to drive away from.

I will post up a recap with a compilation video in a few days after my phone and camera that I left behind catches up with me in the mail.  There are lots of great stories to come for sure.  In spite of the most difficult bear hunting weather in years we still managed to go 100% on shot opportunity (bear at 10 yards) for every hunter and 24 bears hit the ground. Bear Dog was a rock star on the blood trails and in camp.  
The many Tradgangers that came out to hunt with us did very well.  I so look forward to these guys coming up every year.  

We had a large number of hunters that wanted to hunt from the ground this year and their stories are incredible.  I hope they choose to share them here.  
A quick note to those that have tried to reach me by phone about next year, I will not get my phone back until the middle of next week.  Please send an email to hold your spot. I promise to answer all request in the order that I get them.

[Bill Hamrick]

Jerry, sorry to hear about your phone and camera, I just want to say thank you for one of the best hunts that a trad bowyer could ask for, it seems that each year gets better and better. I had the opportunity to share camp with some of the best hunters that I have ever had the pleasure to meet as the dynamics of the fellowship in an invironment of the wilderness was at its best. I have just gotten back home and after a little rest will post my story.
Jerry, Luke, Stan, John , Al & Larry gentlemen oh yes Bear dog it was an absolute pleasure to have shared the same bear camp and shall our paths cross again that it should be so
enjoyable. Take care my friends and safety in your travels

[Blueridge]

Bill , I echo your comments. It was a pleasure hunting with you and the others. Even though I did not bring home a Bear I  got to poke a big sow in the nose with my arrow at less than 3 feet. Quite an encounter.  I am always amazed at how hard Jerry works to make everything flow and enjoyable, Luke is obviously a chip off the old block. great hunt in a beautiful place. glad ya'll made it home safe.

[pdk25]

Glad to see how much success everyone had.  Jerry definitely works his tail off to give the hunters their best opportunities.  Hope to hear more stories to come.

Poking a bear in the nose from the ground sounds like a more unique experience than actually bringing home a bear. Must have been exciting.

[Jerry Russell]

Yep Stans (Blueridge) encounter with the bear and the resulting arrow poking to the nose will earn bait#12 a fancy new name as soon as we can think of something catchy. Maybe nose picker? lol.  

It was a new bait for us this year and several bears were shot there. My son Luke hunted there from the "blind" (AKA small bush) and had 7 bears at 5-7 yards.  John A. and Doug H. both put arrows through a couple good bears at 4-5 yards there.

[Jerry Russell]

As stated, I will post a ton of pics and video soon but I did want to give a huge thank you to the hardest working assistant bear guide I have ever encountered. My son Luke is 17 and worked like a rented mule to help make the hunt enjoyable and successful for every hunter. Not a single complaint from him during the entire hunt, even when the bears were 4 deep at the skinning shed.

I love that boy. He is a keeper for sure.  

[Blueridge]

Its not something I would want to do again. She was a beautiful bear. sent Jerry a pic of her so maybe he can post for me.

[Bill Hamrick]

I want to start off by saying thank you to my personal guide Mr. Mike D. and therefore this story is dedicated to him.
I had hunted several stands and hadn't seen a bear as the hunt was half over and the weather was not the best for bear hunting. On Wednesday Jerry stated that Mr. Mike had spotted a really nice big bear at the stand we call Lefty, and that Mr. Mike had an issue when he went to stand up and draw his bow on the bear as the seat had a spot of pine resin on it and it managed to stick to his pants as he attempted to stand and the sound of separation was like pulling velcrow apart.  Needless to say we all know what happened next the big bear didn't stick around.     :eek:     Well here's where I steped in, Jerry told me about the sighting and what had transpired and that he was willing to haul me over to Lefty which happened to be about an 1hour drive from camp on some of the roughest roads that the reserve have to offer.  Mr. John had tagged out the night before and wanted to spend another evening on stand so I asked if he'd like to tag along and shoot some video and take some pics. We arrived on stand around 430 pm with about 5 hours til sunset. We both managed to sit totally silent for the first couple of hours and then I hear this gurgling sound coming from Mr. John and then he let out a cough that was like sending out a fire alarm bell. About 15 minutes had passed and he let out another and reached down in his bag and pulled out some cough drops well when he grabbed his bag he managed to bump his thermo cell against the stand and at that moment I was sure my hunt at Lefty was done.       As I rolled my eyes to give him one of those looks    :mad:   he bumped me on the should and held up three fingers and pointed down the trail in front of him. There were three 75 lb cubs headed our way to have there way with the bait site.... More to follow.    

[wapiti792]

Man I forgot to put that "Velcro" fiasco in my original account...I guess painful memories are truly suppressed. That giant girl was a testy fussy-britches that hates tree sap on pants sounds. I can't wait to hear if she likes "feathers in the wind" sounds    

Another word on Luke...great young man, a quiet professional doing his job. If every kid worked that hard with no complaints we wouldn't have many problems in this world!

Now tell me about that fat bottomed girl (or boy)  

[Bill Hamrick]

Well the Cubs came in and we watched them for about 15 minutes when Mr. John noticed a bear out front of him at the same time I noticed one to my left and they both seem to make eye contact with each other and started towards one another and off to our left they went at the same time there was another bear on the hill side to my left rear that let out a growl and the cubs turned themselfs inside out to get out of the bait site, two of them ran towards the thicket and the other started up the tree beside ours.  Things were really getting exciting as the bear to our left rear started popping it's teeth and if you've never heard that sound it can be a little unnerving. While the bear continued to pop its teeth another bear showed up out in front of us at about 75 yards across the creek. Appeared to be a good boar but he wanted no part of the popping teeth so he moved down stream and onto the road bed but still had the bait site on his mind and cam our way up the road to the same trail that the cubs had came in on as he came our way we noticed he had rubbed his entire back in completely raw, he entered the trail and the teeth popping seem to get louder at that moment he turned and went back in to the road and crossed to the other side and out of site, as he was leaving the cubs had came back into the bait and started feeding again. This time they were followed by a very very large jet black sow that was as pretty as they get and as big as any sow I have ever seen. So I figured that this must have been the bear that Mr. Mike D. had seen, as the sow came in to the bait from out front and to our left, she made her way to the bait but didn't want to fully commit so she turned and Mr. John said there's your shot but from where I was standing there was a small bush in front of her vitals. She walked back off to our left but she did something I never expected, she walked behind a very large cedar and came back out right under our tree and put her nose to the stick ladder took a good whif and walked right over to the bait stood broadsided at less than 5 yards as she did this I was standing with my BlackWidow PLV at the ready at this point I leaned over ever so slightly and asked Mr. John "is she big enough" I thought he was going to scream in an instant I had drawn, anchored, picked my point and released the Zwickey tipped Gold Tip just behind the shoulder.       The big ol sow took a giant leap and ran straight out in front of us with my string tracker playing out like a fishing reel with a great white on the end as she reached the top of the hill she let out what is called a death moan but the string tracker line was still bailing out as she turned left at the top of the hill and bailed back down through the thick stuf to our left and again another very loud death moan but this time the string tracker had stopped. At this point my knees began to buckle and my hands began to shake. I had to take my seat oh yes the one that had the pine sap on it except I had placed my face mask over it as we had entered the stand. As dark had fallen we set in silence awaiting the arrival of the white f150 that Mr. Jerry would be picking us up in.  Soon we could see the head lights coming down the dirt road. Once he arrived we began the tracking job there was some blood but not what is was expecting and thank goodness for Mr. Jerry, Bear the bear tracking dog and the string tracker as it lead us approximately 200 yes to my bear, the arrow was still in her as it had entered exactly wher I was aiming but had caught the off side shoulder and pushed it back up with string tracker still in tow. And what a bear she is. so Mr. Mike D. Thank You!!! This makes two very nice trophies out of the same stand as I was very fortunate to take a very nice boar from the Lefty stand last year that Mr. John had to pass on as he had shot a sow the day before. With this I'll try and post some photos of all of us and the bear.

[Jerry Russell]

That stand called Lefty is sure piling up the memories but I am starting a new rule there next year. The bears have to be facing towards the road before you can shoot them, lol. Those last two bears that he has shot there were brutal to drag out of thick stuff on that hill. Here is his bear from last year.

 

[wapiti792]

Attaway Bill!!! So glad she rolled in for you      

She is a big ol girl for sure! I think that when we are in camp together we will need to rock, paper, scissors for that set. It has been a good one! Two big bears in two years outa there for you. Way to go!!! Tree sap. We don't need no stink in tree sap...

[Jerry Russell]

Posting this picture up for Bill Hamrick. Trust me, this photo does not do this bear justice.

   

[wapiti792]

Sooooo Jerry, was I right about the size or what? Propane tank with legs    

Beauty of a bear!

[pdk25]

Wow, that is an awesome bear.  Congrats on a great hunt.

[Jerry Russell]

Mike she was a tank of a bear for sure. Mega sows always are a bit shocking because of their massive looking girth. I would loved to have had a video of me and Luke dragging her out of that nasty thick spruce thicket to the left rear of Lefty stand.  We did it in the dark because the death moan told us she was on the ground and the string tracker and Bear dog made the 200 yard track a breeze.

The drag was tough but I am glad Bill put her down.  She was not long for this world as she had a MASSIVE tumor in her mouth and her teeth were gone. Probably explains her nasty disposition.

[Jerry Russell]

This is the bear that Stan AKA "Blueridge" played ticklefight with by poking it on the nose with an arrow. My son has awesome video of the bear at 4 yards from the ground.  I am sure John A (Buckskemmer) will be along to tell his encounter story soon.

   

[Blueridge]

Nose Picker sounds good, I know I won't forget it.