Trad Gang Highlights > HIGHLIGHTS 2020

Maine Black Bear

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Phillip Fields:
On Saturday I picked up my brother, Lewis, in NC and we headed out on the 18 hour drive to Chapman, Maine. We would be hunting with Squapan Mountain Outfitters. This was the annual Black Widow hunt and Black Widow would be giving a new bow to whoever shot the biggest bear. Roger Fulton, one of the BW owners was in camp. Toby Essick, another owner, was supposed to be in camp but tested posted positive for Covid and had to cancel. We arrived at the camp Sunday and got settled into our cabin. On Monday we met and discussed rules and guidelines for the hunt. We were assigned our guides and told where we would be hunting. Lewis and I were assigned Dave, a guide we had on a previous hunt.

On Monday afternoon I sat in a nice ground blind about 15 yards from the bait barrel. About 7:00 PM I had a nice bear come in. He approached the barrel and backed off a few times, never giving me a shot. It got too dark to shoot at about 7:30 and the bear started feeding on the bait. When it got totally dark the bear was still on the bait. I had to sit there waiting for the guide to pick me up. It is an eerie feeling sitting in the darkness knowing there is a bear feeding 15 yards away and you can’t see him.
I hunted 2 more nights at that blind without being able to close the deal. On Thursday I sat on a ladder stand. I heard a bear in the brush behind the stand but never saw him.

Knowing that I preferred to hunt from the ground Dave put me in another ground blind that had been having some good activity on Friday afternoon. My blind was about 10 yards from the bait barrel. I got settled in for the long sit. At about 6:30 I had a nice bear come in. Dave had lit an incense stick, which had already burned out, a couple yards on the other side of the barrel. The bear walked straight to the stick and sniffed of it. She then turned around and walked back toward the barrel, turning and disappearing into the brush down the slope behind the barrel. A couple of minutes later she reappeared, walked around the barrel and laid down beside the barrel, broadside to me. At this point she was roughly 10 yards from me. I drew to anchor and released the string at approximately 6:45pm. The hit was a bit high but looked good.

At the shot she bolted down the slope behind the barrel and turn back to the right. I could see the nocturnal lighted nock for a short distance before it disappeared. I heard her crashing through the brush and then heard the death moan. I texted Dave that I had shot a bear and heard the death moan. When Dave arrived we found good blood at the shot site. We trailed her about 50 yards and found her. She was somewhat circling so died only about 35 Yards from the stand. My shot was high, but it severed an artery and she bled out quickly. She was a dry sow and weighed 186 lbs, bigger than average for a sow.

I was shooting my Black Widow PL longbow, 44lbs@28”. The arrow was a Gold Tip Velocity, with a 205 gr Simmons Safari broadhead. Total arrow weight was about 445 grains. Hunting bears from the ground is an absolute blast.

Bisch:
Way to go Phillip!!!

Congrats!

Bisch

Cool Springer:
Nice bear!  Congratulations!!

Soonerlongbow:
Steaks and a rug! Congratulations!

shick:
Good for you, Phillip.  The 'widow bear hunts' sounds like a 'must do'.  Again, congratulations.
Shick

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