Hello Trad Gang,
We got this e-mail from Mikel Flores, who bought a Firefly stock bow from Braveheart. Nice bear and a great story too! He took this bear last week in Idaho.
Tim,
I just got back Wednesday night from Idaho with some great memories. I've attached a picture of the bear I took on the last night of the hunt. I took this boar at 10 yards, it was pretty incredible.
I had hunted all week and never saw a bear until the last evening's hunt. Everyone in camp either had gotten a bear or had an opportunity at one and missed. There were larger ones that were captured on the game cams that would appear at odd times.
On the last day of the hunt it rained most of the morning and finally cleared up about 1:30 PM. One of the guides asked if I wanted to hunt a different area that required some steep hiking to get to and I told him, I'm in. We carried a tree stand and climbing sticks into this bait site just before 3:45 PM. As we were setting up with the climbing sticks clanging togther along with the tree stand the guide hissed "there's a bear". 300 yards up the side of the hill was this large black form slowly making it's way down the trail toward the bait site. I had just sat down in the tree stand to "seat" it into place on the tree. I had no camo on, just wool pants and a black thermal top. The guide handed me my longbow and then he lay flat on the ground with his face planted in the dirt. Within 20 minutes the bear walked within 6 yards of the guide toward the bait site. Because I had no time to prepare I was faced with a bramble of branches in front of me from the adjacent tree. The bear began pulling food out of the bait site then a clap of thunder overhead spooked him. He ran up the hill about 40 yards, paused and came back. As the bear would go into the bait site, he would turn around and pass behind a tree and walk just uphill (90 degrees to me) and pause. The first two times he did this I took the opportunity to thread the top limb of my longbow through the adjacent tree branches until my bow was at the ready. The third time the bear did this, the guide told me I looked like I went into auto pilot. I drew, anchored and released. I remember my follow through as I watched my yellow fletching rotate toward his jet black form and disappear. The bear took off uphill about 35 yards, turned left 45 degrees and ran down 20 yards made a quick death moan and lay dead, five seconds after I had released my arrow. The guide had the best seat in the house. He told me he watched my arrow disappear and exit the other side and stick in the ground. Upon field dressing found out I took out both lungs and hit the top of the heart, the bear weighed approximately 260 lbs.
I still think of the experience as one of the best 35 minutes of my life.
Please pass this on to Jim and tell him thank you for making such a great bow. Upon finishing up my summer field archery league I will ship the riser off to you so Jim can make some lighter "target" limbs.
Mikel
(http://images.imagelinky.com/1307995434.JPG) (http://images.imagelinky.com/1307995434.JPG)
Congratulations Mikel on a great hunt and a fine bear!
Tim
Nasty bite from that Firefly! Great story and great outcome. Congrats all around!
Infectious Bite. Congratulations on a fine bear.
Well done,clean job.
great shot on a great hunt..
Tim thanks for sharing this story. I am glad that Mike took such a fine bear with his little Firefly! Especially loved the part where the guide watched the arrow pass through and stick in the dirt. Just shows what I know about these bows. There bite is something to see.
Great job! Awesome hunt!
Great story. It seems like a lot of situations happen like above. You plan and plan and then all of the sudden, when you least expect it, an opportunity presents itself. Very cool!
-Jeremy :coffee:
Attaboy
COOL!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
And for the guide :notworthy:
Awesome job!!
Great Bear Sir... I love Idaho, good job getting set up like that when the chips were down!! you got it done :)
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
:campfire:
Very nice bear :thumbsup:
Congrats!
Bisch
Good job :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Great story, and congratulations to Mikel.
Way to go.
Congrats Mike,great hunt.
Mikel,
Congrats on the fine bear.
Did any of you guys get a color phase at Gary's? That Weitas Creek Guard Station is a great place.
Rick
An awesome adventure, Congrats on a fine bruin. :thumbsup:
Great job on a fine Bear! :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :jumper: :jumper: :jumper:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper:
Great story! Congrats!
dem firefly's are wicked bows.
Very nice !!!
Great job!
All these spring bear posts lately are getting antsy.
Gonna have to quit reading them or go bear hunting.
Congrats Mike, great story and great bear!!! :thumbsup:
Those Firefly's are the mortal enemy of bears! Last year my Firefly attacked a bear with almost no warning or provocation.
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=089972;p=1
Tim,
Thank you for posting the picture and story. I can't tell you how much fun it was and how I look forward to going next spring. This is the second year I've hunted with Weitas Creek Outfitters and Gary Haight. What a fantastic, professional and friendly outfitter. Last year it was just my brother in law and I over the Memorial Day weekend (3rd hunt), this year I brought three more friends and my brother in law. I still daydream, at my desk job, about that afternoon. I keep threatening my wife I'm going to move to North Central Idaho.
Mikel
Nice bear sir , aint nothing like it ,,,,Sam,,,,
Mikel,
This is the guy who followed you last spring into Gary's camp - your brother in law got his bear on the last night if I remember right. You are so right about the mountains of Idaho, they are entrancing to say the least.
Congrats.
Rick
Nice bear! and thanks for the flashback. That photo brings back some good memories of hunting with Gary.
Another great bear thread, congrats. He sure doesn't look small.