Congrats again buddy on a awesome bear :thumbsup:
Tracy
Great bear congrats :thumbsup:
What a great bear! Well done on the story as well! :thumbsup: :)
Now that's a dandy black bear !!
Great Bear , I love the color , congrats!
:thumbsup:
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
Thanks everyone! Honored to be up top :) Thanks to my travel buddy Brian and Ryan at Stickflingers for putting up with me. Never imagined I'd kill a bear that nice. Can't wait to do it again!
Great Bear Mike,congrat's.Dell.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Way to go mike ,
Pretty cool trophy ,What kind of a mount we be doing ?
Carl
How are you going to top that bear ? :)
Very Nice Bear!! Congrats!! :clapper: :clapper: Ya wouldnt be interested in Parting with a Claw or 2 would ya?? Making a Quiver and it Sure would Pretty it up!! :goldtooth: :archer2:
Well I went to Manitoba to kill a nice rug bear for my daughter as she has wanted one, but looks like it will end up a full body mount with a rock incorporated into the mount along with an arrow with a knapped point and the skull fitted in there somewhere. It is a dream bear that I doubt I will ever match, so a dream mount will be in order. Gonna take my lunch to work a lot to pay for it ;) Shakes my friend all claws are accounted for. Sorry brother :) Gonna go back this spring for nice black bear for my daughter's rug...after seeing Ryan's territory and hunting with him, I'd say I have a good chance.
Great pic and beauty bear :thumbsup: I guess we'll see you on changeover day. Wait, no, you will probably be HOME next year by Wednesday!
No way Steve O...next year I am getting my money's worth ;) You can bet I will bring my flyrod and plenty of bunny arras just in case. That place (as you know) is dye-no-mite!!!
Hah! I got some GREAT snoeshoe scrap video! If I can figure out how to send it to you, I will. Sounds like camp is going to be pretty luxurious next year :thumbsup:
So Mike, did you shoot it or wrassle it into submission! You guys posted great stories and pics. It will be tough to get a spot in Ryan's bear camprs the next few years! Congratulations again :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: :notworthy: Just repeat whats been said on page 1 and 2. Wow!!!!!!
Mike, that is one bear of a bear! Killing it could not happen to a better guy! Congratulations again!
So what's it like to be famous Mike? Congrats again on such an awesome bear. Thanks for making my job easy by getting it done the first night with a perfect shot.
I've got a feeling you'll get another monster along with Steve O. If anyone is due it's Steve! Steve's got a date with "polar-grizz" a black bear the size of a polar bear and head like a grizz...just ask him!
What are you ordering up for next year Mike?
Ryan, I want that one, you know, with the blaze on his sides, over his rib cage, shaped like circles, getting smaller and smaller, until the center is just a blaze orange dot. You remember that one, right? Or you could just sneek up on him and paint one there. :)
Thought I'd get my request in early...
Thanks Bud !
I like the way you think Brian! Love the avatar too buddy!...Ry
:wavey:
I wondered where "Big Sexy" was hiding...
My "order" has been in for at least 3 years! I am patient; good things come to those that wait. :thumbsup:
Steve !!
You reminded me, time to update my signature too!
I think our master guide may have to put in his own signiture line! Reehaahn...Reehaahn...REEHAAHN!
Thanks again everyone!!! Humbled to be part of this site and appreciate Tradgang so much :)
Ryan, Brian, and Steve...only 50 more weeks and we get to do it again!!! I am thinkin' Steve O gets the Polar Griz, Brian gets the Bullseye Bear, Ry gets to hunt bears again (and stays booked solid with Tradgangers), and I remember to hit record on my video camera when a giant black bear steps into my shooting lane ;)
Great job Buddy!
Congrats again Mike, awesome bear!!! :thumbsup:
Mike,
Enough goofing around from me. I have some serious questions:
I know you used your TallTines Longbow, but what are its specs?
What arrow and broadhead?
Shot distance, angle, etc.?
Recovery info.
If you remember any of that :D
Steve O, here are the specs: Talltines longbow, 64" 52 at 28. I pull to 29.5 inches so I am somewhere around 57 pounds. The arrow is a Trad Only 300 with a 50 grain insert and an Ace standard 160 with a 75 grain insert. Total arrow weight 650 grains. That Ace was filed to a nice burr, then KME look at it/cut your eyeballs sharp.
The bear I killed was 17 yards from the new stand Ryan had hung for the favorable wind. The boar bypassed the bait to let that giant sow feed and stood broadside, his head behind the tree when I drew. The arrow hit him in the upper third of the left lung and exited in the lower third of the right lung, center mass. The arrow stuck in the ground, painted on the other side of the bear.
My bear was on his feet maybe 10 seconds after the arrow zipped through him. He ran with the sow for about 50 yards, then pealed out to the left. A low death moan x 3, and it was over. He died at the 60ish yard mark. We had a steady blood trail, not a "Ray Charles" bloodtrail, but a good steady one. We lost blood at about 40 yards, then Ryan said he saw him. Dead as a hammer.
I am always interested in this info. I should have put it in my post :knothead:
Thanks for asking! Yep, I think I remember it :)
Mike, What a great bear, Congrats on an awesome hunt.
Nice going Mike! I'm so happy for you!!
Great bear!!!
I have never hunted bears myself, but I have been in their presence...up close and personal.
When we hunt an animal, I truely believe it is our respect that drives us. Our need to get close. To learn all we can about them. To travel away from our homes in search of a close encounter.
When the mount is finished, you must promise to post pictures!
Well done my friend...many happy returns of the day!!! :campfire:
:clapper: I am just curious as to if you have been able to wipe that grin off your face yet?What a dandy!! :clapper:
Bill
Congrats again buddy :notworthy: :clapper:
Thanks again my friends! I just dropped the cape off at a taxidermist for a full body mount. It will be pricey :) I have seen his work and like the way he does things. I have been so spoiled over the years as my Great-Uncle has done all of my mounts. For the first time he asked that I find someone else because at 75 he and I rolling around with a bear isn't feasable. He just said to find the best I could. I did and in a year or so I will get to see this awesome creature again. Can't wait! Again thank you for all the congrats. Coming from this fine group of folks makes my day!