Trad Gang

OK, Let's hear all about it.  Who's goin'?  Where ya goin'?  What ya takin'?

Im heading up to Manitoba with Ryan Derlago at Stickflingers.  Again!  May 27th - June 2nd.  Taking my new Blacktail one-piece 52# and whipping up some woodies out of Surweood shafts spinned 60-65 with some 160gr VPAs.  Should end up 620gr total.

Figured the best way to pass the time between now and then is to read about everyone else headin' out for bear this spring so post up!

Hoyt Dorado if I get it in time with some easton axis arrows shooting a magnus two blade and 50 grain inserts.

Hoyt Dorado if I get it in time with some easton axis arrows shooting a magnus two blade and 50 grain inserts.

I'm not going this year, but am going with Ryan next year.  Can't wait.  I will be watching this thread!

Our season here in Oregon starts this Sunday.  Lasts thru the end of May.  BUT, it's so stormy and miserable, I'll wait to hunt until the warm green spring gets here.  Seems like our winters are getting later and later!

Brad

Taking two osage takedown selfbows 55@26, Cedar arrows with Zwickey Deltas or Original Snuffers.  Going to Idaho on the first week of June with Malcolm Parker, Bud Kent, Joe Walsh, Sam Stephens and Felix....I can't wait

Since spring is VERY early this year it looks like I'll get some bear hunting of my own in before everyone arrives. I'll be using my #56 Tall Tines l/b with home brew surewoods and 190 gr. Terminators.(640 gr.)

Stay tuned...it's gonna be good!!! Mark my words!

Hey Ryan I bet you could use a little free help up there getting everything ready and making sure the stands are safe for everyone! I volunteer to sit in the stands (with a bow of course) for the week prior to everyone else showing up!!!! Just a thought!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by Robhood23:
Hey Ryan I bet you could use a little free help up there getting everything ready and making sure the stands are safe for everyone! I volunteer to sit in the stands (with a bow of course) for the week prior to everyone else showing up!!!! Just a thought!!!

Now why didn't I think of that  ...   :banghead:

Never hunted bear yet, but it's definitely on my short list...

Good luck to all you lucky hunters this season!  :campfire:

I will be in Manitoba with Ryan the same week as Brian.  I will be shooting my 56# Silvertip with 5575 Goldtips and Snuffers with 100 grain inserts, total arrow weight around 640.

Can't wait!

D.P.

I'll be chasing local bruins again this year, sigh... as a semi retired guide, I just can't kick the habit. LOL!

I plan on taking out some Cree friends, my Cree brother in law and his young boys, and possibly my anthropologist son in law. Not financially profitable, but rewarding nonetheless... hmmm... maybe they'll remember me when I'm gone to the happy hunting ground, LOL!

Problem is, I want to hunt too and our house building project will be getting in the way, DARN!

I am doing a guided hunt that starts May 12th.  Heading for the first time to Alberta in search of a 20"bear.  Shooting my triple carbon Habu VyperKhan 3 pc longbow.  Draws 57# at my 29" lenght and I have made up some axis 340's tipped with old RR snuffers with steel inserts.  Proved deadly last Sept. at my camp in the Yooper.

Ron Henry Bear hunt in Quebec in June. First offical bear hunt for me. Undecided about which bow to use, either my Super Shrew or my new GN Bushbow.   :jumper:  Decisions, decisions.......

This will be a good Thread to Follow.

Good luck to all who are going!

I get to hunt Ryan's first week May 20 to the 25th!

El Uno is making its maiden voyage to Canada

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6994203791_857e82a4a6.jpg)

I'm heading to Idaho to hunt with Dave Oligee of Simmons.  Be there June 3rd through the 13th.  I'll be shooting my Centaur Triple Carbon Elite, 63# @ 28", 62".  Easton Axis 400's with Treesharks up front.

Absolutely cannot wait.  Have longed to see the Rocky Mts. my entire adult life.  I've never been west of the Mississippi River.

Good Luck Chris!! Make sure to bring extra oxygen, not only for the altitude but the Rockies will take anyones breath away  :)

I cant hunt grizz this spring, stuck being back up lol..but will be after blackies again.

Headed to Ron Henrys June 10th,there's nine of us going,we should have a camp all to our selves.None of us has been there in several years and not sure what to expect other than a good time... Bill

I'm headed up to Manitoba Interlakes Region on May 6th. Whoo - Hoo! That's barly over a month away. Can't hardly wait.  This is my first ever bear hunt and I am pumped.

Will be shooting my #55 Bob Lee T/D with woodies tipped with Zwicky Deltas weighing in at 650gr. Or, I may shoot some 2115 easton shafts tipped with 160gr Griz weighing in just short of 600gr.

I hope to be able to report back with some good news.

WoodsyDave

Stickflingers the week of May 27th.  At this time it will be a RER LB 56# with woodies and Zwickey Deltas. The bow might change but the arrows stay the same..

I got divorced this year, so I'm treating myself to Bear Quest 6!  I'll be taking my BW PCH with CE 250's with 125 grain Woodsmens on 125 gr adapters and my Morrison Cheyene with the same arrow set up.

Put my baits in yesterday. Rhino got stuck so many times due to deep snow, but it was sure fun having my two older kids along for baiting. Ryan, can't wait to see the action. Rich

Oh yeah, I will be using my HH big five, with wensel woodsmans and homebrew woodies. Rich

New Brunswick with Trophy Safaries International June 10 - 16 - Pronghorn T/D with VPI and Grizzly broadheads on home constructed douglas fir shafts w/ pink and purple feathers   :)

Won't be going either but waiting for the thrilling tails from those of you who go. Good luck to all & have safe hunting.

Its going to be a busy spring for me with work and all.

But I never miss an opportunity to backpack, camp, hunt, and glass.  My buddy Ed and I will be bowhunting the Northfork country this spring, even if he does shoot a compound.  I'm sure I'll post some pics of my trips.

After I get back from Sand Point guiding for the BIG brown ones, I will hop across the bay here for a spot and stalk on black ones. I will be able to fill 6 tags this summer if I want to, (probly not)  :D  . The deadly Daala is my weapon of choice.   :archer2:

Got a break in the weather today and broke out the 3-d targets for some practice.  Sure was nice shooting out to 30 yards today rather then the 16 in my garage.  Can't wait for May to arrive, Alberta is calling me.

I'll be hunting just west of home, I've been chasing a 7'+ color phase for the last two years and I think this is the year.
I'll be using a 65lb 3 piece slammer with 160 grain snuffers and they'll be leading carbons or possibly the new set of woodies snag is building me.

QuoteOriginally posted by Coiloil37:
 I've been chasing a 7'+ color phase for the last two years and I think this is the year.

Nice !   Best of luck to ya, and we will want pictures !!!

Heading to Stickflingers for TallTines week again this year.  I will be using my TT longbow again unless the new TT Hybrid is ready by then.

I'll be in camp for 6th year in a row for Trad-gang Bear Quest 6.
 Safe Travels & Good Luck to all you Spring Bear Hunters.

Idaho again with Ridgerunner outfitters with a full camp of tradgangers.Dont think I will top my hunt with them last year , but Im gona try. Counting the days we are going to have a blast. Shooting my old Bear TDs again.............
,,,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tom

Some year, if the Gods are smiling on me, and the calendar aligns correctly, I plan on hitting both Manitoba and Bear Quest in the same spring.  Now wouldn't that be a fun spring?

Sam

You have your work cut out for ya. Good luck.

Stve O.

We'll try to leave a couple for ya to fling an arrow at.  ;)

Good luck to all going this spring , it is getting closer................
,,,Sam,,,,,

Going to Alberta with Ells River outfitters. Hunting the week of May 20-27. Using my Widow PSAX with douglas fir shafts crafted by me tipped with 160 grain VPA terminators. My son and fiance are going also and my wife is going to film. Hope we get some good video to share.

I'll be in camp in June with Tom for my third Bear Quest. Great hunt with a super bunch of Trad Gangers  :thumbsup:

QuoteOriginally posted by Bel007:
Tom

Some year, if the Gods are smiling on me, and the calendar aligns correctly, I plan on hitting both Manitoba and Bear Quest in the same spring.  Now wouldn't that be a fun spring?

Did that 2 years ago Bel

It WAS a fun spring

TTT

I'm heading up near Roblin Manitoba on June 1st.  Using my 58# Mahaska long bow..... Can't wait!

28 more days.......

Looking forward to following this thread!

19 more sleeps till i hit the road..........

My wife and I leave for Alberta on the 9th of May.  We packed the clothes today and worked on the camera gear, getting very close now.  Good luck to all of you spring bear hunters this year.
John

Good luck out there!

Any of you guys shooting VPAs, send us your bear pics for the VPA web gallery.  We'll likely do some sort of a drawing for a free pack or something from those that submit pics......ray@vparchery.com

PS...take a pic of the VPA broadhead with your bear.

I was wondering when I would see this one again.

good luck bear hunters!

Heading out for the day tomorrow with my Tall Tines, Surewoods, and VPA's. Hunted one night last week and saw 13.....tomorrow will be better. Fingers crossed! Will tune in Thursday...Ryan

just sharpend my broadheads, and gathering all my stuff that i wont use turkey hunting. this is my first spring bear hunt.  good luck to all.

We head out on the 29th , the days are getting slower and slower.........Cant wait for that 33 hour drive!!!!!!!!!!
,,Sam,,,

          Good luck for all.............

Scouted for a full day in Idaho last weekend.  Will be head in back this weekend to set baits and get everything ready for my brother and friend who will be head in out memorial day week.
Can't wait!

How did it look in Idaho that is where we are going.
,,,,,Sam,,,,,,

It was starting to green up pretty good.  Still a decent bit of snow up high but I felt that the bears should be out where I was in the upper lochsa.

Thanks , we are heading to the Clearwater again , we sure had a good hunt last year there ( last year we were there June 1-10 ). Saw lots of bears and I filled both my tags.We were hunting with RidgeRunner Outfitters ( same this year ) Got this guy a few days into the hunt.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/RidgeRunnerBearHuntFelix426.jpg)

Then a few days later I got this one......
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/RidgeRunnerBearHuntFelix762.jpg)

We have a full group of TradGangers this year , I dont care if I get one or not , I still have the rush from last spring.......
,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,

Man those are beautiful bears.  This will be my first year baiting over there. We will be hunting in close proximity to a bunch of traditional guys from western Montana and a few from across the country.  Last weeks trip got me pumped up and I will be back there on Friday to see how things are going and getting things set up.  Did have a report of a friend already having a big bear hittin his bait he just set last Saturday.  Very exciting!

Great lookin' bears Sam. I hope to be that fortunate when I am in Idaho in a few weeks, 2 weeks from today I leave as a matter of fact. Hope turkeyfootgirl has the bears hungry cuz I got a load of bait today!! Can't wait to test out a Simmons shark either!!

See ya soon bro!!

 (http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p624/scott30408/IMG_2132640x480.jpg)

Will be feeding them in the morning.  Hopefully I will have a good report!

QuoteOriginally posted by blaster:
Great lookin' bears Sam. I hope to be that fortunate when I am in Idaho in a few weeks, 2 weeks from today I leave as a matter of fact. Hope turkeyfootgirl has the bears hungry cuz I got a load of bait today!! Can't wait to test out a Simmons shark either!!

See ya soon bro!!

  (http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p624/scott30408/IMG_2132640x480.jpg)

Do I see donettes in there?  I love it!  If you can't get em with an arrow, get em with insulin shock!    :laughing:

I will be heading for Northern Saskatchewan the 19th of May and start hunting the 21st.I will be sharing camp with a couple dedicated traditional guys that I've known for a long time.There's a lot to do between now and then but I hope to get out a couple evenings here,before I leave.Good luck everybody.

TTT Reports...come with it!   :campfire:

Hit the woods today to check my 3 baits in Idaho.  2 of the three were hit with one looking amazing.  6 piles of smoking fresh bear doodoo within 10 yards of the bait.  Hung a stand at ten paces and will prepare to hunt soon!

Hit the woods today to check my 3 baits in Idaho.  2 of the three were hit with one looking amazing.  6 piles of smoking fresh bear doodoo within 10 yards of the bait.  Hung a stand at ten paces and will prepare to hunt soon!

Best of luck...........
,,,Sam,,,,,

Since I am not going this year I am really looking forward to following these hunts. Good luck everybody!!!

Go get them!!

I wish I could have more time off and join ya!!!

Very Excited to hear the results and see some pictures! I'm going to Quebec next year after i graduate and am soaking up as much info about bear hunting as possible!

keep it up! good luck out there

  :archer:

OK I know at least one bear has fallen to traditional gear, there must be more.

Spill the beans folks   :readit:    :bigsmyl:

I leave for Manitoba in 11 days.....

Eleven LOOOOOOONNNGGGG Days

Elf Tage (german)

одиннадцать дней (russian)

onze jours (french)

307 hours till I am in the stand... 18445 minutes...1106725 seconds..1106724...1106723

How will I ever pass the time....

Lets see this Bear Im hearing about.....
,,,,Sam,,,,

three more sleeps till I hit the road north!

LITTLEBIGMAN,where are you headed?

Heres a few pics from this weekend.  No dead bears yet.
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/CDY_0001.jpg)
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/CDY_0053.jpg)
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/CDY_0024.jpg)
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/CDY_0003.jpg)
Do you suppose that bigger black is a boar or sow?

Awsome shots.

The boys hunting the first week at Stickflingers should be getting back to camp right about now.  Wonder what they saw....

I leave in 5 days    :bigsmyl:

Due to being poor, I've missed going to bear camp in New Brunswick for the third year. Man I'm sure missing it! Hope all you guys and girl have great bear hunting seasons. Need pictures, it makes me feel like I was there to.
Glenn

(http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Shedrock1/PCBAITPICS2012138.jpg)
(http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Shedrock1/PCBAITPICS2012136.jpg)

This beast was totally nocturnal. He did make a mistake yesterday, late afternoon. Story and pics to come later.  :bigsmyl:

:thumbsup:

Shedrock

Where in the world do you buy those tiny little steel drum bait buckets?

  :dunno:  


That is one monster big old bad boy.  Good luck!

Atta boy Tracy  :)  Way to go!!  :thumbsup:

What a bear Shedrock!!

On the road in 48 hrs....

Safe travels BS! Wish I was going instead of moving. Tell Ry, Dave, and Mr/Mrs. Delago howdy from IL   :campfire:

QuoteOriginally posted by wapiti792:
Safe travels BS! Wish I was going instead of moving. Tell Ry, Dave, and Mr/Mrs. Delago howdy from IL    :campfire:  

Mrs Bea will get two hugs from ya !  The others will just have to settle for a good ol' handshake.

Like they say, if your wondering if its a big bear its not.  No wondering about that pig. Wow

:campfire:

In transit from WI to Idaho now!! Should be there in another 15 hours or so if me and the partner can push straight through!!

Drive brother drive!

Hey Brian,
Just a heads up, just heard that they are getting a lot of rain and even some snow at the Stickflingers camp as we speak. Better bring some extra layers and rain gear along in case the weather stays bad for your week. Safe travels, I want to see you sitting behind a pretty bear this year (lol). Best of luck to you.

Good morning all. We're still cruisin'!! Somewhere in South Dakota now...Them bears better watch out!! See ya in a few hours (like 12/13) turkeyfootgirl!!

Heading out the door to bear camp.   Good luck to all bear hunters this week wherever you may be.

Good luck to all!!!

Probably about 3.5 more hours to go!! Left the house in WI yesterday at 90 degrees in shorts and tshirt. 30 some degrees and fresh snow in the passes here in MT!! Sounds like cool and wet the next couple days then warming some.

Earl
Thnx for the warning.  I always pack for three seasons.  Looks like it may finally be worth while.
Im in St Cloud MN just heading out to stretch across ND then over the border.  Then sitting over a nice bear stand tomorrow evening.
;)

;)

Best of luck Brian. Sounds like a nice big one was shot up at the Stickflinger's camp 2 days ago. I'm sure you'll here the story when you get there.  The rest of us have to wait for the pictures when the hunters get home. I hope to be sitting my bear bait tonight providing the rain stays away.

On the road in 4 more days , Idaho here we come..

:campfire:     :coffee:  

Good luck guys

guys i have just gotten home after a solo drive from Ryan's camp in NW Manitoba.  We had crazy weather and Crazy bear hunting. Here are two teasers to get you going till I get some stuff sorted out
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7282936696_6ab4ec8d01.jpg)

& so you don't think I will BS you
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7282943278_bba87a7db1.jpg)

:campfire:

I lost my message so will try again.  My wife and I went to Alberta this spring and hunted with Garrett Bros.  We had a great adventure and met some fantastic people who treated us like kings.  We also saw lots of bears but we did not see a 20" bear.  Day two I was lucky my wife was with me as she said, that is not what you came here for as a 6.5 foot bear walked from the bait past us at 10 yards.  The bear was shot two days after we left and scored just under 19".  If anyone would like to hear more about this great outfit just send me a PM.  Good luck to all of you who still have not gone on your hunt.
John

I arrived in Camp last Sunday at around noon after a 2 day 1007 mile solo drive from my home in SE Minnesota. The weather was beautiful. Ryan has a new tent camp this year a little bit up the road from where his camp was last year.
 (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7104/7283269334_cef79cb90e.jpg)

my assigned tent was just off of the trailer that would later become our dining hall when the weather turned to crap.

we unpacked our gear, met the other hunters in camp and had a camp meeting where Ryan gave us his guidelines for judging the size of bears and deciding which ones where mature bears. A snack was served and we loaded up our gear for the first evenings hunt.

I was the first to be dropped off. A bait nick named ratatooie was to be my 1st nights sit. After driving in the truck about 10 miles or so Ryan off loaded a quad and drove me another mile off the road to the bait. As we approached the bait in a clear cut where young Aspens had begun to regrow, a young black boar stood on his hind legs to get a better look at us. We watched him disappear in the trees and then turned to look towards the bait. A medium sized sow was on her back legs looking at us. Her front paws were up against the tree that the tree stand was fastened in. Five yards away a yearling cub was six feet up a tree and watching us as well.  We slowly got off the quad, the cub slid down the tree and bailed into the bush. The sow did the same except she stopped about 30 yards out and started to pop her teeth and give us a woof.

I climbed up into the stand which was about 10 feet high and 12 yards off the bait. I took a practice shot towards the bait and Ryan gratiously retrieved my arrow, wished me luck and was off to deliver another hunter to his bait site.

as soon as he left the sow began to make a loop around me about 40 yards out in the bush. A noise like a baby cried sounded off some where near me. I looked left and right and couldn't find the source of the sound. The cub had run off yet this sow seemed very agitated. the crying intensified and the sow kept circling. I still couldn't find the source of the sound. suddenly it occurred to me to look straight up. A tiny cub was straight up above me at the very top of the tree! Not Good!

:campfire:  this is getting good!!!

I quickly gathered up my gear, lowered my bow and pack and climbed down from the stand. I thought I would just back out and let the cub come down, the mom calm down and wait for them to leave. I would then just get back in the stand. After all I had just seen 4 bears in the first 10 minutes of my hunt! What a bait site! But the baby didn't come down and the mom didn't calm down and I decided to walk back to the main road in the hopes that Ryan would return to camp after dropping off the other hunter and see me on the road.

I made the mile out in time to catch Ryan on his return to camp and he quickly took me to another bait where the wind was right and I settled in for the 2nd time that day. At about 7 pm a young boar came into the bait and gave me every opportunity a guy could want but he was way to young to kill and it was just the 1st night. I enjoyed watching him from my perch and eventually he spooked when I made a tiny noise while shifting my feet on the stand.

that was it for the first night. I walked out to the road at dark which was 10:15 pm and waited to be picked up

Monday morning the sun still shone and Ryan and his assistant guide Dave and I  began working on converting the other 4 hunters in camp form their misguided compounded ways.

This is Tino from Montreal. Ryan and he are discussing some aspect of shooting a trad bow.

  (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7215/7283385112_2940580821.jpg)

Tina was no stranger to hunting. He is a very accomplished gun hunter having killed 8 blacks, 1 Barren Ground Grizzly and an 11 foot Polar Bear. But he has just begun hunting with a compound four years ago and this was his first bear hunt with arrows as the projectiles. From his first shot he was hooked!

He has nearly perfect form from the get go!
 (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/7283397914_4a8822f115.jpg)

to be continued in the AM...........

Nice    :coffee:

After a hearty lunch and more target practice we headed out for a bait called Determination. Knowing in advance the wind was wrong for the existing stand in place we carried along a lone wolf hang on with the intention of placing it in a tree on the down wind side of the bait barrel. This bait was set in a dry area between what appeared to be two very large wet areas. I wouldn't call them swamps but clearly I wouldn't want to have to track a bear far in them. When we arrived we saw a very large sow with triplets from the prior spring at the bait waiting to greet us.

The sow gathered her young behind her and backed off the bait no more than 15 yards and just sat there watching us.  We slowly walked around the opposite side of the bait to the tree Ryan wanted to hang the stand in. Ryan scaled the tree while I watched the sow with my pepper spray in hand at the ready. The sow was extremely calm and the three stooges behind her kept peeking over her shoulder watching us.

When the stand was n place at a total height of about 8 feet I climbed in and hoisted my bag and bow. Ryan wished me luck and hoped that " I would see some bears today". I'll admit right now I was rather anxious standing there while Ryan placed the stand with that big momma so darn close! Then he left and the anxiety was intense until it was quite clear the sow had zero intentions or even any interest in my hide.

for the next two hours or so i was treated to an intimate look at a great mom looking after her youngsters. I nicknamed her Daisy and the cubs Curly, Moe and Larry.

here is a photo of the mom feeding while the boys frolicked near by.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7283275186_720cb6a084.jpg)

AS you can see , laying down her back is level with the top of the barrel.  that's a big sow! Eventually she had other things to do and she and the boys wandered off leaving me alone with my thoughts. The wind was picking up and the sky becoming heavy with clouds. Clearly rotten weather was approaching. We had no idea of how rotten it would soon be.

As I purposely carry no time piece and can't say for certain but about an hour before dark Daisy and the boys returned . I had shot a practice arrow after they left a few hours before and Moe and Larry quickly began having a tug of war with it. Curly was off to the side playing with a stick and Daisy was at the barrel. The boys wrestled , fed and wrestled some more. Sometimes the mom would walk over to them and join in on the fun. Some times she would just lay down and keep watch.

Keep typing! This is a fantastic recap so far.....and I'll bet it only gets better.

Bisch

about a half hour before quitting time, Daisy suddenly gives three short woofs and boys jump up and climb the tree with the other stand in it. A very loud crack is made as some thing heavy behind me breaks a large stick or tree branch. Daisy woofs three more times sending the cubs ever higher into in the tree.  More stick cracking and looking over my left shoulder I see an incredibly large Boar coming in. Daisy is standing at the bait barrel growling deep in her chest. The boar is circling to my left and is at 20 yards. He is huge!! The face off begins. Neither bear makes a move. I  am waiting for world war 3 to begin when off in the distance i hear the quad approaching. The boar hears it too and spins and tears out of there.  I see headlights thru the trees and Ryan arrives on the quad. He parks on the trail right next to the tree the boys are in. It is totally dark so I holler that the cubs are directly above him and the sow is at the bait barrel. I hear him unzip something and then he slowly circles the bait to my right. I can see he has a short shot gun in his hand at the ready . Daisy is her old calm self and moves slightly to my left and sits down about 15 yards away. I hand Ryan my bow and start taking down the lone wolf keeping one eye on the sow the entire time. I get the stand off and together we slowly return to the quad, turn it around and head for home.

Tuesday we awoke to wind, rain and more wind. it was so bad I didn't even take time to shoot a few arrows. I went to the ladder stand, named for an old  tree stand where the home made ladder is still evident . The largest bear killed last year was killed at this site. A great place with a creek in the back ground and great visibility. The stand is again just 8 feet off the ground but on a slight rise about 14 yards from the bait at the most. I spent a very long afternoon in the wind and rain and saw no bears this day.

Wednesday it began to snow! Was I prepared for this ? Hell No!
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7283261650_30bf5cd532.jpg)
neither was anyone else!
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8018/7283254562_0b2a545a16.jpg)

It alternated between rain, sleet  and snow with lots of heavy wind gusts. It was so bad and I was so unprepared equipment wise that I elected to stay in camp! Tino did too and since Troy had shot a nice chocolate boar the day prior we sat in the trailer and shivered together while trading hunting stories.

Kevin from Florida and Steve from Indiana went out with Steve seeing no bears and Kevin just one which he promptly put an arrow thru. When Kevin returned on the quad he looked hypothermic .We got him in front of a propane heater while he told his tale

All night long it blew hard. Thursday dawned wet, white and cold!
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7287027374_711271c7fd.jpg)

Well keep the story going.  :bigsmyl:

Putting on every bit of clothing I had come with and wearing borrowed insulated rubbers from Ryan I asked to hunt the ladder stand from two days prior. The wind was wrong so once again we carried in a hang on to place on the opposite side of the bait from the stand all ready in place.

Ryan selected a spruce tree 8 yards or so from the bait with smaller trees on each side of it. I asked him to hang it no more than 8 feet off the ground. Climbing in it seemed like I was right on top of the bait barrel. Ryan said the cover was really good he could hardly see me, ya right!

After Ryan left I began my long afternoon vigil. Because I seem to get cold faster sitting than standing I stood at alert most of the day. It snowed on and off all day. The little creek behind me had became a raging river with all of the run offfrom three solid days of precipitation.

As early evening arrived I had finally decided to sit for while. The weather was so bad I was having serious concerns of even attempting a shot for fear of not being able to follow any blood trail.

A loud stick breaking close by brought me out of my thoughts and I shot to my feet and grabbed my bow off of the hanger.

Looking to my right as another stick broke I could see the bear standing scratching his back on spruce tree about 30 yards away. Is he as big as I think he is? He dropped to all fours and started in my direction. As I saw his head and his stride all doubt left my mind about whether he was a mature bear or not. At 15 yards he stood again and reaching with his mouth began breaking some sticks off above his head that had small buds on them .

My heart was in my throat now and I shouted to  myself to calm down!! He again dropped to all fours and walked over to the first barrel. I picked my spot but before I drew He turned to his right and walked directly over to the other stand, He checked it and rechecked until he was satisfied I wasn't in it! He then started to leave and my heart sank to the bottom of my boots at the thought I wasn't going to get a shot. But wait now he is coming back. moving with a cross between a trot and a waddle he returned to the first barrel and stood facing me head on . I had perfect wind and perfect cover. A stand had never been in this tree and I did not move a muscle. The two barrels were cabled to two larger tress and he stepped be hind them as he moved towards the 2nd barrel directly in front of me. At 8 yards and only 8 feet of the ground he looked huge!! He was huge!.

As he stepped out from behind the tree I ever so slowly began my draw. He turned away from me to leave again and my arrow was in him.! He exploded straight ahead crashing thru a dead fall, circling to his right behind the other tree stand and disappeared from my view at about 40 yards up hill. I assumed he was on the quad trail when I last could see him.

So now all the 2nd guessing began. Was the shot good ? It looked good. Maybe a bit too far back? But he was quartering away so I knew I drove it in to the off lung for sure. But it looked like it didn't go completely thru as I could still see my feathers sticking out of him at impact.

I listened for the death moan. The wind blew, the creek roared the snow picked up! I could hear nothing. I climbed down and checked the spot he was standing when I shot him. His feet had torn up the earth when he bolted but I could see no blood. It was now snowing even harder. Not wanting to screw up I back off. looped around his exit trail and got on the quad trail to walk out. The bear had run the opposite way I had to go. I looked in the direction he went and could see nothing. So I started the walk back

This shot over my should is at the intersection of the quad trail i was on and a better road I had to walk a mile or so on to meet the guys. Can you believe from how light it is that it is 10 pm at night?
    (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/7283180216_6eca1ff3f3.jpg)

Walking the mile out I saw fresh wolf track, fresh moose track and of course more big bear track!!

It was 11 pm by the time I saw headlights approaching, I was completely covered in wet sticky snow. Tino knew from the look on my face I was happy. I told Ryan I had shot a tank and he said " what?" I said i shot a tank! He said ok but there is noway we can track in this storm we would have to return 1st thing in the morning.

:campfire:

We returned at first light and with only one quad on the trailer Ryan and Dave went in first, Dave dropped Ryan off and then returned to get me. When we got to the bait site, Ryan was on the quad trail waiting for us. Dave suggested we take a GPS reading at the last spot I saw the bear. Ryan said not necessary cause he is laying right over there! The bear had collapsed where I lost sight of him!

Ryan looked at me and said "Jim before you look at him , you need to know that you will most likely never shoot a bigger black bear." He was serious and I was dumbfounded. How big is he?
  (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7083/7283247268_f77ac1fa82.jpg)

Ryan and Dave trying to figure out how we are going to move him!
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7242/7283240418_b883c3d5ee.jpg)

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7283233596_93c70193e2.jpg)

we took some photos and them gave our selves hernias trying to get him in the trailer

back at camp he weighed 395 ( guts in) and measured 6 foot 6 nose to tail  and 7 foot 2 across the back. He squares  6 foot 9 which surprised both guides as they expected him to square over 7 feet. But I am not complaining! His skull will measure between 19 and 20. So he will be over P&Y and Short of B&C.

here are some more photos of him
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7081/7283187096_c12fc2c4c0.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/7283227350_34dab70d74.jpg)

My arrow actually did make it all the way thru here is a picture of the off side.
  (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7283200410_b49c8ee7e8.jpg)

I was shooting a 43 lb  black widow, 150 CX carbons with 100 grain inserts and 145 grain Eclipse Were wolves single bevel heads. Total arrow weight 580. the shot took both lungs and he was dead in seconds

WOW, What a great bear! Congratulations!  Don't think you'd see to many that big at Kevin's place in New Brunswick. Great Job Again!!
Glenn

Nice bear

doug77

WOW! What a Great Bear!...Congrats!

happy hunter and happy guide

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7088/7283207250_64589fb98e.jpg)

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7283193618_282bd10fc6.jpg)

WoW Awsome Bear! thanks for sharing. going to be a long two years wait.

Congrats! What a bruiser!

Wow. Well done. Thanks for the story and photos.
Congratulations.

Congratulations on an awesome bear!!! Great story and pictures as well!   :thumbsup:

:clapper:  Congrats on a great story and even better bear!
Bill

Nice big near, congrats!

Wow!

Nice job Littlebigman.That's a brute.

WOW!!!!

Great story, Great Bear!!!\\
Thank you

Nice bear Jim!

(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020122.jpg)
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020123.jpg)
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/P1020139.jpg)
I just got back last night from Northern Saskatchewan.A lot of rain and wind the first three days.In spite of the poor conditions,we saw bears all three days.

There were 6 hunters in camp,4 bow shooters,all traditional.There should have been 6 bears taken.As it was,2 were taken,both with traditional gear.

I took this cinnamon colored boar on the 4th day.It had it's front feet up on a barrel and was quartering away.The arrow hit where I wanted it to and passed through much lower,barely sticking in the ground about 10' beyond.

The broadhead was a KME sharpened,200 gr Grizzly.The bow was a 50# Kodiak replica.The bear ran 75 yds and the death moans were loud and immediate.

very nice indeed...cant wait to go back to Carrot River SK one day again.

Congrats guys on some great bears!

I'm not afraid to say it - this thread is killing me! I'm so jealous! Great stories and beautiful bears guys.
Glenn

Pretty bear JimB, congrats.

(http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Shedrock1/P1020725.jpg)

My Wyoming bear taken on 5-20-12 about 20 miles from the house. My story is on Pow Wow if you missed it. It's called Big Wyo bear....luck was shining down on me.

Congrats guys, those are all great bears!  :thumbsup:

Way to go guys! This thread is killing me  :)

Congrats to everyone on some awesome animals and especially to LITTLEBIGMAN for enduring some tough hunting conditions in Manitoba to take his bear. I imagine it would have taken a lot of determination and heart to stick it out in those freezing conditions. Good on ya, you deserve it.

thank you Earl for the kind words and to every one else as well. Congrats to everyone else on their great bears as well!!

Good Stuff. Congrats to everyone and thanks for sharing!

Nice critters!!

LIttlebigman, he sure is a super bear. Were any  guesses made as to how much he might have weighed before he went to ground for the winter?

Jim:  Great story and even greater Bear. I figured you Minnesota guys could hunt in short pants in weather like that. Way to hang in there.  RW

izzy. A bear supposedly will put on 40% of his fall weight after coming out of hibernation so if that is accurate he should weigh in at 553 lbs!

Roy

Short pants right!!

Great bears, congrats!!!

Great bears guys!

Great stories and awesome bears!! I am heading to Quebec to hunt bear for the first time in 10 days. It can't get here fast enough!!!  :thumbsup:    :notworthy:    :archer2:

We hit the road in One hour , Idaho bound , 35 hours give or take a few. Only stopping for gas and food. Congrats to everyone so far.........
,,,,,Sam,,,,,,

Good thread and good luck to you Sam!

Malcolm Parker, Bud Kent, Joe Walsh, and I leaving 4am tomorrow for Idaho.....watch out bears!

Great bears guys!  Good luck everyone, looking forward to some more stories and pictures.
-Jay

Awesome thread guys!!! Good luck to the outbound and congrats to the incoming  :thumbsup:   Appreciate all of you for taking us along for the ride!!!

(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/IMG_9338.jpg)

Nice bears! Love the color on yours JimB.

Just got back from our week of DIY bear hunting in Idaho.  Had a great time and wish I could spend another week hunting. On the nice days bears were moving good on the rainy days not so much..

Beautiful bear Jim !
 Congratulations
Glenn

Great bears fellas.

Jim - wow.  Heard about the beast.  Great to see pics.  I hunted that same stand (and tree) x 2 nights as Ryan had another big one hanging around.  Never saw it.

Got back in at 1:30 am last night after a 25.5 hr drive and 1500 miles.  Will get some pics up today.

Stickflingers went 6 for 6 on week two with two in the 19/20 inch class and it's first ever bear shot FROM THE GROUND.

Bear Quest 6 starts next weekend.  I'll be headed up with Uncle Barry (if his doctor gives the green light) and Larry Surtees.  I'll definitely have my mojo with me, Team Tippit broadhead & my Dad's ashes to leave his spirit in the woods...tippit

 (http://images5a.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp63594%3Enu%3D3796%3E53%3A%3E332%3E288753%3A42323%3Bot1lsi)

Great thread!  Great story telling littlbigman!!  Congrats to all.

Wow!  Great bears guys!  I really gotta give that a try one of these years.

Brian can't wait to hear some stories.  6 for 6 is pretty impressive and to boot one from the ground!  Good for you guys and can't wait to hear more.

Let him see Brian  :)

Oh... working on the Photobucket uploads right now.  Mine is NOT one of the big boys, but is an awful lot prettier than last year's ugly cuss.

I made my journey to the Porcupine Hills just north west of Birch River, Manitoba to hunt black bears with Stickflingers Manitoba Bowhunts.  In it's second year of operation, Ryan Derlago heads the crew comprised of two guides; himself and David, and Bea (camp mom as well as Ryan's mother) running a kitchen that churns out fabulous food come rain or shine, and Ron (Ryan's father) as camp organizer and chief social activities director.  He tells some of the best hunting stories ever.

We had a full camp for this second week of Stickflingers hunting season.  All six hunters arrived at our camp carved out of the wilderness in time for handshakes, introductions, and rabble rousing before our orientation scheduled for Sunday at noon.  This week I would enjoy the company of Tim Bradley and his son Joe from Colorado, Mike Casey from Iowa, Dave Pagel from SE Michigan, and John also from Colorado.

Tim and Joe ready to hit the woods
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1023.jpg)

Mike catching some sun
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1019.jpg)

Dave - suffered through my snoring inside that tent
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1018.jpg)

Me - wearing my new TradGang cap
(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1017.jpg)

Ryan reviewed the results of  the previous week's hunt, bear activity, and which stands were hot (that was just about all of them).  He covered our safety briefing, field judging bears and shot placement.  After our camp briefing we all headed to our fancy new wall tents complete with large comfy cots, camp chairs, wood burning stoves and plywood floors to make ready for our first of 6 hunts.  David would be guiding John, Dave and Mike.  Ryan decided to tackle the rowdy threesome of myself, Tim, and Joe.  ATVs were loaded on trailers and off we went.

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0980-1.jpg)

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0976-1.jpg)

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1015.jpg)

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(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0977-1.jpg)

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0978-1.jpg)

The first evening I returned to the stand formerly known as "The Ladder".  Both Brian Wessel and I had taken bear off that stand last year.  Jim Gilmer took a dandy off it last week (see photos and story above - NICE BEAR JIM !).  Ryan told how another large bear had cruised around that stand the night/morning after Jim had taken his bear and that Ryan figured it was a good 18+ 300lb buster.

Neither he nor any others showed up that evening and I returned to camp a bit disappointed.  That was the first time I had been skunked in sightings at Ryan's camp.  The wind was making the woods noisier than a Rose Bowl Parade and all the bears decided to stay at home I guess. No hunters returned to camp that evening with a bear on the ground but everyone else had at least seen bears.  Long drives to get to camp and a long sit in a windy woods sent me to bed early that night.  Before the sun came up the wind had also pushed in some cold rain.

With strong winds and rain all night and all day I chose not to sit in the woods for day two.  Three of my companions stayed in camp as well, but Joe and John were serious about killing a bear and wear not going to let a soaking deter them.  They returned empty handed and wet to the bone.  I admired their determination while I sat in camp and stoked the fire.

Tuesday saw the rain fade away and the sun trying to make an appearance.  The slop left behind made travel difficult and treacherous, and I am taking just about trying to make it to the dinning trailer.  We all managed to get our bows out for some more target practice before determining which camouflage pattern worked best for mud.  

Ryan and I decided the Ladder stand deserved another visit and back into the woods we went.  The breeze was still shaking branches and tree limbs but the trees were not moving quite as much this evening so I knew bears would be out.  About 9 pm I had my first visitor.  A small two-year old black bear that was finding it's way in the world without it's mom for the first time.  A sign that the sows were kicking out their youngster and entering into their heat cycles.  The boars would be out cruising sows now and less interested in bait barrels, unless of course a hot sow was at the barrel.  I enjoyed watching the little fella for about 45 minutes and decided to call it an evening and left the tree stand.

Joe had much better luck than I did counting 16 bears in and around his stand throughout the evening including a sow with 4 yearling cubs.  He saw a couple he said he would be willing to shoot on day 5 or 6 but nothing that made him excited for day 3.  Tim had a couple visitors but no arrows flew from his bow that night either.  Back at camp we waited for the return of David and his group.  At 1:30 in the morning when they had not yet returned a recon party went out to find them.

THE GREAT RECOVERY

The rivers that need to be crossed to get to many of the stands had become so engorged from the heavy rains the previous day that log piles blocked their return.  As it turned out, Dave shot a bear that evening as did Mike.  As Mike's bear was quickly recovered it was loaded into a trailer tub hitched to an ATV for transport back to the main road and waiting truck.  In the process of crossing one of the rivers logs became lodged up into the ATV preventing it from moving any further across the river.  The tub trailer began floating sideways in the current.  Mike and Dave jumped into the icy water trying to save the tub and its contents from ending up lost down river.  After righting the trailer and keeping the bear inside it, David began working on freeing the ATV from the partially submerged logs.

Grabbing his guide pack, David began digging out his hand saw only to have the other contents of the pack spill into the current.  He managed to save most of his belongings but did not find the saw he was looking for.  Being ever resourceful, David produced his Leatherman Tool and extracted the 4 inch saw blade, kneeled down in the near freezing water and began sawing his ATV out of the log jam with both hand underwater to the elbows.  After managing to cut away the  logs impeding the vehicle, David stood up shaking off the cold and wetness, smiled that smile that never leaves his face, and said "Well that was fun".  That is one tough little Canadian bear guide folks. Off they went further down the road crossing more water holes and mud bogs that should have stopped most sane people in their tracks.  They all arrived back in camp safe and sound near 3am soaking wet, covered in mud, and Dave hit the rack only half undressed too tired and cold to finish the job.

Dave's bear was recovered the next morning, his first bow shot bear.  I will leave it to Dave to fill in the details when he can get to his computer.

Mike shot a large boar tipping the scales at just under 400lb and had a solid 19+ inch skull that will probably end up closer to 20 than 19.

Wednesday brought warmer weather and my desire to have a shot at a bear only increased as the temperature rose.  Good bear hunting and warm days seem to go hand in hand.  Besides, when I left my wife back at home, I looked at the 10-day weather calendar and pointed to Wednesday and announced I would shoot my bear on Wednesday.  She gave me that look that she does some times, half doubting me, half surprised that I would be so bold as to pick a spot on the left field wall.  Well if Babe could get away with it, why couldn't I?  I am, after all, a veteran bear hunter now right?  My rookie year was over and now this bear hunting stuff was becoming routine.  Well, I did not fool her either.

I asked Ryan about a stand called TOO CLOSE.  I liked it last year but did not have the courage to hunt it.  I had thought about that stand almost every day since I left Manitoba last year.  And it was Wednesday after all.  The chemistry seemed right.  The stand had been visited heavily the last few weeks Ryan stated.  He had trail cam pics of bears, big bears, on that bait throughout the day light hours, with multiple visits daily by at least two bruisers. I asked Ryan if I could do a morning sit at TOO CLOSE and if it felt good, I'd stay all day.  He thought the wind would be good and OKed the plan.  Oh, the best part about TOO CLOSE, the reason I had thought about it every day for the last 360 days....   It is on the ground.

Thanks "BIG SEXY" for telling about the great recovery.  It will be one of the greatest night of my life and 80% of it happened after I shot the bear.  Its awsome to be in a camp when you roll in at 3am wet covered with mud frozen and everyone has a huge smile on their face from the adventure they were just on. Something I learned never leave home without your leatherman.  Ill try to put some pics on in the next day or two. Mike

This is getting good.

:bigsmyl:  


:campfire:

:dunno:Don't stop now, the story is getting mighty interesting.

QuoteOriginally posted by jeanpaul3006:
::Don't stop now, the story is getting mighty interesting.

I got to the blind about 9am.  The single bait barrel laid in the middle of what looks like an old logger's road with thick sapling growth down the road and large 10 foot banks flanking the sides.  On one of the sides a small brush pile was constructed and fresh evergreen limbs had been added a few weeks ago.  Ryan reminded me to scrape the ground clear of twigs and debris that might snap under foot and alert the bears to the intruder lurking behind the cover.  Once in the blind I indicated to Ryan that a practice shot was needed. He placed a target on the ground beside the barrel.  I skewered it with my practice arrow.  He brought me my arrow back, we discussed a signal to place by the road for a pick up, and Ryan asked me once again what I was going to do before I let loose an arrow at my furry target.  "Pick a spot" was my reply and just what he wanted to hear.  ( I had a little issue with that last year -  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=104915;p=4)

The sun climbed higher in the sky, the temperature rose.  Shadows changed as the sun made its march across the sky.  Every new shadow became a bear, sitting, watching me, liking its chops.  Ground blinds ARE more exciting.

At 12:45 a new shadow appeared across the way, behind the barrel and up on the other steep bank.  This shadow moved.  And it was huge. It also had feet, tiny feet under its large blocky mass of pitch black fur.  It looked like a wall of darkness moving in on my sunny day.  It zigged its way through the mid sized trees on the ridge and moved toward the barrel.  Still 10 yards behind the barrel it dwarfed the 55 gallon plastic drum.  Fortunately I was sitting down because my legs turned to jelly and I forgot how to breath for a few seconds.  My plan was to wait until the bear was occupied with the grain spilling out of the barrel and slowly rise and draw the bow.  

Slight wind gusts had been puffing on my neck from time to time and now another decided to cough up a little burst that sent my smell into the nose of the lumbering giant.  He never made it to the barrel but turned 160 degrees and headed left and back into the cover of the trees.  By his angle, I thought he might be trying to circle me so I stayed put in my seat ( like my legs would have worked anyway).  I was hoping after a good circle, he would consider it safe to return to his noon snack and we could resume where we had left off.  I caught movement from my right .  The bear returns.  Walking straight down the opening between the ridges toward the bait barrel.  But wait, this is not the same bear.  A bit smaller and not black.  Brown, dark brown.  The bear was the color of a beer bottle holding captive a nice porter.  It glistened in the sun.  Red sparkles from the hair tips.  This was a dream bear.

It made its way to the barrel without much caution, laid down FACING me, and began eating with its back to the opposite ridge that just held the big black bear.  I was debating making a move and starting to stand when the bear's nose went up into the air.  Two or three good sniffs to each side and it was back on its feet.  It moved behind the barrel and part way up the slope and out of my life.

Feeling a bit frustrated by what just happened, I figured if I was going to kill a bear today, Wednesday, the day I had felt in my gut, I needed to move to a different stand.  The wind here just was not cooperating.  I went to the road and waited to Ryan or David to pass.  The bugs loved this swampy little area beside the road and I did not have my head net.  I decided to walk a bit and burn off some frustration knowing I would get picked up soon enough.  It felt good to stretch the legs again after sitting around for a few days.

When I met up with Ryan and David we discussed other stand options.  There was still a good bear back at the Ladder Stand and a couple other baits had not been hunted yet.  David suggested that the wind was light so the little puffs were gonna be erratic until the evening but then should die down.  He suggested going back into TOO CLOSE, three guys in making noise and freshening the barrels with grain and grease while making a bunch of noise and banging the barrel and buckets, but only two guys come out.  Now not only is David tough enough to roll around in an icy river but he is cagy  when it comes to outsmarting bears.  Ryan looked at me and asked what I wanted to do.  TOO CLOSE and Wednesday, it just had to work this time.

I was back in the ground blind by 4pm.  The sun was angling down but now shinned directly in my eyes.  I was hoping if anything showed up it would wait until the sun dropped some more or I was going to be squinting through the shot.  The snowshoe hares and squirrels kept my mind of the events from earlier with their rugby game over the bait.  The huge hares outweighed the squirrels 3 to 1 but the squirrels made up for it in tenacity and vocabulary.  It was quite a show.  Skippy, the three legged hare, made an appearance.  I figured maybe he donated a lucky foot to some hunter or trapper in the past.  It was a beautiful evening.

At 6:30 pm a new shadow appeared.  It was right in the same spot as the previous bulk of a bear earlier in the day.  I saw right away it was smaller, so not the same bear.  But it still looked good.  The bear worked his was down the same trail as had the earlier behemoth.  David and Mike had left the barrel standing after their "bait run" and the bear quickly stood and started licking the top of the barrel clean of the grain and grease it offered.  It stood well above the barrel while on its rear legs but below the barrel while on all four.  I figured maybe it was a 6 footer but no larger.  I surveyed its coat.  It was in perfect condition, shimmering black and not rubbed. I wanted a solid black rug in the 6 foot range.  This bear was now endangered.

I quit looking at it.  I surveyed the ground for any twigs that may have fallen ready on the floor ready to send alert.  I slowly rose and tensed the string.  I was calm.  I was confident in my shot.  I had practiced this 13 yard shot ten thousand times.  I saw the his chest open and unprotected as his arms were holding the barrel.  I knew if he pulled down and lowered his body as his arms went up the shoulder blades would go down and intrude but his arms were 90 degrees to his body.  I found my spot and  no longer saw the bear.  My 52# 60-inch one-piece Blacktail Snakebit was up.  I pulled back on the string drawing my orange crested and fletched hand-made Surewood shaft tipped with a VPA Terminator 3 blade 160gr broadhead.  I saw only that spot and the flame orange arrow cut a path to then through that spot.  Just like I had envisioned the arrow flying true it did.  Just like I had pictured the spot colored by my fletchings for a brief second, it did.  I saw the arrow strike the dirt behind the bear.  The bear leaped and dodge up the hill and into the safety provided by the higher ground.  It stopped and looked back over its right shoulder at the barrel.  It did a double take.  I know if was wondering "what just stung me"?  It looked forward again for a brief second like it was choosing which path to take out of there but its knees buckled and its legs liquefied.  It dropped right there, right atop the ridge looking over the barrel not 7 yards away.  I watch and heard it die.  The wilderness was quiet and I stood on the ground taking it in.

I left Ryan a signal at the road and went back in to see my bear.  It was not the full 6 footer I thought it was.   I guess my field judging still needs some work.  He squared  5.5 feet and should yield a 16 inch skull.  I took some pictures before Ryan came on the scene and together we snapped a few more.  I gave Ryan a bit of a hard time about not helping me with the tracking job so I made him do most of the dragging 10 yards to the  ATV trail.  I am pleased with my bear and know the rug he will provide will be admired by me for many years to come.  He is not a book bear, or maybe not even a trophy to some.  But two predators met in the woods one day, on the same ground.  I will remember that hunt always.

Thank you Ryan and David !  See you again next year.

View from barrel where the bear stood to the blind
 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0982-1.jpg)

Picture from blind, note barrel, arrow to left of barrel, bear on hill to right of barrel
 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0984-1.jpg)

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0986-1.jpg)

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(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_1002.jpg)

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P.S.

On Friday night, the trio from Colorado all connected with bears and all three were recovered.  Joe took a twin to Mike's coming in at a trimmer 300lb but same length and skull size.

Stickflingers 2012 week II - 6 for 6.

Brian, what an excellent story! It made me miss that place so much...as well as all of the great people. I am a little jealous as I know I was 'sposed to be there with you. I have my regrets as just being in camp when the hunters roll in with cheesin' grins are worth the price of a ticket   :campfire:  Congrats on a great bear brother!!! I am super pumped for you my friend.

Stickflingers is a special place with special people. Ryan and David are the most easy going fellas to bear hunt with and not only know their biddness...they work hard! Having Ron around as the Events Planner and Chief Story Teller is also worth going, and Ms. Bea is the glue that holds it together with food and charm that keeps you plump and happy  :)  

360 days and I am back. Can't wait!

Awesome pics and read along,Congrats!!

Yea !!!

That's a good looking son of a gun Brian....  great looking coat, actually from the pics looks perfect!!!

Looks like Ryan has this bear thing down!!! Good shot brother  :)

Thanks for the story and pictures!! I just wish I could have been there with ya  :)


 :campfire:

Thanks fellas.

Mike - I moved my week next year.  We will be hunting together again along with Tim, Joe, and Mike.

Kip - Someday brother, we are gonna get together on some kind of grand adventure too.

Congrats Brian!! Sure miss hunting bear this year  :(  Thanks for the stories!!

I figured out how to add a video clip.  I took this from my ground blind.  First you will see (out of focus -sorry) the bait barrel with my arrow next to it, then the bear up on the ridge, then my feet standing on terra firma.

 (http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/th_MVI_0990.jpg) (http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/?action=view¤t=MVI_0990.mp4)

No way I can be as eloquent in my recap as my esteemed tentmate, but here goes.

I was by far the least experienced bear hunter in camp.  In fact, I had hunted bears two other times with a bow in Wyoming and had never had a bear come into the bait.  While the Colorado boys and Mike had specific types of bears they were looking for, I was looking for a representative animal and a great experience.

Sunday night I settled into the stand after a one hour quad ride to get there with multiple river crossings.  Those rides are a story in themselves.  At 6:30 I had a bear cross a fire trail and circle me about 40 yards out.  It spent about 5 minutes sizing up the site before it came on in.  What a pretty bear!  Long hair, very chunky and huge blaze on it's chest, at least 4 x 6.  The bear fed for over 30 minutes while I watched and sized it up.  It looked good to me, but again I am not the most experienced bear hunter.  I let it leave and 2 hours later it appeared off my right shoulder at 10 yards.  I never heard it coming.  The bear walked right under my stand eyeing me up every step.  It went to the bait and fed for another 30+ minutes.  Again I let it go.  About 9:45 here it came again on the same trail.  This time it laid down about 6 yards from my tree and just watched me for about 5 minutes.  It then fed until 10:05.  I was to get down at 10:15 so when the bear left I boogied out of there so I didn't spook it.  As I walked to the quad the bear was about 50 yards in front of me on the trail.  It just stepped about 15 yards off and watched me walk by.  I picked up Mike and the ever exciting quad ride back to the truck passed without incident.

When I described the bear back at camp Ryan and Dave thought it might be a bear I should consider.  It was a beautiful bear.

As Brian mentioned, Monday was a washout.  Tuesday Dave accompanied me to the stand so he could look at the trail cam.  As he went through the pictures he pointed to one and said "that is a good bear".  I asked him when it was taken and it proved to be Sunday night while I was in the stand.  I now had some idea that at least I wasn't completely crazy in my initial thoughts.

Dave left and I settled in.  The barrels were 10 and 12 yards from the stand and I was 12 feet up.  It was a beautiful setup and a beautiful night.
    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/CopyofDSC01631.jpg)
The setup

    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/CopyofDSC01632.jpg)
Lila Lou ready for action

At 6:45 I saw a nice looking bear coming in from the NE.  It moved in a semi-circle until it was straight in front of me and then walked straight to the barrel, laid down and began to eat.  I had stood up and slipped the lower limb of my Silvertip into the pocket sewn on the leg of my pants.  I spent the next 15 minutes assuring myself that I had made this shot thousands of times in preparation.  One of the many snowshoe rabbits around the site finally aggravated the bear until it stood and gave the shot I wanted.  My 625 grain arrow with a 160 Snuffer on the tip went through the bear right where I was looking and stuck a full inch in one of the logs on the far side of the barrel.  The bear loped off in the direction it came from and I thought I saw the hind quarters sag about 75 yards out.  I was very confident of the shot, but I never got a death moan.
    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/CopyofDSC01633.jpg)
    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/CopyofDSC01636.jpg)
My arrow buried in the log

Ryan had asked us not to track the bears without him or Dave so I just verified the hit and blood and climbed back in the stand since I wasn't to pick up Mike until dark.  Little did I know he had killed his monster a bit before I shot.  I will let him tell the story, but suffice to say the recovery and trip back to camp was epic!  Muskeg, beaver dams, quads skewered by logs and phenomenal team work to say the least.

The next morning Ryan, Dave and I headed back for my bear.  The rivers were still swollen from Monday's rain, but we tried that route anyway instead of fighting the same route Dave and I had fought the night before.  When we got to the bait, blood was harder to come by than anticipated.  I finally found a long strand of fat hanging from a bush.  The three of us followed fat and grease smears more than blood.  Dave stopped at one point and said he smelled dead bear.  Later Ryan did the same and just seconds later we were standing next to the beautiful animal.  We were admiring what Ryan felt was a solid 6 foot boar or a bit more and rolled it over to look at the blaze.  Much to everyone's surprise it was an old dry sow!  Her coat was perfect, she had no neck and a crease in her forehead.  Oh well, she was a beautiful bear.
    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/CopyofDSC01637.jpg)
     (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/DSC01639.jpg)
    (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/dpagel77/Manitoba%20Bear%202012/DSC01642.jpg)

We had to skin and quarter her where she fell.  There was no way the 3 of us could carry her out whole through the maze of blowdowns between us and the quad trail.  She had gone a bit over 100 yards from the shot, but in the worst direction possible.

I was curious about the lack of blood.  My entrance hole was perfect, 2-3 inches behind the shoulder, but the exit was higher than the entrance just at the diaphragm.  A plug of fat over an inch in diameter kept the bleeding internal.  She had to have been twisted strangely for the arrow to have taked that path as she looked perfectly broadside in my sight picture.

I shot my 56# Silvertip, "Lila Lou" on this hunt.  I had it made when my Mother passed away and this was the first kill with the bow.  The hunt was a great experience all around.  Ryan, Bea, Ron and Dave do a great job.

D.P.

Great bear Brian, I've never been bear hunting bu dream about it.  Thanks for the great story.

Congrats to all hunters in camp!!!!

Wow you guys had a great run up there!!!

Congrats to all!!!

Congrats to all you guys! That's one of my dream hunts for sure...   :thumbsup:

Read through this post today and what great bear hunts for several of you. Thanks for all the pics and story... very exciting. Congrats to you all.

:thumbsup:

I never got to see Dave's bear.  It was skinned out and in the freezer before I got home from hunting.  Darn fine bear there buddy !   :thumbsup:

Great stuff fellas, congrats to all!!

Congrats guys!!

Congratulations to all. That one is gonna make a nice rug Brian.

Excellent bears fellas!
Brian-great job telling your story! Felt like I was there with you.
Dave-congrats on a fine bear buddy! A real punkin head on that sow and don't sell your story telling ability short.....nice job!
Mike

Great story telling and some Fine Bears!!!!

congrats fellas~

way to go Brian and Dave!! great  hunts, great bears  great memories!!  From the ground!! Brian fantastic. I know that spot as we jumped a nice Cinnamon bear there when we went in to hang a camera!! It must have been so exciting to be on terra firma with that Bruin!

Not sure I have ever heard of such hunting success. . . what an outfit.  Congrats to all of you.

Thank you for the stories and pictures. Congratulations to all on your bears and memories earned.  It's one of my favorite animals to hunt (and our MI bears are wonderful table fare).    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

I was fortunate enough to be with "Big sexy" in camp.  "Twowolves" and I have hunted a lot of bears over the last 7 years, and we both shot are biggest so far.  If I can figure out how to post pics, I will.  Congrats again Dave and Brian on your fine trophies and good shootin.......

To say Muskwa is a hardcore bowhunter is an understatement.  Bears are just part of it.  There were great stories to be shared in camp.  Congrats Joe!

D.P.

Folks, here are some pics of Muskwa (Joe) and his fine bear.  BTW - Joe made the bow that he shot the bear with.. how cool is that!

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/photo-3.jpg)

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/photo-2.jpg)

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/photo-1.jpg)

Last weekend I took my Chek-Mate Hunter....as seen.

(http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j322/TDHunter/201205280631285.jpg)

(http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j322/TDHunter/201205280631283.jpg)

Next week I'll take out my new Centaur Chimera    .....   bring on the weekend!

You cant end there Allan  :banghead:  

Great Photos!

WOW, That's a beauty Joe!! Congratulations
Glenn

Wow great bears and great recaps on how they were taken!!!  :thumbsup:    :clapper:

Congrats Brian, Dave and Joe on a successful hunt in Manitoba, Great Bears. I'm glad to see some people are having luck, I've got two more sits planned until the spring season is over. It's been slow.

joe that is a brute!! what did he weigh? I think it is bigger then the tank I shot!!

Good stuff all, congrats!

I got away from baiting bears since 1998, but this season the fire got going again. I can't wait to get a bait set out next spring. It's a ton of work and time, but also a whole lotta fun!

This is a great thread.  Nice bears guys, big bears, color phase bears, etc.  Maybe TDH can add some story to his pics for us ?

Awesome animals and stories guys!

Thanks everyone.  My bear squared 7'2" and will go around 19 3/4".  Thanks for posting my pics Brian, I can make bows but I have no idea what a "photo bucket" is.  (I'd love to hear a few more stories over bourbon on the rocks this September in Colo.) I'm  waitimg for a pic of "Twowolves" bear.  His was a twin to mine and shot with his brand new RER.  

Take care Dave and Brian, may your arrows fly true and the wind be in your face..........

Great stories and pics everyone, keep them coming.

WOW, it took me awhile to catch up, havent checked this thread in awhile!  congrats on all the nice bears.  Im heading up on Fri, can't wait!!

About time for some new stories and pics to show up  :)

Congrats to all the bear hunters  :thumbsup:  Packed and heading to Quebec in 32 hours for Bear Quest 6. This will be my third year on this hunt and I know it'll be a dandy. More to follow for sure  ;)

Good luck to you BQ folks !!

Here are the pics of Twowolvesarchery (Mike) and his bear:


(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0076.jpg)

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_8780.jpg)

(http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii47/bel007/Manitoba_May_2012/IMG_0386.jpg)

QuoteOriginally posted by Sean B:
WOW, it took me awhile to catch up, havent checked this thread in awhile!  congrats on all the nice bears.  Im heading up on Fri, can't wait!!

Good luck Sean!!!

Can't wait for my buddy Barry (Mrx2010)to post his bear that he shot on Monday in Manitoba......it's a big boy!

Congratulations to all the successful hunters.

Thanks "Big Sexy" next year in camp you will have to show muskwa and I how to post pics over a bourbon and cigar..

Geez Casey- did Ryan pay you to where the hat?  :biglaugh:

I will be there with you next year to save you fellas...Tennesse sippin' whiskey on me. Brian can pick up the cigars. That stuff he drinks is from that "other" southern state that likes horses, basketball, and "blue" grass   :saywhat:  

Great bears guys! This thread is awesome!

:campfire:

:campfire:  

Ready for more stories...

Week 3 Stickflinger boys should be rolling in soon and I cant wait to see some more from TDHunter

me too!!

Just home from Idaho ( congrats guys great bears ) I have pics and tall tails of high adventure , we had a great hunt with good friends old and new. Had a few horse crashes and one that could have ended real bad. Might have even killed a bear or two. Congrats again to everyone......
,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,,,

C'mon Sam... don't leave us hangin'

Spill it   :readit:  


 :campfire:

Come on Sam!!

I have never did one of these on going stories but I will do my best cause there is a lot to tell.Please forgive my grammar and spelling , here goes.

This will be my 2nd year hunting with Ridgerunner outfitters in Idaho , I had a great hunt last year and this year was just as good. Me and my hunting buddy Felix made the 36 hour drive straight through and hit camp in the Clearwater wilderness a few days early and got settled in for our hunt. And as last year the weather wasent the best rain and kinda cold not the greatest for bear hunting but we did not care we were in bear camp.We put our packs on and did a little walk a few miles back to a spot we hunted last year and saw a bear our first day out so we were pretty happy about that.
The next day Jo( a fellow tradganger ) and his friends got in camp and we made our plans. The weather was still not good so while everyone hunted I cut wood and helped with stands and bait sites.Wasent many bears seen but everyone is having a big time ( great guys to share a camp with ).
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix046.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix062.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix069.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix092.jpg)

Be back in a few need to eat dinner........

cant wait to hear the stories sam.  I havent told my Idaho tale yet either. Brother blaster and a friend headed out for an 7 day hunt with me in Idaho last week.  I had been baiting about 4 spots and trying toi get the bears patternable.  Well after a month of hard work packin 55 galoon drums and numerous buckets of bait up and down the hills I only had 2 baits really getting hit well.  We were a little disappointed at the high volume of people that showed up to hunt in the area we were in.
 We just tried to do what we could to avoid them and make our odds a little better.  we rafted across a river and tried to bait where no one else would go.  Every day we would change from hunter to videographer to allow everyone a chance to kill a bear on our limited baits.
  On the 5th day Blaster and I went in at about noon for a long sit and decided to swap every hour from camera guy to hunter to keep it interesting.  Blaster had the first sit from 1 to 2 and didnt see anything. at 2 it was my turn and by 2:07 we had a bear coming in.  It circled the whole bait and while I was watching for it where I last saw it Blaster spotted it peeking from behind a tree at about 20 yards where it took off outta there.  The sit was uneventful until about 4:40 when once again it was my turn and we saw a bear approaching from below. This bear committed well and soon was walking up to the bait. As he got to the bait I picked a spot and let her rip. Lookin down at the bait I felt pretty confident...
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/IMG_2196.jpg)

:coffee:

Dang Chris,
Did you spray paint the ground and the top of that bait can?

The barrel and ground are gelatin mix I believe.  The logs and arrow on the other hand are the results of a sharp Simmons.

By the time all hunters are picked up and everyone tells of the days events its very late every night.Not much bear news , as usual the baits that no one is sitting get hit.Ok lets start this part by saying I have never been on a horse keep this in mind.Me and Mr. Anderson our outfitter are going to set a few backcountry baits on horseback , ok Im game.The total trip at the end of the day was over 12mi total , I had no idea a horse could go the places it took me.We rode up and down mountain trails that were just plain crazy and do a river crossing now I dont think I am scared of much but the pucker factor was in high gear you could say.We were packing bear bait a chain saw 2 bow blinds and some other stuff on another horse that I was leading.We would clear the trail as we went go back get the horses move up stop , clear so far go back ect. ect.
Well at the first river crossing the horse with the chainsaw on it did not want to cross.It was getting a little heated between the horses and I came out on the wrong end of this deal. We were turning around and the chainsaw blade got hung in between my leg and both horses. It did have a guard on the blade but let me tell you if your leg is hung between two horses going two different ways you will loose every time brother.
Im still a little sore from the deal but it was all worth it in the end ( think I might get me a few horses ) The ride out in total darkness up a very steep and muddy mountain was just insane and I loved every min of it , and now have a very new respect and love for horses. Well we had been there for a few days now and no bears shot and I had not even hunted yet so the next day Im going hunting no matter what.The next morning I get my pack together for a hike back into where me and Felix had went and scouted and seen the bear on day one , the weather turned out to be the best of the entire trip. Its prob a mile and a half back in on foot to this spot up and down the mountain with one river crossing by walking a big log.Here is a few more pics Im about to leave for work now 3 days at the firehouse. When I get home Thurs I will get back to the story.
,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix059.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix075.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix103.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix098.jpg)

The view from my blind.....

Then I found this about 10yds past my bait , why its my arrow with red stuff from end to end??????
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix009.jpg)

Then I fount this stuff on the ground and on the plants , Im gonna follow it and see what is leaking.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix013.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix016.jpg)

See yall Thursday...............
,,,,,Sam,,,,,

Congrats Sam and Felix!!!
I spoke with Sam as he and Felix were hauling through Denver last evening.  
Sounds like a great adventure with rugs to be made and great tasting bear steaks to be grilled and fried!!
Between weather and wrecks they had one heck of a good time!!!  
Sam keeps after me to join him, and I plan to either when my sons can go with me or things get a little more "stable" regarding family schedules.  
Anyway...I tip my hat to Sam and Felix and their bear hunting exploits!!!

Nice!  Love the suspense and the bloody arrow!  
After me shot the bear only went about 30 yards and was down in under ten seconds.  It wasnt a big bear like a lot of you lucky guys have been killing but very rewarding since so much hard work went into it.
 After the shot I hung up my bow and grabbed the camera and blaster took up his shrew.  About an hour later we had a sow walk by about 50 yards away and then a nice boar came from the opposite way and walked within ten yards of us. Blaster couldnt get turned that way without being seen and the boar caught the sows scent and birddogged after her.  We waited til an hour before dark and got down for pics.
(http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/hillbilly-kim/IMG_2204.jpg)
 The next day the trail cam showed a nice bear at the bait before we must have been a few hundred yards away.  I believe they must be able to see or smell you and hang back in the brush and wait.
  I was a little aprehensive about my set up since I have never hunted with a bow that light before but I got great results.  I was shootin a 47 pound "dark matter" centaur and beman arrows with a simmons safari head up front.  Complete pass through on a quartering shot.  Not a huge bear but a great hunt.
 We went on to hunt the next few days with some close calls.  On the last day my wife shot a pretty chocolate bear with her compound to end a wonderful week.  
  We all gained about ten pounds from some amazing cooking from my wife.  already lookin forward to next year and next weekend.  One tag left and will give it the old college try once more before I hang it up for the spring.

Awsome TFG !!     :thumbsup:

Congrats Turkeyfootgirl!!

This thread keeps getting better.  Great stories and pics

Great bear you got there Tutkeyfootgirl , what part of Idaho are yall hunting , Im stuck here at work now looking at this on my phone.

Up on the lochsa river.  Lots of bears but lots of people as well.  You must be west of us but somewhere close if your in a 2 bear area.

We are on the North Fork of the Clearwater around Skull creek.......

Congrats and thanks for the stories! Especially for those of us who dodn't get to go this year.

Sam,

Goog story!  Watch out for those horses, my friend!   They sometimes have a mind (or lack of a mind) of thier own.  Looking forward to the next installment!

Bob C

I meant good, not goog!  :)   Guess I'm going to have to break down and get me some readers!

Congrats to thew new posters.

There has been blood shed at bear quest!

Ok Im back home where was I , oh yes I was on the trail.What had happened was I had been in a blind we built on our first day scouting trip ( way back in on foot ) the weather was the best of the entire trip and it is day 2 or 3 that we had been there.It had just rained a small shower for just a few mins then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. Along about 5:05 out of nowhere here is a bear about 10yds from my bait , I as slows as I could grabbed my GreenStripe and got as close to the ground as I could as not to be seen.As he came in sniffing the wind and everything he walked by , he is a very beautiful black bear with a thick coat the was glowing in the patches of sun that was now beaming through the trees.As he walked behind my bait he took that right step that put his leg forward and his body quartered away.I drew the 65# GreenStripe back a full 30" locked into a solid anchor held for several seconds and let her rip.
The TreeShark hit a few inches farther back than I was looking but a great shot non-the-less.I saw the blood fly out on both sides of the bear and knew he was mine , the arrow went clear through him and about 10yds past.He bolted up a small rise and I could see his hind end sagging before he made it out of sight.I then sat back with a big poop eating grin on my face , looked down and saw my camera and took a pic of myself to confirm that poop eating grin.There is nothing like doing the work and then putting it all together and make that shot count dang I love bowhunting with my old Bear recurves and gear.I never heard the death moan but I knew he was down , this will be my 3rd bear with Ridgerunner in the last two years one cinnamon , one chocolate , and now one black man I love this place. And I still have another bear tag and a wolf tag so stay tuned.I gave him some time and then took the trail up where I had last seen him.The blood on the ground told of a good hit and the trail was a easy one until he had made the top and died on his feet and rolled down in a hell hole and slid to rest next to a small mountain stream.Not that the trail was hard to follow just getting to him was almost vertical drop hundred feet down.I could see him down at the bottom and it took me almost 45min before I got my hands on his hide.Well here is my bear and a few other pics , I will pick up with the story sometime Fri.

  (http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix078.jpg)

My poop eating grin seconds after the shot.....
  (http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix010.jpg)

A great trail..........
  (http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix019.jpg)

And my first bear of the trip.......
  (http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix028.jpg)

Awesome job!  Love the job those Simmons can do!  Impressive ain't it

That is so cool

Nice bear!

Great post Sam! Nice shooting!   I hunted elk up in the North Fork Clearwater area with a group called Cayuse Outfitters.  Gorgeous area but impossibly thick vegetation at times.  
Loved the pictures as they took me back to the area in my mind.
Chris
PS I Love Simmons heads too. Great blood trails.

Thanks guys will finish the story and have more pics in the next few days.......
,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,

Congratulations on your bear, Sam    :thumbsup:   Enjoyed the photos and story.

I used to live in the South Fork of the Clearwater region and a lot of the game shot seems to slide somewhere.  A big whitetail that I shot, slid about 300 yards on 8" of snow.  He hung up on a couple of small pines or he would have slid farther.  My buddy had to plant his feet and butt to hold the antlers while I gutted him - that steep.

Do you think that if we flattened Idaho out that it would be as big as Texas?     :)

TOTALLY awesome and cant wait to see more pictures. love the stories it is like we are there.

Thanks guys it was a great trip for sure , If Idaho was flat just the Clearwater might be as big as Tx.Well after that pack out job I was one wore out fella , that means I slept in the next day.I had to stash the meat at about the half way mark we guessed my pack at around 170# with the meat and hide and skull.The next morn the outfitter went in and packed the meat the rest of the way for me witch I did not mind cause my knee from my horse crash wasent feeling very good.The weather was wet as usual for the next few days so as everyone else hunted I hung out and did camp stuff and helped with baits and stands.
One of our group had brought his flyrod and would catch some very nice trout every time he wet his line.All was going well if we could just get the rain to stop.We got the horses ready and me and Felix and Mr Anderson are going for the backcountry baits and going to make the day of it.All was well until the river crossing we hit the swift ice cold river and was on our way across Mr. Anderson first then me then Felix.It is very loud with the rushing water and 3 horses all crossing , I heard something funny looked back and no Felix just a horse when I looked the other way there he was getting washed down stream in the heavy current and the look on his face said it all.I thought I lost one of my best friends he had on a heavy pack and it did not look good.We raced to the other side and I was off my horse and in the water in the blink of an eye to get my friend , but when I got there he was gone my heart sank and the first time I went to yell for him I could not talk.The water was freezing cold , I yelled as I got farther out and and was about to jump in when I heard him down river cry out Im ok.He had been washed down about 60 - 70 yards and caught a limb and pulled him self to the bank , Im not sure who felt better at this point him or me. We got to him and other than being frozen he was ok ( he is one tough dude)and one of my best friends.I had some dry clothes for him in my pack and an extra wool coat but his boots were soaked.So he ended up going back up the mountain that day.We are not sure what happened he cant recall the events but the saddle was on the side of the horse after it was all said and done and everyone was ok.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix064.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix087.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix088.jpg)

That night there were tall tails being told of our adventure and the guides daughter had a tale of her own.She had wend to bait and ran into a nasty bear , she is 17 and no bigger than a popcorn fart.The bear followed her a bit and was popping his choppers and she shot a few rounds in the ground in front of him and he ended up thinking better and walked off.So it was a very big day in camp for sure.One of the hunters had shot 2 big bears but not sure of the hits we waited til morning to follow up.Early up we headed out on the trail and found both arrows one was broke off at the taper with no blood on the shaft the other with only a few inches of blood on the shaft.We looked for about 5 hours just in case with nothing found.He said the 2 big boars came in fighting over the bait and I think it got the best of him , And that is why we call it hunting right.Well here is more pics and more story later..........
,,,Sam,,,,
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix095.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix099.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix043.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix066.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix056.jpg)

Great finish to your tale of adventure Sam!!!  Congrats again to you and Felix for getting bears and surviving your hunt!  :)

Nice story and pics Sam, congrats!

Sam,thanks for sharing this adventure.

Wow Sam what a great adventure.I know that being a Houston Fireman,you have had a lot of rescue training.But I bet your white water rescue training is limited.We can all laugh now that your hunting buddy is good to go.

Great story and pics.

Awesome adventure Sam! Nice bear!

Great bear -- great Bear bow -- great photos!

Well it aint over yet have a little more for ya.Two of our other hunters took the horses and longbows across the river for their last hunt and had a little action. The horse ride was great and no one took a bath or got hung up , I think me and Felix rode all that out of em.I had flipped a coin for them before they rode off to see who would hunt what bait and dave won the toss and chose the one on the right.He had been in the blind for a few hours and had to see a man about a horse if you know what I mean.So he walked down the hill and over by the river for a few mins , with everything done and ready to go back he got everything in order picked up his selfbow and turned around. And right there not 60yds away stood a full grown male wolf looking right at him.He said He could not even get a breath and they just looked at each other for a long while until the wolf just walked up the hill toward the bait. Then where the big male was standing a female came out of the brush and walked up with the big boy and they both sat on the hill looking at him for several mins. David said the wolves were never bothered by him and were just acting like nothing was wrong , and that was the part he did not like at all he said it was a very funny feeling.That entire place is covered in wolf tracks and poop , and also bear sign.A bear never came in for either him or Jo that afternoon , but Daves bait had been hit.Well early the next morn they had to leave and it was our last day also we had to get on the road soon as the days hunt was over.And like always me and Felix had to hunt the two hardest bait they have to get to.I will go on the horses again across the river and Felix to the top of the mountain way on down the road.Felix ended up with a great bear about an hour after he got in the stand and boy was I a happy camper when I got that news.He has logged 18 days in bear camp missed one bear and passed something like 6 bears in the past 2 years ( my hats off to him ). I dont pass shots at much my first clean shot I let her rip that being said here is my last day on stand.There I was sitting in a pop-up blind way back in there ( the bait was hammered when I got there ).I was sitting there saying to myself over and over I dont care if I get another bear Just let Felix get one , I said this out loud about 20 times. Right as I was saying this I heard a stick break and looked to my right and about 2 feet away stood a 300# chocolate bear looking over a log right in my blind.
He just was looking all around with not a care in the world.He dropped down on a lower trail and came right in and stood on his hind legs not 12yds from me and sniffed a tree. Then walked behind the bait and past it then turned around and came back.I was locked at full draw when he stopped behind the bait.I let the string fall and the arrow was off in a flash and it all felt oh so good as that arrow spun toward that big ol bear that was standing about 12yds away.Ok now lets rewind a bit they run about 16 baits and out of them all I think he only has barrels at 2 of them the others are just big logs stacked over the bait.And when he sets the baits they always put a small stick about 4 or 5 feet tall sticking straight up so as they go to rebait they can see at a distance if it has been hit or not cause if its not been hit no need to go rebait.This can save a long walk up and down mountains great idea.And if you look close in the pics you can see the stick sticking up. Ok back to my shot that was feeling oh so good well you have figured it out by now I never saw that stupid $@#*&^% stick and my arrow hit that darn stick and went right over that bear into parts unknown. I mean to tell you wasent even a blade of grass between me and him just that stick and I never saw it.That was the last bear I saw for my last day
( I told Mr. Anderson I am going to break everyone I come across next time Im there ).But its all ok with me cause like I said when I was picked up that night Mr. Anderson rode up wiyh the horses and never said a word and handed me a radio and said talk to Felix and I knew right then who ever I was talking to all that day had heard me ( I dont need another bear just let Felix get one ) It was a great end to my hunt I found out today another hunter also miss that bear just 3 days ago ( bet he hit that $*#@^% stick ). We made the river with a little light left in the day and rode up the mountain in total darkness with my recurve in my hand. When we made camp Ol Felix was still on cloud 9 and the 37 hour drive home was made with no probs.  THE END..
,,,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,,,,
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix090.jpg)
Look close in the pic below and you can see that friggen stick just to the right!!!!!!!!
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix127.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix081.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix077.jpg)
My meat cashed down at the river.
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix050.jpg)
(http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac45/samstephens71/Bearhunt2012meandFelix028.jpg)
The end.......................................

:clapper:  To big of an adventure for page 2.Congrats

Is bear season over boys?????????????
,,,,Sam,,,,

Done for me.  I just got back from one last 3 day stint in Idaho and saw two bears but no shooting.  I haven't been home for 6 weekends so I guess it'd time to get some stuff done there. Til next year

Lovin this thread...  thanks to everyone for sharing and posting...

Great ending to the story Sam.  Nice work.

Chris

Thanks for sharing!!!  :thumbsup:

Sam you can tell a bear tale.  Wow!  Great adventure to say the least.

Well, I went on my first spring bear hunt this year in Quebec on Bear Quest 6.  We arrived in camp about mid morning on Saturday the 9th.  after freshening up abit, I set out for my stand around 3:30.

Since I had been awake for over 40 hours, I tightend my safty strap to hold me in place incase I nodded off. the 2 hours that passed had flown by due to my excitement.  about 530 I had my first bear come in.  Thats when the arguement in my head started!!

It was a pretty good bear, the biggest that I've had with in shooting range...but it was the first day.....I had never killed a bear...but it was the first day......it was giving me many shot angles...but it was te first day.  I passed on it and took a few pictures.  I had 2 smaller bears come in and just enjoyed the show.

The next day i saw 5 different bears, but none offered a shot.  Already, I had seen more bears than all of my 4 fall bear hunts combined. I was pretty excited.

Monday, I was in the stand around 4 o"clock.again, I had a bear come in around 530.  He layed down about 45 yrds out.after about 20 mins he came the rest of the way in.  The arguement continued.....I liked the way he looked....but there were bigger bears around.....But I wanted that bear......it was only the third day...I never shot a bear......

After an hour and letting hime walk for times, I decided that I wanted him.  I waited for him to turn completely broadside, picked a part in its coat just behind the shoulder...I raised my morrison, drew and released.  I saw the arrow sink 14 of the way up the fletching...i knew it was a good hit. alls i could think was..."i just killed a bear with a recurve"....

A short trackingjob led me to my first bear!
(http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/seanb45/IMG_2233.jpg)

:campfire:

Very cool.  Good shot,  awesome you got to see a bunch of bears!

Nice job Sean
 :thumbsup:

Great thread and stories. . . congrats all.

Thanks all, the first one is always special.  He wasnt the biggest bear in the woods, but he was the one that I wanted.  I'll be at it again in Maine the first week of the fall season!

Great bear Sean..........
,,,,Sam,,,,

Congrats Sean!  :thumbsup:

thanks Sam & congrats, great story!

WOW...Great stories.
Thanks!

I enjoyed the stories and a hearty congratulations to all!

Realy cool stuff and nice bears.

got my rug back, my yurt is too small
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8206/8161006575_b162f6bd8f.jpg)