(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/saltwatertom/IMG_0643.jpg) (http://s607.photobucket.com/user/saltwatertom/media/IMG_0643.jpg.html)
Nice find. Congrats
I know this guy!
Congrats on the bear(s) :thumbsup: :campfire:
F-Manny
From another angle...
(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/saltwatertom/IMG_0640.jpg) (http://s607.photobucket.com/user/saltwatertom/media/IMG_0640.jpg.html)
Wait! Why is a bear posing with another bear!?
Both BIG LOL
Comparing them side by side like that, that must be about a 400# bear.....
I don't know who that hunter is, but those arrows are from Big Jims
Just a day at the beach ( creek )
(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/saltwatertom/P1050189.jpg) (http://s607.photobucket.com/user/saltwatertom/media/P1050189.jpg.html)
Just a day at the beach ( creek )
(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/saltwatertom/P1050189.jpg) (http://s607.photobucket.com/user/saltwatertom/media/P1050189.jpg.html)
Very Cool. Nice one. :thumbsup:
Bowyer? I think that is one of those duck call makers. :D I did not know those Duck Commander guys also bear hunt!?! :laughing:
Congrats on the bear, Jim!!
Sasquatch hunts bear?....lol
Nice trophy!!
God bless,Mudd
HA! I know i'm incognito with the bandanna and all, but I forgot my hat...good thing too as it never gets dark there and the bandanna doubles as a great blindfold!
Barb and I have been back for just a few short hours so I will let things settle down here for a bit and then elaborate more on the Bear wrestling story :)
bigjim
As with all Hero shots, Jim makes the game look small. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I bet the bear walked out of the woods and saw Jim and just went ahead and keeled over. :biglaugh:
Maybe Jim needs to practice some of those technique to make game look bigger like sit back about 10" :biglaugh:
Congrats Big Jim!
Great bear! Love the pictures. Congrads!!
My wife Sharen looked at the picture and said, "That's not a very big bear." Then I reminded her of meeting Jim at Compton's and she's revised her opinion of the bear! Congratulations Jim.
Congratulations Jim!
My wife and I flew up to visit SaltWaterTom and his wife in Homer AK last week. We were greeted by warmer than normal conditions and fantastic hospitality.
On Thursday the 3rd, Tom flew us to our hunting spot and we set up camp for the night. The following morning we went for a walk and identified several good spots for possible bear encounters and then back to camp for some awesome vitals.
For the evening hunt(about 1 p.m.), we all went our separate direction. On the way to the creek in the picture, I spotted a smaller bear high tailing it out of the creek area. I thought...hmmm, maybe there's a bigger bear that sent the smaller packing.
I set up along a bear trail next to the creek and relaxed for a few hours. Knowing I was in for a long sit (never gets dark this time of year in Homer)I decided to lay down and take a little nap.
After about 30 minutes or so, the sun and heat took over and I woke. Upon standing and attempting to focus my eyes, I notice a black spot out of place only about 28 yards out. I couldn't believe my eyes as I confirmed it was a bear.
When he put his head down for grass, I picked up my bow and readied my self.
I watched and waited to confirm size and check for cubs.
Tom had mentioned several times that the area we were in was not known for big bears but there would likely be many.
Ok, I thought. Decent bear already in range and no cubs in sight. At 24 yards or so, he gave me a clear rib shot and I sent a "BigJim" broadhead through him and deep in to the ground. The bear struggled to run but ultimately passed by me at about 12 yards in his 30 yard death run.
I quickly nocked another arrow as he stopped but there was no need as he fell over at close range. All in all, from shot to death couldn't have been more than 15 seconds.
I quickly walked over to him and confirmed no ground shrinkage (very common when judging bears).
I'm sure he's not the biggest bear in the area, but he was mature and seemed as though he might be a fighter. His upper jaw was broken leaving one of his K9's just kind of hanging in there.
We figured him to be a very skinny 6 footer.
I used a Black Widow longbow....nah, I really used a BigJim Buffalo long bow of 64 lbs at my 31 1/2" draw and a full length 7595 gold tip heritage blemmished arrow tipped with a 300 g BigJim broadhead and pink feathers.
A couple days later, tom took a beautiful bear and two days after that my bride woke me in the middle of my nap on a different creek only to point out her bear before shooting it.
Maybe my snoring doubles as a bear call :dunno:
What a fantastic trip!!! Thanks Tom and Sonya,
BIgJIm
Congrats! Maybe I'm gonna have to take more naps while hunting.....
Congratulations! :thumbsup:
Congrats to all of y'all!
Bisch
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt158/saltwatertom/P1050235.jpg) (http://s607.photobucket.com/user/saltwatertom/media/P1050235.jpg.html)
Other than a few odds and ends Big Jim packed this bear out by himself in one load. You can see how much was left on the creek bank, ( ribs in the plastic bag )
This bear on bear crime needs to stop.
Great job man bear with bow . don't get any better than that.congrats . can't wait to hear the whole story.
Sounds like a great trip!
Congrats Jim :thumbsup: nice bear.
Congrats on a great hunt :clapper:
Nice hunt and telling of it Jim.
Congrats Big Jim and Barb and Tom
Nice bear and it looks like a great time was had by all
Great Re-cap Jim. Congrats again. :clapper:
Congratulations Jim!
I bet that bear wasn't even shot. He is a big boy. The bear probably died at his feet from fear. Lol
awesome pics , way to go
Congrats, what a hunt!
:thumbsup: :archer:
F-Manny
Oh yeah, I shot him all right. In fact, I swear I could see day light through his ribs when that big broadhead passed through!
This is the fourth bear I have taken with a bow...two with trad tackle and the only one I could blood trail.
I actually didn't need to blood trail any of them as they all died in under 50 yards (bears are easy to kill if you put the arrow in the right place).
This bear actually passed the fastest and closest.
For the fun of it, I followed the blood trail in reverse...also to help find my arrow. Upon impact, there was a sizable blood spray that followed the arrow out.
Advice for any new...or old bear hunter. Bears have thin skin but don't tend to leave much of a blood trail. Although any broadhead will kill them, bigger heads make them easier to find.
thansk ya'll, BIgJIm
Jim. I always though bears had tougher thick skin. Never knew. Also congrats on that bear! :thumbsup:
Great story and pics Jim! Congrats!
congrats on the Bear :clapper:
Congrats on the Bear, Big Jim! :thumbsup:
Which bear is bigger?
Awesome hunt. Very cool. Congrats to you! :thumbsup:
Awesome hunt and nice story! Congrats sir!
I see Bear Commander in your future. Good job.
Way to go Jim! Sounds like you had fun. :thumbsup:
Fine excursion and harvest.
Thank you for sharing.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
Now I know why they're called Big Jim bows.
Just got to spend some money at Jim's tent at Cloverdale this morning, enjoyed every minute of it!' Made the mistake of shooting a Thunderchild...Now I gotta find the $ in the budget;)
Nice job Jim! We've got quite a few extra bears out here in Cali too if you want to add to your collection!
Congrats! nice bear!
Congrats Jim!
I decided that I would just do a little measuring:
Deer hide-65 thousandths
Bear hide-65 thousandths
Sealskin-25 thousandths
Being able to shoot all three right here in Alberta: priceless
Big Jim does not like to advertise them but he has a stash of very special broadheads made specifically for shooting Alberta seals...as you can see from the entrance and exit wounds they cut some big holes in thin skin
We hunt seals at night here when the security guards at the zoo are eating donuts...under those circumstances you need a quick kill which those heads deliver
DDave
(http://i849.photobucket.com/albums/ab54/damascusdave_2009/100_0544-Edited.jpg) (http://s849.photobucket.com/user/damascusdave_2009/media/100_0544-Edited.jpg.html)
Jim I would take you on a seal hunt when you finally make it here to Alberta to hunt something with me but your hunting stories always seem to involve sleeping, snoring, and whatever other unimaginable things you do while sleeping...just seems to me the seal hunting would end up on a sour note although the headlines might be kind of interesting...oh, and btw, good job there in Alaska
DDave
Attaboy Jim,congrats on the bear and glad you and the bride had a great time.
Awesome, Jim and Barb.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Congrats again Jim.
It was great Visiting with you and Barbara this past weekend.
I couldn't stop holding the Bow you used on this trip. It felt good. Real Good!
Not sure if I did myself a favor by not shooting it but it sure made it easier to walk away. Now the thoughts I am having are driving me nuts. :help:
I loved hearing your recap of the hunt in person!!! I hope you had a safe trip home.
Congrats Jim! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing the hunt. It's nice to have the wife in the woods.
I know that guy that bear did not have a chance. No animal has a chance when being chased by this guy!!!
(http://i.imgur.com/ggLorqj.jpg)
I met Big Jim at the Howard Hill in Alabama super nice guy when you can push past the fear of approaching him. Just a joke! Congrats on the great bear and great story.
Well done Jim,when did you start shooting Sissy's bows? :biglaugh:
Wow...I almost missed this thread....I LOVE bear stories!!!
Congrats Jim...and Tom....thanks for sharing!!! Great stuff!!!
I suppose I could have told it as if I were stalking quietly for hours only to make a super difficult shot and add all kinds of color full embroidery to the story to make me look like the supreme hunter. Sometimes the truth is more fun.
I can't help it that I'm just lucky and somehow many animals have ended up dead in close proximity to me...even if I was very previously asleep. :goldtooth:
Thanks to ya'll for helping me to relive it and most of all to Tom, his wife and my wife for being a part of it.
back to reality until September, BIgjim