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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Crittergetter on August 11, 2015, 06:44:00 PM
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Yep! You heard me right! I'll be going on my first black bear hunt with Jerry Russell next month at his new bear camp in Georgia. We will be arriving on the 16th for a four day extravaganza of bear hunting, bow fishing, trap shooting, and whatever else Jerry has up his sleeve! I say we because I'll be taking my wife along for her first out of state hunt and her first bear hunt as well. Super stoked about meeting and hunting with Jerry! Also gonna try to swing by and shake Big Jim's hand and see his place! If we can fit our schedules together. It's only about 3 hrs out of the way, but my wife will just have to deal with it! Big Jim is my idol! Lol
I'll be taking "Hope" along as well as a new bow im working on just for this hunt! Probably gonna have to flip a coin to see which one gets hunted with first! More to come!!!!
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The season is shaping up to be a good one. The Georgia bear population is booming and I can't wait to get after them in the mountains!
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I was looking at the Georgia bear and deer sections of Jerry's website just last week - looks like a fun time ahead ! :thumbsup:
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Best of luck guys looking forward to the success photos and stories
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Jerry will show you a good time for sure.
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Jerry is a good guy. You will have a great time.
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Good luck to you! That should be a fun time.
Bisch
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Here's a couple pics of the bow I'm building to take to Jerry's! Some Beautiful cocobolo and gaboon from Big Jim! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/1CDB2A45-3DDC-4446-AD8B-62F909F533E2_zpst1f3ealu.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/1CDB2A45-3DDC-4446-AD8B-62F909F533E2_zpst1f3ealu.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/A02CB7D1-1272-4EEE-AE1B-1931CC73DCA2_zpspe5y2c4q.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/A02CB7D1-1272-4EEE-AE1B-1931CC73DCA2_zpspe5y2c4q.jpg.html)
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That sounds like a blast! Keep us posted!
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Didn't even know, if it's anything like the up north camp it will be great!
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Hope you have a great hunt,post pics when you get home.
Terry
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Originally posted by Chad Orde:
Didn't even know, if it's anything like the up north camp it will be great!
Many are not aware of Georgia's fantastic bear hunting. There are actually three different populations of bears in the state. The southern population in the big swamps,middle Georgia, and the bears that I hunt in the beautiful rugged mountains.
We take a VERY limited number of hunters here each year for combo hunts where bear, deer and hogs can be taken.
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:clapper: :clapper:
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Finished up my arrows that I'll be taking to Jerry's while I wait for my overlays to cure.
(http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/ECCE6FCE-48AE-48D8-9D26-5A1E51566615_zpsbi0srpmp.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-08/ECCE6FCE-48AE-48D8-9D26-5A1E51566615_zpsbi0srpmp.jpg.html)
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Nice!
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My bows all done! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/F773C270-5BAC-4AEF-B06C-0F0B9FB5C871_zpskxdt5gem.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/F773C270-5BAC-4AEF-B06C-0F0B9FB5C871_zpskxdt5gem.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/3642EAF7-A3F2-4D0E-A169-7D4780354021_zpsqu83xerr.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/3642EAF7-A3F2-4D0E-A169-7D4780354021_zpsqu83xerr.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/6BAA9A94-C0B5-43C8-8B86-7233C64C038E_zpsp8voa7yq.jpg)[/URL[URL=http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/DF725B30-6845-4159-8624-E10FD6E2839E_zpsp7ivqnq5.jpg.html] (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/DF725B30-6845-4159-8624-E10FD6E2839E_zpsp7ivqnq5.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/6BAA9A94-C0B5-43C8-8B86-7233C64C038E_zpsp8voa7yq.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/128C399C-122F-47F2-8417-BCFC644DAD8A_zps4wj0lrue.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/128C399C-122F-47F2-8417-BCFC644DAD8A_zps4wj0lrue.jpg.html) ]
Second group from 18 yrds. Jerry, keep em close! :thumbsup:
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I should add that everything in this bow from the epoxy to the buffalo hide finish came from Big Jim! Thx again Big Guy for some fantastic materials and service!
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Idk they had much of a bear population in Georgia.. Hell Idk they even had mountains down there... Hmmm.
So how do you hunt them? In pa your not allowed to bait or use dogs. So you would have to have one really pinned down to get it with the bow around here. Riffle hunters usually do large organized drives to hunt bear.
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Randy,
That's one fine bow you made there! How about some more pic's of the strung and unstrung profiles?
Riser looks similar to Big Jim's, Mighty nice!
And good luck on the bears to you and the wife.
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Very handsome bow! That has Bear Medicine written all over, and the shooting to match! Good luck with the bears. After 14 years in Georgia its about the only critter in the woods I haven't chased after. One day, perhaps.
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Now...THAT is what a bow should look like...
Looks like it shoots pretty well too.
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Thx everyone! John, I'll take some more pics when I get home and post em for ya!
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That is a great looking bow! Good luck on the bear!
Bisch
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Wow that is beautiful!
Have fun love that now man!
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Here ya go John! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/734F32E6-30D1-496C-A2D5-F873EA216979_zpsb3evv5me.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/734F32E6-30D1-496C-A2D5-F873EA216979_zpsb3evv5me.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC07AF58-BF21-4517-A1DA-BA195254FBCC_zpsmlaetkjt.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC07AF58-BF21-4517-A1DA-BA195254FBCC_zpsmlaetkjt.jpg.html)
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Great work. Jerry will work hard as any hunter I know, and then some. Best of luck.
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Originally posted by RedShaft:
Idk they had much of a bear population in Georgia.. Hell Idk they even had mountains down there... Hmmm.
So how do you hunt them? In pa your not allowed to bait or use dogs. So you would have to have one really pinned down to get it with the bow around here. Riffle hunters usually do large organized drives to hunt bear.
Bear sightings are becoming more and more common in Georgia. The bear population recovery in Georgia has been a major success, from no seasons in the 1970s to limited seasons on management areas in the 1980s to extended seasons in certain counties now.
As far as mountains go, we have several peaks that are 4000+ feet above sea level, and not far across the state line in North Carolina there are peaks that are 5000+ feet.
In Georgia you cannot bait or use dogs either. Many bears are killed by deer hunters as a matter of luck (good luck for the hunter and bad luck for the bear). Good scouting and hunting areas frequented by bears are probably the best way to find bears.
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GA has bears...has had bears...and Mountains. Also, there are bears in South GA, and a few in middle GA...and big ones too. A friend of mine killed one that weighed 586.
Lots of bears in FL also, but no mountains. Don't have to have mountains to have bears.
Hope you have good luck Crittergetter as you are in good hands. I just missed meeting Jerry Saturday.
Keep us posted.... :campfire:
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I haven't ever had a desire to kill a bear; but, recently the thought of a southern bear feels like a trophy worth working for.
Good luck on your hunt! I'm looking forward to the story....
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I'm all packed up and ready to set out for Georgia tomorrow! Well my bows and arrows and the important stuff is packed. I still gotta pack a few clothes and personal items. I've obsessed over my equipment so much I'm exhausted! Tuning, sharpening, practicing, and tuning some more! It's time to just chill out and soak the whole experience in!!
Going to drive to Albany tomorrow and stay the night. Then go meet Big Jim Wednesday morning before driving north to meet Jerry. To say I'm excited would be an understatement!
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Just got set up in a ground blind for the first evening sit! I'll post more tonight and do a day by day monologue! Gotta hunt right now!
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Again. ....good luck!!!
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Get em Randy!! Good luck brother!
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beautiful bow, put it to good use.
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Good luck!
Bisch
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You better live up to your handle, good luck.
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The day started off with a quick visit to Big Jim's. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/082B129C-0FD2-413E-8A54-32EB46BC6EA2_zpsh8nxlq4u.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/082B129C-0FD2-413E-8A54-32EB46BC6EA2_zpsh8nxlq4u.jpg.html) WOW!!!!!! What a super nice guy and a really cool place he has! The man is one of those guys that immediately make you feel like you've known him forever. Easy to talk to and has more knowledge of his craft in his little finger than I'll ever know! Thx for all the info and the grand tour!
We then drove north to meet Jerry and hung around his place (which is spectacular) for a few hours and got acquainted before setting out for the bear grounds. He set my wife and I on opposite ends of a small cornfield in hopes that one of us would get a shot at a particular bear that has been doing a lot of damage and has been giving everyone the ole slip! As we walked in we saw some tracks and the evidence of his late night shenanigans was every where. I got settled in and waited. I was set up in a corner with my back to the corn and watching the edge of the woods in front of me in hopes of catching him coming to the field. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC2387EE-E211-4607-A56D-586B4E3E0063_zpszjibdyqd.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC2387EE-E211-4607-A56D-586B4E3E0063_zpszjibdyqd.jpg.html) (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/38E608FC-6801-4259-8BDF-99920E00956E_zpsgmadmg6g.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/38E608FC-6801-4259-8BDF-99920E00956E_zpsgmadmg6g.jpg.html) Dark came with no sighting. But at last light I began to hear some slight commotion on the far back edge of the field. We think he came in from the opposite side. We slipped out and gonna try again tomorrow.
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Good luck.
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Very nice bow, strung profile looks really good!
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Hang Tuff...I hear they are spotty up there this year....hope to see you behind on on the ground!!!
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Wow, bear hunting along a corn field, is my dream!
Good shootin to you folks!
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Wow, bear hunting along a corn field, is my dream!
Good shootin to you folks!
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This morning we decided to sleep in because we was wore out from our drive the day before and only had 5 hrs sleep the night before. We then set out to see the local sights. First we decided to check out Amicalola Falls. I think they said It's 750 tall.
(http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/F3F7DDA6-F269-4BCA-91D3-63A9882E130F_zpspjttxlgw.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/F3F7DDA6-F269-4BCA-91D3-63A9882E130F_zpspjttxlgw.jpg.html) a view from the top (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/7B5FCA8F-9D34-467F-A20F-E6264CD17D2B_zpsie8jsalr.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/7B5FCA8F-9D34-467F-A20F-E6264CD17D2B_zpsie8jsalr.jpg.html)
My wife spotted these flowers along the trail. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/0B8120C3-2FE4-4907-A3ED-92A804D68B35_zpsui6edxty.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/0B8120C3-2FE4-4907-A3ED-92A804D68B35_zpsui6edxty.jpg.html)
I'm glad she's along. I usually get in a big hurry and overlook the little things.
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Then we met up with Jerry and headed out for another spot he had picked out for us. The bears climb up in the tops of the white oaks and break the limbs and eat the acorns. The ground is littered with broken branches, leaves, and acorns! You can even see teeth marks in them.
(http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/AC33D680-C955-4CA1-8529-2E6131235EF9_zps75xxnbib.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/AC33D680-C955-4CA1-8529-2E6131235EF9_zps75xxnbib.jpg.html)
You can also see all the claw marks where they climb the trees. I decided to see if Hope could bring a little mojo to my hunt! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/721F40BB-1291-4978-998E-4FF1E997FDD2_zpsfdxe5dh1.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/721F40BB-1291-4978-998E-4FF1E997FDD2_zpsfdxe5dh1.jpg.html) I felt good about the set up. Had a perfect wind and plenty of sign. But the bear never showed. So we're going to come back in the morning and see if he's an early bird since he didn't show in the evening!
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Keep after them!
Bisch
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Thats a beautiful area to hunt bears. When I started the Appalachian Trail I had to take the stairs to the top of the falls with 50 pounds on my back.
Good luck! I know there are some good bears up there particularly around Blood Mountain.
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What is that leather looking cylinder on the bottom of your riser?
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Originally posted by Terry Green:
What is that leather looking cylinder on the bottom of your riser?
I think it's a string tracker.
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Yes sir, it's my string tracker from Chad Orde!
I went back to the same tree this morning and got set up about an hour before daylight. Once it got daylight I could see fresh limbs laying all over the ground that wasn't there last night! The sneaky sucker came during the night and had his fill! Trying to put a game plan together for this evening! Sorry, no pics this morning. I was strictly on hunt mode!
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Sounds like fun, I got back the other day from a bear hunt in the N. Georgia mountains...saw 2 sows adn 2 cubs........great time and lots of hiking.
Good luck.
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The flower is a native Inpatient called Jewel weed. If you get into poison ivy it is a remedy.
Good luck on your bear hunt. Looking forward to more pics.
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So far it sounds like you are having a grand time and making memories. Best of luck to you as your hunt continues.
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Ah...string tracker.....ok...still pulling for ya.
Don't know if I'll get up that way today or not....we'll see.
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Well Terry, let me know ifn ya do make it up this way and are in the area. I would love the chance to meet you if we could work it out!
Last night I went back to the same area where the bears are hitting the white oaks. But the bears still aren't cooperating.
This morning we went back to the field we hunted the first evening and got my wife set up on a trail coming out of the field. Then Jerry took me a little ways up a drainage and got me setup along a ridge where the drainage toped out. There was sign of rooting everywhere from hogs and the bears. It was a beautiful morning sitting on the side of that hill and overlooking everything below me. The ground was blanketed with ferns. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/D8594AEC-D6C9-4D8E-8DDC-2748E0883460_zpsuoddktil.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/D8594AEC-D6C9-4D8E-8DDC-2748E0883460_zpsuoddktil.jpg.html) I had that feeling that a deer or bear would come along the side of the hill at any moment. But it wasn't meant to be. But as I sat there I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye that kept getting my attention. Finally I couldn't take it any more. I slowly got to my knees and started to draw and suddenly my arrow was on it's way! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC7FE790-9ADA-4D42-B029-B7022A8600FC_zpskogmapov.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/BC7FE790-9ADA-4D42-B029-B7022A8600FC_zpskogmapov.jpg.html)
22 yrds and there used to be a small whitish colored spot exactly where my arrow now is! Best shot ive ever made in the woods! Little did I know that stump was SOLID under all that rotten exterior! Had to get out the ole pockett knife! Lol
I finally quit messing around and headed down the hill to meet up with my wife. When Jerry came to pick us up had had some good news. He had gone to scout another field while we were hunting and found a bear in the field. He also got a short video. He watched the bear leave and hung a stand on the trail he was useing. We're going to hunt there this evening! :pray:
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Rootin' for you and the Mrs., Randy!
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Sounds like the hunt it heating up!
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Keep it up.. good luck!
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:thumbsup: :campfire:
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Well, during the day we had some time to burn so we went to a local orchard and picked some fresh apples for the inlaws and grand parents. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/1D26E11B-029B-42A4-B130-43882D6328FB_zps9dapktpf.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/1D26E11B-029B-42A4-B130-43882D6328FB_zps9dapktpf.jpg.html)
Then we met up with Jerry's son Luke and we set up in the same field that Jerry saw the bear this morning. I was set up in a tree stand in the corner where a good trail came into the field. I felt really good about the setup! Everywhere we go there is lots of bear sign. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/7BDD30FD-CE15-4945-9EC3-998A7FCDEA46_zpswcflnchj.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/7BDD30FD-CE15-4945-9EC3-998A7FCDEA46_zpswcflnchj.jpg.html) my wife was set in the edge of some corn on the opposite side of the field where several trails intersected coming into the corn. She is setting where the red dot is. (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/58CA90C0-F3CB-493A-BDDB-5645A12E6E36_zpscbuit1ql.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/58CA90C0-F3CB-493A-BDDB-5645A12E6E36_zpscbuit1ql.jpg.html) I was really hoping she would get a shot at a deer or a bear because I had a front row seat and would see it all unfold! She said she kept hearing something out in the corn but couldn't ever see it. Eventually darkness came without any sightings. We have one more morning and we're going to make the best of it !
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Well if you hear something in the corn get down and go after it if Jerry will let you that corn look short usually it's taller than that by now I'll be pulling for you in the morning
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Good luck! Hope you get into 'em!
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Good luck Randy, I'm betting on yall. :archer:
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The Last morning-
We set up in the same spots as last night since we know there was a bear in this field yesterday morning. We checked the wind and then walked the edge of the field on the down wind side to get to the tree stand that I would be hunting. On the way in there were lightning bugs all over the ground. It was like a reflection of the night sky with little stars on the ground lighting our way. Really neat!
We made it to the stand and got set up well before daylight. It was another beautiful morning. Not quite as chilly as the previous mornings but nice! As daylight started to break and the woods behind me started to wake up I kept seeing bears all around me in the early morning fog. But everytime I would focus on one it would turn into a stump or a bush or something else. my spirits were high and I had to keep my imagination in check as I kept playing scenarios of how it would all unfold over in my mind. Eventually daylight came as I stood there daydreaming. There was more humming birds working the flowers on vines that claimed the corn on the edges of the field than I have ever seen. I tried to get pictures but It proved quite hard to do with a cell phone. I had one land on a limb right above me. Come to think of it I've never seen a humming bird land before. They're always moving around.
About an hour after daylight I looked across the field and could see a black spot on the edge of the corn directly in front of my wife. I got all excited and thought it was a bear coming out of the corn and just new she would get a shot. But as it moved further away from the corn I realized it was several turkey's. They gave my wife a good show and passed within 15 yrds of her.
Eventually time ran out and we had to pack it in and head for home. But I have a feeling the Georgia bears haven't seen the last of me!
2 things I learned on this trip.
1. A torges seat would be absolutely invaluable while hunting the woods here as there is very little flat ground on the mountains.
2. Find the beauty in the small things and life will bring you Joy!
Till next time!!! (http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/crittergetter76/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/1EAD7343-85DB-48E1-9F44-06ED0CA8BD56_zpsfotsafbm.jpg) (http://s324.photobucket.com/user/crittergetter76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-09/1EAD7343-85DB-48E1-9F44-06ED0CA8BD56_zpsfotsafbm.jpg.html)
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I also want to thank Jerry and his son Luke for all their hard work. Everyday Jerry hiked miles and miles trying to locate some bears for us while we were hunting. He was plumb wore out by the end of our hunt. And thx for all your hospitality and taking the time to put up with us! A big thx to you both!!!!
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Glad you had a good time in GA.
wish we could have met up.....wish you would have gotten a shot !
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Too bad you didn't see any bears, It sounds like you had a great time though. Thank you for sharing your hunt with us.
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Looks like you had a good time out east, with some good folks! The kill is just the climax, but the determiner of a good hunt!
Bisch
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It was great hunting with you guys. It was unusually tough this year with the transition from the corn to the mountain acorns just a day or two before you guys got here. I did shoot a bear in that corn field that you hunted by the combine. I hunted in the same place you and I sat on the little bluff looking down in the corn and put a stalk on him.
I know we will hunt together again for these Georgia bears. Georgia is a secret bear hunting gem. Is it easy? No but it is one of THE most rewarding bear hunts a person can go on.
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Way to go Jerry! That's awesome! We are planning on coming back next sepmber, Depending on if I draw my caribou tag or not. Kristie will probably hunt the fields again but I'm wanting to tackle the mountains! I WILL be ready!!!
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Sounds like you had a good time and met some good people.