More Fun with Black Bears and Ground Blinds

[steadman]

Congrats on a great bear! Sounds like a fun hunt!

[Knawbone]

Great hunt, and well told. Can't beat that with a stick!       Sorry I couldn't resist. Congrats on a fine harvest done in a most Trady way. I'm jellouse as heck.

[knobby]

Great story to go with a super bear. Congratulations!

[KentuckyTJ]

Fantastic story and bear!  

[Ken Taylor]

Thanks sincerely guys! Your response was more than I had anticipated.

As far as the blind goes, It's hard to see in the picture that I took at that distance (I was standing at the bait barrel), but I have two excellent shooting ports, one in front and one one my right side. I built each opposite wall higher to "merge" my silhouette.

I use a tree seat to save space and to draw my bow unobstructed.

[rastaman]

Very nice bear sir!      

[kbetts]

Wonderful story.  Congrats on a great hunt.

[BWD]

Good plan and a nice bear.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Incredible,

Congrats!  

[Wiley Coyote]

Awesome!! Great looking bear!!!      

[Steve O]

Thanks Ken.  Always something to learn here.  Beautiful bear!

[Bernie B.]

I can't imagine being that close to a bear and being able to remain calm!  You must have nerves of steel!  Great story and bear!    

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[Ken Taylor]

As far as my comfort zone with bears, that comes with a lifetime of experience, an innate ability to read animal body language, and a sincere desire to continuously explore deeper into the bear's world.

But then, having good nerves doesn't hurt either, LOL!

I made up a saying years ago... no risk no adventure, no adventure, no pleasure!

You guys can be sure of one thing, everything I write is the absolute truth...  and it's nice to have Trad friends to share with.

[stujay]

Exciting...good sized bear too. thanks for the story and pics.

[ti-guy]

 

[JJB2]

That was a great read.  Thanks for sharing.

[South MS Bowhunter]

Ken,

Give some more particulars, what was the weight of the bear, what equipment were you using, bow, #'s etc....I'm always fascinated by the details (Quality Inspector).

[Ken Taylor]

Thanks again guys.

South MS Bowhunter: o.k., here are a few details.

I couldn't weigh the bear but although he was a good sized bear, he was on the skinny side and definitely would have been heavier in earlier years.

For those of you who know about skull size, his front teeth (where the length measurement starts) are very worn and the crest at the back of the skull where there measurement ends is eroded but he should dry at a minimum of 19 3/16" anyway (length plus width - which is good considering Quebec bear skull genetics too).

I was using my 75 lb @ 30" Caribow longbow, J&M Traditions custom cedar arrows, and 3 blade 200 grain 1 1/4" VPA broad heads.

That was the first time that I used VPA broadheads for black bears and they're excellent.

[chinook907]

Gosh thats a handsome bear.  Great story, way to go !

[South MS Bowhunter]

Thanks Ken, he is a beautiful bear.