Something I found in the woods (do you know this bowyer? )

[BigJim]

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    

What a fantastic trip!!! Thanks Tom and Sonya,
BIgJIm

[dhermon85]

Congrats! Maybe I'm gonna have to take more naps while hunting.....

[Joeabowhunter]

Congratulations!    

Congrats to all of y'all!

Bisch

[wooddamon1]

   

[saltwatertom]

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 )

[Scott E]

This bear on bear crime needs to stop.

[hunterbob]

Great job man bear with bow . don't get any better than that.congrats . can't wait to hear the whole story.

[Pheonixarcher]

Sounds like a great trip!

[Steve Jr]

Congrats Jim        nice bear.

[huntingarcher]

Congrats on a great hunt  

[Bud B.]

Nice hunt and telling of it Jim.

[Ragin Bull]

Congrats Big Jim and Barb and Tom
Nice bear and it looks like a great time was had by all

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Great Re-cap Jim.  Congrats again.  

[Alexander Traditional]

Congratulations Jim!

[RedShaft]

I bet that bear wasn't even shot. He is a big boy. The bear probably died at his feet from fear. Lol

[drewsbow]

awesome pics , way to go

[Frenchymanny]

Congrats, what a hunt!

     

F-Manny

[BigJim]

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

[RedShaft]

Jim. I always though bears had tougher thick skin. Never knew. Also congrats on that bear!