Right place, right time........bear down!!!

[ouchfoss]

Well, after putting in my time this year during elk season I finally brought some meat home and even though it wasn't an elk, I'm still pretty satisfied! One area I started exploring and learning about last year seemed to be pretty productive for elk so I figured I would spend more time there this year than other places and its also a place that has a decent amount of bear sign. So I pull up to a gate Friday morning and do a small walk in hunt to a swampy area that had some decent elk sign from the day before and after a little bit of calling and chirping I walked back to the truck to maybe plan my days hunt out a little different. When I get back to the truck its alot lighter out than it was when I left and I realize that I had parked the truck on brand new elk tracks from the night before. I get an idea where the tracks are going and figured out they were headed into a different swampy area where my dad and I had bumped several elk last year and found lots of well used good feeding ground in that area. Being where the wind was going I had to plan to walk in to that swamp from a different road so I went and parked elsewhere and made the walk in from a different area. When I got to within 300 yards of the swamp I had just start to crest a hill on the road and I see movement and get to one side and stand near some bushes. That's when I realize its actually a bear, a decent one, and its walking right at me about 80 yards away. I nock an arrow and just sit there and wait trying to decide on what the plan is get a shot. Its walking my direction just taking its sweet time at a fairly slow pace and does so for like what seemed like a half hour, but was probably more like 5 minutes. It gets to where its about 25 yards from me and still just straight on, no broadside shot at all from where I am. At this point I realize its gonna have to be a quartering to shot or nothing at all. So I wait until it gets about to 15 yards and draw back and fully stand up. I was expecting the bear to see my movement and run away but nope, I timed the standing up perfect with it looking off to one side and it still had no idea I was there. I'm holding at full draw and the bear keeps walking a few more steps to maybe 12 yards or so and it turns just enough for a quartering to shot and I release. I watched the arrow go exactly where I wanted it to, (I know, that's not hard at 12 yards  ) and it freaked and ran off into the timber. After the shot, I get up close to where it went in and stood there quiet to try and listen for the death growl and after 10 minutes of listening I don't hear it so at this point I'm starting to wonder if maybe the shot wasn't as good as I thought it was and so I take a few steps in the woods and then I see a huge blood trail with nice light colored blood everywhere you look along the path so I get out of the woods to give the bear some time and get to the truck to try and drive around and get reception with my phone to call my dad and plan a search and possible recovery of the bear.   
So after my dad and I started on the blood trail it wasn't more than about 125 yards of easy to follow blood and there she was, in a brushy crappy RMZ but dead and already stiff as could be. Turned out to be a healthy sow about 175-200 (my dad swears she is no less than 200 considering he did all the meat packing for me  ). Her hide was in decent shape too so its going in the freezer to maybe get done at some point. Not sure on the skull measurements but I would assume its nowhere close to P&Y minimum.
So Saturday I figured I would go to where I thought the elk were considering I never made it that far on Friday and sure enough there is elk tracks everywhere from the day before but the elk are nowhere to be found Saturday. I am assuming that the reason the bear was in fact walking my direction that day was because the herd was in the swamp Friday morning and the bear just didn't want to hang around which is why he was heading my direction. No complaints here!

[shedcrazy]

Great story, and nice bear!!

[h20hunter]

Now that sounds exciting. Nice job getting it done.

[jrebel]

    Sweet bear, great job.

[IBspoiled]

That's cool nice pictures. I thought I was the only one who uses a wheel barrow to haul out a bear

[bearpaw]

congrats on a successful hunt... 

[runamuk]

Congrats.... nice bear

[stickbuck]

Way to go and congrats on a nice bear. 

[Kowsrule30]

Great looking bear....       

[Huntbear]

Awesome job...  great looking bear.

[Blacktail Sniper]

Nice!!  Great story!   

[Ripper]

Great story and a great bear, congrats too you. 

[FSTaxidermy]

Congrats! nice bear 

[ouchfoss]

I just did some weighing of the meat and bone from these 4 boxes and it came to 105 lbs after deducting the weight of the boxes. I also just weighed the head and hide and that came out to almost exactly 40 lbs. Im sure some people on here know a good calculation to guess the live weight but my guess is that the guts weighed 30 lbs so that puts it at 175. Is that a good guess?

[carpsniperg2]

When I first looked at the pics I thought 160-170 would be a fair guess. So with you weights I would bet he was right around the 175 you are thinking. Solid bear congrats