now on to the story.
I got into stand around 3PM on the 2nd.
the bait was basically gone. I had hung a treestand last weekend after I almost got a shot but didnt have a window in the right spot og the blind. made sure I could shoot there in the future.
around 715 or 730 pm i looked down the ridge and saw legs coming up. this bear was going very slow and very cautiously. stopping every 2 steps and looking allaround and smelling.
I held tight until the bear got to 22 yards and tuned into some brush before I grabbed my bow and hooked the release. when the bear passed back through the brush and toward my shooting lane I drew back and waited. the bear came out to the exact spot as in the very first pic I posted in this thread, but this time I had a shooting lane and the bear was quartered away!
I settled my pin high and tight behind the shoulder and let fly. I saw the arrow dissapear right where my pin had been and knew it was a good shot. the bear let out a bark and took off down the ridge. I heard the thrashing for 2-3 seconds then calm.
I was confident in the shot so I waited in the tree for 5 minutes and then climbed down to examine my arrow (I was alone and wanted to track in daylight because it is very thick brush) I found the arrow stuck in the dirt with the nock pointing right at my treestand. as soon as I picked the arrow up I noticed the "red carpet" this bear left a steady stream of blood all the way right to where it was holed up under a log.
this bear is a sow and I figure her to be in the neighborhood of 160-180 lb. the quarters that I packed out weighed 46 lb. and the cape and head was 55-60. the carcass was the rest. when I checked it in at IDFG the warden guessed weight at 175 just looking at head and paw size, he figured 200-220 for fall weight. so not a tiny bear.
the field pics could have been better, but I did pretty well for being alone and self timering.
thanks for looking
