..goes to my son!
Hunted the east side with my son for a few days this week. We saw a couple small yearling bears and shot a lot of grouse, but no bears. We decided to leave early Friday morning and glass a couple areas on the way home. We arrived at the first spot as it was getting light. I threw the binos up and right away spotted a bear feeding in the brush and rocks over 500 yards away. I was a bit skeptical, but my son was sure we could close the distance. So, we left the 7mm-08 behind and took off with my new Benchmark 280 Ackley Improved. We quickly got to within about 400 yards, but that was it. We had come to a large creek and what looked like impenetrable brush beyond. We agreed that our best bet was to shoot from where we were. At that point I handed my rifle to my son and told him he could take the shot.
We scrambled to find a rest while keeping an eye on the bear. We located a big log to steady the rifle and removed some brush to clear a shooting lane. While my son was settling in we discussed the shot…where to hold, wait for a broadside shot, squeeze the trigger..
At this point the bear was feeding in a large bush and was barely visible. We waited.. Then, she stepped out in full view, but facing away. We waited another moment and she turned left and presented a nearly perfect broadside shot. “Now” I said.. I watched the bear through my binos as my son took the shot. The bear reacted and tumbled about ten feet downhill and lay motionless. One shot, 410 yards, 280 Ackley Improved, 140 grain Accubond, and, as they say, “dead right there.”
We looked through the binos at the bear lying dead in the rocks over 400 yards away and marveled at the shot. High fives and a bit of whooping it up, then the work began. Three hours later we were back at the truck with the bear and on our way.
First picture is the bear lying dead up in the rocks after the shot.
