Thought I would share my first ever spring bear and short story about the hunt.
I was lucky enough to draw a spring bear permit for the northeast corner. I decided I would spoil myself and hire a guide for the first time ever. Made a quick phone call to Dale at Bearpaw Outfitters and then just waited anxiously for my trip. I warned Dale I was a very unlucky bear hunter ....and he was convinced that my luck would change.
A little background on my bear hunting experiences. I have been hunting for 30 years and only killed one bear ever (2012). I have seen more bear on hwy 2 commuting than I have in the hunting woods. Matter of fact I could count the number of bear I have seen in the wild on one hand and still have 2 fingers left over.
I am very unlucky when it comes to bear. Friends can find 2-6 per day and I will go with them and not see a thing. I can flat shut the bear woods OFF!!!
Well day one came and we were awake at 0345 am. Tara had a fantastic breakfast made and the plan was set....find a bear and kill it!! It was a long day covering a ton of ground. We found great country with lots of green grass....but no bears. Mid day we found a nice Tom Turkey that fell victim to the old Remington 870. That's a grate way to get the blood pumping!! (see my turkey thread for details) We take the turkey back to the lodge and have lunch...just to get back after the bear. It ended up being a long day with no bears down. All I could think about was how unlucky I was and how this was going to be the final confirmation of that fact.
During our travels on day one we did find a mountain that had bear poo everywhere. I bet in a couple mile stretch of roads we found 6-10 piles of poo. Most of the piles were huge....I figure if I am 6' tall 260 lbs and I couldn't lay a pile like that...the the bear had to be at least 500lbs.
We knew it would be a place we had to check back often....it was only a matter of time until the poo bear showed itself.
Well day two came way to early. All parties involved were worn out from the long day one. None the less we hit the road with a solid plan of killing the poo bear. As we hit the area at first sun up we notice a new pile of poo. It was right in our track from the previous day. This bear was taunting us.....with poo. Well we glass all the clear cuts in the area and there was no bear to be found.
Off we go to check new areas....knowing we would be back. In our travels we found bear tracks, deer, moose, and other critters...but no bear. Well we decide to check in on poo bear. It is around 1300 hours and we hit the poo road. About 50' from the pile in the middle of the road from earlier in the morning, Dale spots my bear. It is down hill approx 120-140 yards away feeding in a clear cut. I get set up just to have the bear move.....re position and she moves again. This cat and mouse game goes on for a couple minutes until finally I got my shot. She turned broadside and BOOOOOM......my .270 hammered her. She hit the ground like a sack of taters....no tracking necessary on this bear.
This is my second bear ever (first spring bear) and it is and absolute brute of a sow. She appears to have never been sucked as her nipples were very hard to find and were very short. Her teeth are ground down to the gum line...matter of fact I couldn't extract her molars because they were under the gum line (another interesting thread to come with this...stay tuned). Her coat is long, thick and absolutely beautiful. She will make a fantastic rug. She measured 5'10" which apparently is huge for a sow.
The next day I wake with the crew and hit the road. 4 hours later I had the hide and skull at the taxidermist and the butchering began. I sampled some the meat which was amazing but tough as shoe leather. Kept a couple roast and will have the rest processed into summer sausage and pepperoni sticks. Three days later and I am still high on life....can't stop thinking about this hunt.
Thanks Dale, Tara and Daniel for making it happen. Maybe my bear luck has changed.
Enjoy the pictures.
