Wyoming Super Cruiser

[CaNINE]

Day 2 we rode to a different vantage point and spent a long, wet day behind the glass. We got caught by a torrential downpour on an exposed ridge and dodged thunder and lightening while we led the horses to lower ground. 

[CaNINE]

The evening of day 2 we sat in a drainage at lower elevation about a 90 minute ride from camp. We watched a good boar we estimated to be about 6' tall feed at about 300 yards. Now a 6' boar is no slouch but we knew bigger bruins roam this country. It was very difficult to pass this bear up but it was only day 2 of the hunt. I was second guessing myself the entire ride back to camp and hoped I wouldn't regret my decision.

[HardCorpsHuntr]

Joining...

Me too.

[CaNINE]

Days 3 - 5 involved more riding to distant vantage points and glassing, glassing and more glassing. The moon phase was perfect and we were betting on catching a bear "cruising" mid-day setting up a spot and stalk opportunity. 

[CaNINE]

I guess I took for granted that the term "super cruiser" would be understood so i'll provide some definition. Cruiser is a term used to refer to large boars that roam vast distances in search of food and girls. They can often been seen "cruising" from one drainage to the next. "Super Cruisers" are the biggest boars that when you spot them there is no doubt how huge they are.

[CaNINE]

Caught snoozing behind the glass. 

[CaNINE]

By this point in the hunt we had seen two sows, one with twin cubs (cute little buggers) and the boar that we saw in the evening on day 2.  Nothing was moving mid-day perhaps because of the warm weather. Regardless we were getting a little discouraged and the mental toughness game was setting in.  The beautiful mountains and abundant deer and elk sightings helped keep us going.  On the ride back to camp that night the stars were absolutely amazing.  I hummed some Chris LeDoux songs from the saddle while watching the northern lights dance across the horizon.  I was in my kind of church.

[jrebel]

Tagging

[CaNINE]

As a side note, Western  Wyoming was hammered with record snowfall this winter.  The biologists were predicting high mortality for the deer herd with low fawn survival.  We actually saw a surprising number fawns and the deer numbers looked good and healthy.  There were a few bucks with growth outside their ears and starting to fork.  Keeping fingers crossed for the Region G deer draw!

[Brushcrawler]

Great story so far!

[CaNINE]

We had some 12" round JC targets set out at 400, 500 and 700 yards near camp.  Spent some time in the mornings sending a few rounds downrange to confirm dope.  I like having confidence in my gear and validating that the system is dialed in.  It's one thing to confirm your rifles zero after a long road trip but it takes things to a whole other level when you can shoot at distance throughout a hunt. 

[CaNINE]

Monday night we made a fireside decision to relocate the next morning to a different drainage. It was a more difficult to access area that would require several creek crossings with waters swollen from rapidly melting snow pack (thank God for strong horses) then a climb on foot up a steep ridge tangled with snow drifts and blowdown.

[CaNINE]

I considered the option of ending the hunt on Monday and heading home. I'm glad I didn't.

[CaNINE]

Tuesday evening found us sitting on the spine of a ridge looking across a deep canyon toward a series of intersecting finger ridges.  This was our first time into this area so, to be honest, I wasn't terribly optimistic.  We spent several hours glassing waiting for the magical last light moments when bears often like to appear.

[CaNINE]

At exactly 8:01 PM I was scanning the far side ridge passing from right to left when into the glass emerged a very large bear bathed in the light of the setting sun.  After spending nearly 40 hours behind optics this week it was an absolutely surreal moment to gaze upon this animal.  The pic below is as captured through the spotting scope at approx 750 yards.