I got a story to tell, but first a few questions...

[logola512c]

Quite the story. Any non-secret pics to share? Also, afterthought #6, make sure to wear high-vis colors while dragging out on your back, maybe even an extra garment for the bear.

I totally agree.  I hunt in a blaze orange cap, blaze orange long sleeve shirt, and a blaze orange vest.  If I lose a shot opportunity hunting modern rifle because an animal sees the blaze orange, I'm not doing something correctly, and I'd rather be seen by other hunters.  Before I went into the woods to drag the bear out, I strung up about a dozen pieces of blaze marking tape near where I was, and then was still wearing all my blaze orange.  I also stopped the piggy backing right before the edge of the woods for that reason.  Hard to explain, but where I was, there was zero chance of another hunter seeing me while piggy backing the bear in the woods.  But good advice to put a vest on the bear or its head.  In my book, there's never too much blaze orange, especially after shots are fired. 

[CoryTDF]

Great story! I like your writing style, almost like reading a checklist. It is unique to what is typically posted and I enjoyed reading it. Congrats on a great bear as well!

[Pacific Ghost]

That is a hefty hoist and scale setup; good thing you didn't have to pack it into your new, high spot instead. Wait, I could have used your help on my bear I posted about earlier. How much do you charge just to hike in the hoist & scale for someone else? Premium cost for traveling blindfolded?

[Jpmiller]

Not to nit pick but I think next time you could tie up the bears head and front paws and run a rope back up to the scale and tie it off that way to get an accurate weight with it all off the ground, tied off on both ends. 

[Rainier10]

Not to nit pick but I think next time you could tie up the bears head and front paws and run a rope back up to the scale and tie it off that way to get an accurate weight with it all off the ground, tied off on both ends.

That is a great idea.  I am guessing that thought never entered his mind being all riled up from the encounter and all.  Great idea though.

[logola512c]

Not to nit pick but I think next time you could tie up the bears head and front paws and run a rope back up to the scale and tie it off that way to get an accurate weight with it all off the ground, tied off on both ends.

Good idea.  So obvious in hindsight.  I think the scale is just a curiosity for me, and what I really wanted the hoist for was to be able to field dress the animal off the ground to get less hair and stuff from the ground on the meat, which I did see the benefit of.  Much less hair and leaves etc, in the game bags, although still more on it than I would have liked.

[logola512c]

Not to nit pick but I think next time you could tie up the bears head and front paws and run a rope back up to the scale and tie it off that way to get an accurate weight with it all off the ground, tied off on both ends.

That is a great idea.  I am guessing that thought never entered his mind being all riled up from the encounter and all.  Great idea though.

Totally correct.  Instead I just kept lowering the bear, raising the host, etc. over and over, without success.  lessons learned for the next one...

[Buckmark]

Not to nit pick but I think next time you could tie up the bears head and front paws and run a rope back up to the scale and tie it off that way to get an accurate weight with it all off the ground, tied off on both ends.

Good idea.  So obvious in hindsight.  I think the scale is just a curiosity for me, and what I really wanted the hoist for was to be able to field dress the animal off the ground to get less hair and stuff from the ground on the meat, which I did see the benefit of.  Much less hair and leaves etc, in the game bags, although still more on it than I would have liked.

Congrats
Carry a small tarp to set the meat on, much lighter than your hoist set up 

[logola512c]

That is a hefty hoist and scale setup; good thing you didn't have to pack it into your new, high spot instead. Wait, I could have used your help on my bear I posted about earlier. How much do you charge just to hike in the hoist & scale for someone else? Premium cost for traveling blindfolded?

The 800 yards to my car was about the limit for using that hoist setup.  Although truth be told, once I took the scale out of the system the bear hung nicely off the ground and processing was a snap, and much more  lower-back-friendly, which maybe only us old-ish farts appreciate...  At this point, I'd rather carry 30 pounds of steel upright a few hundred yards than spend an hour hunched over working on something. 

[rainshadow1]

Great story! Thanks!

[logola512c]

This bear had some worn out teeth.  Check out the rings inside the lower teeth.

[muzzleman]

I enjoyed the story thanks for sharing and nice bear!!!