Sherman bear down

[wazzu99]

Ok, I think I got this figured out.  First I'll start with a pic of camp.  Nothing like a cozy tent for 4 days.

[wazzu99]

Secondly and pic of the paw of this old boy.  For comparison I'm 6'1 and 215 lbs.  This old boy had huge feet!

[wazzu99]

Finally a couple kill shot photo's.  Taxidermist thinks his skull will be around 18 1/2 inches.  I'll post the entire story on Thursday.

Wazzu

[wazzu99]

One last kill shot.

[Red Dawg]

bout time we got some pics.

[Backstraps]

Very nice bear.............I love the color!

[Slider]

Awesome Bear!!! Congrats

[Cascade]

That's a sweet bear.  Like everyone has said, I love the color.

[wazzu99]

Ok, finally got time for the story.  Red dawg and I headed for Republic last Wed for the last 5 days of the season.  Having been in the same area a month earlier and seeing nothing hopes were a little low, but everyone was telling us it would only get better as the season wore on. 

Day 1:  Got camp set up and firewood cut and relaxed around camp until around 5pm with the heat the way it was.  We left camp at 5pm and saw our first bear at 5:15pm!  A beautiful blond bear right in the middle of the road.  Unfortunetly he was just a tad too small so we let him walk.  Nothing else that evening except for a ton of bear sign.  Piles of crap as big as a pie plate!  Hopes were high for day 2.

Day 2:  Headed for a high point to do some glassing.  First bear spotted within a couple minutes of arriving at our destination.  Looked good from a mile away so we decided to move in for a closer look.  Upon arriving at destination two for the hike in we immediately spotted two more bears on an open hillside but they were already heading for the timber with no way to intercept them before they hit the treeline.  So we headed for the previous bear we had seen.  Upon reaching him we were surprised to find out he was only a 100 lb cut!  Lesson learned on a 2 mile hike, need to get better at judging bears!  Nothing else for the entire morning.  That evening we saw another smaller blonde bear that got the crap beat out of him by a bigger bear.  He was looking rough.  Nothing else for the evening but we were pinning down where the bears were and their travel patterns.

Day 3:  Tried a different ridge that I have seen bears on in the fall.  Started glassing a distant ridge and noticed something black in the tree tops.  Asked Red Dawg what he tought it was and it started moving.  Two 10 lb cubs in the top of a 50 ft fir tree just swinging in the wind.  No sight of mom but we didn't want to disturb her.  Location number 2 for the morning and tried a little calling to no avail.  On the hike back to the road we jumped a decent jet black bear but decided to pass as he was only around 200 pounds.  Temps in the 80's so back to camp to ride out the heat.  Around 4pm were cooking up some fried potatoes having a couple drinks when Red Dawg yells BEAR!  I grab my 30-30 and start the stalk across the creek and up an old skid road.  Get witin 30 yards in flip flops and shorts but he's too small but a beautiful blond bear as well.  That stalk will go down in the record books.  Nothing like trying to sneak up on a bear with Red Dawg flip flops smacking behind you as you walk.  Go for a drive that night and saw our first shooter but couldn't seal the deal.  He bolted into the creek bottom before I could get within open site range.

Day 4:  Headed down the creek another 2 miles further than we had ventured in the past couple days and finally caught up to bear we got.  He was feeding on an open hillside above the creek bottom just starting to make his way back into the timber from the rising sun.  I was unable to get within 30-30 range so I grabbed the 300 RUM and dumped him at 7am.  That is when the screaming and high fives started.  What a great end to a great hunt.  All in all 10 adult bears and 2 cubs in just over 3 solid days of hunting.  To top it off we saw moose with a day old calf, deer everywhere, Turkeys, grouse, coyotes, etc.  Even managed to call in a love sick tom with no call, just tried to make hen sounds with my mouth.  He came running down the road at full speed right into camp at 1pm in the afternoon!  I think he would have jumped Red Dawgs leg if we would have let him.  Poor guy was sure disapointed when he saw us.  Truely and awesome hunt and can't wait until one of my buddies draws the tag just to tag along with them.

Wazzu99

[Cascade_Sherpa]

Wow, that sounds like a fantastic hunt! Congrats on a great looking bear, what are you gonna do with him?  I'm getting antsy waiting for Aug. 1st so I can start doing some hunting myself!

[JackOfAllTrades]

Man, those are the kind of hunts we live for. Challenges and rewards!

Well done. Congrats, and thanx for the writeup.

-Steve

[Machias]

Oustanding story and photos, thanks for sharing!!!

[bow4elk]

Great looking bear, sounds like a fantastic hunt!  Nice job!

[wazzu99]

Thanks guys, he's at Peyser Taxidermy in Selah Wa getting made into a nice rug.  Already can't wait until he's on my wall.

Wazzu99

[Red Dawg]

ya chasing bears in flipflops is something everyone should get to do once in their lifetime. And seeing the cubs in the tree is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.