copalis spring bear down

[scroder]

I got home from my training in colorado and convinced my wife that it was a good idea for me to head back out. I got a late start Tuesday morning but figured that I would have the rest of the week to hunt anyway. When I got to where I was going to set up camp I found the gate locked so I looked around for a bit and picked an out of the way spur road, hurried to set everything up and headed out to try to find yogi. After a few hours of checking some spots that I had seen good sign in I decided to head to a spot to sit until dark. My phone rang and it was my hunting partner. He told me I should shoot the first bear I saw because he had just checked the draw results and I had drawn one of the four eastside archery elk permits that I had applied for. I think he is afraid I'll use up all my vacation time. Anyway, now I was seriously thinking about popping the first one I saw. I got to my spot, got set up and sat for what seemed like forever. At eight o'clock I heard the very distinct sounds of an animal moving through the brush below me. I glassed the area the sounds were coming from for a bit then spotted a small bear working its way up toward me.I watched it for about five minutes until it had passed out of sight. I had a moment of should I have shot it or not when I heard more noise coming from the same general area the first one had come from. I spotted it and watched it follow the same exact trail the first one had taken. I guessed that this one was about 150# or so, a little bigger than the first but still not what I was hoping for, so I watched it pass about eighty yards below me and into the brush. I sat there for about a half hour wondering to myself if I had screwed up by not filling my tag. About that time I heard a very large crash way off to the bottom end of the clear cut. I knew before I even looked through my binos that I wanted this one. I repositioned myself for a shot opportunity, he was about 300 yards away but heading up the hill. When he got to the spot where he would have crossed the trail the other two had taken he stopped for a while, then turned and started to follow the same trail as the other two. Each time he would go behind some cover I would slide down the hill a little. He stepped out from behind a big log, I settled the cross hairs and crushed the trigger. KABOOM!! He took off like I had missed! I thought forty yards no way could I have missed. In all of my haste somehow I managed to eject the spent round and one live round. I was having a hard time staying on him because of his speed and all of the brush he was plowing through. I managed one more shot just as he was going over the first of two big logs. As he tried to go over the second log he fell back and I could see him thrashing between the logs. I headed down to where he was. I found a blood trail so apparently I had not missed the first shot. When I approached he seemed to get bigger. I inspected him and could only find one bullet hole just behind his left shoulder angleing towards the opposite armpit. It amazes me he could take a shot like that without any visible signs and still go a few hundred yards. 8:45 p.m. I started gutting then went back to the truck to get my pack board. On my return trip I saw another bear at the far edge of the clear cut. Then just as I had finished skinning him I heard some brush cracking. I stood up and shined my flash light in the direction of the noise to find two emerald green eyeballs staring at me. Great! My rifle was in the truck so I shouted at it and threw a old chunk of cedar to scare it away. WOW five bear in one evening!! 12:45 a.m. he is finally all loaded up. His front half was so big it would not fit into a elk quarter bag. 1:15 a.m. back to camp. Get something to eat, lay the hide out so it can cool, ice down the meat. 2:15 a.m. in bed. 3:15 a.m. the first of many log trucks rumble by. Damn that was a short night. I crawled out of bed at about 4:30 and started tearing camp down. On the way home I called a guy with a meat locker to ask if I can hang it there. He put the two halves of the carcass on his scale 222 pounds!!! I'm guessing that the hide and head weigh about 75. I think I have shot my first legitimate 300 pounder.

Head to tail 6'6"

[bucklucky]

Glad to see you got your bear and a nice one man!! Congrats! Jack told me you killed one.

[257 Wby Mag]

Nice Grizz!! Old Charlie will fix ya up on that badboy. Congrats on your bull tag too. Later

[bowsandhose]

very nice, grats

[bobcat]

Very nice bear. Thanks for sharing the story.

[280ackley]

Nice bear!!!  Did you have him with you when I saw you drive by this afternoon?

[Michelle_Nelson]

Nice Bear, congrats!

[X-Force]

Congrats! sounds like you found a heck of a spot.

[billythekidrock]

Congrats on a great bear.

[Gobble]

Congrats! Great Bear. Persistance pays off 

[saylean]

6'6" ...thats a good size blackie. Congrats man!

[Kain]

Very cool!  I was hoping to see some more bears before season was over.  Looks like he was a fighter, those are some nice scars on his face.

[littlebuf]

thats a cool bear those scars are sweet

[Jackjr]

Nice work scrode.  Way to drop the hammer.  Did it go a little like this    You should of saw the size of the one that was behind him.  They kept getting bigger so by 8:45 you would of needed a bigger truck.  Well maybe you do need a bigger truck or maybe a skinny hunting partner.  2 for 2 on our first wa spring bear hunt, and Even in a unit we have never been in.  I guess we cant complain  

[blindpig]

What a dandy bear and an equally dandy story.  Thanks.

[Phil W]

Your experience was exceptional. I had a tag for that area but didn't get one. Talked with several others and they didn't see a bear all season. That must be a real hot spot to be able to see, what, four bears in one evening!!!?

Apparently the key is to find a bear trail or crossing? I'm new to bear hunting and would appreciate whatever advise is available.

Congratulations!

[wildwood]

NICE YOGI ive been trying to get that tag no luck pullin it yet my buddy drew it last year missed one 

[scroder]

Don't forget my hunting pard got one too.

[PacificNWhunter]

Very nice bear!

[Sideswipe]

Great story & bear!  Woulda taken me years to see that many bear.  Copalis?.....Isn't that Ralph Flowers country?

[dave]

 wow!!! you killed the negro version of the coke bear

[scroder]

I took my bear out to Charlie's on Tuesday to have him start the rug process. He P.M.'ed me yesterday to let me know he had found my bullet while fleshing out the hide and also gave me some measurements.

Fleshed out he went 7 foot and I see you shoot barnes bullets too  Green score around 19 15/16 ish.

Thank you Charlie

[Pathfinder101]

Nice!

[bowhiker]

Great story and awesome bear. Any idea on the size of the skull?