Bear Hunt with my Son

[Beerhntr]

Thank you to everyone for your help. This thread is now a hunt update on how we did hunting mountain bears in late August.

The good: My son (10yrs old) has a chance to hunt black bear this year. He’s excited and working hard to prep. He’s mowing the lawn, doing chores to make sure he can earn this opportunity.

The Bad:  initially the hunt was going to be neat year however a slot opened up and it’s now mid August.

Help Needed:  we have been shooting the rifle all summer but only to 200 yards. It’s dead on but the bears can be out to 400.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE WE CAN SAFELY PRACTICE OUT TO 400yds?  I am in Buckley, can meet up on weekends.

I am will to pay to use a spot, buy you a case of beer or a bottle of whiskey.

I checked the local ranges, unfortunately you have to be a member and the current wait list is full.

[jrebel]

Rather than rush the learning curve and shooting extended ranges, use this opportunity to practice stalking and closing the distance to his comfortable shooting ranges.

What rifle, caliber, scope is he shooting.  The difference in 200-300 is easy, in my opinion for most calibers.  Beyond 300 it gets exponentially more difficult for must new shooters.   Hope he finds a bear.....it is a great opportunity for youth hunters. 

[Beerhntr]

We have two Options:

1.  6.5 Creedmoor, this gun is a heavy, little recoil and is shot suppressed. He shoots this well. Scope is an Arken 6-25 MIL

2.  6.5 PRC. Traditional stock, muzzle brake or can be shot suppressed.  Scope is a vortex PST Gen 2 6-25 MOA. He shoots this less well.

Plan is for me to do all the scope inputs, get him prepped then let him take the shot.

He has shot: Bench, Prone and off a tri-pod.

Right now our plan is to have him shoot at 200 yards and under. 300 seems like a poke for him. I figured if he can practice at 400 a 300 yard shot would be easier.

I do agree with you that this is going to be a practice hunt and he’s prepared to be patient if the conditions aren’t right. As a Dad I want to give him all the practice I can. He’s a hard worker, he buckled down this year and passed hunters ed on his own.  I figured I’d do everything I can to help him on this endeavor.

[Karl Blanchard]

Distance is irrelevant with young shooters and practice imo. Fundamentals is FAR more important than shooting the actual distance. If you're dialing, then you're holding dead on anyways. Get him as many reps in as you can and make them quality reps. Body position, recoil management, staying on the gun through the shot and getting another round racked and ready for a follow up shop. Breathing, neutral grip, etc etc.  Shoot the lightest recoiling rifle you have aka the 6.5 creedmoor. It's more than enough for bear and less recoil means more practice and more practice means more confidence and confidence kills

[jrebel]

Thanks for the response.  I would agree with Karl that he 6.5 creed would be the rifle I put him behind, especially if he shoots it well.  If you are dialing, that will help with the actual shot, as there is no guessing on hold over.  My son was killing deer and bear at 300-500 yards when he was 10-13 years old.  The hardest thing to teach a kid (in my humble opinion) is to be patient and wait for the right shot.  Teach him to watch the reticle and understand if it is bouncing more than acceptable margin of error....to stop, get a better set up / rest and then take the shot. 

Hope to see you post success photos.  Once he gets his first bear, he will be hooked for life.  My son is turning 15 next month and has killed more bear then me at this point.  He is up to 9 or 10 if my memory serves me.  Some of his biggest are from Northern Alberta.  His furthest shot was 498 yards and he ten ringed it!!  He shoots a lot and is a pretty amazing behind the trigger.   

[WapitiTalk1]

Ok, I’ll say it. 400 yards is a tall ask for a child. Heck, it’s a tall ask for older teens and young and even older adults that don’t posses the skills required.  So so much goes into a 300+ shot.  Stock/cheek weld, grip, breathing, trigger squeeze, relaxation, etc. Add in a bit of adrenaline, shooter anxiety well….The very last thing to do is put a young hunter into a situation when he/she wounds an animal.  Just my meager .02 cents.

[jeffro]

If your hunting wet side, most bears will be at 200 or less
Usually under 100 in my 40 yrs experience

[Beerhntr]

We are indeed hunting the west side in the cascades. We have received a bit of intel that the bear are feeding out into spots we can shoot from 200 to 400 depending on their path of travel.

My goal is to prepare for the longest shot and get comfortable with it knowing he’s going to be limited to his ethical range.  He has to prove to himself what he is capable of and accept that reality. Right now he’s 100% (every shot inside an MOA) at 100 and inside 2 MOA at 200.

When “bear fever” hits I want him to know he has put in the work. It will make him confident.

We practice shooting small items out to 200 yards and make bets. I.e. he misses and he’s scooping dog poop for a week just to add a bit more pressure.

[okie john]

Check out the Pe Ell Sportsman's Club. It's kinda far but you can shoot to 500m there. Dues are cheap and if you call the guy he can probably get you on the range sooner rather than later.

http://www.plsportsmensclub.com/memberships/


Okie John

[dreadi]

Do those rifles shoot well on paper at 200? If so, a steel target the size of or smaller than vitals and a trip to central or eastern Washington would be in order. If you drive around Capitol Forest you can find spots up to and beyond 400yds.

I also agree with Karl. Fundamentals are key.
Some kids and women tend to shoot without the ego, learn well and fast. If he can paper it well at 200, then 400 isn't that big of deal, as long as the rifle, ammo, optic/sights, etc etc are gtg for that distance.

"See that target out there? Hold over 1.5 MOA and shoot it." PING.
"Do it two more times."


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[Beerhntr]

Thank you.

The 6.5CM is hand loaded and shoots 1moa or better. The 6.5CM is going 2710 with a 143 ELDX out of a 22” barrel.  200yds he shoots really well. Generally better than he shoots at 100.

I am double checking the rifle this weekend to verify zero, check over all nuts/bolts/screws on the scope/base. I am also validating the speed with this batch of ammo. We should have everything squared away from 0-200 yards.

I’ll check capital forest out and see if I can find a good spot out to 400.

[Wanttohuntmore]

I agree with Karl as well.   Get the fundamentals down.   Heck,  take a 22 or pellet gun and have him shoot hundreds of rounds in different positions. If you are dialing and have proven settings,  it won't be of any difference if the bear is 80 yds or 400, unless it's windy and then it's a whole new ballgame.   Another thing,  get some photos of bear at different angles and have him show you where he'll aim.   Understanding where to aim is equally important.

[Karl Blanchard]

I agree with Karl as well.   Get the fundamentals down.   Heck,  take a 22 or pellet gun and have him shoot hundreds of rounds in different positions. If you are dialing and have proven settings,  it won't be of any difference if the bear is 80 yds or 400, unless it's windy and then it's a whole new ballgame.   Another thing,  get some photos of bear at different angles and have him show you where he'll aim.   Understanding where to aim is equally important.

I cut pictures our of magazines and tape them to our dishwasher for the kids to dry fire on. Works well to ingrain holds at different angles

[jackelope]

Based on my experience seeing Karl’s kids do what they do, I’d recommend listening to everything he says.

[bearpaw]

It takes a solid hit in the vitals to kill a bear, unless I know I've got someone who is a real good shooter, and unless they are packing a rifle with plenty of energy over 300 yards, I rarely recommend shooting at bear over 300 yards. The majority of hunters wound more bear than they kill at ranges over 300 yards. It's not about hitting a bear anywhere, you have to get a solid shot in the vitals, most hunters can do it at the range but can't do it on the mountain in a hunting situation. Rather than practice at the range I would much recommend driving to the mountains finding a logging cut and shooting prone on the ground and practice using shooting sticks or a tall bipod. Out in the field there is not going to be a shooting bench where you see a bear to shoot at! Good luck, hope that helps!

[Beerhntr]

Update:

Took the 6.5 PRC and Creedmoor out to a 600yd competition

Results off of bipod were good:

1st round hits dead center on 10x10 steel cold barrel. 

Shot two 10 round groups (time limited competition 15mins for sighter and recorded shots)

6.5 CM was 6” with 3x (heavy profile to the barrel) Hand loads.

6.5 PRC was 10” with 2x (pencil barrel, was steamin hot). Group went wider as the barrel heated up.

All this to say that I think I am good to 400 with a stable rest and time to execute a shot. This will be my limit.

My son will be held to a max of 300 with a stable rest and time to execute a broadside shot.

We really don’t shoot much on the flat range. For the most part it’s a shooting pit prone or off the tripod. We don’t use shooting mats just the bare ground.  We make wagers for poop scooping which makes for a little more pressure.

Thanks for all the advice we I’ll keep updating with our progress and hunt on this thread.

[jrebel]

Good luck to the both of you….   Hope to see success photos and stories soon.

[Beerhntr]

Lessons Learned:

Well we hunted hard for 4 days. Unfortunately we were not able to see any bears. We did see over 50 4 legged creatures: Elk, mt goats, an otter and Blacktail.

Weather: it rained 3 out of 4 days. The temps dropped 20 degrees. From the 70’s to 40’s and 50’s.  Fog killed our primary hunt plans. Had to switch gears and hunt lower where there was not as much food.

Berries: great at 4K ft of elevation. Nothing of mass down low.

Tactics: we did a mix of sitting on berries and spot and stalk. We generally hunted mornings and evenings. I would have instead hunted all day. We missed a bear that came in at 1:30pm. Can’t kill a bear from camp. That was the only bear we had on camera the whole week.

Conclusion: my son learned that hunting can get boring, he was absolutely into it even though it’s not all day action packed. He handled the adversity really well sitting through rain, wind and cold temps. Not one complaint from him. I am very proud of his maturity and focus. He was an excellent spotter and constantly had his eye in the terrain. All in all he had a great time and wants to go back out as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone for all the help.