Rufous' 2010 Dayton Unit Spring Bear Hunt

[Rufous]

I am a bit ashamed. Not so much that I am not going to enjoy the heck out of this upcoming spring bear hunt. I have now gotten the spring bear tag 5 times. One of my hunting buddies has only gotten the spring bear tag once in 2004 and he now has 6 points and did not get drawn.

My first spring bear tag was in 2000 in Blue Creek. My brother also drew the tag and took a big boar but I did not fill my tag. Here is a photo of his bear which was approximately 350#:



Then in 2001 I drew Wenaha solo and ended up taking my biggest bear to date, a 13 year old boar that had a 20" green skull and weighed about 400#. Here is a photo of that bad boy:




Then in 2005 my brother and I drew in Blue Creek. I took a 12 year old boar and my brother took a young bear. Here is a photo of me with my boar:



Then in 2007 my brother and I drew Dayton. He took a young boar and I took this 7 year old boar with my Ruger 45 Colt:



So now my brother and I got drawn again for Dayton and I am very much excited and looking forward to the hunt. There is a ridge where I have quite often seen lots of bears feeding on the grass and the onions (later in the season). I am hoping with the mild winter I will be able to access that ridge sooner and that the onions might be ripening earlier. I took this photo of a big boar who was trailing a sow on the same ridge a couple years ago and hope I might be able to tag him this spring or one of his size:



To all who drew the spring bear hunt I wish you the best of luck and beware the ticks. I have already pulled three off of the back of my neck this year. They were not embedded yet fortunately but I think it is going to be a very bad year for ticks.

[yelp]

I am calling you if I ever draw Rufous...OK!  This year is going to be a screamer...early spring.

[Ridgerunner]

beautiful color phase bears there.  Would love a cool color phase bear. 

[benhuntin]

With that kind of luck you should post pics of your Moose, Sheep and Goat hunts too.

[jackelope]

beautiful color phase bears there.  Would love a cool color phase bear. 

Well looking at those photo's, Rufous should be looking for a cool black bear. Do they have any black colored bears down in the blues?
 

[Ridgerunner]

Rufus has the luck when it comes to drawing permits, wow!

[saylean]

Awesome colors on those brearskies. I remember the one with you holding your pistol. Good luck man! Try to get a black one this time...you seem to find the chocolates!

[180-GRAIN]

Man those are some beautiful colored bears, been trying a long time to get one with colors like that. I guess some guys have all the luck

[Rufous]

Yes I have been lucky and I am not even Irish. I have not yet drawn sheep or goat but here is a pic of me with my 2008 Huckleberry Range Moose, taken 10/4/08:



And here is my brother with his moose taken in the same unit later in November of 2008:



I have taken a couple black phase black bears but none of them were in WA. I do not see very many black ones here in the blues. I would love to get one though or a blonde one which I see fairly often but have not taken yet.

Here is a 10 year old black boar I got May of 2003 in Idaho:



And here is a 10 year old black boar I got in May of 2004 in southeast Alaska:

[buckmaster_wa]

Man your a boar killin machine. Good job.

[180-GRAIN]

Black phased is all I seem to find me and my fiance have taken six bears in the last three years and seem probably atleast 70 different bears all have been black. We are on the west side so it must just be in the gene pool over here, probably the same for color phased on the east side.

[winston2789]

Ya, those are some great animals!!! Congrats   I wish I was half as lucky as you

[Firing Pin]

Alright, I gotta ask??  Rufos you the man, and WHO do you know?  The guy that pulls the numbers?   

[benhuntin]

I was just jokin about the moose tag.  You must be one lucky bugger when it comes to drawin tags.  Looks like you put your time in in the woods.  Congrats on the moose your sheep tag will probably be in the mail this year.

[BENCHLEG]

nice job. but you all can see that the point system sucks .