THE Bear Hunter (vintage)

[boneaddict]

I have this picture on my wall.  Here was an old family friend that used to come visit my Grandfather and family(Idabooner).  I'm hoping Idabooner will log on here with one or two stories about him.  I can think of two (a shooting contest with a magpie) and how he used to use one bullet a year to harvest his deer.  They are classic and to be shared.  Anyhow this picture is also important to me because I once carried out a bear out of a canyon in Naches with the backpack method.  Its a little bloody and a little stinky, but one heck of a way to get a small bear out.  No three hundred pounders here.
An old indian family friend with his 200th bear.  I wish I hd his gun!

[boneaddict]

[Choclab]

wow...awsome pic. thanks for sharing

[Idabooner]

Roy was a good hunter, he was a family friend that come over every hunting season and camped on our place. He was a full blood Cherokee that lived in the Snohomish area, that's where the bear was shot. He was of a quiet serious nature, but if the mood struck and the camp fire was right he would share some experiences. I was to young to hunt with him but he became my hero, he knew the woods as well as my Dad. Roy never went home without his deer. He carried a 35 remington slide action and could shoot it.
    One sunny afternoon Dad and Roy were going out for an evening hunt and allowed me to tag along, we were walking across this big opening with one big old pine tree, there was a magpie sitting in the top, all of a sudden Roy threw up his rifle, boom, the magpie started tumbling through the limbs, boom Dad hit it with the 32 special, boom Roy got it again, boom Dad finished it off before it hit the ground. Neither one of these guys were show off's, just got a funny bug I guess, sure impressed a 10 year old boy.
    I'm not sure but I think bear were like varmints in those days, you could get them any time.

[Idabooner]

I never heard of Roy having to shoot anything more than once but probably what Boneaddict is thinking of was an old Indian ( don't recall his name) that carried a 33 Winchester. Back in the late 40's, early 50', every hunting season he would sit on a trail up near the cliffs waiting for a buck to come by. It was about a 3 hour climb to get there and he never left until he got his buck. He would sit there wrapped in his blanket in all kinds of weather. When I first knew him he only had a few shells, and every year he would have one less, 33 ammo was hard to come by. The last time I talked to him he had one  shell and was sitting there in a snow storm, he was very old, maybe he never needed any more ammo.

[boneaddict]

See, learned something new again.  I thought they were the one in the same.

[Idabooner]

One story that Roy told I remember well, and think of it at times in the woods, I requested he tell it again for a few years, it never changed so probably it was true.
    When he was a small boy he was in the woods with his grandfather, they become aware of a grizzly following them, the only weapon they had was a hatchet. They kept traveling at the same pace, they went across the top of a rock out cropping and circled around under it. Back from the rocks grandfather cut a stout 10 foot pole and sharpened one end, he handed the hatchet to the boy and told him to stay back, knowing the bear was watching them from cover at the top of the ledge. If the grizzly was going to attack he would be ready with the sharp pole. He then walked up under the rocks and after a short while the bear leaped down on him only to land on the sharp end of the pole he was holding with one end against the ground, the bear thrashed around but died very quickly.

[boneaddict]

Thats very cool.  I know that was an old time tactic they used.  Since that was pre Hollywood, its very believable.

Good pic Otto.

[Idabooner]

That would have been around 1900. I know the old time Indians would turn around and go the opposite direction if they found a grizzly track.

[boneaddict]

Nothing like counting coues on a grizzly's forehead to increase your mojo.  I guess I inadvertently did that on our moose trip, and I'm not sure what it did to my mojo, but I'm glad I'm here to joke about it.

[nyhunter]

There is something to be said for the old timer in the woods. I take advantage of every story or hunting trip I  can find with a true old timer. If it means a little extra work so be it. My father is getting up there in that old timer range but still gettin out there when he can. We have lost a couple of guys in the last few years so take advantage while you have them around. you can never get it back.

[boneaddict]

Yep, I hauled my old timer to Alaska last year, and this year he is headed to New Mexico with me.  I shoul be able to get a couple more old stories out of him.

[jackelope]

haha...welcome aboard nyhunter... i think we share a lot of old timer stories.

[nyhunter]

The old timer stories are the best. I got one for you fella's that venture out into the water. The old man and I were on the river one morning a few years back and his eye's aren't what they used to be, so he is sitting there staring into the north sky and says " boy those are some funny looking clouds up there" I took a good look and replied, that's not a cloud that's a flock of brant get ready. About three hundred flew over and we bagged a couple and then had a great laugh over them clouds.

[boneaddict]

bump for the one shot thread