Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Bear Hunting => Topic started by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 06:09:09 AM

Title: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 06:09:09 AM: Okay.....third time is the charm baby!

For some of you this will be old news, for some new so please enjoy.

This was my 2nd year really hunting bears. My first year I stumbled around on my own a bit, the second year I was more serious and had one and a half shot ops, now, I've got me a bear. I owe a lot of thanks to D-Rock who has shown me areas to hunt, how to deal with bears when it comes to knife work, and how to look for sign and feeding areas. Big thanks also to one member who knows who he is. Major thanks to my brother in law for always being there for adventures. He will hunt, fish, scout, explore, check cams, anything and everything without a complaint. If the fish aren't biting, the crab are gone, and the animals are a no show he never complains or whines, he just soldiers on. I of course could have activated the Hunt Wa phone tree and had some of you guys out there but having him with me was a true gift. For the sake of the write up I will refer to my brother in law as "D".

Saturday evening I was up checking out an area that was whispered in my ear. I explored, hiked, and learned a bit about the area. Looked good to me with lots of berries, some good sign, and some scat that could have been small bear or yotes. I talked with one hiker who described some piles of scat filled with berries up higher that has to be bear. We chatted a bit and I suggested he put some orange ribbon on his dogs collar. This dog was huge, blond, and thick. You are thinking the same thing I was....blond dog looks like a blond bear which then becomes a dead dog. He thanked me for the advice and I thanked him for his time and off we each went. Fairly uneventfull eveing filled with sweat and skeeters.

Sunday, o'dark hundred D showed up at five and we hit the road. The FJ was loaded and we were off. We got to the parking spot just after first light. I took care of a little quick paperwork off to the side and we geared up and hit the trail. Nice little walk in towards the first "stretch" we wanted to hunt. Kind of funny, we had two little racoons walking towards us about a hundred yards up. Not gonna lie...at that distance my first thought was cubs....pleased to see coons instead. As we got closer one took off and the other got up a tree in a hurry. Little bugger was sure giving me the stink eye as I walked past. Lucky for him it was early and my itchy trigger finger was held at bay. Tempting. D and I came out into our first area, put some distance between us, and started to slow hunt along. We both came across some scat and sign that was overnight fresh so things were looking up. It was a very pleasant walk. We spent about 35 minutes working along. The berries to me looked fairly picked over. Picked over like critters eating them, not people picking them. In hindsight things were defenitely looking up.

We came to the end of the stretch and only made it about 30 more yards. That is when we heard it. D-Rock once told me that when you see a bear you will have no doubt it is a bear. It won't look like the first hundred stumps you looked at thinking it was a bear. It will look like a bear. He also said when you hear a bear you will know it is a bear. Not a little deer picking its way along but a pushing through the brush making noise and breaking sticks bear. The little bear I passed on last year sounded like that. The big bear I almost had a shot with my bow last year sounded like that. This bear very much sounded like a bear. D looked at me and said that it sounded big. I told him it is big. We both checked our rifles, one in the chamber and safetys on. I was carrying my .270 and he had my .30-30. I was shooting 130g Hornady Interlocks and he had the Hornady LEVERevoltion ammo. Safety on we begin to close the gap.

The stretch we were now on climbs up a bit with the berries now above and below us. We are on the path and Mr. Bear is below us. I can hear him moving along and what sounds to me like just acting bear like. Only a few minutes go by and D thinks it is spooked and working its way down instead of up. Luckily, patience was on my side. I suggested he go another 20 yards or so and just post up. He walks down a bit and then we simply stood there for a few minutes. I can see the brush now start to move. Autopilot kicks in and I get my sticks up in front of me, rest the rifle, lay my cheek to stock, sight on the moving brush and flick off the safety. My heart is beating pretty good but I'm in control....for now. The first thing I see is some black fur...just a bit through the brush. The second thing I see is the nose and muzzle. I can see some color on the muzzle and then I see nothing but bear head an brush. I know instantly that if I can see the shoulder I'm taking the shot. He lowers his head, steps forward as his head comes up and steps directly into the crosshairs. I'm shooting for no tracking shot and let the crosshairs float up a bit on the shoulder and touch off the shot. My Ruger M77 is the all weather stainless version. It is very light and for a .270 really takes off. As the gun came back down I racked the bolt and tried to find the bear. I was looking at the brush through the scope and could see it vibrating. The brush was just shivering. I didn't see anything moving other than that and looked over at D. He was still in a shooting position and covering the area that the bear went down. This is the point where I began to shake. My legs and hands were shaking pretty bad so I simply laid the rifle down and went over and sat my butt on a rock. Only a minute or so went by and D came over to me and asked if I was okay. Yep, I just need a minute before I grab my gun. D says that man he has to be dead. He didn't see anything move and heard the death moan. I say f'ing A all I can hear is my heart. The wave passes and I'm feeling okay to pick up and safely unload. We get that done, drop our packs, and get ready to head down. We decide that D will take the .30-30 and I'll take the machete. He is more steady than I at this point and can shoot with the irons even though a scope is mounted. We scurry down into the brush and only need to go about 20 yards before I can see Mr. Bear. He was down where he stood, belly up, and very much dead.

After a few phone calls and texts it was decided that the best thing to do was send D back to the FJ for the game cart and I would do the knife work. I'll say that I much rather prefer field dressing a bear than a deer. Simply not having to deal with a medicine ball sized stomach seemed much easier. The knife work went well and I was able to clean up a bit with wet wipes before D got back. He manhandled the game cart down and we strapped Mr. Bear on pretty tight. D suggested we pound some Gatorade, water, and a power bar in anticipation of getting him the 45ish yards out. We hydrated, gave it ten minutes and then got to work. The game cart was a Godsend. We were able to move it a few feet at a time without to much trouble. The wheels would help with the uneven brush and the ends provided good lifting points. However, the last section that was steep was the worst. We got it done and we only fell once but managed the fall and didn't end up with more than a few bruises and scratches. This is where D really stepped up. There is simply now way I could have done that without taking Mr. Bear out in quarters.

The bullet went in high in the shoulder and took out the spine and spinal column. The slug came to rest on the far shoulder just under the hide. A petal or section of jacket apparently came off and took a bit of right hand turn and exited between the last 2nd and 3rd rib leaving a small but nasty exit wound. The recovered projectile weighed 89.3 grains with a starting weight of 130.

I estimated the bear to come in at about 250 on the paw. The hanging weight at the butcher yesterday was 123.9 lbs bone in. They gave me an estimate based on body size, neck girth, body fat, and experience to be around the 250 to 275 walking around weight. I'll take that.

Here are a few pics.....I'll start with the way we found him. He looked like he had been struck by lighting. Simply knocked over. Never took a step.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: ICEMAN on August 28, 2012, 08:46:37 AM: Thanks for reposting. Although...some of the excitement is gone this time... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 08:48:37 AM: Yep....here is me with my bear....
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 08:49:19 AM: Back at the FJ.....I felt like I had been seriously worked over.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 08:49:53 AM: At home after the work has been done...
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 08:50:46 AM: My daugher, 3, wanted nothing to do with it. My boy, he was all about it.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 08:51:18 AM: And the slug.....
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 10:15:34 AM: Wow.....Double D just called. My bear is already done. They are cutting and wrapping the pep sticks. I didn't mention but yesterday when I dropped it off the offered to keep my cooler and clean it out for me. Very nice offer and I took 'em up on it in a heartbeat. I'll be picking it up tomorrow and having steaks this weekend.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Skillet on August 28, 2012, 10:24:09 AM: Double D in Mountlake Terrace? That's some great service! Counter help there isn't hard to look at, either...

Great write up, man. Congrats!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: kckrawler on August 28, 2012, 10:27:45 AM: You take it in yesterday??? Seems awfully fast, especially when they're making pep sticks. :dunno:

Either way, sound like they're the new place to go! Congrats again :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Buckmark on August 28, 2012, 10:31:24 AM: Bear bbq at h20's house..... :cue:...... :tup:
Good lookin bear, the guy in the pic not so much..... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 10:34:27 AM: Yep. The cutter started on it as I left and they did the pep sticks yesterday evening and finished them off overnight to be packaged this morning. They told me it would be fast. They only started doing big game in the last few years and will only take it bone in when they have time to process your animal, then the next one, and the next one. They don't take in multiple and work on them. That way you are guaranteed to get your meat only with no exceptions. They don't mess around a bit.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 10:35:10 AM: Buckmark....I was going to take a picture of it in the back of the FJ but when folks saw it wasn't pink nobody would belive me that it was my bear!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: kckrawler on August 28, 2012, 10:38:28 AM: Quote from: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 10:34:27 AM
Yep. The cutter started on it as I left and they did the pep sticks yesterday evening and finished them off overnight to be packaged this morning. They told me it would be fast. They only started doing big game in the last few years and will only take it bone in when they have time to process your animal, then the next one, and the next one. They don't take in multiple and work on them. That way you are guaranteed to get your meat only with no exceptions. They don't mess around a bit.

Wow!!! That's great :tup: Good to know that there are still shops out there that focus on taking care of the customer...putting their number in my phone now.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 10:42:30 AM: I have been going to D&D for years......they don't mess around with anything. They do a lot of retail business and if you don't speak up you are gonna be waiting a while to get your steaks. The girls at the counter are all cute as hell and all know what they are talking about. When I do go in I just tell them what steaks I want and let them pick them out. I will swear by their house cut tri tip and their house White Zin Marinade. I'll be dropping some coin on marinades and seasoning to try out with the bear.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Glockster on August 28, 2012, 10:57:33 AM: good work!!! :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 28, 2012, 11:18:38 AM: Nice work big buddy. No thanks is required for me. Glad you got one :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: whackmaster on August 28, 2012, 12:03:43 PM: NICE :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Fishstiq on August 28, 2012, 12:15:31 PM: Thanks for having the "skinning class", it's been a while since I saw it done or did it myself, the refresher is much appreciated!

Congrats on a nice bear!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 12:47:19 PM: Thanks....it was cool that you stopped by. Hard to open my own beer with bloody hands.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 28, 2012, 04:05:02 PM: Did you get you some dying quivers? :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 04:07:13 PM: Thats funny..... when we were done getting it up the incline and beginning to push it back to truck I asked the brother in law if he wanted the honors. After a bit of an explanation and me saying I was tired and just wasn't in the mood he thanked me for the offer and declined. I told him when he gets his first bear he doesn't have the same option.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: sled on August 28, 2012, 05:40:36 PM: Thats awsome. Good job. Still working on my first. :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Ripper on August 28, 2012, 06:01:53 PM: Great write up H2O. I actually liked this one better. I'm really happy for you getting this one out of they way. I want to get out this weekend, so if you're up for hunting, let me know.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 06:03:45 PM: We are crabbing on Sat and hunting with my bro in law on Sun......needless to say i owe him some effort for all work.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Ripper on August 28, 2012, 06:14:01 PM: Absolutely understood. Go get em!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: CAMPMEAT on August 28, 2012, 06:33:42 PM: Ya need to clip your finger nails for closeups..... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 07:26:05 PM: I know. Problem is with short nails i cant pick my nose very well.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: CAMPMEAT on August 28, 2012, 08:38:12 PM: Quote from: h20hunter on August 28, 2012, 07:26:05 PM
I know. Problem is with short nails i cant pick my nose very well.

I have the same problem...........plus I have big fingers !!!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on August 28, 2012, 08:50:29 PM: Right on H20 ....very nicely done ....Now you see why I preach about shooting them in the shoulder ,, thats what happens ...NIGHT NIGHT :yeah: Glad to hear your shooting interlocs too ... thats my favorite bullet hands down ...You may want to try the 140 gr thats what I shoot bear with ...yeah I killed a couple with 130s but 140 does even a better job ...You can see how good they hold up :tup: congrats :tup: :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: luvmystang67 on August 29, 2012, 07:52:54 AM: Nice work, thanks for the write up. Glad you got one.

C-Post Guide Services (more a teaching service) at work again.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 29, 2012, 08:04:47 AM: Thanks....

Picking everything up today from the butcher and looking forward to some steaks this weekend.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 29, 2012, 06:08:54 PM: So...picked up my meat from Double D. Very pleased. They indeed cleaned and repacked my cooler with the finished product. I've tried the jalepeno sticks as well as the teriyaki.....loving the teriyaki! They did an excellent job. The cutter let me know that the cause of death of Mr. Bear was severe trauma to the base of the neck just at the shoulder blades. There were four and a half vertabra that were blown to smitherines and the spinal cord was absent from said area. One very dead bear!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: 400out on August 29, 2012, 06:11:05 PM: Pretty clean ice chest :chuckle: :chuckle: don't let that meat leak ;)
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: seth30 on August 29, 2012, 06:14:04 PM: Love the write up and pics :tup: Congrats on your first bear!!!!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 29, 2012, 06:32:22 PM: It was NOT clean when I dropped it off. Like I said...they offered to keep it there and clean it. That small detail made a big difference to me. It shows that they understand the needs of a hunter and his cooler!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: b.roberts on August 29, 2012, 09:21:57 PM: Congrats on your first bear. Way to go!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: RB on August 29, 2012, 09:30:05 PM: Very nice! :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: sebek556 on August 29, 2012, 09:33:58 PM: :tup: sweet if I were closer think I know where I'd take my bear
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: ShaneTyTrey on August 29, 2012, 10:44:23 PM: Congrats, awesome hunt!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Kingpuck on August 29, 2012, 11:02:34 PM: Super cool write up and congrats on your first bear. Hoping to try and get into bear hunting with the bow next year but not too sure on it.

Was surprised the Double D would clean game. Given that I will be deboning my deer, if God willing I get one, then guess DD is out of the question. If you don't mind what were their prices like?
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: saylean on August 29, 2012, 11:42:07 PM: Ya'll are starting to make me look bad. :tup:

A fine bear. Glad you connected!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on August 30, 2012, 07:57:42 AM: Lets just keep it between you and I that Double D does big game....shall we? :chuckle:

Talked with the cutter when picking up the meat. Official cause of death was the sudden trauma of having 4 and a 1/2 vertebra crushed and the spinal cord being absent from seaid trauma.

Regarding the cost....

123.9 bone in weight
Steaks cut and wrap
A bunch of jalepeno pep stick
A bunch of terriyaky pep sticks
A decent amount of bear/pork breakfast links
A decent amount of one lb bear/pork mixed general use sausage
One cooler cleaned and repacked

With tax was $290.00

I didn't do any straight bear ground and packaged thinking that the mixed meat would be better for general pupose use and last a little longer. Turnaround time was 24 hours with a guarantee that my bear was processed by itself and returned to me and only me.

I am very pleased with the service and will be going back with deer in the fall.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: dirty24d on August 30, 2012, 09:48:19 AM: Super pumped for you man! Great job. great to hear about your experience after the shot as well ( hear beat in your ears, shaky etc, ) makes it all the realer as i know the feeling just not with a bear yet.

Congrats again!!!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Carl on August 30, 2012, 11:56:10 AM: Excellent write-up!

Thanks for sharing you adventure with everyone.
:IBCOOL:
Carl
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: lghtnquik on August 30, 2012, 11:31:40 PM: Congrats hoss! So when's the c-post cook out?
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: MatthewHunter98 on August 30, 2012, 11:53:33 PM: great job :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Widgeondeke on August 31, 2012, 12:21:38 AM: that is SAWEET! :tup: Congrats
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on September 01, 2012, 01:14:26 PM: Thanks Deke.....got your text from the top of the world. We'll have to grab a pint when you get back in town. I bet some pep sticks go very well with a cold one.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on September 03, 2012, 11:51:29 AM: Here is an update on then end results of my bear. I've had bear spahgetti....bear sausage links....bear pep sticks. I'm digging it all. I find the meat to be less gamey than I would expect and would describe the meat as dense and very rich. Tonigh I've got chops that look like inch thick tbones and round steaks to grill. Very much looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on September 03, 2012, 07:20:27 PM: Alright....after the weekend I've had bear spaghetti, bear peperroni, bear breakfast sausage links, and tonght was round steaks and chops that looked like inch thick tbones. The family is happy all around and I think they like this more than venison steaks. Who would have though it.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Ripper on September 03, 2012, 07:28:40 PM: That's awesome H2O, I know I really like those berry fed bears! I think they are delicious! :tup:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Heartsblood on September 04, 2012, 08:41:02 AM: Congrats fellas! Thanks for sharing again - I missed the first post. Nice to see forum members working together. Trading skills even - Big game skills for waterfowl/fish skills? Way to expand everyone's skill set and experience! Fricken awesome!

...I know it's only breakfast but - those bear steaks got me salivating..... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: h20hunter on September 06, 2012, 07:46:33 AM: Yes....they were very good. This weekend we will be cooking up more and pairing them with a fine wild boar steak for comparison. Ah the life of a hunter!
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Ripper on September 21, 2012, 09:32:42 PM: dude the jalapeno sausage is to die for!! Tami and I love it. Now I have to kill my own bear to make more.
Title: Re: Bear down, my first.
Post by: Maligator on September 21, 2012, 09:48:35 PM: Never eaten bear meat yet but I hope to rectify that sometime in the next couple years with the addition of a nice bearskin rug too ;)