Post by: luvmystang67 on October 25, 2013, 04:09:40 PM
I walked my bike up so I could stay until dark and swiftly ride back down. After looking out over a couple of clearcuts I was walking along a logging road that D-Rock has as a personal favorite. Usually I don't walk it, but last night I though "D-Rock loves this particular spur, that must be because there are animals on it and he always claims to see things here, maybe I'll try it". So I did, and heard some twiggs snapping to my right in a place I have been one time and swore never to go again. It is a swamp complete with blow downs, devils club and water. Here I found a bear, moseying around, into view, out of view as he hopped between blowdowns and devils club. I finally received a brief shooting window, but of course had no rest. I've practiced a lot of freehand in the past several years though because it always seems that when the shot is available there isn't a rest in sight. Of course, it was the same again. My estimation is a 50-70 yard shot, freehand, with my new bear gun, Win Model 70, .375 H&H. <----- booyah
This was the first time using my new .375. I figured that for an elephant gun (experts estimate that more elephants have been taken with .375 than any other caliber) the bear should drop immediately. I was using 300 grain softpoints. When I shot the bear ran, but not the "I'm hit" run, more of the "wow, that was loud, I'd better leave". Because of the area it was in I was not able to get in any follow-up shots and watched as this black mass bobbed away into a deeper level of crap.
I knew what I was getting myself into, I had been in this area before, and it is a terrible place. Nothing should live there (or maybe everything smart lives there because no human would dare enter more than once). I'm not sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but I found blood. Let the tracking begin.
There was not a lot of blood, but enough to follow and pick up ever 10 yards or so. It was about an hour before dark. I figured that there's no real such thing as wounding with a .375 and i should see the bear close to where first blood was drawn. I followed him probably 60 yards into a wall of devils club with 5' of visibility. I had already called D-Rock and he was 30-45 minutes from reaching me. Since it was beginning to get dark and my .375 really only useful as a club in that setting I decided to wait it out and get some help (I didn't want to get bear mauled in the dark and die wrapped in devils club). D-Rock showed up and the tracking was on. He brought a pistol for personal protection and I donned a knife in hand (better than my gun in these close quarters). We probably tracked it only an additional 40 yards, but it was HELL. It was like this bear knew it was going to die and was determined not to be found. We were literally on hands an knees, falling over and accidentally grabbing devils club and half expecting to have to use personal protection devices (handguns/knives). It was the kind of place that you look into and say "If I saw something down there, I wouldn't even shoot it". Since I cannot further explain how terrible it was, I'll cut to the chase. D-Rock came around a corner and said "I see a foot, a really big foot, but I cannot tell if its moving or not" (this is at 5' away from it). I found a new vantage for him to hold a gun on it while I went and poked it (I really thought we might both die there).
The result, is the biggest dead bear I have ever seen in person, and I think that D-Rock feels the same. I hit it a little far back, but I still cannot believe that a bear goes that far after a shot from a .375. I'm pretty sure you could hit a deer in the butt with that round and it would die. This is my third expose to "bears are super tough". I really have no idea on the weight, I'm going to guess 300 lbs, but I'm not a good estimator. The pictures really dont do it justice. Since it died i a hole there was no way to get really good pics of it and we had to quarter it to get it out of there. I think we started quartering at maybe 8pm. The hide is beautiful for winter so I wanted to cut it for a rug (hard to be careful when you have no space and no equipment). We made 2 extremely heavy loads to the logging road, each, sometimes crawling on hands and knees to get out where the bear went in, but with it on our backs. I took the hide and a hind quarter out in one trip and I think I'm lucky I didn't break an ankle, stupid idea in hindsight, but each trip was terrible. Got it up to the road, D-Rock had went to the effort to pick up a game cart, but decided not to hike it up the hill with him, so it was over 2 miles away (thanks D). We decided it wouldn't be worth it to go down and get it and bring it all the way back up, plus it was 4 am at this time. We each took 2 quarters on our backs (and backstraps, hanging tenders, etc) and tied the hide to the bicycle with some of our other gear. We walked it down and got back to the truck at maybe 5am. By the time I picked up some ice it was 6:15 and made it to bed by 6:30.
Shout out to D-Rock, couldn't ask for a better friend and more dedicated helper, you'll get at least one package of bear pepp. :chuckle:
Now I need to find a good deal on a bear rug.
Seriously, the pictures do not do it justice. One of the ones I did laying next to it, check out how big its paws are. Laying next to it was the only real way we could show and sort of its size due to our constrained photo area.
Post by: luvmystang67 on October 25, 2013, 04:15:57 PM
D-rock as my protector
Bear
More Bear
Bear with paw bigger than my quad
Bear on bike (if you look close you can see how big the head is drooped over the handlebars)
Post by: RadSav on October 25, 2013, 04:16:47 PM
I have not found the large bore .375 to be a quick killer on bear. They absorb a lot of energy, have a small chest cavity and do not have heavy ribs. The big bores are great if you can break them down, But I've found the high velocity bullets with quick expansion that can hold together give quicker results if putting the bullet anywhere other than through both shoulders. However, the big bores are one whole heck of a lot of fun!!!
Congratulations on the bear!
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on October 25, 2013, 04:19:38 PM
Post by: Timberstalker on October 25, 2013, 04:21:04 PM
Nice bear. Wowzers. Head looks to be massive.
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on October 25, 2013, 04:24:24 PM
Post by: jackelope on October 25, 2013, 04:34:03 PM
Post by: h20hunter on October 25, 2013, 04:47:12 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 05:41:52 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 05:50:20 PM
Post by: mrmoskillz on October 25, 2013, 06:18:36 PM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on October 25, 2013, 06:29:17 PM
Congrats on your brute of a bruin! :tup:
Post by: mrmoskillz on October 25, 2013, 06:40:16 PM
Post by: Pygmy on October 25, 2013, 07:02:12 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 07:14:14 PM
Post by: sled on October 25, 2013, 07:28:27 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 07:35:16 PM
Very Nice Bear! I'll Be Hitting The Woods Tommorow For A Bear Or A Deer.. Good luck sled I may go hunt for a bear myself.
Post by: wog on October 25, 2013, 07:47:07 PM
Post by: wog on October 25, 2013, 07:55:57 PM
Post by: snocohunter on October 25, 2013, 07:56:38 PM
Post by: h20hunter on October 25, 2013, 08:08:26 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 08:13:04 PM
Post by: h20hunter on October 25, 2013, 08:15:56 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 25, 2013, 08:18:13 PM
That you did. Im both glad and sad I had the kids....heck of a way to spend the night.comp out.
Post by: carpsniperg2 on October 25, 2013, 08:26:54 PM
Post by: snocohunter on October 25, 2013, 09:27:34 PM
Post by: Machias on October 27, 2013, 05:12:24 PM
Post by: Ripper on October 28, 2013, 06:57:48 AM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 06:59:12 AM
Nice one Stang. :tup: Congrats on a great bear. D-Rock, you da man, always willing to help out.after this one I may not be as willing anymore about killed me.
Post by: luvmystang67 on October 28, 2013, 07:24:21 AM
Nice one Stang. :tup: Congrats on a great bear. D-Rock, you da man, always willing to help out.after this one I may not be as willing anymore about killed me.
My whole body still hurts. Getting summer sausage and pepperoni at Del Fox. Still have the head in a cooler, need to create some freezer space.
I'm really glad this thing was dead when we found it, otherwise the story might look different. <---- hindsight
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 09:06:58 AM
Post by: Skillet on October 28, 2013, 09:13:21 AM
Nice bear, Stang. And chasing it into Devils Club with 5' of visilbility after dark? How do you guys even walk with that much brass hanging??
Post by: luvmystang67 on October 28, 2013, 09:17:06 AM
The story would have been written by the bear on the "Hunted Washington" website... thread titled "Two Decent Hunters Down!" :chuckle:
Nice bear, Stang. And chasing it into Devils Club with 5' of visilbility after dark? How do you guys even walk with that much brass hanging??
Kind of like a bowlegged cowboy. :chuckle:
D-Rock and I are unfortunately becoming quite proficient at tracking bears in the crap in the dark. That being said, don't call us if you get one in a similar situation. It is like a real life haunted house. The adrenaline rush is ridiculous.
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 09:19:51 AM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 09:21:42 AM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on October 28, 2013, 09:22:13 AM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 09:23:05 AM
Post by: Pilot_Hunter on October 28, 2013, 09:24:42 AM
Post by: h20hunter on October 28, 2013, 09:26:55 AM
Either way to get impressed with any brass....the phone call I got while he was waiting for D to show up was pretty comical...."oh its dark and scary......oh when is D going to get here.....oh i think I hear something......"
Good thing he showed up or he may have chickened out.
I did stop by after soccer on Saturday to check out head and hide....impressize.....the pics he posted simply do not do it justice.
Post by: luvmystang67 on October 28, 2013, 10:10:58 AM
Either way to get impressed with any brass....the phone call I got while he was waiting for D to show up was pretty comical...."oh its dark and scary......oh when is D going to get here.....oh i think I hear something......"
Good thing he showed up or he may have chickened out.
I can verify that all of this is true. The noises I heard were the bear, yet to expire. The decision was between dying alone or having D-Rock there to carry my body out. I chose to wait. I did hear things, it was a dying bear, it was getting dark, and it was in a jungle of devils club. I was 100% chicken.
For his small stature, D-Rock does a lot to bolster self esteem and perceived manliness. His .40 auto also helped in that department.
Post by: h20hunter on October 28, 2013, 10:18:43 AM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 28, 2013, 10:25:25 AM
Post by: Timberstalker on October 28, 2013, 10:30:49 AM
I've been packing bears since I was 5 years old ain't found one that scared me yet. Such a rush in the dark wouldn't have it any other way. Tuff tuff animals.
This may be my new signature. LOL :chuckle: :chuckle:
Post by: bankwalker on October 28, 2013, 01:02:09 PM
That's one nice bear too
Post by: Ripper on October 30, 2013, 07:46:42 AM
Post by: luvmystang67 on October 30, 2013, 08:01:37 AM
I shot mine at 5:00... I think I just need a bigger gun. Looking for a .416 now. :chuckle: (jk)
Post by: snocohunter on October 30, 2013, 11:23:17 AM
Post by: D-Rock425 on October 30, 2013, 11:27:18 AM
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on October 30, 2013, 11:45:56 AM
Post by: Michelle_Nelson on November 12, 2013, 04:48:41 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on November 12, 2013, 05:15:08 PM
Post by: D-Rock425 on November 12, 2013, 05:22:26 PM
Green score 19 1/4". WA Book Bear. .I guessed it to be about 19 3/8 when I first saw it about 5 feet from me in the dark. Good thing for him he was dead already or I would have had to go all D-Rock on him. :llam:
Post by: D-Rock425 on November 12, 2013, 05:27:43 PM
Post by: BullMagnet76 on November 12, 2013, 05:37:36 PM