Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Bear Hunting => Topic started by: saylean on August 16, 2014, 10:28:29 AM

Title: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: saylean on August 16, 2014, 10:28:29 AM: Animals teach me lessons almost every time I go out. Last week I was out hunting bear, no luck and it's getting dark so I decided to walk out a little early, hoping to see something on the way out. I get down to a switch back and think I hear something just inside the trees, up an embankment.

I pause and hear it some more, getting closer, walking toward me, parrallel with the road. I hear it snort and breath and I step back to the opposite side of the road. I have my 30 30 lever action. I cock the hammer and quarter raise the gun to my shoulder, safety still on.

More deep,snorts and brush noise. I lip squeak like a mouse and it pauses, listening to me. Some very quick movements inside the brush bring the bear just to the edge of the thick brush and it huffs a bit, gun still low, safety off, if something happens it's happening in a split second. Literally, it is under ten yards but I can't see it. A few more lip squeaks, tense moments, huffs and pops and the bear eventually moves on. While I am 100 percent sure it was a bear, and very close, I still could not see my target.

No matter how tense it was and how hard my heart was pounding, I had to remind myself don't shoot.
It's great to be tested now and again. Happy hunting.
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: kevinlisa06 on August 16, 2014, 10:40:53 AM: This happened to me aswell on Tuesday morning. I was walking an old logging road and the blackberries started moving and could hear the bear at under 10 yards I neeled down at the ready with the safety still on then it moved on. Very intense with the heart pounding!
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: HunterStrait on August 16, 2014, 10:42:39 AM: Always good to be safe :tup:

You never know, it could have been a guy in a bear suit. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: headshot5 on August 16, 2014, 10:44:48 AM: Yep and even if you verified it was a bear, do you think you could tell if it had cubs or not? :dunno:
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: tbotts on August 16, 2014, 03:07:46 PM: You did the right thing! Several years ago, a brush picker was shot in heavy brush by someone who thought he was a bear. Remember to identify your target.
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: gr8whthunter on August 17, 2014, 07:16:33 AM: same happened to me but with a cougar, only reason i know it was a cougar is it was screaming and growling at me i never saw it, it just sat inside the tree line pissed off, i had to walk 400yds through an overgrown clearcut to get out and i could hear it hopping around behind me the entire way out. only had my 270wsm with me and i was all alone. needless to say i now carry my pistol at all times when hunting, heart racing the entire time i was crawling out of the brush.
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: Payne on August 19, 2014, 11:22:48 AM: Dang... scary stuff! thanks for sharing.
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: D-Rock425 on August 19, 2014, 11:37:04 AM: Had one last night really close run across road in front of me to dark to even think about shooting :bash:
Title: Re: Bear reminds me, no brush shooting.
Post by: hunter360 on August 19, 2014, 12:58:54 PM: Those aren't bears or cougars, they are bigfoot. :yike: :chuckle: