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Author Topic: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts  (Read 4503 times)

Offline huntndoc

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2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« on: July 27, 2022, 01:21:47 PM »
After reading on this forum for a number of years and receiving exceptionally valuable advice and information, this is our story of success over 2 years learning to bear hunt the dry side.  Assembling gear for this year’s hunt, it is fun to reminisce my family’s experiences from the past several seasons.

2 years ago, after having a terrible fall deer hunt while simultaneously seeing 4 lions and 2 bears over a 4 day hunt, I realized I was hunting the wrong side of the food chain! I spent almost my entire first 20 years outdoors growing up in Montana and had never seen that many predators in such a short time span and when they outnumbered the deer that we came across….

Growing up, we did not have money for the amount of meat that 3 hungry teenagers need and so we hunted on a nearly subsistence basis.  Each year we would pack our freezers with deer, elk, and antelope – so we never really thought about hunting bear.  I would come across them in my forest industry job on a frequent basis, but had never gone out of my way to find them.  Usually, quite the opposite in that we preferred to work away from them!  Using this forum, I read every single “newbie” style info post I could find.  I purchased Douglas Boze’s Ultimate book and my 13 year old son and I read it twice.  I have bow hunted for elk over by the Quinault and found that I really do not enjoy the rain forest type hunting.  Neither does my dad.  We both always enjoyed the spot and stalk hunts in Montana and were looking for something similar which led us to the east side.  As dad was 75 that first year, I also realized that we needed something to perhaps speed up our learning process as well as help us identify terrain that a 75 year old and my youngest, a 7 year old could negotiate while simultaneously hold bears, and also be in more open type of country.  We’ve always enjoyed the DIY process and would have gone with it exclusively, but I wanted to at least be in the right area to start with and Dad doesn’t have too many years of mobility left to explore endless roads or trails. 

With that in mind, I called Bearpaw and talked with him about his maps.  I explained what we were looking for and who would be with me.  And…. he nailed it…. Between his maps and all of the dope we had learned from all of you, we were successful.  Bearpaw asked me what part of the state I wanted to hunt and I told him, “wherever you send me that is closest to these criteria – that’s where we’re headed”.  So, he brought us over to his stomping grounds in the Sherman.

During the 2020 season, we had 5 days to hunt and identified several drainages that had active animals in it.  We had one jeep trail that we crossed tracks with the same bear 3 days in a row.  He had a distinguishable broken front claw on his left side that left no doubt.  When we would walk in – we found his tracks heading in.  When we would walk out – we found his tracks covering our boot prints every single time.  The two boys loved it.  We saw a bear moving across a hillside, made a good play on it, were within 100 yards of where he was heading, but the wind began swirling and all of you know the rest of the story.  Plus…. It Is HARD to keep 2 boys and a dad who can’t feel his feet because he crashed twice in a helicopter in Nam quiet when the leaves are so dry 

On the last day of our hunt, my 7 year old had finally had his fill of sitting quietly.  We were staked out over a small canyon just glassing and he started walking around kicking rocks and throwing sticks.  We hadn’t seen any sign in this drainage, but we wanted to check it anyway.  Knowing that it was time to unleash some of his energy, I took him and my older son back uphill about 1500 yards towards our truck and to the head of the canyon to do what boys do and throw some things.  I stowed my rifle and then standing right next to the pickup and feeling that we were well out of the way from interfering with anything, we stood in the shade and made a game of seeing who could make the most noise tossing rocks into the canyon.  Feeling like Thor and the thunder gods, we made a pretty good go of it and had a tremendous time letting off steam.  After about 20 minutes, we were done and I walked out on the road far enough to check on Dad and see if it was time to go.  He wasn’t where we had left him, so I hoisted my binos and found him hurrying to the edge of the canyon.  Then, I saw him shoulder his .458 SOCOM and take aim.  He stood frozen for several minutes until he lowered the rifle and began walking back towards us. 

As we found out, Yogi must have been sleeping in the ultra-thick brush and foliage near the head of the canyon when all hell broke loose and the sky opened up and began raining rocks onto his head!  I can just imagine him telling his buddies… “ So there I was…. Minding my own business…. Taking a beautiful bearish nap on a hot day…. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere…. It began raining rocks!! Big huge ones were dropping on my head!!  The world was ending!!  And they kept coming!!!  I mean…. How does that happen!!?”   Dad said Yogi was plenty fired up and was making all kinds of grunts and huffing noises when it came down the canyon.  He saw the head and neck appear behind a tree 50 yards away before the bear then winded him and tore up the other side of the canyon wall high tailing it out of the county.  I was plenty shocked that where we had been throwing rocks had actually held an animal.  We had a pretty good laugh before piling into the truck to go back and break camp.

We camped in our wall tent, ate gloriously, slept in, took it easy, explored by truck, chased at least 4 separate bears, and had an awesome time.  We were hooked and already planning on our return.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2022, 10:53:52 AM by huntndoc »

Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2022, 01:23:22 PM »
Heading to the East side where things seem more normal  :chuckle:
« Last Edit: July 27, 2022, 02:17:13 PM by huntndoc »

Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2022, 01:30:36 PM »
Having tons of fun

Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2022, 01:32:05 PM »
The 2021 season preparation time was nearly nonexistent for me as work really was taking a chunk.  When the day came, I threw everything including the kitchen sink into the truck and we BARELY fit as I had not paired anything down.  Dang near had to take Dad’s truck too – but the boys sucked it in and fit into the back of the quad cab with me almost having to push them over in order to shut the door.  I think we had enough food for 3 weeks after a super-fast trip to Costco.  Better too much than too little has always been my motto for camp food!

I knew there were wildfires in the area and had pulled up the maps to make sure we weren’t directly in a fire zone.  When we arrived, the smoke was so thick that we couldn’t even see the other side of the river.  And, it was going to be a hot one.  We were late in the day, so we set up camp, ate dinner, and went to sleep.  The next morning, we got up early for once, loaded in the truck and drove 40 minutes to some timber company land we had happened across during the previous year and wanted to check out.  As we were pulling in, the gate was closed along with a big closed sign that had been placed 2 days before.  Oh-oh…. YIKES!  A lot of the land I had wanted to hunt was timber company land… Was the forest service land closed as well?  I didn’t know and hadn’t seen anything about it – “might be a short hunt boys!” I mumbled as we drove back to a ridge where I knew we had cell service. 

We were definitely relieved to discover the NF was open and then drew up plans for the day.  Step one:  drive up a mountain road from base to summit for a berry check.  Step two: walk into an area where we found the best berries.  We relocated, found the berries and then poured over our maps looking in the right elevations.  Selecting an overgrown 4x4 road, we drove to our parking area and arrived just in time to see 2 hunters walking back out.  Somewhat frustrated, I was ready to change courses, but Dad talked me into taking the walk. 

We worked our way down the road checking for sign and berries.  We found plenty of both which was a good indication that our chosen elevation seemed to be about right.  The four of us walked over to the rim of a small drainage that had a creek running in the bottom of it and stood in the shade for a few minutes.  It was 98 degrees out and coming from the wet-side, we were feeling pretty toasty.  As we were whispering about what to do next, suddenly we heard a very loud “CRASH!” about 200 yards up the drainage.  We immediately froze and listened.  After a few faint “thumps” and what appeared to movement in some thick, short trees, I heard a “snort” and knew immediately that we were hearing a bear.  The first “crash” noise had been loud enough that my now 8 year old son was pretty nervous – so I had him sit down with his older brother while Dad and I went to investigate.  My 15 year old loves to hunt deer, but he did not wish to carry a rifle to hunt for bears.  He loved the stalking the year before, but he still sees them as somewhat related to the teddy bears of younger years.  Both boys now sitting under a shade tree and feeling safe – it was time to make a move.  We checked the wind and found it blowing directly into our faces.  Perfect.  Dad and I spread out about 30 yards and approached the edge of drainage before suddenly hearing another loud “CRASH!”  This time, from only 100 yards away.  I looked carefully through the thick cover and saw an elderberry tree being shaken to bits with pieces of black fur becoming briefly visible.  Bingo…. As suddenly as it went down, the elderberry tree suddenly was released and it snapped back upright and the bear was on the move downhill right through the bottom of the ravine. 

He was now perhaps 50 yards away and we could see enough glimpses of him to know that he was alone.  We silently watched him as he moved from small elderberry tree to small elderberry tree where he would push it over, eat the berries off of it, and then let it return to normal.  At one point Dad had a clear shot, but it was a bit too brief and he chose to pass.  He came downhill along the edge of the ravine even with the bear and we stopped to conference for a minute.  It was decided that he would continue to parallel the bear down the ravine while I would circle back to an area 200 yards down where the trees dramatically thinned out and I knew we would have an opportunity.  Whomever had the first open shot would take it.  I grabbed the boys and we hustled away and down the hill to set up.  I parked them about 100 yards back from the edge and followed a trail down into the ravine along the edge of the opening.  I had a shooting lane 5 yards wide completely open all the way to the other side.  Should be good…. I sat and listened and knew the bear was coming.  After about 5 minutes I realized he was heading right at me.  As my heart began to pound, I realized he was heading RIGHT AT ME…. It was so thick on the side he was coming from, he was going to step out barely 5 yards from me before I would have a shot…. Hmmm…. Yeah…. Uh-uh…. I’m from Montana and we like our personal space to be a bit farther than that…. So, in a split-second decision, I backed out and went back up the trail towards the boys just in time to hide before the bear stepped out.  He moved across the trail opening way too fast for me and I wasn’t ready having just relocated…. But- he was still headed downhill and in another 30 yards, he would be in open country.  When his head went behind the bushes, I moved very quickly up the side of the ravine and found my spot.  The bear exited, and stopped for just a second.  I haven’t had “buck fever” since I was a kid – but I have to admit that my hands were shaking and my heart was racing like I was running a 400.  I knew we were on borrowed time since we had trailed him for almost 30 minutes by now and I sent it.  200 gr of Super Bulldozer II left the .300 and found it’s mark 50 yards away.  It rolled him.  I immediately rechambered just in time to see the bear pop back on his feet.  I knew he was hit mortally, but I had read many times that if the bear is still standing – send it again…. He took 3 very shaky steps before the 2nd round bang-flopped him.  I loaded a third and watched for a full 5 minutes before pronouncing him DRT. I reached for my wallet to find my tag and then realized that I had a tag, but had left all of my pack in the truck that had everything I needed to pack this thing out.  Found a way to mark the tag and then left with my oldest son to hike it out and get the gear.  Dad and the little guy sat on overwatch.  We were only 1.5 miles in, so we hoofed it and brought a bunch of water and some food back with us. 

It was about 1pm, and ultra-hot when we started taking the hide off.  Everything about how the bear is put together is strong – the wrist tendons and bony structure just spells power.  We quartered him and performed a gutless breakdown and I was able to retrieve the tenderloin by reaching into the abdomen along the backbone just like you would for a deer. without having to dump the organ cavity  We deboned the neck and ribs which made for some very tasty DIY breakfast sausage.  I was really worried about spoilage as I had never killed anything in 100 degrees before (Montana fall season is definitely not 100!), so we worked up quite a sweat tearing him down.  I had never caped a bear either and, as the hide was in really excellent condition, thought it would be fun to have it just soft tanned.  Using all of the info on this site and a few videos I had watched, we did a good job of making everything even.  My oldest son and I packed it out on our frames and we headed to town for more ice and a few Styrofoam coolers as we were definitely not prepared for an animal on the first day when all of our plans had changed several times.  We were completely toasted and dehydrated so we spent the next day locating a taxidermist and just plain relaxing.  As I showed the hide to the taxidermist, he kept asking me where we shot the bear, kept noting that the hide was in unusually good condition, and started talking about rugging…. Knowing that the animal was on;y average sized, and feeling like perhaps I was getting “fleeced”, I let him talk to Dad swapping stories while I looked around.  The guy had about 15 bears in different stages of rugging and I started noticing that the hide on mine was in better shape than any of the others in the room…. So…. Rug it was.  All squared at 5’10”.

The next day Dad ended up missing a chance to take a bear walking down the trail at him because he was looking the wrong way while my oldest son was trying to get his attention.  Dad’s hearing is not the best and so my son started tossing small pebbles at him.  By the time he got turned around, the bear saw him and he saw the bear at exactly the same time.  And…. according to my son, both of them had the exact same expression of complete surprise on their faces too!  We hunted easy for the 4th day before calling it quits a few days early and heading home in order to save some time to process the meat.  Plus… it was stinking hot last summer during that hunt!

Rug came in the mail about 3 weeks ago and I tried very valiantly to make a case with the Admiral about placing it across my home-office desk so that I could write off the whole hunt and the rug as a business furnishing expense!  I mean…. Come on – he looked good in there!

Thanks to everyone who lets bear hunting newbies like us learn from all of your experience and knowledge.  And – thanks to Bearpaw for sending us in the right direction.  That map gave us exactly the start we needed.  We’ll be out there in a few weeks at it again.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2022, 09:17:18 AM by huntndoc »

Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2022, 01:35:53 PM »
Before the pain began  8)

And then - the reward!  Bear Bourguignon using Julia Child's recipe is freaking delicious.  This bear had almost a sweet taste to the meat.  I knew I had one chance to prove to the wife that it was worth the effort and the eating so we went all out.  Worked - because she told me she wanted as many as we could bring home.  Loved the taste.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2022, 02:18:02 PM by huntndoc »

Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2022, 01:37:10 PM »
The best kind of office decor!

Offline Twispriver

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2022, 03:32:21 PM »
Great story :tup: Thanks for sharing it
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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2022, 06:11:35 PM »
I cant believe someone would hunt with one of those scary black guns.  They are only for war and mass shootings

Great write up and congrats on the bear.  Good luck this year.

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Offline WAcoyotehunter

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2022, 05:43:49 AM »
Great write up!!  Hope you find another this year

Offline Dan-o

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2022, 10:07:35 AM »
Great write up!!  Hope you find another this year

 :yeah:
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Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2022, 10:44:28 AM »
Thanks for the encouragement!  We are hunting a few weeks later this year, but with the long winter it kind of makes me think that our areas will probably be in prime berry season again.  We'll see!

emac - haha - Dad loves his .458 and at almost 4400 ft lbs of muzzle energy, he feels pretty confident about walking into the brush with the Hammer and 5 rounds of bear medicine.  I'm kind of waiting to be inspected by the wardens because the 10rd mag hanging in it looks huge and illegal until you try and try but can only manage to fit 4 rounds in there!  Here's mine from load day last week.  Ought to be good for a few bear seasons.

The funniest reactions though are when I show the photos of my boys next to the full pack to friends at work who are non-hunters how many of them wanted to know what type of firearm the little guy was packing!  I always tell them:  It's a .458 NERF and it shoots anything that moves or anything that doesn't move! 

Seriously though - he loves packing it around and has learned some great field handling safety skills with it as I make him handle it just as if it were any of our own rifles.  He knows the safety rules and must abide by them if he wants to bring it along.  Works great!

Offline emac

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2022, 12:36:42 PM »
Just so you know there is no round restrictions for rifles while hunting.  So he could have 10, 15 or 30 rounds loaded and it would be good to go.  I have been thinking about adding a 458 to my family of black guns.  I am pretty sure they need another brother.  The 458 nerf is sweet.  Bet it has a lot of rounds down the tube.  And good on you for teaching them young.

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Offline huntndoc

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2022, 02:11:35 PM »
Huh...  Wonder where I got that from!??  Appreciate for the correction! 

Yes - your black guns most definitely need a big bore brother!  Who doesn't NEED the power and ballistics of a 45-70 on an AR platform...  :IBCOOL: 

Fred Eichler absolutely dumps this nice bear with one - so you know it's top shelf haha!




It is easily the most diverse caliber that I have and will shoot almost anything .45 cal diameter.  Since it mostly uses pistol powders, it's easy and reasonable to load for.  I definitely like the patrol type carry styles such that it can be slung in multiple different positions which makes it very easy to flip back out of the way on unstable topography.  The guys in the south hunt a lot of wild boar with them and like to put cans on em which really makes for a sweet rig.  I just don't like the extra weight - so mine runs in the buff.

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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2022, 02:26:20 PM »
Oh boy, might be another build in my future.
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Re: 2020 and 2021 Bear Hunts
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2022, 03:49:00 AM »
Awesome story.  Hopefully you’ll add another trip full of great memories
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