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Author Topic: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.  (Read 17921 times)

Offline carpsniperg2

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2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« on: May 06, 2012, 05:03:30 PM »
Well let me tell you what this trip started off kinda crazy. I made plans to stay with my friend up there for my hunt. He ended up having stuff come up to where he was not going to be around and I was not going to be able to stay with him. I found this out the morning of my trip at 4 a.m. So got reconfigured and just decided to get a hotel. About 8 a.m I was showing our hired guy the chores I was having him do for me and found one of my big breeder rams stuck in the gate hanging there all twisted up. After getting him unstuck and waiting a few minutes he got his feet under him and ended up being o.k.

I hit the road Wednesday at 8:30 a.m and got up to kirkland to meet josh "jackelope" so he could get a bow from me. It was a pleasure meeting you josh :tup: I ended up staying the night with my friends around the Seattle area.

Day 1: I headed out the next morning to meet the guy who had my maps and key for my hunt. After going over some stuff with him I was able to head out and get a start hunting. The whole day it poured rain and me from early morning to dark. I hunted a lot of the west side of the unit. I only saw a little bit of older sign and other then some blacktails my day was pretty uneventful.

Day 2: I woke early before light to more pouring rain :bash: I hunted the first part of the day in the rain around the south west area of the unit. After putting a few miles under my boots and learinging some new areas with some fresh sign. I then decided to try to head way east on the unit and try to get out of the rain. I hunted a few different spots and ended up jumping 7-9 head of elk out of the bear creek area. I hunted for a few hrs and started to get a bit tired so I headed back to my rig to move to another area. I got into a area that started to show some more fresh sign. So the rig got parked and I went to hunting. I ended up rounding a corner and on the edge of a game trail there was a small bear maybe 80-90lbs rolling a log around. After watching him for a few minutes he shot out of there like a bolt of lightning. I guess the wind must have switched or something. I don't think he knew that I was there. The weather was nice and I enjoyed being out of the rain. I hunted a few more areas and it turned dark on me so back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Day 3: I woke up and got to the area I wanted to be in before first light. The day started out about the same, kinda rainy and a bit windy. Then the heavens cleared and the Sky's turned nice! About 9 a.m I ended up bumping into a small sow maybe 100lbs with 2 small cubs. It was a pleasure to see her and her cubs. After hunting a couple more hrs in the area I could not find any more bears or super fresh sign.

This is where it gets intresting and I about got my butt handed to me.
I headed back into a area I hunted the day before with some great sign. About 12:30 p.m I was cutting back towards my truck on a small over grown road. I was walking a bit quick and not really watching in front of me and more watching my feet "bad habit of mine". I came around a small kink in the road and jumped a big bear. I really thought it was a boar by the build and the size. It ran up the bank and as I slung my rifle off my shoulder I heard a bear cub pipe off on the bank above where the sow ran up. Within a split second the bear cub went flying up the tree. Crying and chirping at the top of the tree. This is where I started to push my luck. I just backed up to a tree and decided to get my phone out and get some pictures. The sow was moaning and huffing and popping up the bank about 80 yards from me. I finally got a good picture of her when she stood up. She was one of the biggest and nicest sows I have seen.

I can be a manly man but one thing I won't do is shoot a sow with a baby cub at her side. I try my hardest to make sure I never take a bear with young ones at side. So I knew I did not want to shoot her. She was beautiful with a light muzzle and almost a gray tint to her coat. A solid 170-180lb bear probably more. I don't like to over guess any bear and will always say a smaller number. I don't like when a 150lb bear turns into a 250-300lb bear. 

With mama getting a little hot I decide, "hey! this would make a cool video" dumb idea right :chuckle: I switch the phone over to video and start recording. The cub was up the tree and the video is kinda crappy because I was free handed and trying to watch pissed off mama at the same time. I hope to figure out how to get the video off my phone. She kept getting bolder and getting closer. I switched the camera off and got a little more serious. I ended up walking a little to my right and she deiced to bluff me with a quick little run. I stopped and she backed off, I got to about 90 yards away and I was just getting ready to turn and walk away when she got really bold. She decided she had enough of me and made a solid charge at me. I threw up on her and just as I started to put pressure on my trigger she stopped at the top of the hill about 35 yards away from me. She was foaming at the mouth and huffing and puffing like mad. I yelled at her and she turned and ran back to the tree her cub was at. I then walked out of there at a little faster pace to get some distance between us since I did not want to have to shoot her.

It was a crazy and amazing experience for me. Being alone in the backwoods it was not the best thing to have happen but I am safe and sound.

After getting back to my truck, I moved into another area. This area is the type of spot I like to hunt for bears a big nasty cut with good cover all the way around it. I spotted a bear feeding and messing around in the back side of the cut about 350 yards away. It was going in and out of the cut and messing around. I knew it was just a mid sized bear and could not decide if it was a young boar or sow without cubs. After watching it for about a hr I decided it did not have cubs and it was in a spot I could get it out by myself. The bear had moved to 286 yards from me and I got a nice rest on a downed log. The bear was uphill a little from me. It came to a stop facing me strait on. I was rock solid and decided to take the shot. The bullet hit just perfect dead center in the bears chest and went threw the vitals and out the spine behind the shoulders. The bear dropped like a stone. I watched it for about 15 minutes to make sure it was not getting up. I decided it was lights out and I headed drown the draw and up the cut to where the bear was.

The bear is a nice mid sized sow. She is a dry sow with no cubs at side and a great bear to take out. Not sure why she had lost her cub or did not breed. Only the 2ND bear that was known so far to have been taken out of the unit. I am happy with the bear and another fawn and tree killer removed from the area. For a damage hunt I guess any bear is a good bear. I am not to picky when it comes to bears as long as they don't have young cubs I am happy. She has a great coat and beautiful claws. It took me 2 trips and around 3.5hrs to get the meat/hide and head out.

I headed back to the hotel got the meat cleaned up best I could and packed in the fridge. Then worked the hide over a little bit and got it put in the fridge as well. I left this morning after dropping my key off and got back around 1:30 after about a 5:30 hr trip home.

All in all I saw 1 sub adult bear. 2 adult sows with 3 cubs and the dry sow I ended up shooting in three days of hunting. 2 of which were very very wet! There should be a lot of bears hitting the dirt. I ended up seeing around 11 elk 7-8 blacktails and a yote as well.

Here are some pictures and I will be adding more later as I get them sized down and loaded on the computer.

1st is a picture of my bear.
2nd is the picture of the big sow that was thinking about trying to whoop my butt!
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Offline carpsniperg2

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2012, 05:21:35 PM »
more pics
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Offline Widgeondeke

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2012, 05:25:59 PM »
good write up. have you dried out yet?  :chuckle:
thanks for sharing.

Offline JBar

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2012, 05:34:40 PM »
Great write up and nice bear Carp. I would have shat myself with that sow charging the second time!
Shut up and Hunt!

Offline Bearhunter

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2012, 05:46:01 PM »
Nice, heard of 5 bears taken now!  Did you get it out whole and get a weight on it?
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Offline carpsniperg2

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2012, 06:04:31 PM »
No it came out in 2 pack loads I was across a draw and about 800 yards from the closest rd. When I talked to brandon on Thursday and today he had only heard of 1 and mine was the 2ND. I guess a lot of guys are holding out so they can have the key a little longer :chuckle: I did talk to a couple loggers at the gate when I came out. I don't know if they might be one of the sources that you heard about a bear being killed. If so that was me :chuckle: So I know of 3 as of now for sure. I weighed my 2 sacks with the hide and head in one and the other with all the meat. The two come to 108 pounds add in the rib cage and gut pile. I would say it was around 140-145lbs would be a solid guess on the live weight.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2012, 06:19:00 PM by carpsniperg2 »
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Offline blackveltbowhunter

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2012, 06:09:44 PM »
 :tup:   Congrats!!! Sounds like an exciting trip!!  :chuckle: And successful!  8) WTG

Offline BOWHUNTER45

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2012, 06:27:46 PM »
Nice ....congrats Carp ... glad it worked out ..... :tup:

Offline Jason

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #8 on: May 06, 2012, 06:32:58 PM »
Nice Bear! :tup:

Offline Moose22

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2012, 06:35:10 PM »
Good for you, gotta love the rain :tup:
"Live life like a song..." Jimmy Buffet

Offline lewy

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #10 on: May 06, 2012, 06:36:10 PM »
nice work carp! cool pic of that big sow, she's a beauty.... :tup:
Go hawks

Offline D-Rock425

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2012, 06:41:03 PM »
Nice work carp.

Offline carpsniperg2

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2012, 06:46:04 PM »
Yeah she was a big bear. Maybe even north of the 170-180 I guessed her at. Like I said she is lucky I heard the cub or she would have got tko'ed. She really looks like a boar with that square head and square muzzle. If I wanted a big bear she was the the one to take. I just can't ever bring myself to leave a little bitty cub out there to starve. If someone else wants to kill a bear with cubs, I have no problems with that. It's just not something I will ever do on purpose.

I wish I could get the video off my phone and upload it some how. It really is cool to hear the sounds of the cub and the sow talking back and fourth. Video is crap and does not show much the cub was up the tree in the thick stuff and I was just pointing the camera in the area and not looking at the screen. I did not want to take my eyes off of her!
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Offline h2ofowlr

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #13 on: May 06, 2012, 07:02:51 PM »
Nice looking bear.  Congrats on getting one.
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Offline Cap.Silver

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Re: 2 Times in 2 years- Carpsniperg2 N.Skagit Bear Down.
« Reply #14 on: May 06, 2012, 07:17:54 PM »
What a great story and great bear . Did you say it was damage control hunt?
Everyone thinks that I'm freak ,I don't look different do I ?

 


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