Well went up with one of my family friends who had drawn an additional cow tag which opened for rifle today. With us was a guy and his son who were going to hunt deer as it was also opening day for that. My dad knew "the dad" and I had really never met either of them. All my tags had been filled (deer and elk) so I just went up to enjoy the mountains and help pack out meat if someone was lucky enough to get something down. Brought my big badlands pack so I could take some meat down while everything else was still being cut up, once again, of we were to get that lucky. I had never been in this area before and I honestly thought it was kind of landlocked by private. (don't worry this story get's more interesting)
We're walking up the hill and my buddy throws out a bugle just trying to find elk so he can go try and shoot one of the cows with the bull.....no answer. We walk farther up the mountain as it's me, him, and the son of the father son tandem. His dad was just recovering from knee surgery so he didn't walk too far up the mountain. We walk up this shale bench to a little rise that looks looks straight up an awesome sagebrush/quaken aspen shoot. There's steep shale on the right with pines all over it and a finger of pines on the left but the area we were watching was just type A mulie country. My buddy decides he once again will let out a bugle...he bugles and I see movement come through one of the little gabs in the 8 ft tall quakies. I scream "it's a bear!"....I hesitated for a second.... "I HAVE A BEAR TAG". I started ripping off my pack and threw it on the ground right when my friend handed me his rifle. I got over my pack and the bruin had made the mistake of stopping in a little opening. He said "hold right on" I remember asking "how do you get the safety off?" to which he replied "it's already off, you're ready to roll". I got back on the bear and shot to hear that distinct "WHACK". I turn and he says, "You just killed a bear." About 20 seconds later we hear him sliding and rolling down the shale.
Took us a minute to find him but when we did we were pleasantly surprised. My biggest bear yet. Measured in at 6 feet long and a 19" skull. We're thinking just shy of 300 lbs. Big boar and a big Wyoming bear!!!!
That's just how it happens sometimes I guess. Go hunting with some guys just to enjoy the outdoors, see the sites of a new area, and help some guys fill tags and end up filling my last tag of the year...that I forgot I even had honestly or I would have brought my rifle! Didn't even think about it. In my mind all my tags were filled. That's hunting! Here are some pics.
We're walking up the hill and my buddy throws out a bugle just trying to find elk so he can go try and shoot one of the cows with the bull.....no answer. We walk farther up the mountain as it's me, him, and the son of the father son tandem. His dad was just recovering from knee surgery so he didn't walk too far up the mountain. We walk up this shale bench to a little rise that looks looks straight up an awesome sagebrush/quaken aspen shoot. There's steep shale on the right with pines all over it and a finger of pines on the left but the area we were watching was just type A mulie country. My buddy decides he once again will let out a bugle...he bugles and I see movement come through one of the little gabs in the 8 ft tall quakies. I scream "it's a bear!"....I hesitated for a second.... "I HAVE A BEAR TAG". I started ripping off my pack and threw it on the ground right when my friend handed me his rifle. I got over my pack and the bruin had made the mistake of stopping in a little opening. He said "hold right on" I remember asking "how do you get the safety off?" to which he replied "it's already off, you're ready to roll". I got back on the bear and shot to hear that distinct "WHACK". I turn and he says, "You just killed a bear." About 20 seconds later we hear him sliding and rolling down the shale.
Took us a minute to find him but when we did we were pleasantly surprised. My biggest bear yet. Measured in at 6 feet long and a 19" skull. We're thinking just shy of 300 lbs. Big boar and a big Wyoming bear!!!!
That's just how it happens sometimes I guess. Go hunting with some guys just to enjoy the outdoors, see the sites of a new area, and help some guys fill tags and end up filling my last tag of the year...that I forgot I even had honestly or I would have brought my rifle! Didn't even think about it. In my mind all my tags were filled. That's hunting! Here are some pics.
, gotta get harvest done enough to get out there!
