Southwind
New member
Well, this was not not a OYOA but it was my first guided and first bear hunt. It was a gift trip from a life long friend and what a gift!
I took this chocolate on the fifth day of the hunt in the Grey Rivers drainage. This area had well over 400 inches of snow and what was suppose to be spring looked more like the north pole. For me this was a bonus to the adventure factor.
My daily routine was a 30 minute atv ride, then thirty minutes on an Argo followed by thirty minutes of snow shoeing to my hunt spot. I was in bliss coming from a week that delivered our earliest 100 degree day back home in Kansas.
There were three of us in camp, myself and my good friend and a 70 yr. old gentleman from NY. Luckily there were some close baits for him even though it still took him 2.5 hours on snow shoes to get there.
Day one: With great anticipation we set up the first evening welcomed by a heavy flaked snow shower that tapered off around 7:30 p.m. And then at 8:25 pm my first bear appears which to me looked pretty good especially as a nice shot of adrenaline overtook me. However, my guide says he is about a 2 1/2 year old bear and I watch in delight as he feeds into the dark and we back out.
Day two: A large stocky chocolate with blond nose had been spotted in my area and this was the bear we wanted to take. But day would only bring my 2.5 year old friend back but he came with a twist. After circling in he was feeding contently until suddenly he dropped his snack and took off like his pants were on fire. My guide says "There's a bigger bear close" again, adrenaline spiked only to see the evening fade to darkness with no more bear. My buddy had yet to see a bear and our NY hunter stayed at camp saving his gas for day three.
Day three: Another trek, another snow shower, and a long night with no bear. The big bear on the trail camera was hitting the bait at 1 am so I'm beginning to think maybe he likes this arrangement. I arrive back to camp to find the ice has been broken and our NY friend has taken a nice chocolate. This gentleman has taken ten bears here with four making the book which the guides say he is the luckiest bear hunter they have ever seen. I tired to rub a little of his mojo over to me with a pat on the back.
Day four: We head back out again and this time it's raining. You start to think a lot of things sitting there waiting on a bear especially with the conditions a little self doubt starts to show up. But tonight at a little after 7 pm I spot what looks like a decent bear coming down the mountain through the quakies. I know this is the time and get rifle in position and wait for the bear to so itself. Well, I'm not sure what happened but that bear didn't show. Once again though I am greeted with great news that my buddy had punched his tag with another nice chocolate that showed up at twenty yards with only about ten minutes of legal light left. I am happy and excited but suddenly I am the only hunter left to fill a tag with only two days to do it.
Day five: The day starts with picture taking of my buddies bear until it is time to suit up for the evening hunt. I climb on the atv and the clouds decide it's time to rain and my spirit begins to fade. After arriving to our spot it looks lie we are in for a long wet evening and now I am thinking I have had a great time and if I don't bag a bear I am certainly happy for my buddy and have had a great time. As the clock approaches eight my time seems to be slipping away and I am thinking these bears are not ready to show themselves in daylight yet. Funny how things can turn on a dime because at 8:15 I spot bear legs moving through the trees at the same time my guide does. This time it is not in passing but he is really coming in. He looks good so I ask the guide how big do you think he is and he replies 5.5 foot. I watch and watch still I'm thinking he looks good to me so the guide says "what do you think?" I say "how big?" He replies "five" and then follows and says " we can wait and see if the bear that had been spotted comes in tomorrow or---and I said "I'm taking him?" At 135 yards I settle the crosshairs behind the shoulder and let one go hitting home. The bear spins and runs and the guide says hit him again so I do, he says again and with this shot he bear drops some forty yards from the first shot. I have decided that the two words you want to hear from a guide is " he is better than I thought".
He sq'd a little over six foot with a 17 14/16" skull.
I had a wonderful and am as happy as could be with the fine bear I was able to take.
I took this chocolate on the fifth day of the hunt in the Grey Rivers drainage. This area had well over 400 inches of snow and what was suppose to be spring looked more like the north pole. For me this was a bonus to the adventure factor.
My daily routine was a 30 minute atv ride, then thirty minutes on an Argo followed by thirty minutes of snow shoeing to my hunt spot. I was in bliss coming from a week that delivered our earliest 100 degree day back home in Kansas.
There were three of us in camp, myself and my good friend and a 70 yr. old gentleman from NY. Luckily there were some close baits for him even though it still took him 2.5 hours on snow shoes to get there.
Day one: With great anticipation we set up the first evening welcomed by a heavy flaked snow shower that tapered off around 7:30 p.m. And then at 8:25 pm my first bear appears which to me looked pretty good especially as a nice shot of adrenaline overtook me. However, my guide says he is about a 2 1/2 year old bear and I watch in delight as he feeds into the dark and we back out.
Day two: A large stocky chocolate with blond nose had been spotted in my area and this was the bear we wanted to take. But day would only bring my 2.5 year old friend back but he came with a twist. After circling in he was feeding contently until suddenly he dropped his snack and took off like his pants were on fire. My guide says "There's a bigger bear close" again, adrenaline spiked only to see the evening fade to darkness with no more bear. My buddy had yet to see a bear and our NY hunter stayed at camp saving his gas for day three.
Day three: Another trek, another snow shower, and a long night with no bear. The big bear on the trail camera was hitting the bait at 1 am so I'm beginning to think maybe he likes this arrangement. I arrive back to camp to find the ice has been broken and our NY friend has taken a nice chocolate. This gentleman has taken ten bears here with four making the book which the guides say he is the luckiest bear hunter they have ever seen. I tired to rub a little of his mojo over to me with a pat on the back.
Day four: We head back out again and this time it's raining. You start to think a lot of things sitting there waiting on a bear especially with the conditions a little self doubt starts to show up. But tonight at a little after 7 pm I spot what looks like a decent bear coming down the mountain through the quakies. I know this is the time and get rifle in position and wait for the bear to so itself. Well, I'm not sure what happened but that bear didn't show. Once again though I am greeted with great news that my buddy had punched his tag with another nice chocolate that showed up at twenty yards with only about ten minutes of legal light left. I am happy and excited but suddenly I am the only hunter left to fill a tag with only two days to do it.
Day five: The day starts with picture taking of my buddies bear until it is time to suit up for the evening hunt. I climb on the atv and the clouds decide it's time to rain and my spirit begins to fade. After arriving to our spot it looks lie we are in for a long wet evening and now I am thinking I have had a great time and if I don't bag a bear I am certainly happy for my buddy and have had a great time. As the clock approaches eight my time seems to be slipping away and I am thinking these bears are not ready to show themselves in daylight yet. Funny how things can turn on a dime because at 8:15 I spot bear legs moving through the trees at the same time my guide does. This time it is not in passing but he is really coming in. He looks good so I ask the guide how big do you think he is and he replies 5.5 foot. I watch and watch still I'm thinking he looks good to me so the guide says "what do you think?" I say "how big?" He replies "five" and then follows and says " we can wait and see if the bear that had been spotted comes in tomorrow or---and I said "I'm taking him?" At 135 yards I settle the crosshairs behind the shoulder and let one go hitting home. The bear spins and runs and the guide says hit him again so I do, he says again and with this shot he bear drops some forty yards from the first shot. I have decided that the two words you want to hear from a guide is " he is better than I thought".
He sq'd a little over six foot with a 17 14/16" skull.
I had a wonderful and am as happy as could be with the fine bear I was able to take.
