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Sow bears and boo boos - let's see them.

After reading all @Greenhorn ‘s reasons not to shoot a small bear, I still headed out for my first bear hunt thinking, “I will be lucky to even see a bear…I’m not going to be picky.”

Then a few days later I got to see a very small sow with 3 cubs at close range in the Tetons. It was definitely an eye-opener. I think I’d struggle to pull the trigger on a bear that’s about 24” tall at the shoulder and only slightly bigger than my dog. The desire to shoot is a lot less, and I wonder about how it would feel to walk up on the carcass too.
 
Had one bluff charge me and my dog on our hike this evening. Started to climb a tree then decided we weren’t worth the effort. Sure made it seem bigger than it probably was. In all seriousness, when there’s a state regulation with a minimum weight, how would someone who has never hunted bear even know how to estimate?
(My phone camera sucks in low light.)
95DE2A6C-CCB3-40FD-BAAD-68C1A6618C1E.jpeg

3C35169E-4460-4BF1-AA65-42061B1C4051.jpg
 
Had one bluff charge me and my dog on our hike this evening. Started to climb a tree then decided we weren’t worth the effort. Sure made it seem bigger than it probably was. In all seriousness, when there’s a state regulation with a minimum weight, how would someone who has never hunted bear even know how to estimate?
(My phone camera sucks in low light.)
View attachment 227827

View attachment 227828
If it’s big enough to be on its own, it’s legal. 😉
 
Don’t forget about taking advantage of any handy stump! Because this was my first opportunity at a bear of color, I just couldn’t resist. 😀.

BTW - as this mid-80s photo shows, I was a pioneer in the use of the MSR for hunting. I wish I still had that rifle.

View attachment 223710
Looks like my PTR-91. Killed my first 2 elk using a similar rifle and iron sights. Still bring it along as my back up, but sure glad I have a lighter rifle now! Looks like a nice bear!
 
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First dead bear my son ever saw was killed by a very good friend of mine in the infamous Bear Trap. This photo was taken the next morning when we recovered the bear we assumed was a "decent" boar with a big white patch on it's chest. Turned out it was a tiny sow with small white patch. My good pal would not pose for a photo.

We left my son and daughter in the car. Daughter was 1. Son had a radio and called me, "Dad - Olivia pooper her pants and it stinks in here!" We got in position to shoot across the river. The bear was on a very open hillside and kept disappearing, for minutes at a time. Then just magically reappearing. Had we watched more carefully, we'd have noticed all that was happening was it stepping behind sage brush that was taller than it.

The next morning the boys were laughing and talking while we dressed the bear. "Wow Bears are WAY smaller than I thought!" "Yeah, kind of looks like my grandpas dog Maddie" Maddie was an Australian Shepard. When hiking out on the trail, the boys took off way ahead of us and I told them to wait up there were bears around there.

"We're not afraid of bears no more!!"


BB7A11FA-453D-4BA3-99AE-94513AF6B948.jpeg
 
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First dead bear my son ever saw was killed by a very good friend of mine in the infamous Bear Trap. This photo was taken the next morning when we recovered the bear we assumed was a "decent" boar with a big white patch on it's chest. Turned out it was a tiny sow with small white patch. My good pal would not pose for a photo.

We left my son and daughter in the car. Daughter was 1. Son had a radio and called me, "Dad - Olivia pooper her pants and it stinks in here!" We got in position to shoot across the river. The bear was on a very open hillside and kept disappearing, for minutes at a time. Then just magically reappearing. Had we watched more carefully, we'd have noticed all that was happening was it stepping behind sage brush that was taller than it.

The next morning the boys were laughing and talking while we dressed the bear. "Wow Bears are WAY smaller than I thought!" "Yeah, kind of looks like my grandpas dog Maddie" Maddie was an Australian Shepard. When hiking out on the trail, the boys took off way ahead of us and I told them to wait up there were bears around there.

"We're not afraid of bears no more!!"


View attachment 272013
Oh sure. Blame it on a crappy diaper 🤣🤣. Good memories. Funny story. Thanks
 
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