Spotted Owl-Bear are thick.

raybow 1

New member
Joined
Dec 19, 2000
Messages
439
Location
bellingham- washington
Well just wanted to update a few on the forum the bear are now officially thicker than stink on ----! I took my son up on a hunting trip to the high country and was going to spend a few days looking for the big nastys' as it was the first time I had been able to get out all year. We stopped at the local hunting store and picked up our tags on Friday and headed into the high country. When we got to the trail head we had a 1-1/2 mile hike up the ridge to 5500 feet. We started the pack in at 2:00 pm and set camp and out hunting by 4:00 Friday. We glassed some ridges but with it being hot out I knew the big nastys' weren't going to be showing till the ridges shadowed over. Sure enough, around 6:30 we spotted our first bear of the hunt. We glassed him for some time watching him feed and what he was most interested in for chow as the berrys were still a couple weeks out. he seemed to be particularly interested in the buttercup flowers along with all the dandelions. He was about 150 pounds and was pure black. If he would've been a little bigger we may have taken him but the hunt was just beginning and I knew we would have plenty more choices. We hiked back to camp feeling pretty good about what the morning would bring. When we woke it was fogged in tight and you could not see 50 yards. We decided to hike down the ridge and get out to a rock pinacle where we would have a birdseye view when the fog lifted. Sure enough it started lifting a couple hours later. We instantly spotted 3 bear on the ridge below. One was the little guy from the night before and the other two were a little too far to reach out and touch (even with 1-800- Barny Bullet). We watched as they fed out into the heavy cover below. I told my son that we would have a great chance during the evening hunt as they were enjoying the patch of feed in front of us. When we returned that evening there he was!! The one that we wanted with the prettiest hide you ever seen!! This bear was blonde and chocolate and not a spec of black on him. He was a little too far for us to take so we waited patiently whilw he enjoyed his evening feast. First he would feed away, then he would feed back, then down, and back up. We watched as he plowed the chow waiting for him to come our way, and finally he did. He got in to around 300 yards or so and I told my son to go ahead and take the shot as soon as he turned broadside. He waited patiently as this bruin figeted around in the feeder patch. Fially he turned broadside and I told Brian to take him whenever he could. I was watching nervously through my binocs when all the sudden::: POW!!! That bear hit the ground like he was hit over the melon with a 50 pound sledge hammer!! Man to make a long story short we hiked down and it was an absolute beatiful brown and blonde bear. He only weighed around 150 but you take the off colored when you get the chance. The bummer is, I have never shot an off colored bear and it already is my sons second (with the first being all blonde). What luck as he is only 14. Any way I will post the pics when they are developed in a couple of days.
 
Congrats to your boy Ray from us all.That is a great story and glad you had a great hunt with your boy.I never got a chance to go out this weekend hopefully next week I will be able to head into the hills.
 
Kraven:
If you go into the high country(in the Cascade Mountain Range) to look in the berry patches, give another two weeks and it should be perfect. I did see a lot of activity in the burns where they had been tearing old stumps and dead logs apart. Any way, good luck to ya and keep me posted on how you do.
 
Ray....sounds like your describing a smallish bear I had to take a few years ago because of his coloration. He is a true cinnamon with a foot wide blonde streak down the middle of his back.....and the blonde hair is twice as long as any other hair on his body...I'll see if I can dig up the photo and see if it's like the one your boy just took.

Tell him kudos!...wish I was smokin' bears with my dad at 14 ;)
DS
 
Kraven:
Just got em developed today and will be posting them tomorrow as my scanner is hooked up on the big machine. All I have at the moment is my laptop. Just moved and have not transported the other yet.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
110,814
Messages
1,935,401
Members
34,888
Latest member
Jack the bear
Back
Top