# Bear



## splatek (Sep 12, 2022)

50# black hunter
About 8 yards or so


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## trad bow (Sep 12, 2022)

Excellent. Congratulations Steve


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## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 12, 2022)

Nice!!!   Congratulations      Tell us about the hunt when you get caught up.


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## Todd Cook (Sep 12, 2022)

Mighty fine!


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## dutchman (Sep 12, 2022)

Way to get after them!


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## JonathanG2013 (Sep 12, 2022)

splatek said:


> View attachment 1176199
> 50# black hunter
> About 8 yards or so



Great job Steve.  Do you have a guess on the weight?


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## sawtooth (Sep 12, 2022)

Awesome man. Good job.


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## whitetailfreak (Sep 12, 2022)

That's an accomplishment, congratulations


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## Dennis (Sep 12, 2022)

_good job_


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## Al33 (Sep 12, 2022)

Congratulations Steve!! Real happy for you bud!!


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## bowhunterdavid (Sep 13, 2022)

Awesome buddy


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## splatek (Sep 14, 2022)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> Nice!!!   Congratulations      Tell us about the hunt when you get caught up.



Thanks for all the nice comments. I’m pretty stoked to say the least. 

The story

My plan leading up to this hunt was to hunt with a hickory selfbow that I made and some stone point tipped wood arrows. That didn’t happen or this story might be way way way cooler. About a week prior to the opener my bow unexpectedly broke. I couldn’t tune up the stone tipped arrows from my long bow so I shot steel: razor sharp 2 blade single bevel steel. 

It was opening morning. The excitement had me up tossing and turning all night. I was sleeping on the couch at a cabin two buddies (@jbogg & @FMBear) rent each season and were kind enough to let me get in on the digs. The couch worked out perfectly. 

Chugged some iced coffee, ick, and I was up and out by 430, maybe 5 am. Had a short drive to the stretch I wanted to look at. Off season scouting plummeted when my baby girl was born in May. Relying on trail cam and historical Intel I took a chance on a ridge that for all accounts was at the “wrong” elevation, but in the past I’d never _not _spooked a bear there. Walked the first hour in the dark. Then about 15 minutes before legal shooting light -which was way before visual shooting light because of the rain and cloud cover-I hear the unmistakable sound of a spooked bear descending a tree. I stop and wait until I hear nothing. Then, I wait some more. Last thing I’m trying to do is upset a momma in the dark. It’s now approaching legal hunting time and I’m moving along and hear a noise in a tree and my headlamp illuminates two eyes that are swaying and blinking at me. He bails from the tree and darts off. I wait again. Then I hike some more; maybe another 25-50 yards. It’s getting a little lighter; one can just barely see a few feet in front of himself. I hear another bear in a tree. I look up and he’s casually laying across a “Y” in a white oak. After a short stare down he comes hauling ‘you know what’ down the tree. 

I didn’t even have an arrow nocked. I expected he would run off over the hill. Instead he sat down behind the tree. Who am I to argue, so I nock an arrow. As soon as I do he comes out from behind the tree and starts walking quickly toward me. Not a bluff charge, just a fast walk with intent. After about 4-6 paces he turns to his right, my left, as if he was going to ascend the ridge. I quickly drew and loosed the arrow through his vitals at about 8 yards. He didn’t go 11 yards before laying down. I was actually questioning the shot, as I often do, because unlike deer, bears don’t start pouring blood. Then my uncertainty was quelled when I heard two long exhales that sounded like someone letting the air out of a bicycle tire followed my three long death moans. 

I had heard the death moan last season, but this was up close and personal. I reminded myself this bear will feed my family well and immediately got to work on him. Our bear hunting group uses the “buddy system” where we call one other to help pack out. But I didn’t have the heart to ruin my friends opening day shortly after first light, so I packed everything off the hill, downhill fortunately, by myself. 

Estimated weigh out ~150. There’s no explaining how awkward and heavy a soaking wet bear hide weights, but my back and knees estimated it at about 1000 pounds, hahaha. 

After that exciting opener, I kept after them. On Monday I cross paths with a few fellas I knew were great hunters. I had a certifiable bear serial killer on a cam deep in the forest. Even though I was sore, I knew where I had to go. It was a long hike. Lots of elevation changes. But you have to hunt where the bears are not where you want them to be. I saw six bears on Monday. Only one offered a shot, but the wind quickly squashed that opportunity. 

The love for these critters and the never ending puzzle of figuring them out seems to haunt me. I don’t know when, but I’ll be back. Trying to figure out the mid and late season puzzle and with any luck I’ll send an arrow through another. In the meantime, best of luck to all of you chasing mountain bears. It’s hard to beat!

Final note: apologies for the long post, but a few folks on here have really inspired me to think about these hunts as stories and it’s fun to recant the hunt like a campfire story.


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## John Cooper (Sep 14, 2022)

Awesome story and great hunt!!!!!

Thanks for taking us along!!!!


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## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 14, 2022)

Congratulations man, that’s a fine hunt, and every fine hunt deserves a fine story.


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## fishfryer (Sep 14, 2022)

John Cooper said:


> Awesome story and great hunt!!!!!
> 
> Thanks for taking us along!!!!


Thanks for the telling


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## bany (Sep 14, 2022)

Excellent adventure! Congratulations on your success and thanks for story!


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## Hooked On Quack (Sep 14, 2022)

@1eyefishing


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## 1eyefishing (Sep 14, 2022)

Hooked On Quack said:


> @1eyefishing


?


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## StikEm (Sep 14, 2022)

That's awesome! GREAT story and congrats!


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 14, 2022)

Congrats for getting it done the hard way, and a great story to boot!


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## BkBigkid (Sep 14, 2022)

Congrats and great story


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## antharper (Sep 14, 2022)

Man what a great hunt , I felt like I was with you for a minute ? Thanks for the hunt story , congrats ! Lord willing I’ll be up that way somewhere mid October looking for my first


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## fflintlock (Sep 15, 2022)

Congrats on taking a fine bear with the bow! Great story, thanks for taking us along.


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## Al33 (Sep 16, 2022)

Well one on the story Steve, loved it!!!


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