# Big Mama!



## jbogg (Oct 21, 2018)

Other than a few small boars, it’s been nothing but sows with cubs for me lately.  The big gal in the picture snuck in silently from behind me yesterday afternoon. I turned my head to the left and she was only 15 feet away staring a hole through me.  The wind was really gusting up high and the ground was still damp from the morning rain.   I’m still amazed something so big could get so close without making a sound.  When I moved to pick up my phone to get some video she woofed a couple of times sending three cubs up a red Oak.   Not sure how to post video, so the pics will have to do.  Really cool encounter.


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## Mexican Squealer (Oct 21, 2018)

Man that’s awesome!!


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## GAbullHunter (Oct 21, 2018)

Okay just going to put this out there. I'd be done ruined the rest day of hunting do to having to go do laundry?.. Back to KillerKyle where the heck that come from an I not know it?. Haha. The feeling you get when something is watching? you an find this wow!! Some folks just don't believe how much the rain an wind can change things up an a hunting trip becomes this.. So glad you got away safe from the looks you were on ground an not in a climber( I get that right).. Nice sow!! My ticker would have been outta wack after I seen that.. Need my mamas eyes in the back of the head... But again, she got so close to you without knowing you where there, same as you didn't know she walked up with cubs. Bet she was like ?why did I put my cub in dangers way get up that tree? an quick!!


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## whitetailfreak (Oct 22, 2018)

Very cool pic, sounds like you had a good hunt.


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## Fork Horn (Oct 22, 2018)

Great pictures!  Bet the video is even better.


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## blood on the ground (Oct 22, 2018)

Very cool! Intense too!


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## Duff (Oct 22, 2018)

Great pics!!


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## 1eyefishing (Oct 22, 2018)

Pulling off pictures and a video in a situation like that is much tougher than pulling the trigger!
You are a successful bear hunter! Congrats on your encounters...


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## bany (Oct 22, 2018)

Awesome! I bet that was quite a show!


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## twincedargap (Oct 22, 2018)

so cool. you'll remember that as much as you would harvesting one


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## Rabun (Oct 22, 2018)

That's an awesome encounter. It is amazing how silent they can be. She's a big one for sure. Glad it all turned out OK for you!


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## jbogg (Oct 22, 2018)

I climbed up to one of those saddles on a narrow ridge that necks down so tight that you’re forced to choose a direction and face one way or the other.  She had to have followed my scent trail straight to my tree. I had buried myself into a little brushed in ground blind so I don’t think she  could see me that well.   That’s one thing I have noticed about bear is that they don’t seem to get all freaked out like a deer does when they hit your scent trail. They seem to be more curious than anything. Now if they get downwind of you it’s a different story and they are gone.


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## jbogg (Oct 22, 2018)

Thanks Tom @twincedargap for posting some video!


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## Dana Young (Oct 22, 2018)

The cubs look like they were over 75 lbs but she was a big ol girl


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## jbogg (Oct 22, 2018)

Dana Young said:


> The cubs look like they were over 75 lbs but she was a big ol girl



 I thought they were close to 75lbs as well.   As they were moving away through the mountain laurel one of the Cubs must have upset her to the point where she must have taken a swipe at it and it let out a loud yelp/squeal.   Had I not seen it myself I would’ve thought the sound came from a pig.


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## cohuttahunter (Oct 22, 2018)

Very nice video and photos.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 22, 2018)

Outstanding!  They all look very healthy.  My trigger finger would have been itching for sure!


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## FMBear (Oct 22, 2018)

Awesome experience you had for sure!


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## strothershwacker (Oct 22, 2018)

That'd been stickbow distance! Backpack mountain bear hunting has taken over my deer season. Im lovin it too! Great video, thanks for postin it!


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## CornStalker (Oct 23, 2018)

That's awesome, Jbogg! Great pics. Sometimes I think about bringing a nice camera for all the non-legal bear encounters. The photos alone are worth the hunt. Thanks for sharing with us!


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## deermaster13 (Oct 23, 2018)

That was awesome and enjoyed those pics and video. Thanks for sharing.


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## gtmcwhorter (Oct 23, 2018)

She grown...


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## j_seph (Oct 23, 2018)

I WOULD HAVE LOST MY BLADDER


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## Christian hughey (Oct 23, 2018)

strothershwacker said:


> That'd been stickbow distance! Backpack mountain bear hunting has taken over my deer season. Im lovin it too! Great video, thanks for postin it!


Don't miss out already seeing them following does. A buddy of mine got this pretty fella Sunday mornin on our property and I saw multiple bucks on there feet no shooters.  Got high hopes for mid ga this year. Ill be back up after thanksgiving strolling a few ridges at cohutta.


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## Killer Kyle (Oct 23, 2018)

Really interesting encounter and pics/videos J! I always like watching and learning about bear behavior because they are interesting creatures and their mind is interesting to me. 
I'm certain that you noticed this but I'll throw it out there. I have always believed that once a bear hits 200 or maybe 250 lbs or so, they really don't climb for acorns anymore. They just wait for them to come down. It simply becomes too difficult to climb at that point. Gravity is working against them, and they usually can just no longer effectively climb easily. 

In your video, the upper cub begins to climb down and the lower cub begins to move higher. Immediately after that, she raises her left paw, then tests her feet. She tests the left foot first and then the right foot. There is a lot going on in her mind in that moment. She is trying to identify the threat or alarm, she is wondering if she should climb the tree or flee, minding the location of her cubs, and possibly testing to see if she COULD climb the tree. Who knows. I wonder if she could still scale that tree if she had to given her size? 
Its interesting to me to speculate about what was going on in her mind in that moment.


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## Cwb19 (Oct 23, 2018)

Nice pics and video way to stay calm under pressure


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## jbogg (Oct 23, 2018)

I noticed the same thing Kyle. In the video she lifted each of her back feet off the ground is if she was contemplating climbing. I’m sure she could’ve climbed  if she really wanted to, but I don’t think she was that concerned. Seems like I have seen a couple of videos on YouTube of equally large bears treed by dogs hunters.  Maybe buckman or some of the other guys that know about dog hunting could chime in and Share what was the largest bear they had ever seen treed by dogs.


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## tree cutter 08 (Oct 24, 2018)

Never been on a dog race but the biggest bear I've seen topping oaks was about 200lb. Always figured once that big of bigger they will either run or fight.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 24, 2018)

Wasn't the state record bear in Georgia killed out of a tree in south Georgia a couple years back?  I realize that "state record" has changed hands several times in recent years, but I seem to recall a dang near 600lb bear that was reportedly in a tree when it was killed.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 24, 2018)

Yep, here's the story.

https://www.gon.com/hunting/record-class-bear-from-south-georgia


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## jbogg (Oct 24, 2018)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> Yep, here's the story.
> 
> https://www.gon.com/hunting/record-class-bear-from-south-georgia



Thanks for sharing Wes. I’m guessing we don’t see real big ones tip toeing out on the white oak limbs due to their weight, even though they are still physically capable of climbing.


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## Bowhunter77 (Oct 25, 2018)

In that still shot she looks like she’s about to show the cubs how to take down one of those smelly two legged slow runners the bears always see in the woods this time of year.


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## Back40hunter (Oct 26, 2018)

Very cool encounter. Thanks for sharing. You are to be commended for letting her go with her cubs. The cubs would have probably been big enough to make her legal but I love your decision to give Mama a pass. Great job on the pic’s and video.


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## jbogg (Oct 26, 2018)

Back40hunter said:


> Very cool encounter. Thanks for sharing. You are to be commended for letting her go with her cubs. The cubs would have probably been big enough to make her legal but I love your decision to give Mama a pass. Great job on the pic’s and video.



I attended a DNR public input meeting a year or two ago and specifically asked the game warden to clarify the law as to whether or not a Sow would be legal if her cub or cubs were clearly over 75 lbs.  His response was to “Shoot the cub”, but the sow would be off limits.  So basically, if a sow has a cub of any size she is not legal even if the cub is.  However, since there is a two bear limit if someone was to shoot the cub first does that mean the sow is now legal game since she would no longer have a cub by her side. Seems like some of the Bear regulations could be cleaned up a bit.


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## Back40hunter (Oct 27, 2018)

I believe you’re right jbogg. I’ve been reading that rule incorrectly for years. Glad I haven’t seen a sow with big cubs along side. I may have been tempted ?


jbogg said:


> I attended a DNR public input meeting a year or two ago and specifically asked the game warden to clarify the law as to whether or not a Sow would be legal if her cub or cubs were clearly over 75 lbs.  His response was to “Shoot the cub”, but the sow would be off limits.  So basically, if a sow has a cub of any size she is not legal even if the cub is.  However, since there is a two bear limit if someone was to shoot the cub first does that mean the sow is now legal game since she would no longer have a cub by her side. Seems like some of the Bear regulations could be cleaned up a bit.


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## Hookedonhunting (Dec 10, 2018)

That was awesome!


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## mmcneil (Dec 11, 2018)

Cool video! Thanks for sharing.


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## Dub (Dec 13, 2018)

Steady nerves @jbogg 

Thanks a ton for sharing the pics and awesome video.

I'd have been a might jittery after looking uphill and seeing her slip in on me like that, too.


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