# GA tradbow shooters 2, Canada black bears 0 - Story and Video Added



## jerry russell (Jun 19, 2012)

A bit long winded but the story or the video alone just can't tell the whole story. I hope you enjoy it.

A black bear hunt has long been on the list of adventures that I wanted to share with my 14 year old son Luke. This hunt would be extra special for a couple of reasons. The location of this hunt was the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve in Quebec. Much famed for giant bears due to the fact that only 30 or so permits are given out here on the more than 900 square miles. Biologist estimate 750 bears roam this one reserve.   I have hunted bears countless times from Maine to Alaska in some really wild places but this place was special. I have never encountered bear densities like this and the number of huge bears was amazing. This is an incredibly huge, beautiful and wild place of moose, wolves and monster bears. What would make this trip most special; however, is that it would mark the 36 year anniversary of my first bear hunt with my father when I was also 14 years old. I look back at that hunt as a defining moment for me in both my hunting career and my life. I have always had a burning desire to go to the lands hunted by Fred Bear, Howard Hill and my other childhood hunting heroes but that first bear hunt in 1977 sparked a burning desire to carry my bow into distant lands that has yet to fade even one little bit.  
Day One: We left Atlanta at 06:15 and after landing in Montreal, made the 2.5 hour drive to the reserve. We set the bows up and were off to the bear stands. Talk about a culture shock- Atlanta, Georgia to a Canadian bear stand in just a few hours!  My plan was to film Luke taking his bear and hunt my bear with any remaining time. We did not have to wait very long for bear #1. It never ceases to amaze me how a bear can get that close to you without making a sound, but there it was at 14 yards. I judged it to be a sow in the 140 pound range and Luke decided to pass on the shot. The bear gave me a wonderful opportunity to talk with Luke about how to judge bears. Along with the dozens of squirrels, chipmunks and snowshoe hares we were entertained for the rest of the evening. 
The next morning we got a taste of how huge and wild the reserve really was as we visited 8 or so of the 25 bears stands. The stands are a minimum 5-7 miles apart with some as close as 5 minutes from camp others are as much as a 1.25 hour drive away. The drive between baits has you awestruck with the beauty of this place. Beautiful wild rivers with spectacular whitewater and more than 400 lakes line the roads. Wildlife is everywhere and this is far from your average Canadian bear hunt. 
Day Two and Three:  We hunted the same stands looking for a monster bear that had taken over the site and had excavated a huge hole next to the tree stand. We had a bear come close near dark but darkness saved him this day. The hours always pass very fast here because there is literally never a time where there is not some type of animal to watch.
During the morning hours we spent a lot of time shooting in camp and Luke was really tuned in. He was shooting a Black Widow recurve at 56 pounds and a Carbon Express Nativ two blade head. I knew any shooter bear that ventured into his range would be going home with us.
Day Four: Luke had begun to urge me to hunt alone because he feared my filming him would prevent my taking a bear but I did my best to help him to understand that watching him take his first bear was really what I was there for. We changed stand locations this day and as we approached the bait the decision to stay with him became easy to understand. Not one but two bears were at the site and we quickly set up the camera arm knowing that it would not be long before they returned. Forty minutes into our wait I spotted the bear coming down the ridge and it was on high alert. It began to circle us and for nearly an hour it made two full rotations around us. During this time another bear paced the ridgeline popping its jaws and snapping limbs. Finally, the bear decided to approach the bait. This is always a difficult time for a first time bear hunter. Even nerves of steel can come unglued at the last moment. Luke showed great patience as the bear provided dozens of marginal shot opportunities that he passed on. Finally, the bear presented the perfect broadside shot and the Luke began to draw. Let me stop the story for a moment to tell you folks that when an animal comes in on me when I am alone, I am all business and consider myself a very serious predator.  However, when I am watching Luke doing the shooting I fall apart every time.  I have seen him take nine species with his bow but I am like a first time bowhunter every time I watch him come to full draw. I still coach him to pick a spot and clam down but now he just politely gives me the “OK dad I got this” look and then always makes the shot. I guess that he will just simply always be my little eight year old boy on his first bowhunt.
As Luke drew the bow I said a quick prayer as always for a clean and quick kill and watched an absolute perfect shot with a complete pass through.  I knew the bear would go less than 50 yards and that was the case. Seconds later, the death moan drifted back to us accompanied by the sounds of another highly agitated bear on the ridge above Luke’s bear.  We quietly switched shooting and cameraman positions and continued the hunt. The final two hours of this day would have three more bears approaching our stand and while two presented 15 yard shots, with two days left to hunt I decided to pass and go for a really good bear.   
Day Five:  We returned to the same stand as the previous night and got to watch a pretty good bear show. Two bears came into chip shot range but were not what I was looking for. We also listened as a boar ran some cubs up a tree and had them just a bawling for their mother. 
Day Six- The final day: I had made the decision to go all out this day and pull an all-day hunt.  These 14 hour hunts mean getting your mind (and your rear end) right and then just gutting it out. I felt very confident for a number of reasons. The rut was now really starting to get hot and the stand I was going to hunt was showing signs of a true monster. Last day bear hunt heroics have always happened for me and five times I have taken bears during the last half hour of the last day. Now, having said that, after 13 hours on that stand and a grand animal total of 250 red squirrels and chipmunks my confidence was beginning to be tested a bit. The sun finally began to set and the wind went to dead calm. I had that feeling that something very good was about to happen. The first of two bears rolled in but were not something I wanted to take. They were nervous and left the scene. With less than 10 minutes of camera light remaining a squirrel up the path told me that something was coming in. I was stunned at the speed of the approaching bear and it took me off guard. This is when things started to come unglued just a bit. I had difficulty engaging the camera and by the time I was able to pull the bow from the hanger, the bear was at 9 yards.  The bear presented a great shot but as I attempted to draw my bow the string came back but the arrowed did not. A tiny amount of sap from the spruce tree had transferred from my glove to the arrow and it caused the mishap. It also made the slightest of sounds that the bear picked up and it decided it did not want to be there. It turned to walk away and offered a 20 yard quartering away shot. Unfortunately this put the bear behind the one spruce limb in the shooting lane. This required that I drop to a squatting position to make the shot.  I was shooting a 55# SAIII Black Widow recurve and a custom made Dendy Cromer chundoo wood shaft topped with a 45 year old bear razorhead. The quartering shot hit just ahead of the hip and angled to the fletch into the bear’s chest. I will never forget the sound of that wood shaft smacking those birch trees as the bear left the scene.  I watched as the game tracker string peeled away for about 40 yards and after a few seconds came the death moan. That sound always impacts me in some very primal way but it also brings me the relief of a quick, clean kill of the animal.   
We captured both hunts with video and it was my first time shooting our hunts with HD cameras. I was really pleased with the jump in video quality.  
I have hunted bears for nearly 35 years in a lot of places from Maine to Alaska, and I would easily rate this as my favorite hunt. Being there with my son and watching him experience the North woods and the wonderful people and culture of Quebec was very special to me and one of the best Father’s Day gifts I have ever received. If you know me at all you have seen the passion I have for hunting Canada and Alaska. There is so much more out there in this world than sitting in a tree stand hunting whitetails. Yes I love my deer hunting but to be there and to hear that twig snap behind you and turn to see a moose, bear, wolf or whatever is something that you need to have happen to you just one time in your life.  Hunting bears in the Mastigouche  Reserve and the wild places like it in Canada is something everyone should experience.  The place will enter your soul and never leave you.
 Many of you that know me know that I guide for a living but more importantly that I live to guide. Over the years, I have had offers to guide in some wild places but life just seemed to get in the way. Well this time I have accepted the offer and will be running a bear camp there next spring. If anyone wants to experience this wonderful and rare place or just needs a bit of help planning a trip anywhere up there, please contact me. I am always willing to help. I hope some of you will dare to make one of these wilderness adventures a reality. You would never regret it.
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## Barry Duggan (Jun 19, 2012)

Good job, looking forward to particulars.


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## whossbows (Jun 19, 2012)




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## bam_bam (Jun 19, 2012)

Great Job! I cant wait to see all the footage.


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## longbowdave1 (Jun 19, 2012)

Awsome job Jerry! Can't wait to hear whole and see the story!

Congrats to you both!


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## sawtooth (Jun 19, 2012)

Yep, good job........waitin on the story.


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## Jake Allen (Jun 19, 2012)

Good deal man!


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## onemoretime (Jun 19, 2012)

bring on the video congrates


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## Al33 (Jun 19, 2012)

Attaboys to both of you. Looking forward to the details and pic's.


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## chenryiv (Jun 19, 2012)

Awesome Jerry. Can't wait to see the pic.


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## robert carter (Jun 21, 2012)

Outstanding. Enjoyed the video and congrats.RC


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## rapid fire (Jun 21, 2012)

Nice. Luke smoked that bear.


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## Jake Allen (Jun 21, 2012)

Wow, just awesome. Great story and video of a fantastic trip!
Congratulations to both of you and thanks for taking the time to prepare, and post all of this.


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## longbowdave1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Great job on the video Jerry! Luke looked like and ol'pro and was cool as a cucumber shootin' that bear! Tell him congrats from me!

What are going to do with the hides and skulls?


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## jerry russell (Jun 21, 2012)

longbowdave1 said:


> Great job on the video Jerry! Luke looked like and ol'pro and was cool as a cucumber shootin' that bear! Tell him congrats from me!
> 
> What are going to do with the hides and skulls?



Luke is having his tanned and is already working on his skull getting ready to bleach it. His skull is really cool looking because the bear was aged at over 20 years old and the teeth really look worn and battle scared.


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## whossbows (Jun 21, 2012)

absolutly amazing,,,,,nice job jerry ,nice job luke


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## belle&bows (Jun 21, 2012)

Well Done, Congrats to y'all!


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## longbowdave1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Jerry you should consider having the skull done with the beetles rather than boiling or bleaching it. After seeing how nice it works, don't think I would boil any more skulls, and its relatively inexpensive too.


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## hogdgz (Jun 21, 2012)

Nice bears Jerry, congrats to yall!!!


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## Red Arrow (Jun 21, 2012)

Congrats to you and Luke!!  I know you're proud of him!!  Great video and story.


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## Blueridge (Jun 22, 2012)

Great job Jerry!!! really enjoyed that. Congrats.


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## frankwright (Jun 22, 2012)

Great Job!
You are right about making the trip. In 1997 three good friends and all Traditional hunters made the 30 hour trip to Ontario for the spring bear season. 
It still is one of my fondest memories. The time spent together in a totally wild situations, right down to fixing our evening meals is something I will never forget.


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## TNGIRL (Jun 22, 2012)

What a great job!!!! I enjoyed the story and loved your video. I actually have never thought much about bear hunting, either way. But that looked pretty cool....course your butts musta been pretty tired!!!!!! I have eaten some wonderful bear meat of Joe Coots in the past and loved it. Maybe a bear hunt in Quebec would be on my bucket list............


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## jerry russell (Jun 22, 2012)

TNGIRL said:


> What a great job!!!! I enjoyed the story and loved your video. I actually have never thought much about bear hunting, either way. But that looked pretty cool....course your butts musta been pretty tired!!!!!! I have eaten some wonderful bear meat of Joe Coots in the past and loved it. Maybe a bear hunt in Quebec would be on my bucket list............



That 14 hour sit is not the norm of course. I was just on a bit of a mission.  Normally you will just hunt from 5-9ish and see 1-5 bears per night. Hunting those bears in a wilderness setting is a very addictive thing for sure.


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## jerry russell (Jun 22, 2012)

frankwright said:


> Great Job!
> You are right about making the trip. In 1997 three good friends and all Traditional hunters made the 30 hour trip to Ontario for the spring bear season.
> It still is one of my fondest memories. The time spent together in a totally wild situations, right down to fixing our evening meals is something I will never forget.



You are right about those memories. Sure you remember the kills but for me the things that are etched in my mind are the "first" on those trips. First time seeing a moose, wolf, grizzly and some of the little things like the tase of a lake trout cooked on the lake shore, watching a porcupine try to swim a cold river and the overpowering quiet of a boreal forest. Two of my favorites memories include a wolf chasing a caribou calf across the tundra and stalking up to a caribou that I decided to pass on and being so close that I could hear it snoring. My favorite new memory was walking back to our cabin last week at midnight and hearing Luke exclaim as he looked up for the first time into that Northwoods sky "Dad, check out the stars! It looks like you can just reach up and grab them".

 Oh lord you got me all misty and wanting to go back. Most times I sure do feel like I was born in the wrong place at the wrong time.


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## whossbows (Jun 22, 2012)

makes you feel good allllllllllllllllll over dont it


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## johnweaver (Jun 23, 2012)

Great story and video.  I'm sure that this week in the wilds will be a memory that will be talked about around a lot of campfires.  You are my Hero!!!  Luke is da MAN!!!


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## 2wheelfoster (Jun 23, 2012)

Congrats on the kills and great video!


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## gurn (Jun 23, 2012)

Man Jerry that was good!! You are right Quebec is ah fine place Bobby and me have been there ah few times.
After each shot I turned up the vloume to listen for the death moan. That sure is music to the ears. You know it's over.


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## jerry russell (Jun 24, 2012)

gurn said:


> Man Jerry that was good!! You are right Quebec is ah fine place Bobby and me have been there ah few times.
> After each shot I turned up the vloume to listen for the death moan. That sure is music to the ears. You know it's over.



Yep that moan can be heard from a looong ways off and with both shots I knew it would come quickly. As I stated before, that moan always strikes me like no other sound in hunting but it also says that you did your job and made a clean kill holding up your end of the bargin.
There was a LOT of death moaning going on up there in those bear woods. 8 hunter and 8 bears taken with the average of just 2.5 days per hunter to score and that was with some serious trophy hunting going on. Everyone passed on multiple bears. There were some great archers there as not a single bear went more than 40 yards.
Good times for sure.


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## Ta-ton-ka chips (Jun 24, 2012)

jerry russell said:


> Yep that moan can be heard from a looong ways off and with both shots I knew it would come quickly. As I stated before, that moan always strikes me like no other sound in hunting but it also says that you did your job and made a clean kill holding up your end of the bargin.
> There was a LOT of death moaning going on up there in those bear woods. 8 hunter and 8 bears taken with the average of just 2.5 days per hunter to score and that was with some serious trophy hunting going on. Everyone passed on multiple bears. There were some great archers there as not a single bear went more than 40 yards.
> Good times for sure.



I guess they didn't include your hunt in that 2-1/2 day average.
Really enjoyed the story and video.


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## Al33 (Jun 24, 2012)

Just got back from a 4 day trip to the mountains with two granddaughters and was hoping you had posted the pic's and videos. I was not disappointed. Awesome video jerry!!! Congrat's to both of you again and congrat's on getting the guide job! You are truly an an inspiration.


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## oldfella1962 (Oct 21, 2012)

*Bears are quiet no doubt!*

I was almost nose-to-nose with black bears twice while fishing in Alaska. They are just as quiet (or more) than a deer. And they can haul butt away just as fast, too!


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