# Got my first Bear at Cohutta!



## WoodlandScout82 (Dec 5, 2018)

I got my first bear on the last day of the Cohutta hunt! 170lb sow. Beautiful and fat! I am so fortunate to have gotten 2 animals on 2 days of hunting! I got a deer on Thursday and thebear on Sunday.


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## kmckinnie (Dec 5, 2018)

Congrats & great hunting all around. ?


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## FMBear (Dec 5, 2018)

Fine bear indeed.  Congratulations!  Even better that you had success on a late season bear.


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## whitetailfreak (Dec 5, 2018)

Someone killed a bear Sunday, and Larry Etheridge(warden) thought the bear was at my place. He had misunderstood the hunter, and being a buddy of mine we had a good laugh over it. I think he finally got that bear tagged. That wouldn't happen to be yours was it? Congrats on a dandy.


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## WoodlandScout82 (Dec 5, 2018)

whitetailfreak said:


> Someone killed a bear Sunday, and Larry Etheridge(warden) thought the bear was at my place. He had misunderstood the hunter, and being a buddy of mine we had a good laugh over it. I think he finally got that bear tagged. That wouldn't happen to be yours was it? Congrats on a dandy.


I'm not sure if it was mine or not. I shot mine at about 9:30, checked it out at about 1 at the Cisco station. I was very specific on where I got it at.


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## whitetailfreak (Dec 5, 2018)

WoodlandScout82 said:


> I'm not sure if it was mine or not. I shot mine at about 9:30, checked it out at about 1 at the Cisco station. I was very specific on where I got it at.



It wasn't yours then. This one was killed late Sunday, and by the time the hunter got to the check station, it wasn't manned. I figured those warm temps on Sunday would have them on their feet. Congrats again.


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## devolve (Dec 5, 2018)

Congrats!! That’s some fine eating you got right there


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## WoodlandScout82 (Dec 5, 2018)

whitetailfreak said:


> It wasn't yours then. This one was killed late Sunday, and by the time the hunter got to the check station, it wasn't manned. I figured those warm temps on Sunday would have them on their feet. Congrats again.


Thanks man! I had a great hunt! In all honesty, before I got on this forum, or went to Cohutta the first time, seeing your success up there just searching google is what motivated me to give it a shot last year. Now I've taken a deer, a bear, and a Hog from up there!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Dec 5, 2018)

devolve said:


> Congrats!! That’s some fine eating you got right there


I've never tried it, but I got a Freezer slap full!


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## whitetailfreak (Dec 5, 2018)

WoodlandScout82 said:


> Thanks man! I had a great hunt! In all honesty, before I got on this forum, or went to Cohutta the first time, seeing your success up there just searching google is what motivated me to give it a shot last year. Now I've taken a deer, a bear, and a Hog from up there!



Kill a turkey this Spring, and you'll have the Cohutta Slam.


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## strothershwacker (Dec 5, 2018)

Congratulations! Good bear. Late season to boot! Good job.


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## jbogg (Dec 5, 2018)

That’s a nice bear!  Congrats on the late season success.  You have had a great year!


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## fiddlinduke (Dec 6, 2018)

Congrats on the great hunt! Tell us a story about your bear harvest!


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## Rabun (Dec 6, 2018)

Great hunt!  Congratulations on both kills!


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## splatek (Dec 6, 2018)

That's awesome!
Congrats!


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## Cwb19 (Dec 6, 2018)

Congrats on a nice bear and a great weekend


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## JustUs4All (Dec 7, 2018)

Congratulations on a good bear.  Happy to hear it was not the decoy.  

If you haven't read it yet there is some seriously funny stuff here:

http://forum.gon.com/threads/i-shot-the-decoy-bear-at-cohutta.424065


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## PappyHoel (Dec 7, 2018)

Congrats on a nice bear.


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## GAbullHunter (Dec 8, 2018)

Good eats ahead for sure! Cook it right an you'll love it if you like beef an deer. Bear is even better in some cases. Congrats on a fine one!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Jan 4, 2019)

Finally able to post another picture.  Enjoy!


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## n2BlackBearz (Jan 4, 2019)

It was good meet you.  CONGRATS on the all harvests!!! A great year of memories.  Cohutta is a special place that for me that generates some sleepless nights in anticipation that lingers from year to year.  I believe you may experience the same going forward.  I was hooked back in August 1999, on literally my very first time in Cohutta, I was able to film a 400+ boar Bear for about 20 minutes. I was a newbie to GA and have seen over 70 GA Bears since then. Our paths will probably cross again.  Enjoy the rewards of time well spent trampling leaves.


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## NCHillbilly (Jan 4, 2019)

Nice bear!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Jan 4, 2019)

n2BlackBearz said:


> It was good meet you.  CONGRATS on the all harvests!!! A great year of memories.  Cohutta is a special place that for me that generates some sleepless nights in anticipation that lingers from year to year.  I believe you may experience the same going forward.  I was hooked back in August 1999, on literally my very first time in Cohutta, I was able to film a 400+ boar Bear for about 20 minutes. I was a newbie to GA and have seen over 70 GA Bears since then. Our paths will probably cross again.  Enjoy the rewards of time well spent trampling leaves.


It was nice to meet you too! I still find it ironic that my wife and I saw you in your vehicle at random in the summer when we rode up there in the summer, and you just happened to be parked exactly where I dragged the deer out on the hunt. This was only my second season of hunting up there and It's going to be an every year thing for me.


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## n2BlackBearz (Jan 4, 2019)

WoodlandScout82 said:


> It was nice to meet you too! I still find it ironic that my wife and I saw you in your vehicle at random in the summer when we rode up there in the summer, and you just happened to be parked exactly where I dragged the deer out on the hunt. This was only my second season of hunting up there and It's going to be an every year thing for me.
> 
> 
> Time in the forest is always rewarding even if one does not score.  Regarding the bruin you couldn’t locate, I too have experienced a couple of very disappointing outcomings over the decades after what were thought to be ‘very good hits’ on Bear, usually with an arrow.  You might consider befriending some of the individuals available here on GON, who for a reasonable fee, might be able to locate the wounded trophy if you experience a repeat event.
> ...


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## strothershwacker (Jan 4, 2019)

Shhhh....
 That's enough talk bout Cohutta!


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## Ghost G (Jan 18, 2019)

Nice bear.  Good the hear you got one in the late season.  You've had some impressive success!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Feb 22, 2019)

Another photo of my bear. I made a camera mount and for the go pro style camera. But it happened so quickly that I didn't have time to turn it on.


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## Killer Kyle (Feb 23, 2019)

That is a great photo! 

I'm just curious....how much does that rig weigh? An M-14 with wood stock, scope, camera....that thing has to weigh like 15 lbs. That is a BEAST to carry in the hill terrain!!!


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## Bigga Trust (Feb 26, 2019)

Impressive.  Enjoyed the photos!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Mar 20, 2019)

Killer Kyle said:


> That is a great photo!
> 
> I'm just curious....how much does that rig weigh? An M-14 with wood stock, scope, camera....that thing has to weigh like 15 lbs. That is a BEAST to carry in the hill terrain!!!


It weighs just over 9 pounds


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## Killer Kyle (Mar 20, 2019)

WoodlandScout82 said:


> It weighs just over 9 pounds


That's actually not too terribly bad!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Mar 20, 2019)

Killer Kyle said:


> That's actually not too terribly bad!


Mines the 16"barreled version. I actually bought and set it up specifically for hunting those mountains.


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## WoodlandScout82 (Apr 2, 2019)

I know some of you are curious about this rifle I hunt with. It's a Springfield Armory M1A Socom II. It's essentially a short barreled (16") M14. When I first decided to chase bucks and bears up in those mountains, I decided to build myself a rifle for the purpose. I glass bedded the action into a Birch M14 stock and run the cobblestone fiberglass stock on rainy days. It has a leather Garand cheekrest and a Rhodesian scout sling from Andy's Leather. It came with the Vltor quad-rail but I only run the top half. Controversially, I have been enjoying a Tru Glo Gobble stopper red dot. I looked at about 10 other dot sights from $150-400 range, and this one really was the best, not to mention it was designed to handle the recoil of heavy shotgun loads. I just have the 20rd. Mag in it for show, in use, I run a flush 5rd mag and carry my reloads on stripper clips. In summary, I built a semi-auto scout rifle. It's compact and easy to manuver in the woods, very fast on target, has almost no recoil, and is great for very quick follow-up shots.


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## Rabun (Apr 3, 2019)

That's a fine looking set up!  Sure paid off for you last year.  Thanks for sharing the pic and story


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## jbogg (Apr 3, 2019)

Great looking gun!  Not something you see someone carrying in the woods every day.  I have never used a red dot scope.  How accurate are they at longer ranges?  In the thick woods most shots are fairly close, but if you were to hunt a food plot how far can you Shoot confidently?


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## WoodlandScout82 (Apr 3, 2019)

jbogg said:


> Great looking gun!  Not something you see someone carrying in the woods every day.  I have never used a red dot scope.  How accurate are they at longer ranges?  In the thick woods most shots are fairly close, but if you were to hunt a food plot how far can you Shoot confidently?


I can put 5 rds very quickly into a CD size group off-hand at 100 yards. I've not tried it past that. I also have a Leatherwood 2-7x IER scope on QD rings. I shot the hogs at 200 last season up there offhand very easily


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## WoodlandScout82 (Apr 3, 2019)

Btw guys, I machined that tri-pod, I use it at the range


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## Rabun (Apr 3, 2019)

Was noticing that the tripod looked pretty custom.  Impressive shooting and fabrication skills!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Apr 3, 2019)

This is the second version of my tri-pod


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## WoodlandScout82 (Apr 3, 2019)

Rabun said:


> Was noticing that the tripod looked pretty custom.  Impressive shooting and fabrication skills!


21 years a welder/fabricator/machinist/ toolmaker. I also do a lot of serious gunsmithing


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