Stick Slinger
Member
Bear Camp, Quebec Canada June 2014,
Bear hunt with Russel Outdoors Guides Services, we'll let me start off with letting everyone know that next to elk hunting bear hunting has become one of the loves of my life. Other than god, my children and my wife it's right at the top, I was invited by my good friend Larry Young to go on a Canadian bear hunt last year and took him up on it, we'll we had such a memorable time that as soon as the hunt was over we instantly booked another hunt with Mr. Jerry Russell owner of Russell Outdoors Guide Service, we'll As a second year bear hunter I'll have to say I have had the absolute best time of my life. Our hunt started like this.
Day 1.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
All hunts for the most part are afternoon hunts which left me starting my hunt with a afternoon sit on a stand that is nick named tickle fight as they have managed to name the majority of there stands either after clients or incidents any how different story, I was dropped off at my stand and bait barrel was filled while I was climbing and getting settled into my stand. This stand is so close to the bait you would be able to hear the bear breath as it is all of 4 yards to the bait barrel in which kept me sitting on pens and needles all afternoon. With the sighting of four tree rats and one large red fox that circled the bait a half a dozen times before slipping in for a quick bite and then the occasional blue jay the afternoon was nice but no bears sighted.. After returning to camp Mr. Jerry showed me several pictures of the bears that had been visiting that bait. Nice!
Day 2.
We'll this day turned out to be possibly one of the best days on stand. We got to the stand site around 3:30 - 4:00, once is was settled in on stand and about an hour had past I noticed down the trail about 60 yards that something was coming through the alders and was black as It continued to head my way I heard the faint sound of what turned out to be a really nice boar on the trail of the lead bear which ended up being an old swanky long back long hair sow, as they neared the stand site the boar continued to get larger to the point the he was twice the size of the sow. The sow came straight in to the bait and started munching on popcorn and some old cooking grease. But the boar being 15 to 20 yards behind her had other ideas as he had winded something that just wasn't right and popped his nose up in the air several times and eased forward just another step or two. He raised his nose once more then stood up on his hind legs and bellowed out a load roar with that the sow bolted and the boar was on her trail. As I watched them disappear back into the alders I fought myself say there goes my chance. As I sat there thinking of what could I have done I could here the boar running the sow along the bottom of the mountainside out in front of his grunting sounded like the largest whitetail grunt I'd ever heard during the rut.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
What seemed like an hour or more may have only been minutes when the old swanky sow popped out of the alders and back on the bait I kept watching for the boar to pop out in the same spot but then something caught my eye off to my far right up the trail, it was the boar looking for the love of his life (well for the moment). He came in to 15 yards and huffed at the sow and she broke once again for the cover of the alders with him at a full run right past the bait and back up the mountain, I sat there in total disbelief that not once but twice that monster of a bear had entered my shooting range with me having no shot and left just as quickly.
I could still here the pair off in the distance about 50 - 75 yards in the alders rustling and grunting. Thinking that it was all over I hear another Bear grunting coming up from behind me and as I turned my head ever so slightly to the left to peer over my left shoulder I see the silhouette of two more bears coming to join the bear party at the bait barrel only this time the second one of the two was the largest boar I had ever laid eyes on alive. They came out of the cedars on the same trail that the first two bears had dropped down on. As they continued towards the bait I could still hear the first boar grunting and following the sow and all of a sudden it sounded like the world was coming to an end as the second boar chased the sow he was following up into the alders and and busted up the bear party as I had bears running left and right and directly under my stand, he let all there of them know he was the bear of the mountain, a few seconds later which seemed like minutes he popped out of the alders and proceeded my way and towards the bait as he neared the opening to the bait I could feel and hear my heart trying to climb out of my throat my legs had started trembling with excitement and there he was in my window of opportunity with out second thought all my muscles along with hand and eye coordination took over and my Black Widow Recurve, Gold Tip arrows with 170 grain two blade broad heads had found there mark, the shot looked just a little high but I could tell I had gotten lung as he exited the bait site rather quickly. About 5 minutes later I heard what sounded to be a death moan, I had to take a seat on my stand to keep from falling out as my knees had just about buckled under me while sitting and regaining my composure and then to have another bear to enter the bait site this time it was a sow that had stopped by for a bite to eat and stayed around until after dark at which point she had to be ran off the bait so I could exit my stand..
Once back at camp it was determined that we would wait until morning to recover the bear as the Canadian wilderness after dark isn't were you want to hang out.
Day 3.
We'll after a restless night of trying to sleep,we were hot on the trail of my bear and had Mr. Russell's bear tracking dog along to assist. Bear the bear dog is very special as he is just a pup around 10 months old and is a special breed. We got on the trail of the bear very quickly with great blood sign only one problem he went straight up the mountain almost to the top and hung a left along the near side of the ridge, for those who have never been in the Canadian mountains just think about the black timber of Colorado and your at home aspen trees and cedars blowed down and walking on a 2/1 to a 3/1 slope isn't all that easy we'll we lose the blood and then find the blood thank you bear dog, as soon as it looks like we have pumpkin head figured out he takes another left and headed back down the mountain! We'll I figured we would have found him dead by now but no he came back down to and thru the alders just down the trail to the left side of the stand and left a blood trail that looked as though someone had cut off a chickens head and walked thru the alders just holding its feet, several times we had his path crossing each other wondering which way did he go. It was almost comical then the sign indicated that he had done a turn and headed back up the mountain a quarter mile trek to the top and over an old logging road and took another left right down an old logging road and went another half mile without hardly a drop of blood only if not for the use of Bear dog were we wouldn't have found those blood splatters which took us another half mile and the bear took a right turn into some alders and headed up yet another mountain within a couple hundred yards all signs of the bear just disappeared. The four of us (Mr. Jerry, Mr. Larry, Bear & myself) tracking of that bear were shocked and very humbled by the fortitude that an animal that size could have to travel the distance knowing that it could bleed the amount of blood it did and not to be found. Thinking back on the tracking we realised that boar went back to chasing the sow that had came to the bait and didn't realise he was hit.. We never did recover that bear but I can say he was an absolute giant!
Upon returning to camp I was met with great friends and support and understanding that I had placed my arrow just a couple inches high into a non vital area and feel strongly that the bear will live to bee shot another day!!! Latter that day I was humbled to be told by Mr. Jerry that he was giving me his personal bear allocation, after thinking hard about it I accepted. So that afternoon found me back on stand hunting for a big bear at a stand named Lefty, After several hours on stand and watching the red tree rats and blue jays fight over the pop corn at the bait site I was startled to hear the distinct sound of a bear back over my left shoulder a ways back up in a cedar thicket as I slowly turned my head to try and see what was back there I could make out a very large black blob at about 70 yards out. It slowly started moving down the trail which would bring him into the bait site. The bear continue to move closer but was taken each step very slowly and surveying his surroundings. He had only moved about 20 yards and sat right down on his caboose and sat there for another 20 - 30 minutes looking and smelling the air I was worried that he may have caught a hint of something not right but just as I was starting to worry he stood up and started moving my way this time huffing and puffing even popping his teeth together as to be saying this bait is mine and I want everything to know it..the boar closed the distance to about 15 yards and I could see that he was the local bear in charge and had everything to back it up. He stopped at the 15 yard mark and raised his head in the air to get a whiff of the air and smell the pop corn at the bait site. (Just like going to the movies) while watching him he turned slightly and proceeded to circle the bait scent check with every other step he took. A few minutes latter he moved on into the bait and plopped right down and started eating pop corn off the to of the barrel las if it was his dinner table. I stood with recurve in hand waiting for the perfect shot to present itself the boar stopped eating after about a half hour and stood up on all four as though he was going to walk away he stepped up on a log that was located just behind the bait barrel with him slightly quartering away I took this moment to draw my bow anchor pick the spot just back of his shoulder and watched as my arrow found its mark. The bruin ran about 30 yards and stopped and started walking pulling my string tracker out as he took each step, he disappeared into a small patch of cedars at about 80 yards I didn't see him come out as I continued to watch that I heard that distinctive sound of death (the moan of death). I sat down with knees shaking and hands trembling with disbelief that I had been presented a second chance at a bear of this quality once the sun had gone down and blackness had fallen over the stand site I could hear and then see the lights of my guide Mr. Jerry, as he stopped just up from the stand site I started to get my gear together and lower my bow from the tree as Mr. Jerry walked up and noticed the string from the string tracker running from my stand across the bait and off through the black woods. As I climbed down and walked up Mr. Jerry looked at me and said we'll did you close the deal. And I said yes!!!!! With probably one of the biggest smiles that a clown would have been envious of as quick as I had smiled Mr.Jerry turned and started following the string down through the woods and into the cedar thicket with me right on his six as soon as we popped into the middle of this little cedar thicket there he was one of the largest bears I had ever seen in the wild and he was mine. He had expired as I had heard as we confirmed there were hand shakes and man hugs being passed around. We reached down and tried to move the bear and realised that it wasn't going to happen not then and not in the dark and most of all not by the three of us.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
Day 4.
We returned to Lefty to recover the rather large bruin with a little more back power and the dog named bear, Mr. Jerry took Bear dog down to the bait site and picked up the blood trail as if he was a 10 year old coon hound on the trail of and old coon. It's absolutely awesome to watch Bear dog work. And we got our share of that different story different day. They continued up the same trail that we had tracked the bear on the night before and came up on the my bear and he was still just a huge in the daylight as he was in the dark and maybe a even a little larger. We assessed the situation as to what would be the best way to drag this bruin out from where we were at and Mr. Larry commented to blazing a trail back towards the truck for us to drag this beast. We all get a handful and commenced to dragging, pulling and of course falling all over this bear. We finally make it to the truck and strap him to the carry all with his head off one side and back feet off the other.
What a great time at bear camp friendships and memories that have been made will live on within us all.
My hat is off to Mr. Jerry Russell and the dog named Bear as they both are top notch at what they do. Thank you Mr. Jerry for being the person and the professional that you are as it has given all us "want to be bear hunters" something to truly look forward too each year as we travel down this highway of being to busy to stop and enjoy what Mother Nature and the good lord put here...
Will
Bear hunt with Russel Outdoors Guides Services, we'll let me start off with letting everyone know that next to elk hunting bear hunting has become one of the loves of my life. Other than god, my children and my wife it's right at the top, I was invited by my good friend Larry Young to go on a Canadian bear hunt last year and took him up on it, we'll we had such a memorable time that as soon as the hunt was over we instantly booked another hunt with Mr. Jerry Russell owner of Russell Outdoors Guide Service, we'll As a second year bear hunter I'll have to say I have had the absolute best time of my life. Our hunt started like this.
Day 1.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
All hunts for the most part are afternoon hunts which left me starting my hunt with a afternoon sit on a stand that is nick named tickle fight as they have managed to name the majority of there stands either after clients or incidents any how different story, I was dropped off at my stand and bait barrel was filled while I was climbing and getting settled into my stand. This stand is so close to the bait you would be able to hear the bear breath as it is all of 4 yards to the bait barrel in which kept me sitting on pens and needles all afternoon. With the sighting of four tree rats and one large red fox that circled the bait a half a dozen times before slipping in for a quick bite and then the occasional blue jay the afternoon was nice but no bears sighted.. After returning to camp Mr. Jerry showed me several pictures of the bears that had been visiting that bait. Nice!
Day 2.
We'll this day turned out to be possibly one of the best days on stand. We got to the stand site around 3:30 - 4:00, once is was settled in on stand and about an hour had past I noticed down the trail about 60 yards that something was coming through the alders and was black as It continued to head my way I heard the faint sound of what turned out to be a really nice boar on the trail of the lead bear which ended up being an old swanky long back long hair sow, as they neared the stand site the boar continued to get larger to the point the he was twice the size of the sow. The sow came straight in to the bait and started munching on popcorn and some old cooking grease. But the boar being 15 to 20 yards behind her had other ideas as he had winded something that just wasn't right and popped his nose up in the air several times and eased forward just another step or two. He raised his nose once more then stood up on his hind legs and bellowed out a load roar with that the sow bolted and the boar was on her trail. As I watched them disappear back into the alders I fought myself say there goes my chance. As I sat there thinking of what could I have done I could here the boar running the sow along the bottom of the mountainside out in front of his grunting sounded like the largest whitetail grunt I'd ever heard during the rut.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
What seemed like an hour or more may have only been minutes when the old swanky sow popped out of the alders and back on the bait I kept watching for the boar to pop out in the same spot but then something caught my eye off to my far right up the trail, it was the boar looking for the love of his life (well for the moment). He came in to 15 yards and huffed at the sow and she broke once again for the cover of the alders with him at a full run right past the bait and back up the mountain, I sat there in total disbelief that not once but twice that monster of a bear had entered my shooting range with me having no shot and left just as quickly.
I could still here the pair off in the distance about 50 - 75 yards in the alders rustling and grunting. Thinking that it was all over I hear another Bear grunting coming up from behind me and as I turned my head ever so slightly to the left to peer over my left shoulder I see the silhouette of two more bears coming to join the bear party at the bait barrel only this time the second one of the two was the largest boar I had ever laid eyes on alive. They came out of the cedars on the same trail that the first two bears had dropped down on. As they continued towards the bait I could still hear the first boar grunting and following the sow and all of a sudden it sounded like the world was coming to an end as the second boar chased the sow he was following up into the alders and and busted up the bear party as I had bears running left and right and directly under my stand, he let all there of them know he was the bear of the mountain, a few seconds later which seemed like minutes he popped out of the alders and proceeded my way and towards the bait as he neared the opening to the bait I could feel and hear my heart trying to climb out of my throat my legs had started trembling with excitement and there he was in my window of opportunity with out second thought all my muscles along with hand and eye coordination took over and my Black Widow Recurve, Gold Tip arrows with 170 grain two blade broad heads had found there mark, the shot looked just a little high but I could tell I had gotten lung as he exited the bait site rather quickly. About 5 minutes later I heard what sounded to be a death moan, I had to take a seat on my stand to keep from falling out as my knees had just about buckled under me while sitting and regaining my composure and then to have another bear to enter the bait site this time it was a sow that had stopped by for a bite to eat and stayed around until after dark at which point she had to be ran off the bait so I could exit my stand..
Once back at camp it was determined that we would wait until morning to recover the bear as the Canadian wilderness after dark isn't were you want to hang out.
Day 3.
We'll after a restless night of trying to sleep,we were hot on the trail of my bear and had Mr. Russell's bear tracking dog along to assist. Bear the bear dog is very special as he is just a pup around 10 months old and is a special breed. We got on the trail of the bear very quickly with great blood sign only one problem he went straight up the mountain almost to the top and hung a left along the near side of the ridge, for those who have never been in the Canadian mountains just think about the black timber of Colorado and your at home aspen trees and cedars blowed down and walking on a 2/1 to a 3/1 slope isn't all that easy we'll we lose the blood and then find the blood thank you bear dog, as soon as it looks like we have pumpkin head figured out he takes another left and headed back down the mountain! We'll I figured we would have found him dead by now but no he came back down to and thru the alders just down the trail to the left side of the stand and left a blood trail that looked as though someone had cut off a chickens head and walked thru the alders just holding its feet, several times we had his path crossing each other wondering which way did he go. It was almost comical then the sign indicated that he had done a turn and headed back up the mountain a quarter mile trek to the top and over an old logging road and took another left right down an old logging road and went another half mile without hardly a drop of blood only if not for the use of Bear dog were we wouldn't have found those blood splatters which took us another half mile and the bear took a right turn into some alders and headed up yet another mountain within a couple hundred yards all signs of the bear just disappeared. The four of us (Mr. Jerry, Mr. Larry, Bear & myself) tracking of that bear were shocked and very humbled by the fortitude that an animal that size could have to travel the distance knowing that it could bleed the amount of blood it did and not to be found. Thinking back on the tracking we realised that boar went back to chasing the sow that had came to the bait and didn't realise he was hit.. We never did recover that bear but I can say he was an absolute giant!
Upon returning to camp I was met with great friends and support and understanding that I had placed my arrow just a couple inches high into a non vital area and feel strongly that the bear will live to bee shot another day!!! Latter that day I was humbled to be told by Mr. Jerry that he was giving me his personal bear allocation, after thinking hard about it I accepted. So that afternoon found me back on stand hunting for a big bear at a stand named Lefty, After several hours on stand and watching the red tree rats and blue jays fight over the pop corn at the bait site I was startled to hear the distinct sound of a bear back over my left shoulder a ways back up in a cedar thicket as I slowly turned my head to try and see what was back there I could make out a very large black blob at about 70 yards out. It slowly started moving down the trail which would bring him into the bait site. The bear continue to move closer but was taken each step very slowly and surveying his surroundings. He had only moved about 20 yards and sat right down on his caboose and sat there for another 20 - 30 minutes looking and smelling the air I was worried that he may have caught a hint of something not right but just as I was starting to worry he stood up and started moving my way this time huffing and puffing even popping his teeth together as to be saying this bait is mine and I want everything to know it..the boar closed the distance to about 15 yards and I could see that he was the local bear in charge and had everything to back it up. He stopped at the 15 yard mark and raised his head in the air to get a whiff of the air and smell the pop corn at the bait site. (Just like going to the movies) while watching him he turned slightly and proceeded to circle the bait scent check with every other step he took. A few minutes latter he moved on into the bait and plopped right down and started eating pop corn off the to of the barrel las if it was his dinner table. I stood with recurve in hand waiting for the perfect shot to present itself the boar stopped eating after about a half hour and stood up on all four as though he was going to walk away he stepped up on a log that was located just behind the bait barrel with him slightly quartering away I took this moment to draw my bow anchor pick the spot just back of his shoulder and watched as my arrow found its mark. The bruin ran about 30 yards and stopped and started walking pulling my string tracker out as he took each step, he disappeared into a small patch of cedars at about 80 yards I didn't see him come out as I continued to watch that I heard that distinctive sound of death (the moan of death). I sat down with knees shaking and hands trembling with disbelief that I had been presented a second chance at a bear of this quality once the sun had gone down and blackness had fallen over the stand site I could hear and then see the lights of my guide Mr. Jerry, as he stopped just up from the stand site I started to get my gear together and lower my bow from the tree as Mr. Jerry walked up and noticed the string from the string tracker running from my stand across the bait and off through the black woods. As I climbed down and walked up Mr. Jerry looked at me and said we'll did you close the deal. And I said yes!!!!! With probably one of the biggest smiles that a clown would have been envious of as quick as I had smiled Mr.Jerry turned and started following the string down through the woods and into the cedar thicket with me right on his six as soon as we popped into the middle of this little cedar thicket there he was one of the largest bears I had ever seen in the wild and he was mine. He had expired as I had heard as we confirmed there were hand shakes and man hugs being passed around. We reached down and tried to move the bear and realised that it wasn't going to happen not then and not in the dark and most of all not by the three of us.- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -
Day 4.
We returned to Lefty to recover the rather large bruin with a little more back power and the dog named bear, Mr. Jerry took Bear dog down to the bait site and picked up the blood trail as if he was a 10 year old coon hound on the trail of and old coon. It's absolutely awesome to watch Bear dog work. And we got our share of that different story different day. They continued up the same trail that we had tracked the bear on the night before and came up on the my bear and he was still just a huge in the daylight as he was in the dark and maybe a even a little larger. We assessed the situation as to what would be the best way to drag this bruin out from where we were at and Mr. Larry commented to blazing a trail back towards the truck for us to drag this beast. We all get a handful and commenced to dragging, pulling and of course falling all over this bear. We finally make it to the truck and strap him to the carry all with his head off one side and back feet off the other.
What a great time at bear camp friendships and memories that have been made will live on within us all.
My hat is off to Mr. Jerry Russell and the dog named Bear as they both are top notch at what they do. Thank you Mr. Jerry for being the person and the professional that you are as it has given all us "want to be bear hunters" something to truly look forward too each year as we travel down this highway of being to busy to stop and enjoy what Mother Nature and the good lord put here...
Will
