First Black Bear

D3TH_OVRH3D

D3TH_OVRH3D

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Location
SE Ontario
Was just getting in from grocery shopping yesterday when my brother in-law called me to see if I wanted to meet him at the bear stand for a hunt. Nothing going on, so I grabbed my bow and off I went. We sat for a couple of hours when a bear entered the area, very cautiously. This is only my third time in a bear stand and my first time actually seeing one while hunting. The bear quickly grabbed a piece of meat scraps from the barrel and ran off, returning immediately for another piece. He got to the barrel a second time, when I drew my bow and put my 20 yard pin behind his shoulder. I squeezed the trigger on my release and the arrow blew through him and buried itself several inches in the dirt. The bear ran off, leaving a good blood trail, but I did not like where he was headed, across a narrow swamp crossing and over a hill where it gets really thick... We had to back out because it was getting dark and like bozos we both didn't have a flashlight (usually not the case). We're taking the hour drive to go back and continue our search for my first black bear. Will post up pics when/if we find him.
 
Congrats on your first Bear.
Hope it all works out for you.
Did you leave some marking tape in the area where you last saw the Bear running off.
Would make for easier ident. the area in which it was headed.
With a good blood trail it shouldnt be that far off and when your back in the area watch for(a murder of) Crows or Ravens that might not normally be in large groups in the same area your looking around in.
Rob
 
Well guys... No pics for you. Unfortunately, this very lucky bear managed to get into the thickest/nastiest bush I've ever encountered, not to mention it rained last night and although there was some blood, some of it was washed away and we weren't able to locate him. What's crazier, we quietly sneaked into the bait/stand site afterwards to see if they hit the bait last night and there was a big mature blackie trying to get into the barrel. He saw us and paused for a second and I took a shot with my Benelli 12ga with a 2-3/4" slug and missed the SOB!!! If it's going to be one of those seasons, which I've had in the past, I may as well just hang it up now.
 
Any idea roughly where you hit the bear?

I helped a friend of mine who runs a game processing business out on some bears and on one we found a broadhead buried in a bone. (this bear was shot with a rifle)

Game animals have a way of recovering from some pretty brutal injuries.

Any idea of where it was generally hit may give some hint at its range before it died (if it was a fatal shot)
 
rhino519 said:
poor form, on both accounts
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lol poor form, huh? Care to elaborate? I tracked my bear until dark, then left and drove over an hour to start this morning where we left off last evening. I get it, though, you're one of those guys who never has a bad outcome.. You must not hunt enough.

broadhead67, the bow is a Hoyt CRX 35 @ #60, shooting Beman MFX340 tipped with a 100grn Tekan 2. Total arrow weight 419 Grain IIRC.
 
ceriksson said:
Any idea roughly where you hit the bear?

I helped a friend of mine who runs a game processing business out on some bears and on one we found a broadhead buried in a bone. (this bear was shot with a rifle)

Game animals have a way of recovering from some pretty brutal injuries.

Any idea of where it was generally hit may give some hint at its range before it died (if it was a fatal shot)
Click to expand...

The bear was hit behind the left shoulder in the lungs. Complete pass-through and good colored lung blood. Shot angle was mainly broadside, with just a slight quartering-to angle, but barely worth mentioning. The arrow connected exactly where I placed my 20yard pin.
 
D3TH_OVRH3D said:
lol poor form, huh? Care to elaborate? I tracked my bear until dark, then left and drove over an hour to start this morning where we left off last evening. I get it, though, you're one of those guys who never has a bad outcome.. You must not hunt enough.

broadhead67, the bow is a Hoyt CRX 35 @ #60, shooting Beman MFX340 tipped with a 100grn Tekan 2. Total arrow weight 419 Grain IIRC.
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D3TH_OVRH3D, I was going to post a PM to you about mentioning the lost animal before you actually tried the second time.
But, I thought better of it (I didnt want to come off sounding high and mighty) but , rather just a heads up for those that do not understand "Hunting".
You tried not once, but rather twice trying to find the bruin. Unfortunately it was not to be.
Maybe check your pins and shotgun , maybe you bumped something in the hikes in ...
There is still time to get it figured out.
Rob
 
Then I would suggest you take another day of looking. Meat might not be worth saving but the hide might be and you just might find him
 
D3TH_OVRH3D said:
lol poor form, huh? Care to elaborate? I tracked my bear until dark, then left and drove over an hour to start this morning where we left off last evening. I get it, though, you're one of those guys who never has a bad outcome.. You must not hunt enough.

broadhead67, the bow is a Hoyt CRX 35 @ #60, shooting Beman MFX340 tipped with a 100grn Tekan 2. Total arrow weight 419 Grain IIRC.
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I definitly dont hunt as often as i would like, but who's the guy that shows up for evening hunt without a flashlight? Or even marking tape? Don't like to berate a fellow bow hunter, but it has to be said, poor planning mate. But hey, stuff happens. And then there is the morning after; let's assume you gave it an honest try, but really, after looking for shot bear in thickest bush you ever saw, you manage to sneak up on another bear, yards away? Something don't add up. I have lost game too, it sucks, at least to me.

As people above suggested, try again, meat is gone but rug is still worth saving. If I may suggest from my limited hunting experience, try to remember the path bear took, draw an imaginary line and fallow it. It works best when there are 3 or more guys, one fallows the path two walk in line few yards apart on both sides. The thickets are usually small/medium sized, go around it/box it, look for signs, though its a far shot about now, then try finding a way in, try to find someone with a hound to give a hand and good luck.
 
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They still make that thready stuff that fastens on your arrow and let's you follow it to your target?:) Saved a couple of guy I know's bacon in cases like this.

Grizz
 
rhino519 said:
I definitly dont hunt as often as i would like, but who's the guy that shows up for evening hunt without a flashlight? Or even marking tape? Don't like to berate a fellow bow hunter, but it has to be said, poor planning mate. But hey, stuff happens. And then there is the morning after; let's assume you gave it an honest try, but really, after looking for shot bear in thickest bush you ever saw, you manage to sneak up on another bear, yards away? Something don't add up. I have lost game too, it sucks, at least to me.

As people above suggested, try again, meat is gone but rug is still worth saving. If I may suggest from my limited hunting experience, try to remember the path bear took, draw an imaginary line and fallow it. It works best when there are 3 or more guys, one fallows the path two walk in line few yards apart on both sides. The thickets are usually small/medium sized, go around it/box it, look for signs, though its a far shot about now, then try finding a way in, try to find someone with a hound to give a hand and good luck.
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I will agree with you that it was my own fault for not having a flashlight and/or marking tape. The truth is, I always go into the bush prepared, however, in this case I was just getting in with groceries and my brother in-law called asking me to hurry up and meet him at the hunting spot. He was coming from his cottage in the other direction and I didn't want him waiting long, so I hurried out the door without some of my usual gear (flashlight, knife, water, dressing bags, etc..). Yes it was my bad, but please understand this is not the usual for me. I take my hunting seriously no matter the quarry.

The blood trail brought us across a stream and up into thick plants and bush. My bro in-law walked back and forth, zig-zagging ahead of me while I was on my hands and knees following a diminishing blood trail which eventually stopped completely. Once I finally gave up on the blood, I joined in with walking around ahead hoping to find him under a downed tree or in the tall vegetation.

Maybe you misunderstood me about the other bear.. When we called the search off for my bear, we left the woods and got in the truck so my bro in-law could show me some of the newer cuts for moose. We checked out a few different cuts, then had to drive past the entrance to our bait station on our way out so we went in to see if the barrel had been moved by other bears since I shot the one the night before. Because we accidently spooked a bear off of our bait the first time we hunted this season, we went in quietly this time and to our surprise there was a bear attempting to get something out of our barrel.. Because we have tags and happened to have firearms on us, we attempted to kill the bear. So to make it clear, we did not sneak up on this bear while pushing our way through the bush looking for my archery bear. This was back at our bait site, which is accessed quietly on a beaten trail. Long winded, I know. Just wanted to clarify. I agree I was a little unprepared, but I don't take unethical shots on animals and I don't give up on tracking easily. It haunts me when I or a friend loses an animal.
 
Keep in mind that you're posting this on the internet and are basically laying your nuts across a stump for everyone to smash. We've all made mistakes but when you admit them in front of a group, expect the holier than though opinions to come flying. If we talked about all the things we've done wrong, people wouldn't even want to talk to us. You're aware of your mistakes and I would hope have learned from them.
 
now it all comes together, thx for clarifications

too bad about your 1st bear, taking one with bow would have made it so more memorable
maybe you should give a "Go Bag" a thought?
 
Slooshark1 said:
Keep in mind that you're posting this on the internet and are basically laying your nuts across a stump for everyone to smash. We've all made mistakes but when you admit them in front of a group, expect the holier than though opinions to come flying. If we talked about all the things we've done wrong, people wouldn't even want to talk to us. You're aware of your mistakes and I would hope have learned from them.
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I hear ya, bud. I knew before I posted that there would be some criticism, but I am not afraid to admit when things don't go my way or I make a mistake. Hopefully other current or future hunters will see that these things happen, and that one should always be prepared for anything, unlike me in this case. Anyway, we work fairly close to the hunting spot, so we're stopping at the bait site after work to top up the barrel and I'll be watching the sky for those big ugly birds circling around.

Best of luck to all you hunters this fall.. The best time of year is approaching!
 
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