A good friend of mine has just this past year gotten into bow hunting and has been practicing all spring, he has been really anxious to get out and get something with it. I suggested that we go for spring bear as I haven't shot a bear yet in my hunting career either, although I use a rifle. So we set out the other day and within an hour we had spotted a bear aproximately 600 yards away. We started our stalk and were within 70 yards when he noticed us, he quickly ran up the hill and over the crest. We decided to take a look to see if he had left completely or not and guess what he was there!!! He was so busy eating the clover that we snuck up to 35 yards where I crouched and took aim, my friend kept going but only a couple of yards when the bear looked right at him and started to walk towards the woods picking up speed, he released... a loud thwack!! and the bear ran into the woods screaming. We found him about 10 yards in the bush dead, he did a perfect shot. So there was the success now for the one gone bad. We just finished skinning the bear and taking some of the meat and I was walking back to the truck when I noticed another bear!! So it was my turn, we finished up and began the stalk this bear was about the same distance but the wind changed from good to bad, so he noticed me at about 150 yards, he looked at me for about 10 seconds and then continued eating. I went another 10 yards and he did the same thing, I was an about 110-120 yards when he turned and did a bluff charge, I have heard that a big dominant bear will do this. He turned broadside facing left, I sat down took careful aim and fired!!! He droped instantly!! I reloaded got up and started talking with my friend as we walk towards the bear, about 8 to 10 seconds elapsed. At this time the after shot excitement kicked in and I was jittery, suddenly the bear starts moaing and gets up turns around stumbles and falls!!!! I take aim off hand but over shoot as the excitement has the best of me. He gets up and makes fot the woods as I reload he falls again I take aim and fire as he jumps into the brush. I felt confident that the bear was going to be just inside the brush dead. We went over to where I first hit him, there was blood on both sides, a smear on a rock where he stumbled and that was it. We proceeded into the bush and about 15 steps in there was some more blood and his tracks tearing the soft moss in the direction he took off. We look for more sign to track him but there was none so we decided to comb the hillside brush 10 yards apart back and forth till we covered the entire hillside. We searched till it was starting to get dark in the bush, about 2 and a half hours and found nothing. This was very dicouraging for me as I have never before lost an animal. I have Learned though that even thought the bear drops and doesn't move I need to reload and aim for awhile till I am certain he isn't getting up.
