My friends' family are dairy farmers, and this means they have a decent sized chunk of private property for growing feed for their cows. They grow mostly corn, but the back side of one field (the one we hunted) is alfalfa. The other week, I had the opportunity to go bear hunting for a few days during the private property only bear season in region 8. Knowing that the bears are drawn to the corn and its still a bit early, I told my friend to book us (me and another buddy) in for the last 3 days of August.
The original plan was to head up Tuesday Morning, and come home Thursday late at night. Instead, we decided we would leave Monday afternoon - which quickly ended up becoming Monday evening by the time my buddy got his crap together to leave. We had to make 3 stops before leaving town, the dollar store for snacks, the grocery store for real food, and the beer store for beer and whiskey, but because we were already running a bit late and I had brought a few random things from my cupboards we skipped the grocery store in favor of hitting one later in the trip if need be.
We were rolling through Kelowna around 12:30am, when my buddy pointed out that we couldn't really show up to the farm in the middle of the night, and we should find a place to crash so we headed up Postill Lake, and the first part of the adventure really begins...
So we're driving up at gravel road, when all the sudden I hear road noise coming from the back right door. I thought maybe the door opened somehow, my buddies first instinct was broken window somehow... Turns out, one of the cots had smashed into the power window button, lowering the window and not letting it back up. It also locked out the drivers door controls for that window (turns out, you need a working switch in place for the window to work). So after pulling the door apart and figuring out what was wrong, we pull the switch off the other door, roll the window up, hook up the old switch, and it rolls it right back down (with a few short pauses on the way down)...
Once we got that all sorted out (pushing 2am now) we start setting up our cots beside the truck. Just as I am taking my shoes off, we hear something big go scurrying up a tree like 25 feet away. That was all it took for us to pack up our cots and sleep in the truck. A short while later we heard something that neither of us can quite describe coming from up the tree. It was kinda like a dog wimpering, but was definitely not a dog...
Also, While making room for me to sleep in the back, it occurred to me that I didn't see my ammo can while moving all this crap around... And that it must be on my bed at home! Oh no! Ammo for my 270 (the handloads I worked so hard to make!), ammo and magazines for my 22lr, ammo and the bolt for my 303, and the box of slugs I just bought too!
So my buddy suggests that Vernon must have a Canadian Tire, and sure enough they had one that opened at 8am. So we get up and head for the CT, and all I can say is WOW.
I wish the ammo selection was like that at my CT! They had a bunch of oddball stuff as well as a nice variety of options for the common calibers. They probably had 12 or more choices for 270Win alone. Remington CoreLokt was the cheapest, so thats what I grabbed. They also came with a mail-in rebate I didn't know about, and I had just bought 2 boxes of Corelokt 243 ammo the other week which is also eligible for the rebate! Bonus!
After that it was time to head for the farm. It took a bit of time to actually get into the field once we got there because at first we couldn't find the person we needed to talk to, and then once we did they had to go move some irrigation equipment but by about 11:30 we were rolling up to the hay barn that sits at the front of the field. My buddy was actually up here last year doing the same thing (hunting bears) and he had commented on wanting to go looking for the skull from the bear they got last year. I said I doubt its there, something probably dragged the head away to eat it... But I was wrong.
The field goes back for over a km but its only about 300 yards wide, and about 2/3 of the way back it switches from a corn field to alfalfa. This is where we chose to set up shop as it offered good views in both directions and some cover from both being seen and the blistering hot sun. After a few hours of sitting around I go for a walk to check out the far end of the property. A few more hours pass and we decide to head back to the barn to make some food.
Once we had eaten some food, we headed back out. Once we got close to our spot, I stepped over the fence between the properties (my friends' family actually owns about 10 feet on the other side of the fence) and walked the rest of the way on that side. Just as we get to our spot and my buddy sits down, I see a bear. First bear of the trip (except possibly the one we tree'd up Postill?). I raise my binoculars up and it was just watching me. It was maybe 50 yards away, and its looking at me straight on. I was content to just watch it for a minute, but my buddy had to come crashing through the bush to come see. I just stood there as we starred at each other for about 10 seconds, before my buddy spooked it. This was shortly before sunset, and in the last hour of legal shooting light we saw no more bears. Once it was too dark to see, we headed back to the hay barn to set up our beds and catch some Zzz's.
The next morning, we set our alarms for 5am, and we're back up to our spot just after 5:30. This time, rather than setting up under the trees and looking east, we set up about 20 yards off the tree line inside a small patch of tall grass. We were practically back to back, my buddy looking northwest along the tree line, me looking southwest. After a while, I got antsy/sleepy, and went for a walk. Shortly after returning to my spot, my buddy said he had to poop so he walked back to the truck to get some toilet paper. Not 5 minutes later, a bear walks right across the field infront of me, not 40 yards away. At first, I didn't even notice it because it came from my left and behind me, but once I noticed it, it was go time. I shouldered my rifle, aimed right behind the front shoulder, and let one go. The bear shot into the tree line. I took a quick look for it, but I was worried I might push it onto the next property if I chase it too quick so I waited a few minutes. Once my buddy came back over, we went looking for it. At first, we couldn't find any sign of it. I was sure it was a good shot - I know I am a decent shot, and the bear was too close to miss - but I couldn't see any blood, and there was no bear to be found. Right as my buddy was saying he thinks I might have missed, I finally see some blood on a leaf. Without moving from that spot, Me and my buddy yell back and forth for a few seconds, then I see it, not 10 feet in front of me.
Its not a big bear, but its my first bear and I am happy with it. In fact, it is my first big game animal. This is my 4th year with a hunting license, so its nice to FINALLY cancel a tag. The shot went in the right side, taking out a rip and both lungs, then exited the far side between the rips and got a bit of the front leg on the off side. After we gutted, skinned, quartered, and packed the bear into coolers, my buddy suggested we call the trip a success and head home. We both had plans for the coming long weekend, and he suggested if we go home Wednesday we'd have all day Thursday to deal with butchering and grinding.
Shot the bear at 8am, had it packed in coolers by 12:30, were on the road by 2:15 and pulled into my driveway at 9pm. Not bad considering we'd left town a mere 49 hours earlier. And that is the story of my first bear.
And I forgot the pics of the sunset coming through the Fraser Valley.
The original plan was to head up Tuesday Morning, and come home Thursday late at night. Instead, we decided we would leave Monday afternoon - which quickly ended up becoming Monday evening by the time my buddy got his crap together to leave. We had to make 3 stops before leaving town, the dollar store for snacks, the grocery store for real food, and the beer store for beer and whiskey, but because we were already running a bit late and I had brought a few random things from my cupboards we skipped the grocery store in favor of hitting one later in the trip if need be.
We were rolling through Kelowna around 12:30am, when my buddy pointed out that we couldn't really show up to the farm in the middle of the night, and we should find a place to crash so we headed up Postill Lake, and the first part of the adventure really begins...
So we're driving up at gravel road, when all the sudden I hear road noise coming from the back right door. I thought maybe the door opened somehow, my buddies first instinct was broken window somehow... Turns out, one of the cots had smashed into the power window button, lowering the window and not letting it back up. It also locked out the drivers door controls for that window (turns out, you need a working switch in place for the window to work). So after pulling the door apart and figuring out what was wrong, we pull the switch off the other door, roll the window up, hook up the old switch, and it rolls it right back down (with a few short pauses on the way down)...
Once we got that all sorted out (pushing 2am now) we start setting up our cots beside the truck. Just as I am taking my shoes off, we hear something big go scurrying up a tree like 25 feet away. That was all it took for us to pack up our cots and sleep in the truck. A short while later we heard something that neither of us can quite describe coming from up the tree. It was kinda like a dog wimpering, but was definitely not a dog...
Also, While making room for me to sleep in the back, it occurred to me that I didn't see my ammo can while moving all this crap around... And that it must be on my bed at home! Oh no! Ammo for my 270 (the handloads I worked so hard to make!), ammo and magazines for my 22lr, ammo and the bolt for my 303, and the box of slugs I just bought too!
So my buddy suggests that Vernon must have a Canadian Tire, and sure enough they had one that opened at 8am. So we get up and head for the CT, and all I can say is WOW.
I wish the ammo selection was like that at my CT! They had a bunch of oddball stuff as well as a nice variety of options for the common calibers. They probably had 12 or more choices for 270Win alone. Remington CoreLokt was the cheapest, so thats what I grabbed. They also came with a mail-in rebate I didn't know about, and I had just bought 2 boxes of Corelokt 243 ammo the other week which is also eligible for the rebate! Bonus!
After that it was time to head for the farm. It took a bit of time to actually get into the field once we got there because at first we couldn't find the person we needed to talk to, and then once we did they had to go move some irrigation equipment but by about 11:30 we were rolling up to the hay barn that sits at the front of the field. My buddy was actually up here last year doing the same thing (hunting bears) and he had commented on wanting to go looking for the skull from the bear they got last year. I said I doubt its there, something probably dragged the head away to eat it... But I was wrong.
The field goes back for over a km but its only about 300 yards wide, and about 2/3 of the way back it switches from a corn field to alfalfa. This is where we chose to set up shop as it offered good views in both directions and some cover from both being seen and the blistering hot sun. After a few hours of sitting around I go for a walk to check out the far end of the property. A few more hours pass and we decide to head back to the barn to make some food.
Once we had eaten some food, we headed back out. Once we got close to our spot, I stepped over the fence between the properties (my friends' family actually owns about 10 feet on the other side of the fence) and walked the rest of the way on that side. Just as we get to our spot and my buddy sits down, I see a bear. First bear of the trip (except possibly the one we tree'd up Postill?). I raise my binoculars up and it was just watching me. It was maybe 50 yards away, and its looking at me straight on. I was content to just watch it for a minute, but my buddy had to come crashing through the bush to come see. I just stood there as we starred at each other for about 10 seconds, before my buddy spooked it. This was shortly before sunset, and in the last hour of legal shooting light we saw no more bears. Once it was too dark to see, we headed back to the hay barn to set up our beds and catch some Zzz's.
The next morning, we set our alarms for 5am, and we're back up to our spot just after 5:30. This time, rather than setting up under the trees and looking east, we set up about 20 yards off the tree line inside a small patch of tall grass. We were practically back to back, my buddy looking northwest along the tree line, me looking southwest. After a while, I got antsy/sleepy, and went for a walk. Shortly after returning to my spot, my buddy said he had to poop so he walked back to the truck to get some toilet paper. Not 5 minutes later, a bear walks right across the field infront of me, not 40 yards away. At first, I didn't even notice it because it came from my left and behind me, but once I noticed it, it was go time. I shouldered my rifle, aimed right behind the front shoulder, and let one go. The bear shot into the tree line. I took a quick look for it, but I was worried I might push it onto the next property if I chase it too quick so I waited a few minutes. Once my buddy came back over, we went looking for it. At first, we couldn't find any sign of it. I was sure it was a good shot - I know I am a decent shot, and the bear was too close to miss - but I couldn't see any blood, and there was no bear to be found. Right as my buddy was saying he thinks I might have missed, I finally see some blood on a leaf. Without moving from that spot, Me and my buddy yell back and forth for a few seconds, then I see it, not 10 feet in front of me.
Its not a big bear, but its my first bear and I am happy with it. In fact, it is my first big game animal. This is my 4th year with a hunting license, so its nice to FINALLY cancel a tag. The shot went in the right side, taking out a rip and both lungs, then exited the far side between the rips and got a bit of the front leg on the off side. After we gutted, skinned, quartered, and packed the bear into coolers, my buddy suggested we call the trip a success and head home. We both had plans for the coming long weekend, and he suggested if we go home Wednesday we'd have all day Thursday to deal with butchering and grinding.
Shot the bear at 8am, had it packed in coolers by 12:30, were on the road by 2:15 and pulled into my driveway at 9pm. Not bad considering we'd left town a mere 49 hours earlier. And that is the story of my first bear.
And I forgot the pics of the sunset coming through the Fraser Valley.
Last edited:
