TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
My cousin hunted out of my stand a few nights last year but wasn't patient enough to get anything. This year he was determined to get one and it paid off.
Last Friday he sat for the first time. He could hear the bear splashing up the creek towards our bait, but it didn't come in. About 15 minutes after he left, it went to the barrel and ate all night long. That's pretty frustrating to see on camera.
(brief picture break)
Last night (the following Friday) he tried again. He was getting pretty bored but eventually saw a bear. Trouble was, it was a sow with two cubs, so he couldn't shoot it - but at least he saw something.
(another brief picture break!)
Anyway, we consistently had pictures of a bear at the bait at first light. Normally, most bear hunters wouldn't bother with a morning hunt, but we decided to try it. I dragged my butt out of bed this morning after working extra late at the paper last night and drove him in around 5:30. At 8 he called me up and told me he'd shot one.
He shot it with a 2 3/4" Remington Slugger load from his Winchester 1200 12 gauge, with a slug barrel. I recommended he use that over his H&R single shot .30-06 and I think he was pretty happy with the performance. It cut out a good hole in the top half of the bear's heart.
And here it is!
He's never shot anything bigger than a black duck before, so he was pretty excited. I was glad to help him out this year - I'm no expert bear hunter but I had a bit of success last year, and now he knows the ropes, too.
Check out those teeth!
And here's yours truly, looking like a doofus.
I was pretty happy that he got a decent size bear his first time. I know it's nothing like the ones Demonical and those guys hunt out west, but for N.B., this would be a pretty average size spring bear - nothing to be ashamed of.
Last Friday he sat for the first time. He could hear the bear splashing up the creek towards our bait, but it didn't come in. About 15 minutes after he left, it went to the barrel and ate all night long. That's pretty frustrating to see on camera.
(brief picture break)
Last night (the following Friday) he tried again. He was getting pretty bored but eventually saw a bear. Trouble was, it was a sow with two cubs, so he couldn't shoot it - but at least he saw something.
(another brief picture break!)
Anyway, we consistently had pictures of a bear at the bait at first light. Normally, most bear hunters wouldn't bother with a morning hunt, but we decided to try it. I dragged my butt out of bed this morning after working extra late at the paper last night and drove him in around 5:30. At 8 he called me up and told me he'd shot one.
He shot it with a 2 3/4" Remington Slugger load from his Winchester 1200 12 gauge, with a slug barrel. I recommended he use that over his H&R single shot .30-06 and I think he was pretty happy with the performance. It cut out a good hole in the top half of the bear's heart.
And here it is!
He's never shot anything bigger than a black duck before, so he was pretty excited. I was glad to help him out this year - I'm no expert bear hunter but I had a bit of success last year, and now he knows the ropes, too.
Check out those teeth!
And here's yours truly, looking like a doofus.
I was pretty happy that he got a decent size bear his first time. I know it's nothing like the ones Demonical and those guys hunt out west, but for N.B., this would be a pretty average size spring bear - nothing to be ashamed of.
