09-06-2019, 05:47 AM
I've been to lazy to try and post a total run down with all of the highs and lows of the hunt but here is a quick summary.
After dealing with the crazy weather this spring I finally was able to get started on my hunt 10 days after it opened because there was still to much snow in the area.
After getting the bait station set up I had four bears coming in at various times. They would never settle into any kind of feeding pattern so it was kind of hit or miss on them coming in during shooting hours.
After one close encounter while hunting with my bow that didn't pan out the action on that bait started slowing down. So with just over a week left in the hunt I set up my second bait station .
Hunted the first bait a couple more times with only one far off bear sighting. Then I checked the second bait to find that nothing had touched it in three days of it being put out. This had me worried since the first station was hit within six hours of being set up.
Had to put in some time at work so that I didn't lose my job and then went back to the second bait on the second to last day of the hunt.
Muc]h to my enjoyment I found on the camera that two bears had started working that bait the afternoon before I checked the camera.
Got a shooting lane set up and settled in for the afternoon hoping that they would come back in to eat. A bout three hours later as I was texting answers to people at work I caught some movement and saw one of the bears walking to the bait. Since it was this close to the end of the hunt I had started packing my 6MM cause it had taken 9 years to get this tag and I wanted to ensure I was successful.
As it cleared the trees and went to take it first bite I out the cross hairs on its chest and let it have it.
After spinning around a couple of times it took off towards the trees and after hearing it do its death moan three times I knew I had me bear.
Come to find out it never even made it to the trees and was laying out in the open as seen in the picture.
It's not a very big bear but it was enough to make the heart thump and the hands shake and that good enough for me.
One interesting note. Though the entire hunt with the bears working my bait and looking at pictures of some of the other hunters had on their trial cameras I never saw one bear that was actually black. Most of them were cinnamon color phase with a couple of blondes and one chocolate phase.
[signature]
After dealing with the crazy weather this spring I finally was able to get started on my hunt 10 days after it opened because there was still to much snow in the area.
After getting the bait station set up I had four bears coming in at various times. They would never settle into any kind of feeding pattern so it was kind of hit or miss on them coming in during shooting hours.
After one close encounter while hunting with my bow that didn't pan out the action on that bait started slowing down. So with just over a week left in the hunt I set up my second bait station .
Hunted the first bait a couple more times with only one far off bear sighting. Then I checked the second bait to find that nothing had touched it in three days of it being put out. This had me worried since the first station was hit within six hours of being set up.
Had to put in some time at work so that I didn't lose my job and then went back to the second bait on the second to last day of the hunt.
Muc]h to my enjoyment I found on the camera that two bears had started working that bait the afternoon before I checked the camera.
Got a shooting lane set up and settled in for the afternoon hoping that they would come back in to eat. A bout three hours later as I was texting answers to people at work I caught some movement and saw one of the bears walking to the bait. Since it was this close to the end of the hunt I had started packing my 6MM cause it had taken 9 years to get this tag and I wanted to ensure I was successful.
As it cleared the trees and went to take it first bite I out the cross hairs on its chest and let it have it.
After spinning around a couple of times it took off towards the trees and after hearing it do its death moan three times I knew I had me bear.
Come to find out it never even made it to the trees and was laying out in the open as seen in the picture.
It's not a very big bear but it was enough to make the heart thump and the hands shake and that good enough for me.
One interesting note. Though the entire hunt with the bears working my bait and looking at pictures of some of the other hunters had on their trial cameras I never saw one bear that was actually black. Most of them were cinnamon color phase with a couple of blondes and one chocolate phase.
[signature]
Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.