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Alberta Sportsman Fishing and Hunting Forum
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Hunting in Alberta
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They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Topic: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear (Read 2306 times)
Robin
New Member
Posts: 23
They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
on:
May 21, 2012, 10:53:43 AM »
But I say why not? Dale headed north to the forest last week with Eric to try to get the kid a bear. He had asked for a bear hunt for a grad gift, and Dale came up with a plan. Eric got a nice sized brown colored bear, and then another friend wanted a try. I was last to get there, but Dale was going to try to figure out a bait site to allow me to get a bear with my bow. What I really wanted was a big blonde one, but sometimes you just have to take what you get.
Dale had made friends with the local hunters where he was, and the trapper was also there finishing up his work for the year. Between the trapper and the hunters, we had access to 3 good bait sites. Dale got some grain to try to keep the baits going, and when I got there, there was only one bait showing signs that it was being hit. We decided to put all our eggs into that basket, and we moved the beavers the trapper had left, and set up a ground blind. We also moved our trail camera to that site, and we hoped that things would fall into place.
It didn't take long for a bear to show up. The first time we sat the bait, it only took about 25 minutes for the action to start. Dale saw him coming from way out, but from my angle in the blind it took a minute for him to move to where I could see him. Immediately Dale was whispering that I should shoot if I got the chance. He was not the big blonde I wanted, but Dale insisted that I could take two, so I should jump on the opportunity. The bear was very cautious coming in, and as it turned out, we later found out that the bear was on the bait when we arrived and we chased him off. He tip-toed around the trees trying to get a good nosefull of the bait site. I was amazed that he made absolutely no sound at all as he moved. He slowly crept in and got right behind the barrel. He licked some peanut butter off the barrel, and then slipped back into the trees. He circled the site and seemed uneasy about being there. Our blind was only 12 yards from the barrel, and Dale was worried we might be too close. He explained that the bear could certainly smell people, but seemed unsure of whether we were there or just lingering scent.
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Robin
New Member
Posts: 23
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Reply #1 on:
May 21, 2012, 11:17:39 AM »
The bear slowly crept in again, and once again was drawn to the peanut butter on the barrel. We had a soup can of honey on the little stove too, and the bear seemed to like the smell, but he didn't try to get at it. Again he got nervous and hopped back into the tree cover. This time he circled around our blind and came to within 5 yards of the blind on my side and stood up on his hind legs sniffing. That was about as cool as it gets! This time he decided that it must be safe to eat, so toward the ripe maggot infested beavers he went. Dale told me to draw when his head went behind a big tree. I got to full draw and the bear passed behind the barrel and paused. One more lick of the peanut butter and then he wanted meat. Two steps put him in the clear, but he stopped quartering toward me. Dale was hissing not to shoot, and I was hissing for him to shut up! He was giving me play by play the whole time and I was sure he was going to spook the bear. That guy needs to learn to zip it sometimes! Anyway, one more step and the bear was nicely broadside. I placed my pin just behind his front leg and when he stopped to look into the blind, I sent my arrow through his ribs.
The bear huffed a breath and turned to escape. He ran about 40 yards and Dale was hooting and hollering about how perfect the shot was. I was still trying to get him to be quiet so the bear wouldn't run as far. He was convinced it was going to fall right in sight. Two more steps and the forest swallowed him up, and panic began to set in. Dale was positive the shot was good and told me not to worry, but I was shaking uncontrollably. He began to pack up our gear with all the confidence in the world and all I could think was "please let the arrow kill him quickly."
Dale is a little color blind, so I knew the blood trailing would be up to me. I went to where the bera was standing, and Dale could see my arrow lying on the ground 30 yards past the spot. It's as if the bear didn't even slow it down. I saw blood on the leaves and started to believe we would find him quickly. Dale decided that we should go to the last spot we could see him. When he got there he told me to come there and see if I could find blood. As I approached, I suddenly saw my bear lying just a few yards from Dale. He wanted me to find it so said nothing. I'll tell you this, I came pretty close to jumping out of my skin when I saw him so close. I was urging Dale to poke him with the gun to be sure he was dead, and he just laughed. I can't even explain how excited I was to have killed a bear with a pointy stick! It might have been even better than getting my whitetail last fall! I hope you guys enjoy the pictures.
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Robin
New Member
Posts: 23
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Reply #2 on:
May 21, 2012, 11:19:52 AM »
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ishootbambi
Sr. Member
Posts: 357
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #3 on:
May 21, 2012, 11:39:39 AM »
pretty cool chickadee! watching that go down was easily the most fun moment ive had hunting in several years. i hope you had as much fun up there as i did.
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opinions are like sphincters......everyone has one, and they all stink!
nube
Hero Member
Posts: 1093
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Reply #4 on:
May 21, 2012, 12:30:35 PM »
Nice job guys, congrats
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BlueNorther
Jr. Member
Posts: 83
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #5 on:
May 21, 2012, 01:13:58 PM »
Awesome, congrats on your bear.
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badback
Hero Member
Posts: 771
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #6 on:
May 21, 2012, 09:27:18 PM »
Nice one...Great story
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Treat each day as your last; one day you will be right.
sureshot
Full Member
Posts: 106
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #7 on:
May 22, 2012, 10:34:33 AM »
Great story and pics. Congrats
Andy
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Live everyday as if it were your last.
wildmeat
Hero Member
Posts: 751
this is my prairie.... this is my home
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #8 on:
May 23, 2012, 10:42:21 AM »
great story, great pics and one heck of a shot..... congrats girl!!! sounds like you were more calm than dale throughout the whole ordeal lol
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Robin
New Member
Posts: 23
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #9 on:
May 23, 2012, 08:46:40 PM »
Thank you guys for the comments. I really wanted to get a bear with my bow, and I cannot say thank you enough to the nice people Dale met in the forest that helped out to make this possible. If those guys had not offered up their baits, I would not have gotten a chance to get my wish. I hope to try again next year and hold out for a colored bear.
«
Last Edit: May 23, 2012, 08:50:22 PM by Robin
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Lefty-Canuck
New Member
Posts: 1
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #10 on:
May 24, 2012, 04:58:22 PM »
Congrats on the bear Robin!!
Nice work you two!
LC
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Leafy
New Member
Posts: 32
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #11 on:
May 25, 2012, 09:26:28 AM »
Great play by play story Robin, congrats on your first archery bear..
Leafy
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sporthunting
Sr. Member
Posts: 434
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Reply #12 on:
June 13, 2012, 07:06:44 AM »
Congrats sounds like a great hunt.
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www.canadianhuntingsupply.com
www.parklandoutdoors.com
Tuc
Guest
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
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Reply #13 on:
June 13, 2012, 10:35:13 AM »
A nice bear to be proud of!
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ducky_hunter
Full Member
Posts: 163
Re: They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear
«
Reply #14 on:
June 15, 2012, 09:10:33 AM »
great job
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They Say You Shouldn"t Poke the Bear