All was quiet, and then...(bear)
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All was quiet, and then...(bear)
I caught movement to my right at about 40 yards. It was big and black. Did I say it was big? I didn't get in the stand until about 4:30pm and with the 70F degrees I wasn't expecting to see any movement until things cooled some just before sunset. Having this walk out not 30 minutes after climbing up was a bit of a surprise. After cooling down from the climb, I had just put on a head net and gloves to be full camo. Though at 20+ feet up I've taken deer wearing a neon green shirt and blue jeans so the full camo coverage is likely overkill.
The bear wasn't in a hurry, just lumbering along. But it wasn't stopping either. It was heading for the "crack oak". We have one oak tree about 30 yards away from the stand that I swear must be dropping acorns laced with crack because every animal around seems to be drawn to it this fall. Those acorns must taste great. As it was walking across in front of me from right to left, it was crossing at about 27 yards. I turned on the Tactacam first thing then started to track it in the scope. I glanced ahead for the best opening and was ready when it stepped into it. I squeezed the trigger and sent the 100gr Vented TOTA XL downrange toward its second target. The lumenok lit the way and confirmed a good hit, maybe a tick high, but still OK considering my stand height. The bear took off and veered downhill toward the ravine before stopping about 60 yards away briefly for a couple seconds. It then continued crashing through the thick cover as it headed into the ravine. The crashing sounded more like it was tumbling for a few seconds, then silence. There was no sound of anything climbing out of the ravine.
I called my kids and asked them to come aid in the recovery. After about 30 minutes as I waited their arrival I recovered my arrow and found it nice and red.
I took up the trail and found good blood within five yards.
My kids arrived just after I took up the trail and assisted with the tracking and recovery. That turned out to be a great call because there is no way this bear could have been extracted from the ravine alone. The bear only went about twenty yards beyond my visibility so the crashing I heard was it literally crashing.
Here it is after we got it the 50 yards or so back uphill so we could drag it out.
And the slightly flatter version ready for a trip to the taxidermist...
This recovery was painful, even with three people. This bear is easily the heaviest game animal I've ever taken, and this experience has me thinking that I don't want anything that heavy again. I think whitetails will be the top of my food ladder going forward.
I've got plenty of work to do tomorrow trying to finish processing this beast. That's just another part of the adventure.
Here is the Tactacam video: https://youtu.be/ftNIYZDbeX4
The bear wasn't in a hurry, just lumbering along. But it wasn't stopping either. It was heading for the "crack oak". We have one oak tree about 30 yards away from the stand that I swear must be dropping acorns laced with crack because every animal around seems to be drawn to it this fall. Those acorns must taste great. As it was walking across in front of me from right to left, it was crossing at about 27 yards. I turned on the Tactacam first thing then started to track it in the scope. I glanced ahead for the best opening and was ready when it stepped into it. I squeezed the trigger and sent the 100gr Vented TOTA XL downrange toward its second target. The lumenok lit the way and confirmed a good hit, maybe a tick high, but still OK considering my stand height. The bear took off and veered downhill toward the ravine before stopping about 60 yards away briefly for a couple seconds. It then continued crashing through the thick cover as it headed into the ravine. The crashing sounded more like it was tumbling for a few seconds, then silence. There was no sound of anything climbing out of the ravine.
I called my kids and asked them to come aid in the recovery. After about 30 minutes as I waited their arrival I recovered my arrow and found it nice and red.
I took up the trail and found good blood within five yards.
My kids arrived just after I took up the trail and assisted with the tracking and recovery. That turned out to be a great call because there is no way this bear could have been extracted from the ravine alone. The bear only went about twenty yards beyond my visibility so the crashing I heard was it literally crashing.
Here it is after we got it the 50 yards or so back uphill so we could drag it out.
And the slightly flatter version ready for a trip to the taxidermist...
This recovery was painful, even with three people. This bear is easily the heaviest game animal I've ever taken, and this experience has me thinking that I don't want anything that heavy again. I think whitetails will be the top of my food ladder going forward.
I've got plenty of work to do tomorrow trying to finish processing this beast. That's just another part of the adventure.
Here is the Tactacam video: https://youtu.be/ftNIYZDbeX4
Last edited by DuckHunt on Fri Oct 21, 2022 10:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Well done Jeff, Congrats on nice shot, video and recovery.
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congrats on on a nice bear!
Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congrats on the bear. Did you get a weight on him?
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Your gonna need a bigger sled!!
Nice bear.
Nice bear.
Re: All was quiet, and then...
Nice bear congrats
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congrats on a fine bear!
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Perfect shot and excellent video!!!
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Nice job!! Enjoy the fruits of your labor!! Really neat video Jeff!
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congrats! Nice video!
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Take a half a Percocet with one Aleve and relax today
Ravine extractions are darn right hard.....I know that all too well
Great skinning job I might add
Ravine extractions are darn right hard.....I know that all too well
Great skinning job I might add
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
We didn't get a weight, but we estimated about 350lb. It certainly felt every bit of that. We needed a ramp to get him in the truck. Three people couldn't lift him, but in our defense we were pretty spent by that point.
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congratulations on your target of opportunity! Quite the bounus!
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Re: All was quiet, and then...
Congratulations!!!
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