turbo
.30 Stingray
Posts: 465
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Post by turbo on Apr 25, 2015 22:22:39 GMT -5
AWESOME!!! CONGRATS!!!
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Post by sixshot on Apr 26, 2015 18:32:00 GMT -5
Kneeling down in the trail I could see the bear moving around in the sagebrush, I laid my backpack down in the trail & used it for a head rest, brought my knees up & rested the 44 flattop between them. When the bear cleared the brush about 50 yds above me I smacked him through the shoulders with one of Elmers finest ahead of 21 grs of 2400 & he spun a little bit & rolled up against a big rock, I'd just taken my first bear with a sixgun. This was almost 35 years ago on a fly in hunt with a friend into Idaho's rugged Middle Fork country in the Salmon River. The bear was small & I ended up trading the hide for an XP100 pistol. We were backpacking, young, frisky, in shape, rookie bear hunters. Both of us had done a lot of hunting but not for bears, this was a real treat! My very last bear was also taken with a Ruger 44 magnum & also using a 250 gr. Keith slug from the same mould as years before, it will probably be my last bear. Most of you know I recently gave my bear tag to one of my many grandson's, he had just turned 13 & wasn't very happy that his 14 year old cousin had another bear tag & as a surprise I turned my tag in & gave it to Mason & the hunt was on! Last year he took a B&C antelope but this was his first bear hunt although he has been with us before & seen lots of bears, perhaps over 100 in the 3-4 his dad has taken him along. Armed with a fine shooting 270 & a 130 Hornady bullet he was ready to become the youngest member of the clan to take a bear. After a quick stop in Sportsmans Warehouse in Idaho Falls we were off, all 7 of us, myself, 2 of my son's, Shane & Travis & each of them had 2 of their son's. Brock & Mason had the tags, Ridge & Porter were just along for the hunt. Ridge is 16 & has already taken 2 bears plus several other animals. Arriving after dark monday we got set up, built a big fire, ate pulled pork & homemade potato salad & got our gear ready for an early morning start, bears were on the menu. Within 20 minutes we had spotted our first bear, a nice cinammon phase boar that looked like a shooter, Shane & Brock checked the wind & dropped off the mountain while I stayed to watch the show unfold. They had to cross a small stream, climb the other side & work up through some pines keeping the wind in their favor. Wiwind is everything if you're bear hunting, a blood hound has an amazing nose, a bear takes it to a whole different league. Both my son's are very patient & great at letting their boys figure things out on their own. They talk about what needs to be done & how to make the stalk a success & the boys learn a great deal, all the shile keeping the wind in mind, thats always #1. Bears seldom lift their heads when feeding, they depend on their ears & their nose to bail them out if something spooks them. This bear suddenly starts feeding right back towards Shane & Brock & Brock is settled in with his 7mm Magnum resting on his jacket laying over a rock, life is good. The 7 mag. has a muzzle brake attached so both of them put in ear plugs & Shane is telling Brock to wait until the bear turns broadside but he's whispering & just as he's saying it Brock lights the switch while the bear is facing them & missed to the left at 322 yds. The bear spins, jumps & I think its hit but its just confused, it runs a bit, stops, looks around, runs 25 yds, stops & looks around & then really takes off running for heavy cover, clean miss. Because he was trying to whisper they weren't communicating right & a young man learned a valuable lesson. 1000 yds away Travis & Mason were glassing a big black bear & had tried to move in on him twice but the old bebear knew something wasn't right, he had either heard something he didn't like or maybe got a sniff of strange scent, either way he was leaving & they couldn't close the gap, game over. Two hours later they are stalking a nice size chocolate phase bear about 1/2 mile from the bear they had spotted earlier. I caught up with them & we made a game plan & off they went. This bear had came out twice too feed for 20-30 minutes & then went back in, they do this sometimes, in, out, in, out. We figured if he came out a 3rd time they would be in place & whack him, off they go. I watch the bear feed as they move into position, they can't see him yet but I can see the whole show unfold. With about 90 seconds to go before they are in position for a shot he feeds around a pine tree & I can't see him. We had decided earlier that if he did the in & out thing & stayed in that Travis would try calling him with the varmint call like the one I called in a few years ago & Travis killed. We wait, no bear so Travis decides to try calling. Shane is a mile below us & he see's the bear turn, look back towards Travis, & start to slowly run off away from the call. I'll stop here for a bit & ask everyone, why would this bear sneak away when some bears come in hard & aggressive?
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Post by 2 Dogs on Apr 27, 2015 8:18:49 GMT -5
I would have to say because he has been "educated". We dont have bears in S. Texas, but other predators, coyotes and such, display that behavior.
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Post by bushog on Apr 27, 2015 9:02:54 GMT -5
Bigger bear around....
Just like a raghorn elk looking over his shoulder...
Here comes Papa!
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Post by sheriff on Apr 27, 2015 9:05:08 GMT -5
'Educated' or in some cases I think they do so from fear of 'whatever' has the 'dying critter' and are slipping out of the area before they get 'whipped up on'.
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Post by sixshot on Apr 27, 2015 11:22:02 GMT -5
Correct, it usually means a dominant boar is in the area & they slip out rather than risk an injury. Kind of like Barranti trying to sneak one of Fermins' tacos. We hunted 4 days, saw 12 bears & both boys scored, one of them got his second bear, the other got his first one. We had a wonderful time, 2 young men learned a lot from their dads on how to make a successful stalk, work in the tricky wind in the mountains where its always changing on you & get in position to make a shot when you have to improvise a quick rest. This makes #23 & #24 bears for me, my sons' & grandsons' & we have many more grandsons' coming, Caleb can go next year, it never gets old! Here's a video of Brocks kill shot taken through the spotting scope at about 600 yds, he runs about 15 yds after the shot. Dick
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snappy
.30 Stingray
Posts: 421
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Post by snappy on Apr 27, 2015 12:51:58 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the hunt with us Dick. It never gets old hearing about it either!
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cmh
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,745
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Post by cmh on Apr 27, 2015 12:55:40 GMT -5
Correct, it usually means a dominant boar is in the area & they slip out rather than risk an injury. Kind of like Barranti trying to sneak one of Fermins' tacos. We hunted 4 days, saw 12 bears & both boys scored, one of them got his second bear, the other got his first one. We had a wonderful time, 2 young men learned a lot from their dads on how to make a successful stalk, work in the tricky wind in the mountains where its always changing on you & get in position to make a shot when you have to improvise a quick rest. This makes #23 & #24 bears for me, my sons' & grandsons' & we have many more grandsons' coming, Caleb can go next year, it never gets old! Here's a video of Brocks kill shot taken through the spotting scope at about 600 yds, he runs about 15 yds after the shot. Dick Now Dick I have never taken a bear although I would love to. Have done alot of reading on it and such.... but I have to disagree with why that bear ran off like that. It's pretty easy to guess if you understand Idaho bears..... and badgers and other critters from Idaho. He heard you was in town and didn't want to be a rug
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Post by hoover on Apr 27, 2015 15:44:24 GMT -5
Loved reading about your hunt 35 years ago Dick. How many guys thought about the vulnerability you'd be in by getting in the Keith position to shoot at a bear 50 yards away? Spooked or wounded, you would be on the proberbial platter for him, down hill! Gutsy move, great shot with classic gun and load! Doesn't get any better!
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Post by sixshot on Apr 27, 2015 15:45:32 GMT -5
This was absolutely the biggest double cheese burger we had ever seen in our lives, it was an honest 6" tall, as tall as our soft drink glasses! Me, Shane, Travis & Ridge all ate ours & wanted Boysenberry pie! The cook actually had to come out & talk to us about who could eat one of those monsters. You couldn't bite down on one, you had to eat it from the side. They were as good as they were big! Dick
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cmh
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 3,745
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Post by cmh on Apr 27, 2015 16:15:32 GMT -5
That's a burger!!!!! Now I'm hungry
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Post by sixshot on Apr 27, 2015 19:36:52 GMT -5
Here's the whole crew minus Porter, he was in the house playing with the 6 lizards he brought home! If you plan a do it yourself bear hunt plan on doing a lot of glassing, let the glasses do your walking, in bear country you'll be burned out in one day trying to cover some of central Idaho's prime country. Much of Idaho is a 2 bear limit, even for non residents. Dick
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Post by sixshot on Apr 27, 2015 23:47:54 GMT -5
Although I didn't plan on shooting a bear I did have my Alan Harton 480 with me at all times, you never know when a coyote or badger might want to call me some bad names. I never fired a shot but I love carrying it in my Barranti Northwest Hunter Rig. Dick
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