Post by hgunhtr on Sept 12, 2024 15:41:51 GMT -5
Just finished a long run at dyi black bears in northern Mn. As a little back story we had 6 people in the draw for 5 years to get the tags. Due to a new grandbaby my daughter was not able to hunt this year as was the case for another guy in our group. I dropped out of the hunt to accommodate my lovely wife Dawn as some recent health issues have made it difficult for her to hunt alone. So we had three hunters in camp. Dawn, Brad my son and friend Chuck from Texas. Brad was hunting with a Ruger Bisley 480 with a red dot shooting sixshots 385 gr powder coated HP at 1100 fps. Chuck was hunting with a 454 casull or a 44 mag with cast bullets. Dawn was sporting a crossbow.
Dawn,Brad and I arrived in Northern Minnesota late on August 26 after a debacle with a blown tire on the camper that caused damage to the campers wiring and propane line. On the 27th I sent Dawn to town, about an hour away to get some parts to repair the damage to the wiring and propane line enough to make the camper usable for the next couple weeks. Brad and I unloaded the 4 wheelers and started our bear baiting operation. We had a little bit of a problem establishing baits this year as we had lost access to about 2000 acres of private land which in the past we have put several baits.
We established 2 baits on the 27th and figured out during our scouting that we were not alone in the persuit for ol blackie. We found several other bait sites and a lot of wheeler traffic in the area, which is problematic for bear hunters as it gives the bears too many opportunities to gorge at multiple locations or lay claim to one that they really like and they don’t leave the area until the food dries up.
On the afternoon of the 27th I was able to get the camper running with most of the electrical outlets and I capped a propane line to get the heat, water heater and refrigerator running. On the 28th we found 2 more bait sites and with all being established, we had time to improve the camp site with screen tent, a cook tent, small shower stall and outdoor privy.
Chuck arrived on the 29th and the crew ran baits everyday with high expectations for the baits to open. Unfortunately only one bait had opened by the opener on September 1. Dawn drew the high card and won the opportunity to hunt the active bait. Brad and Chuck both went and hunted a bait that were not open as a bait can open at any time.
I was sitting on stand with Dawn when she had a 2 year old bear come to the bait. He tempted her and she passed for a while. Then she looked at me and said I am going to kill this bear. I hit the record button on the phone and she waited for the right shot angle and finished the hunt with one shot from her crossbow. The boar weighed 180 lbs and was a pretty easy recovery..
Unfortunately Chuck received news from home that 60 head of cattle had broken through the fencing. An early wake up the next morning which is pretty normal in our camp found Chuck breaking camp to head back to Texas . He said that he needed to get the cattle back in. He didn’t have anyone else that could wrangle them so he bailed out for a 22 hour drive home. I got a text saying he had all his cows back and wanted to know if we had cooked up the bear backstraps yet. He traveled a long way to learn how to bait and one sit, however we have already been plotting for him to start the draw again.
Brad and I continued to run baits, pull trail camera cards and evaluate the bear visits. The intel is great but can be inconsistent with bears being unpredictable for daytime feeding. Finally on Sept 9th we tried a bait and switch on the same bait site that dawn had killed her bear on. I rode Brad all the way into the bait, I took a small amount of bait to the crib that the bears had already hit and pounded on the bucket to ring the dinner bell and we added a new scent to the area. Donut glaze bear bomb sprayed high from the stand to drift with the wind. Brad had two small bears come in but not what he was willing to take. At 7:19 pm a text from Brad, “Got Him!” I groomed upped a small trailer and jumped on the wheeler to help Brad get his bear.
Brad was all smiles and he said that he shot a big un! Well he wasn’t kidding. We went to the bait and found first blood one step from where the bear was hit. The blood trail was nothing less than spectacular. The saying “ a blind man could follow it” was an understatement. It looked liked it was being poured out of a bucket. The ground, trees and shrubs and vegetation was soaked. 34 yards from the bait laid the big bear. Turns out it was a large, old sow. Post mortum autopsy showed heart and lung hit. We knew the bear was old by the teeth or lack of- the aging tooth behind the canine was worn to nothing on one side with the gum grown over it and the other side was just a bump, which when pried out didn’t come out with a root so no way to age it.
The sow weighed out at 330 lbs which is pretty respectable for an old sow in northern Minnesota. When we butcher her she had 4” of fat over her backstraps.
This has been typical of past hunts, at least one bear taken one day one or two and then another on day 9 or so. This year was frustrating with hunting pressure but successful just the same- all 4 bait stations opened up and had bears hitting so the scouting paid off.
A big shout out to Dick Thompson for some great bullets.
If someone can post photos I can send them to an email or text them as I cannot get them to load
Dawn,Brad and I arrived in Northern Minnesota late on August 26 after a debacle with a blown tire on the camper that caused damage to the campers wiring and propane line. On the 27th I sent Dawn to town, about an hour away to get some parts to repair the damage to the wiring and propane line enough to make the camper usable for the next couple weeks. Brad and I unloaded the 4 wheelers and started our bear baiting operation. We had a little bit of a problem establishing baits this year as we had lost access to about 2000 acres of private land which in the past we have put several baits.
We established 2 baits on the 27th and figured out during our scouting that we were not alone in the persuit for ol blackie. We found several other bait sites and a lot of wheeler traffic in the area, which is problematic for bear hunters as it gives the bears too many opportunities to gorge at multiple locations or lay claim to one that they really like and they don’t leave the area until the food dries up.
On the afternoon of the 27th I was able to get the camper running with most of the electrical outlets and I capped a propane line to get the heat, water heater and refrigerator running. On the 28th we found 2 more bait sites and with all being established, we had time to improve the camp site with screen tent, a cook tent, small shower stall and outdoor privy.
Chuck arrived on the 29th and the crew ran baits everyday with high expectations for the baits to open. Unfortunately only one bait had opened by the opener on September 1. Dawn drew the high card and won the opportunity to hunt the active bait. Brad and Chuck both went and hunted a bait that were not open as a bait can open at any time.
I was sitting on stand with Dawn when she had a 2 year old bear come to the bait. He tempted her and she passed for a while. Then she looked at me and said I am going to kill this bear. I hit the record button on the phone and she waited for the right shot angle and finished the hunt with one shot from her crossbow. The boar weighed 180 lbs and was a pretty easy recovery..
Unfortunately Chuck received news from home that 60 head of cattle had broken through the fencing. An early wake up the next morning which is pretty normal in our camp found Chuck breaking camp to head back to Texas . He said that he needed to get the cattle back in. He didn’t have anyone else that could wrangle them so he bailed out for a 22 hour drive home. I got a text saying he had all his cows back and wanted to know if we had cooked up the bear backstraps yet. He traveled a long way to learn how to bait and one sit, however we have already been plotting for him to start the draw again.
Brad and I continued to run baits, pull trail camera cards and evaluate the bear visits. The intel is great but can be inconsistent with bears being unpredictable for daytime feeding. Finally on Sept 9th we tried a bait and switch on the same bait site that dawn had killed her bear on. I rode Brad all the way into the bait, I took a small amount of bait to the crib that the bears had already hit and pounded on the bucket to ring the dinner bell and we added a new scent to the area. Donut glaze bear bomb sprayed high from the stand to drift with the wind. Brad had two small bears come in but not what he was willing to take. At 7:19 pm a text from Brad, “Got Him!” I groomed upped a small trailer and jumped on the wheeler to help Brad get his bear.
Brad was all smiles and he said that he shot a big un! Well he wasn’t kidding. We went to the bait and found first blood one step from where the bear was hit. The blood trail was nothing less than spectacular. The saying “ a blind man could follow it” was an understatement. It looked liked it was being poured out of a bucket. The ground, trees and shrubs and vegetation was soaked. 34 yards from the bait laid the big bear. Turns out it was a large, old sow. Post mortum autopsy showed heart and lung hit. We knew the bear was old by the teeth or lack of- the aging tooth behind the canine was worn to nothing on one side with the gum grown over it and the other side was just a bump, which when pried out didn’t come out with a root so no way to age it.
The sow weighed out at 330 lbs which is pretty respectable for an old sow in northern Minnesota. When we butcher her she had 4” of fat over her backstraps.
This has been typical of past hunts, at least one bear taken one day one or two and then another on day 9 or so. This year was frustrating with hunting pressure but successful just the same- all 4 bait stations opened up and had bears hitting so the scouting paid off.
A big shout out to Dick Thompson for some great bullets.
If someone can post photos I can send them to an email or text them as I cannot get them to load
