2012 Wyoming Spring Bear

[Magnumitis]

I went up the mountain last Wednesday afternoon with my dad and found a chocolate boar at our bait site. In fact, he had only been there 5 minutes before we walked up to the shooting position. We definitely did not expect to see this bear. He made his first appearance (this year) the day before we killed him, on the 22nd. If you've read my other thread about shooting sows, you'll see two other bears that I was hoping to get a shot at. But, this was exactly the kind of bear I was hoping for. I was more than happy to fill my tag out on him! I shot it from 234 yards away with a Savage Model 116 Weather Warrior in 300 Win. I'm using 180 gr. Tipped Triple-Shocks with a muzzle velocity of 3030 fps. Pretty good bear medicine!

The best part of the hunt was being with my dad. It was a day I'll never forget. We're blessed to have a good bait section in the Bighorns. It's a lot of work but definitely worth it. We enjoy every part of running the site: packing in the barrel and bait on horseback, setting up and checking trail cams, re-stocking bait, etc. The hardest but most rewarding part is packing the bear up out of the canyon. Here are a few photos from this year's adventures:

 

[HARPERC]

Congratulations on the Bear! Thanks for the pictures! That's some creative barrel packing
I've not seen that before. I've baited bear, and I've had horses, but when I think about baiting bear with horses, that's not the picture that comes to mind! Pretty cool thanks for taking me along.

 

[NCBoy]

Thanks for such a wonderful story. I am so jealous of you. I am stuck in the heat of NC with no chance of bagging a wonderful bear like you did. Thankjs for an awesome story and pics.

 

[jackem]

Congratulations! I curious to how your horses reacted to the bear? Long ago I remember quite a rodeo getting a bear hide on a pack horse.

Jack

 

[Korhil78]

Awesome bear! Did you put the Barnes through both shoulders? I have been using barnes bullets for years now in my 25-06 and they are great.

 

[Magnumitis]

HARPERC – My dad came up with the barrel packing ideas. It's easier to go down the trail with just the single barrel on top though. You need a kid broke horse if you're going to hang one off each side. Luckily, that grey mare is as quiet as they come. In one part of the trail it's very narrow with a lot of brush and trees on each side. She just bounces from one tree trunk to another tree trunk and doesn't mind a bit!


NCBoy – Thank you for the kind comments. It was pretty hot up here but we got a lot of rain recently so it has cooled down quite a bit.


Jackem – The Forest Service has a gate but doesn't open it until after the season opens. We try to gain an advantage by using the horses to get the bait in early. We take 4-wheelers up after the gate opens. I'm thankful we don't have to throw 6+ ft. bear hides over the horses! I don't think the grey one would care if we did though.

Korhil78 – I'll be honest… 'Bear Fever' got the best of me, so the first two shots flew off course. But, I got settled down and put the next two in the boiler room. They landed just behind the shoulder a couple inches apart. The last shot wasn't needed; just insurance. There were little holes going in with bigger holes going out. Everything in between was mush.

 

[Tikkamike]

That is 2 bears over 6 foot in a row for your bait site! Now the Cinnamon needs to go down!

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Great thread and beautiful pictures! There's nothing like getting out with your Pop and that is some gorgeous country you guys live near. I can't wait to get out there every Fall and really wish I could live near the base of the BigHorns somewhere.

 

[jeffw]

Throse are great pics, I really would like to see the country out there. Will do first antelope hunt in Wy. this year in area 26. I don't know how much of Wy. we'll get to see. I'll be going with my son, like you say that's the best part. I use to hunt with my Dad but he passed away this year, really wish I had more time with him, I really miss him. I hope you and your Dad have many more hunts ahead of you.

 

[Magnumitis]

Got my skull back today. It measures 20".

 

[Tikkamike]

Awesome Bear! cant wait to see what we get next spring!

 

[HARPERC]

One hell of a bear! Nice cap to a hell of a thread. If a person was to just follow this thread he'd have a heck of primer for getting into bear baiting. Thanks guys well done.

 

[Magnumitis]

Thanks Carl but this thread's not dead yet! I'll post a pic of my rug next year, hopefully around April. Seems so far away

 

[HARPERC]

I hadn't forgot you, just keeping the pressure low! Looking forward to seeing more of your season(s).