I shot a bear!!!

[remingtonman_25_06]

My fall season general black bear hunt in Oregon was rather short this year. It opened up the first of the month and my dad and I finally had a chance to get out this weekend. I am fortunate enough to have taken 4 bears in the last 5 years with 1 being #10 in Oregon for youth. Friday was uneventful. We saw lots of deer, mulies and whitetails both, lots of elk, turkeys, everything but coyotes or bears. Saturday was pretty much the same but we still had the evening which is the best time. My dad and I were glassing a big canyon which usually holds bears. We did not see any. We drove to another canyon about 5 minutes away and within about 2 minutes my dad spotted him. The only problem was he was over 1000 yards away, it was about 15 minutes before dark, so we had to move very fast to get into shooting position. I took along my trusty Winchester 25-06 using 117g SBT's. My dad was using a Winchester .270 WSM with 140g SST's. We took our guns, rangefinder and started running for the knob off the edge of the canyon. I think the bear spotted us running because he was also walking very fast towards the brush. By the time we reached a fence I ranged the brush where he went in at 496 yards. My dad said lets shoot off the posts. I said no way because we were huffing and puffing at 500 I did not feel confident anyways. I suggested crossing the fence getting 100 yards closer and laying down prone and to wait for him to come out in the last 10 minutes of light we had. So we got closer and by the time I stopped on an elk bed that was flat, I laid out the harris bi-pod, layed down and got rock solid where that bear was last seen. I ranged it at 375 yards. I cranked up my Leupold vx2 6-18x to the correct setting. Perfect I thought. We only had 5 minutes or so of light left so my dad shot 3 times into the brush and finally the bear stepped out and I was locked on him. I sent a 117g bullet on its way only to hear a confirmed thunk. The bear however was not going down just yet, he tried going up uphill but I slipped another 117g into the bear. This time he started rolling down the hill. He got caught up in some brush and was still moving a little so I put another into him. I jumped up and started yelling and screaming with excitement. Then the work began. It was a long night to say the least. The bear was a male of average size, around 250-275lbs. He was cinnamin in color again. All the black bears I have shot have been cinnamin. Will try to post pics once I figure out everything and my computer is so slow and viruses.

 

[ss7mm]

remingtonman_25_06:

Congratulations on filling your 2005 bear tag. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif It sounds like this is getting to be a regular thing with you and that means you must be doing things right.

When you finally got the shots off was the bear at an uphill or downhill angle or was it pretty much a level shot? Also, do you remember the angle of entry of the shots? Was he broadside or quartering etc. Did you get a chance to recover any of the bullets and check their performance? It's also really unusual that all of your bears have been cinnamon colored. I've seen that color phase several times but never have been able to shoot one.

It's always harder with bears to take them on foot without the aid of dogs. I know what you mean about those late in the day kills leading to a long night. I've done that a few times but don't really like it.

When you get some pictures ready try to post them so we can take a look. Again congrats and am looking forward to seeing some pics. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[bailey1474]

Nice shooting!!! Can't wait to see the pics.

 

[Troutslayer]

Nothing like a couple of shots into the bushes to get em moving.

 

[Buffalobob]

Sounds like you and your Dad had a great time.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Thanks for the replys guys. We had a blast. Now if only my dad would have shot the bear. I shoulda been the one shooting in the brush, but I was still confident he would walk out. To answer some of the more detailed questions, when the bear finally walked out, he was quartering away, walking very fast uphill. I knew I did not have much time because of dark and all, but I led his chest just a tad and touched off. You could not visibly have told he was hit by his reaction, I just knew because of the sound. The 2nd shot he was still uphill quartering. I'm pretty sure the 2nd bullet is the one that broke his shoulders to cause him to start rolling down the hill. However, I was pretty sure he was still moving, so just for a little insurance, I put another one into him. From where we were laying, the bear was pretty much in a straight line across the little canyon. Upon examining the bear, I found that 1 bullet had went just behind his shoulder, not sure which shot though? It took out his lungs. The 2nd bullet had actually hit his shoulder, and the other bullet did not hit its mark and was gut shot. I have not found any bullets yet. I dug a little for them, but I was more interested in gettin the heck out of there. I can tell you that no bullets fully penetrated, however from the looks of it they at least reached the vitals and went about 3/4 through the bear. I had 3 holes in the bear, not 6. However the bear is dead and was probly dead after the 2nd shot. Maybe the meat cutters will find a bullet or two. To many surprise, I would say out of the last 20 bears I have seen up here, 15 or 16 have been cinnamin. We rarely see a black, black bear. I dont know why, but ever since Oregon banned hounds and baiting, theres bears freaking everywhere. Before they banned, you were lucky to see a bear every couple years. Now you can just drive around and glass canyons and have a good bet your going to see at least 1 a weekend. This is the way my dad and I have hunted them anyways. Just spotting and stalking them. I have shot 3 of my 4 bears right before dark also. I've also shot 3 of the 4 bears with my 25-06. The only bear I did not shoot with my 25-06, was my youth record bear, and I shot that with my 300 RUM. I think that is prime time, and from what I've read in magazines it is an hour before dark. I'm gonna have to get the pics on a diff computer, mine is worthless. It kicks me off the internet all the time and freezes. I have a hard enough time just getting on this site and staying for a while. I will get my girlfriends laptop and try to put them on here. Thanks guys!

 

[Neverlost1]

[ QUOTE ]
We only had 5 minutes or so of light left so my dad shot 3 times into the brush and finally the bear stepped out and I was locked on him.

[/ QUOTE ]

Am I reading this right? I hope not.

Could you explain this statement, because it looks to me like you are saying that your dad shot into the brush to scare the bear out so you could get a shot. Is that right? Later on you go on to say that you should have been the one to be shooting into the brush. Is this a common hunting tactic in your State or just something your family came up with? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS!!!

If you keep it up, we'll be reading about you in the papers "Hunter shoots other hunter/camper/kids playing in the woods/family member while shooting at unseen bear in the brush".

If I read this wrong, sorry about the outburst. Hunter safety is a big issue with me. I was shot in the leg by a hunter doing exactly what you describe.

 

[sniper2]

Touche....

 

[Jimm]

Elroy,
I certainly understand where you are coming from. I personally know of a tragic incident in my own state that ended up in a man shootin his own son.
That is not what is going on here,these guys are in a place that affords them the ability to discern whether there are any problems with taking their shot, be it a shot to spook an animal into view or to shoot the same animal once in view.
I think the problem is the same as it always is when you post on the internet , that is ,others can not see what you see., and few of us can put into words on a screen that will translate what was going on without room for error.Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way by this response .
Jim Brown

 

[sniper2]

A brush shot is shooting at something you can't see period...

 

[MC]

4 scenarios:

a) Your dad's shots are ignored by the bear
b) Terrified, the bear leaves it's hide and exposes itself to you
c) The bear is wounded by your dad with 5" of daylight left
d) Someone becomes the unintended recipient of your dad's fire (as noted above)

If you cannot see and positively ID what you intend to hit...your finger should be nowhere near the trigger. Congratulations on a successful hunt...I hope I'm never in the same woods as you and your father.

 

[Guest]

I thought the same thing about the brush shooting, but lets give the young man a chance to explain.

 

[Eaglet]

sniper2, Elroy, MC, everyone,
Shooting into the bush was wrong, is wrong and will always be wrong. Remington_25_06 is a young man that I believe means well. He has already been corrected and admonished. There is no need to cut him to pieces and the fact that there would not be a bear in a bush socializing with human beings is something the helps our minds to back off. Yes it was wrong... he knows it, let's not forget we all have made wrong choices.

 

[chain]

We have all been young and excited about a buck or a bear. The young fellow probably won't do it again. My point would be I think the Dad was the one making the error. As hunting fathers we all need to think first, then think second, and then act. What we give them in ethics and knowledge is going to be passed along. Congratulations, non the less, young fella.