Guy M
Well-Known Member
In September I headed out with a couple of friends, for a Washington State bear hunt, spot & stalk. No dogs or bait allowed.
Interestingly, a week earlier, I had decided to try to call a bear with a predator call... I have to admit that I was Very Surprised when a black bear rushed into the clearing, 20 yards or so from me, looking for a meal! His whole demeanor was aggressive! I had my trusty .30-30 Marlin handy, but was glad the bear didn't push the issue, he wasn't quite as big as I was hoping for, I'd guess him at about 200 pounds & glossy black. Very interesting though - he took one look at me and knew I was NOT the easy meal he'd come for. He spun around and headed back into the trees. I listened to him shuffling and snuffling around my area for about 30 minutes as he tried to locate his free lunch, then I hiked back to my Jeep, about three miles away, keeping a wary eye peeled, just in case. I WILL be trying that tactic again!
A week later, I was back up in the hills with two buddies. One is an extremely experienced bear hunter, and the other fellow is on his first big game hunt. He'd yet to even tag a deer, or any big game animal. His eyes were wide open as he was learning from us.
We had luck on our side, the conditions were perfect. On the first day we saw eight bears!
Mid morning, one came in sight at a reasonable distance and we made a stalk, then the new hunter made a good shot with factory Remington 150 gr soft point ammo from his .30-06 Ruger M77. The bear spun, and headed into the brush. A few minutes later we came upon the still quite lively bear and it was finished with a 300 gr bullet from a .44 mag revolver.
Got that bear skinned, and on ice. Time for lunch, and a siesta, then back up the hill for a late-afternoon/evening hunt.
We'd barely settled into position to start glassing when well below us, at about a quarter mile, some brush began to move, and a bear showed himself briefly. He appeared to be working his way up the draw to our right. It was hit and miss, trying to keep an eye on him as he climbed through the brush towards what must have been some particularly appealing berry bushes higher above. Finally, he emerged from the brush.
My Swaro rangefinder indicated 321 yards. He was slowly walking away from me and uphill. I popped into a sitting position, carefully resting the rifle with just my body for support. The .30-06 700 CDL spoke, the bear staggered and lunged forward, out of sight at the base of a huge tree.
All of us carefully watched the area around the big tree, and not seeing any further movement, we hiked over, through two brush choked ravines. The bear was under the tree, still, and stone dead. An inspection revealed that I'd caught the bear in his right side rib cage, and the jacket of the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip was recovered, hanging in the skin of the left shoulder. The core had separated from the jacket, with a pretty nasty exit wound. The vitals in between were pretty well wrecked...
He's not the biggest bear I've ever shot, I'd estimate him a bit under 300, perhaps 275 or so? Hard to say. We skinned him, recovered the excellent looking meat, and endured a hard, steep, hike up to the waiting truck. The meat was all made into breakfast sausage, a big hit at my home, with family and guests.
Oh, and note to myself - I didn't realize until I looked at the photos that I'd chosen to wear a black t-shirt, while black bear hunting... Hmmm, I think I'll select my shirt with a little more care next time! Just in case! At least I wore a bright orange hat during the hunt. Sheesh!
Regards, Guy
Interestingly, a week earlier, I had decided to try to call a bear with a predator call... I have to admit that I was Very Surprised when a black bear rushed into the clearing, 20 yards or so from me, looking for a meal! His whole demeanor was aggressive! I had my trusty .30-30 Marlin handy, but was glad the bear didn't push the issue, he wasn't quite as big as I was hoping for, I'd guess him at about 200 pounds & glossy black. Very interesting though - he took one look at me and knew I was NOT the easy meal he'd come for. He spun around and headed back into the trees. I listened to him shuffling and snuffling around my area for about 30 minutes as he tried to locate his free lunch, then I hiked back to my Jeep, about three miles away, keeping a wary eye peeled, just in case. I WILL be trying that tactic again!
A week later, I was back up in the hills with two buddies. One is an extremely experienced bear hunter, and the other fellow is on his first big game hunt. He'd yet to even tag a deer, or any big game animal. His eyes were wide open as he was learning from us.
We had luck on our side, the conditions were perfect. On the first day we saw eight bears!
Mid morning, one came in sight at a reasonable distance and we made a stalk, then the new hunter made a good shot with factory Remington 150 gr soft point ammo from his .30-06 Ruger M77. The bear spun, and headed into the brush. A few minutes later we came upon the still quite lively bear and it was finished with a 300 gr bullet from a .44 mag revolver.
Got that bear skinned, and on ice. Time for lunch, and a siesta, then back up the hill for a late-afternoon/evening hunt.
We'd barely settled into position to start glassing when well below us, at about a quarter mile, some brush began to move, and a bear showed himself briefly. He appeared to be working his way up the draw to our right. It was hit and miss, trying to keep an eye on him as he climbed through the brush towards what must have been some particularly appealing berry bushes higher above. Finally, he emerged from the brush.
My Swaro rangefinder indicated 321 yards. He was slowly walking away from me and uphill. I popped into a sitting position, carefully resting the rifle with just my body for support. The .30-06 700 CDL spoke, the bear staggered and lunged forward, out of sight at the base of a huge tree.
All of us carefully watched the area around the big tree, and not seeing any further movement, we hiked over, through two brush choked ravines. The bear was under the tree, still, and stone dead. An inspection revealed that I'd caught the bear in his right side rib cage, and the jacket of the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip was recovered, hanging in the skin of the left shoulder. The core had separated from the jacket, with a pretty nasty exit wound. The vitals in between were pretty well wrecked...
He's not the biggest bear I've ever shot, I'd estimate him a bit under 300, perhaps 275 or so? Hard to say. We skinned him, recovered the excellent looking meat, and endured a hard, steep, hike up to the waiting truck. The meat was all made into breakfast sausage, a big hit at my home, with family and guests.
Oh, and note to myself - I didn't realize until I looked at the photos that I'd chosen to wear a black t-shirt, while black bear hunting... Hmmm, I think I'll select my shirt with a little more care next time! Just in case! At least I wore a bright orange hat during the hunt. Sheesh!
Regards, Guy
And perhaps some help from the Lord as well... 
