catclaw Report post Posted October 13, 2010 My son tells me that he wants me to take him bear hunting during his fall break. Most of the close areas are closed to we head over to "The Blue". The first day we do some glassing in an area that has been productive in the past and do some calling. We had one fox come in. We climb into another canyon and do some calling. Nothing. We hike out and when we get to the trailhead a pickup is driving in and comes over to us to see what we were hunting. I recognized the guy as a friend I hadn't seen in nearly 10 years. Of course we now have to camp together. I take them to my "secret spot" but when they hear my plans for the next day they balk. I guess dropping into a canyon several miles wasn't in the cards for them. Levi goes right down below camp and calls in a fox- he called a lion in there last year. He sees bear sign so his is excited for the next day. On Tuesday morning we drop into this canyon and work our way towards the river. We make few stands. We are seeing sign that they are in the acorns so we remain vigilant. We have gone in further than I wanted so we start working our way back. About 1/4 mile later we are sneaking along in the oak trees when he spots a bear. We make sure there are no cubbies. I get set up and look through the scope. At the shot, I see the bear cartwheeling in mid air and then crashing down the hill! He made a perfect shot with his 308. We took some photos and then I caped it out and quartered it. We loaded up and started hiking. We had dropped about 1000' so we knew we would have to make that up. About 8pm I couldn't go any further with the pack load. My legs were cramping too much. He was pretty much done too. We dropped the packs and guns and hiked out to the highway. We laid down on the pavement and rested a while. Luckily, it was downhill to camp. We went back and drank some water. We were both badly dehydrated and had only 500 calories the whole day. It is now 9pm. We laid down on our cots to rest. I threw up all the water I drank- twice! It was midnight before we could function again. We broke camp and drove to the trailhead we came out on. We then went back down and found our packs and rifles. Once more, we climbed back up the mountain. We got to the truck at 2:30 AM, 12 hours after he shot the bear. My legs were still cramping but we made it back to town where we crashed at buddy's house until about 7. My wife thinks we do this stuff for fun!! Maybe I should bring her along- once! It was pretty exciting to see my son shoot his first bear and even spot it before me! The 180 grain Norma Oryx is a great bullet. Complete pass through and a dead bear in seconds. I don't think I will shoot one this year! One is enough fun. Two tired hunters! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmitty Report post Posted October 13, 2010 Nice Job Levi! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScottAdams Report post Posted October 13, 2010 Great story...and what fun!! Gotta love that bear huntin'!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted October 13, 2010 Great story and great job! Nice bear! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kidso Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Good job on the bear. Packing it out has to about kill you to make the adventure super rewarding! Way to finish it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1denogean Report post Posted October 14, 2010 good joB! when i get mine im deboning all the meat there and being on my way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesBuckhunter Report post Posted October 14, 2010 congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loco4coues Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Congrats! Thanks for sharing, and glad you made it out ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Packer Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Great looking bear, congratulations. I know packing bear out of that country can be a real "bear". But there are some good ones to be had for sure. Aaron Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GSPMan Report post Posted October 14, 2010 you two are peas in a pod. Great bear and couldnt have happened any better to the craziest guys in the world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Awesome story and a great bear. Congrats! Funny how hard this hunting thing really is. I'm running on fumes these days trying to get my boys on a buck in 3A/3C and they have cow elk tags backing that up starting this Friday - all after my unit 1 ML bull hunt. I guess the good news is, I've lost 30 pounds this year Been up by 4 every day for around 2 months now, and have only slept in my own bed maybe 5 nights. Anyone who wants to say hunting is easy can come carry my pack around for a couple days Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roninflag Report post Posted October 14, 2010 that is a great story and great bear. any idea on height weight and age? roninflag Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Congrats on a good bear. Glad you guys made it out safe with your bear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted October 14, 2010 that is a great story and great bear. any idea on height weight and age? roninflag I pulled a tape across the front paws last night when I finished caping it. About 6'2" across the width measurement without stretching. Probably square 5'11" or so. Looking at the teeth and face, I would say at least 10 years old. I wonder if they still send a report on the age like they used to? Stopped at region 6 and Jon Hanna took a DNA sample and tooth. He couldn't get to the back teeth so he couldn't venture an age other than to say it was not a young bear. I would guess the weight at 250#-275# Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izquik72 Report post Posted October 14, 2010 Wow what a story congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
