iccyman001
New member
- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
Good luck!
Bear Hunt
- Thread starter OldMan
- Start date
1st day.
Well, I was hunting a bit before daylight. Where i went today i\'m hunting 100ft from my Jeep. So, no walking in the dark to get to an area. I was at 11,000ft, and it was colder than I thought it would be. Like a dummy I forgot my gloves, and my hands went numb in about 10 minutes. I don\'t use a sling, so I couldn\'t put my hands in my pockets. I was also shocked that I had to scrape ice of the windshield this morning. Then when I turned on my headlights I had nothing. I wasn\'t about to start looking for the reason the lights didn\'t work. I had to get up the mountain. So, I turned on the fog lights. and off I went. After 5 minutes of driving the headlights came on, and were fine for the rest of the trip. Must me a lose connection somewhere.
The area I was going to I haven\'t been to this year at all. I thought i\'d keep my stink out of it, and I had already scouted it last year. Last year when I found it it was full of huckleberry bushes, and had tons of berry filled scat everywhere. I\'ve never seen a human track there, so it was a good area to catch a bear feeding undisturbed. That was the plan anyway. After about two hours of hiking I finally got there. I came into it with the wind in my face, and I was moving at a slow snails pace straining to see a bear hopefully. I finally reached the huckleberry bushes, and was crushed by what I saw. They were dried up, and not a berry in sight. Lots of bear scat, but it looked a month old. Lots of fresh deer tracks, which a bad sign when looking for a bear. The bears had fed, and won\'t be back at this spot. I had another spot just like this one to check out, but it was the same thing. Too late. I had seen no fresh bear sign anywhere, and realized it was a lost cause in this area. My knee was killing me, and starting to swell up, so I called it a day. 5 hours of hunting. Since I want to start every new area at daylight. The plan is to start again tomorrow.
I now realize the bears are probably at lower altitudes, and I need to move lower. Before doing that I want to try one more thing at high altitude. At today\'s area there were no hunters. There never is. So, tomorrow i\'m going to go to an area that has hunters. A place that has elk and deer, but also a place In don\'t go to, because of the hunters. Only this time i\'m going to try to use the hunters. I\'ll see if I can find hunters who have shot deer/elk, and try and use the gut pile to get a bear. If this isn\'t successful i\'ll drop to much lower altitudes for the rest of the hunt, and try some calling.
Well, I was hunting a bit before daylight. Where i went today i\'m hunting 100ft from my Jeep. So, no walking in the dark to get to an area. I was at 11,000ft, and it was colder than I thought it would be. Like a dummy I forgot my gloves, and my hands went numb in about 10 minutes. I don\'t use a sling, so I couldn\'t put my hands in my pockets. I was also shocked that I had to scrape ice of the windshield this morning. Then when I turned on my headlights I had nothing. I wasn\'t about to start looking for the reason the lights didn\'t work. I had to get up the mountain. So, I turned on the fog lights. and off I went. After 5 minutes of driving the headlights came on, and were fine for the rest of the trip. Must me a lose connection somewhere.
The area I was going to I haven\'t been to this year at all. I thought i\'d keep my stink out of it, and I had already scouted it last year. Last year when I found it it was full of huckleberry bushes, and had tons of berry filled scat everywhere. I\'ve never seen a human track there, so it was a good area to catch a bear feeding undisturbed. That was the plan anyway. After about two hours of hiking I finally got there. I came into it with the wind in my face, and I was moving at a slow snails pace straining to see a bear hopefully. I finally reached the huckleberry bushes, and was crushed by what I saw. They were dried up, and not a berry in sight. Lots of bear scat, but it looked a month old. Lots of fresh deer tracks, which a bad sign when looking for a bear. The bears had fed, and won\'t be back at this spot. I had another spot just like this one to check out, but it was the same thing. Too late. I had seen no fresh bear sign anywhere, and realized it was a lost cause in this area. My knee was killing me, and starting to swell up, so I called it a day. 5 hours of hunting. Since I want to start every new area at daylight. The plan is to start again tomorrow.
I now realize the bears are probably at lower altitudes, and I need to move lower. Before doing that I want to try one more thing at high altitude. At today\'s area there were no hunters. There never is. So, tomorrow i\'m going to go to an area that has hunters. A place that has elk and deer, but also a place In don\'t go to, because of the hunters. Only this time i\'m going to try to use the hunters. I\'ll see if I can find hunters who have shot deer/elk, and try and use the gut pile to get a bear. If this isn\'t successful i\'ll drop to much lower altitudes for the rest of the hunt, and try some calling.
iccyman001
New member
- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
Better luck tomrrow Pete. I hope your knee calms down
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,345
Been back out yet Pete?
Interesting day yesterday, and today.
Yesterday.............I went to an area about 5 miles out of town at 9000ft. I wanted to try some calling. I brought a Wayne Carlton bear call. Which is pretty much a predator call, but loud! It\'s exhausting calling for bears. You can\'t let up with the calling, or the bear stops coming in. I found a pretty good spot to setup, and started to call. After 40 min straight of hard loud calling I was ready to pass out. I was almost ready to quit when I spotted a bear about 150yds out. He was coming straight at me in a fast walk. I\'m pretty sure it was a bore, and a color phase blondish tan. We have few black bears around here.
I didn\'t want to stop calling, but wanted to get the gun in position too. Awkward moment. I\'m sure he didn\'t see me moving, but at 100yds he started to make a big circle. I had the wind in my face from the direction he was originally coming, but now that he was circling I was worried. Now he was moving very slow, and continued to circle until he was almost behind me. He must have finally caught my scent, and took off at top speed.
Well, that was disappointing, and i\'m not sure I could have done anything to prevent it. All I can hope is the next one, if there is a next one, won\'t circle behind me, but come straight in. I got no more action for the rest of the day.
Today.......I tried a new area today, but still at lower altitude since yesterday showed me this is where the bears are now. So, i\'m moving slow to area I wanted to try calling. It was early, and almost shooting hours. This area is an area i\'ve hunted for elk in the past, but haven\'t tried it in years. As i\'m sneaking along trying to be quiet I hear 4-5 chuckles from a bull very close. Less than 200yds I would guess. I\'ve this many times before, but not being a caller i\'m not sure what the bull is saying. I\'ve always just used it as a location of where an elk is. Maybe you guys can tell me what it means. There is nothing but the low toned chuckles. Nothing else before them.
All of a sudden bear was forgotten, and I became an elk hunter again. My first love. of course I couldn\'t shoot and elk. I had no tag, but that doesn\'t mean I can\'t hunt for it.. I\'ve always said the hunt is the important part. Not the kill. If I could sneak close enough for a shot. I\'ll consider it a success. So, I start off in the direction of the chuckles. Now i\'m in full stalking mode. I moving like a snail wearing slippers. I\'m using the terrain to stay out of sight. I still haven\'t seen the bull yet, but I know it\'s close. I finally get to where it should have been, but I see nothing. I was lucky the wind was in my favor, so I know it didn\'t scent me. I found some tracks, and I could follow them ok. There\'s an old unused logging road, and he was taking it. We were now moving up the mountain, and the wind was still in my favor, so I started to move parallel to the road out of sight in case he looked back. He was moving fast by looking at his tracks, but just walking at a normal pace. Of course that was still compared to how slow I was moving. I was smiling the whole time. I was elk hunting. Sort of.
After awhile I went back to the road to check the tracks. They were gone. He must have moved off the road to the opposite side I was coming up. I back tracked until I found where he left the road. I started off in that direction, but I could follow the tracks anymore. Too many pine needles. I sat under a tree to listen. Hoping I hear him moving. After 10 minutes I heard those same chuckles. It\'s like he was calling me. Hey Pete! I\'m over here. This elk is playing with me. Ok, I said to myself. He wants to play, lets play. I moved off in the direction of the chuckles, and it dropped down into an aspen grove with a little creek running through it. I thought right away. Hmmmm..nice bedding area. I moved into the aspens, and they moved up the mountain. About 75yds wide, but long long row of them moving up the mountain. I picked up his tracks again, and he was moving up the aspens. I had picked up his scent again, so I knew I was going in the right direction. I went along for about 30 min doing my best to stay quiet. It was not hard, because the ground was moist near the creek. Then I heard him. Not the chuckles again, but him moving. Just as I heard him I saw him. I was down on all fours trying to hide behind a stump. I watched him look in my direction, but then look away. I was as frozen as the stump. Proof critters don\'t see blaze orange. He was about 100yds away. He was just standing there no moving, but not looking in my direction either. I started to crawl on my belly very slowly. Going from tree to tree, of anything else that would hide me. I needed to get to 60 yds for a shot. He was quartering away slightly. Not enough to prevent me from taking a shot. I could still hit both lungs. I managed to get within 60 yds, and had worked my way behind a tree in the kneeling position. Slowly I worked the barrel out, and put the sights on him. When the sight picture was perfect I said bang your dead. When he heard me say that he spun around and looked at me, then bolted away. A nice 5 point.
It didn\'t matter that I didn\'t really shoot him. It was great hunt that I loved, and won\'t forget. Somehow bears lost my interest at that point. My hunt was over, and I was happy.
Sorry, I know you wanted to hear about a bear hunt. I wasn\'t even going to mention this, but it just came out. It was kind of fun reliving it again.
Yesterday.............I went to an area about 5 miles out of town at 9000ft. I wanted to try some calling. I brought a Wayne Carlton bear call. Which is pretty much a predator call, but loud! It\'s exhausting calling for bears. You can\'t let up with the calling, or the bear stops coming in. I found a pretty good spot to setup, and started to call. After 40 min straight of hard loud calling I was ready to pass out. I was almost ready to quit when I spotted a bear about 150yds out. He was coming straight at me in a fast walk. I\'m pretty sure it was a bore, and a color phase blondish tan. We have few black bears around here.
I didn\'t want to stop calling, but wanted to get the gun in position too. Awkward moment. I\'m sure he didn\'t see me moving, but at 100yds he started to make a big circle. I had the wind in my face from the direction he was originally coming, but now that he was circling I was worried. Now he was moving very slow, and continued to circle until he was almost behind me. He must have finally caught my scent, and took off at top speed.
Well, that was disappointing, and i\'m not sure I could have done anything to prevent it. All I can hope is the next one, if there is a next one, won\'t circle behind me, but come straight in. I got no more action for the rest of the day.
Today.......I tried a new area today, but still at lower altitude since yesterday showed me this is where the bears are now. So, i\'m moving slow to area I wanted to try calling. It was early, and almost shooting hours. This area is an area i\'ve hunted for elk in the past, but haven\'t tried it in years. As i\'m sneaking along trying to be quiet I hear 4-5 chuckles from a bull very close. Less than 200yds I would guess. I\'ve this many times before, but not being a caller i\'m not sure what the bull is saying. I\'ve always just used it as a location of where an elk is. Maybe you guys can tell me what it means. There is nothing but the low toned chuckles. Nothing else before them.
All of a sudden bear was forgotten, and I became an elk hunter again. My first love. of course I couldn\'t shoot and elk. I had no tag, but that doesn\'t mean I can\'t hunt for it.. I\'ve always said the hunt is the important part. Not the kill. If I could sneak close enough for a shot. I\'ll consider it a success. So, I start off in the direction of the chuckles. Now i\'m in full stalking mode. I moving like a snail wearing slippers. I\'m using the terrain to stay out of sight. I still haven\'t seen the bull yet, but I know it\'s close. I finally get to where it should have been, but I see nothing. I was lucky the wind was in my favor, so I know it didn\'t scent me. I found some tracks, and I could follow them ok. There\'s an old unused logging road, and he was taking it. We were now moving up the mountain, and the wind was still in my favor, so I started to move parallel to the road out of sight in case he looked back. He was moving fast by looking at his tracks, but just walking at a normal pace. Of course that was still compared to how slow I was moving. I was smiling the whole time. I was elk hunting. Sort of.
After awhile I went back to the road to check the tracks. They were gone. He must have moved off the road to the opposite side I was coming up. I back tracked until I found where he left the road. I started off in that direction, but I could follow the tracks anymore. Too many pine needles. I sat under a tree to listen. Hoping I hear him moving. After 10 minutes I heard those same chuckles. It\'s like he was calling me. Hey Pete! I\'m over here. This elk is playing with me. Ok, I said to myself. He wants to play, lets play. I moved off in the direction of the chuckles, and it dropped down into an aspen grove with a little creek running through it. I thought right away. Hmmmm..nice bedding area. I moved into the aspens, and they moved up the mountain. About 75yds wide, but long long row of them moving up the mountain. I picked up his tracks again, and he was moving up the aspens. I had picked up his scent again, so I knew I was going in the right direction. I went along for about 30 min doing my best to stay quiet. It was not hard, because the ground was moist near the creek. Then I heard him. Not the chuckles again, but him moving. Just as I heard him I saw him. I was down on all fours trying to hide behind a stump. I watched him look in my direction, but then look away. I was as frozen as the stump. Proof critters don\'t see blaze orange. He was about 100yds away. He was just standing there no moving, but not looking in my direction either. I started to crawl on my belly very slowly. Going from tree to tree, of anything else that would hide me. I needed to get to 60 yds for a shot. He was quartering away slightly. Not enough to prevent me from taking a shot. I could still hit both lungs. I managed to get within 60 yds, and had worked my way behind a tree in the kneeling position. Slowly I worked the barrel out, and put the sights on him. When the sight picture was perfect I said bang your dead. When he heard me say that he spun around and looked at me, then bolted away. A nice 5 point.
It didn\'t matter that I didn\'t really shoot him. It was great hunt that I loved, and won\'t forget. Somehow bears lost my interest at that point. My hunt was over, and I was happy.
Sorry, I know you wanted to hear about a bear hunt. I wasn\'t even going to mention this, but it just came out. It was kind of fun reliving it again.
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,345
Great story Pete! I was beginning to get worried that a bear ate you since we weren\'t seeing any reports, and once you mentioned using calls, I thought for sure a bear had done you in and someone was pretending to be you! :haha:
On a serious note, that story about following the bull is awesome! I think it is a great testament to the amount of patience you sometimes need while elk hunting. Reading your story reminded me of multiple times where I lost a track on an animal and just decided to go on about my business. The fact that you sat and waited him out, finally hearing him, is great. A very good lesson for me, and I\'m sure others as well, about patience :upthumb:
On a serious note, that story about following the bull is awesome! I think it is a great testament to the amount of patience you sometimes need while elk hunting. Reading your story reminded me of multiple times where I lost a track on an animal and just decided to go on about my business. The fact that you sat and waited him out, finally hearing him, is great. A very good lesson for me, and I\'m sure others as well, about patience :upthumb:
It was in the unit I live in. The bear hunt ended yesterday, so I didn\'t get one. It was fun trying, but we don\'t have a lot of bears in this unit, and my style of hunting is not that great for bear hunting without doing a lot of scouting. Which I didn\'t really do any for bear to amount to anything. I would have been better off resting my knee for the elk hunt next month, but no regrets. I did call in a bear, and that was kind of exciting to see him coming towards me with lunch on his mind. I\'ve been thinking about what I would have done if he had kept coming straight at me. I would have had to take a frontal shot. I normally try to avoid those, but it would have been my only option.
The elk hunt is the one over the pass starting on Oct 18th. I\'ll wait until the 17th to buy the OTC tag. That way i\'ll know better about the weather. I know i\'ll be hating all the hunters there. I\'m guessing at least 2500 hunters. Still hunting will be out of the question, so i\'m hoping to position myself for an ambush, and hoping other hunters will drive one towards me. I won\'t be fussy. Any legal bull will be fair game.
The elk hunt is the one over the pass starting on Oct 18th. I\'ll wait until the 17th to buy the OTC tag. That way i\'ll know better about the weather. I know i\'ll be hating all the hunters there. I\'m guessing at least 2500 hunters. Still hunting will be out of the question, so i\'m hoping to position myself for an ambush, and hoping other hunters will drive one towards me. I won\'t be fussy. Any legal bull will be fair game.
iccyman001
New member
- Apr 30, 2014
- 5,489
Great elk story!
It will be on my list Brad, but I don\'t have any elk points, so the best I could do is get a cow tag for muzzy season. In the past i\'ve heard bulls and cows in that area during muzzy season. It\'s actually a very popular area during rifle seasons, but nobody goes there for bow and muzzy seasons. They probably think it\'s at too low an altitude for the early seasons. I know better. 
\"Still Hunter\" said:
I try to hunt the week of Arkansas\'s muzzleloader season and the 6 weekends of the modern gun season so there are many days I want kill anythin\' but I just happy to be able to be out there with all the critters... Sometimes I kill a deer or 2 (6 is the legal limit) and sometimes I don\'t... :upthumb: :upthumb:
I\'m glad ya were able to hunt this fall and hope ya get to hunt the rifle season also, Pete.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
