Bear hunting blues...

[lightsoutcalls]

I'm still sore from the weekend bear hunt.  No, I didn't get mauled.  No, I didn't fall out of my stand. 

Here's how it went. 

Saturday AM, I walked in the dark to the bluff above my stand.  I lowered my bow and pack over the 15' (approx) bluff and climbed down through the 18" wide crevice to the bench below.  (Yes, I have to turn sideways to get through.) I set off a "Buck Bomb" fruit punch scent (for hog hunting) on a big rock between my stand and the bait barrel, then climbed my 16' ladder and strapped in.  I enjoyed the morning coming to life in the woods.  I was in my stand by 6:20 am.  At sometime around 8:00, I heard "something" that didn't sound like anything in particular.  I glanced over my right shoulder to see a black mass less than 10 yards away.  There was no guessing what it was.  Surprisingly, my heart didn't burst out of my chest.  I was excited, but this is what I had been planning for for over a year.  I had been baiting for 2 weeks, and had trail camera pictures of a minimum of 9 different bears in the 2 weeks.  The coal black mass stopped and sniffed at the base of my ladder stand for a minute or so.  He followed the worn trail about 8" wide and worn to the bare earth to the point where I crossed the trail and stopped.  He lifted his head and sniffed and I noticed the nice, blonde mask on his snout.  As he stood, unalarmed and sniffed at a mere 6 yards from my setup (as per my nikon archer's choice rangefinder) I decided to get it done here and now.  He appeared to have a nice wide head and hadn't missed any meals.  I drew back and don't remember much about anything before seeing my lumenok sticking out of the (guessing) 300 pound bear.  He turned without any vocalization and ran off down the ridge.  The only word that came to mind, and it came like machine gun fire, was "crap,crap,crap,crap...."  I thought I was going to slip the Grizztrick in behind the left shoulder at a sharp angle downwards.  What the lumenok and arrow told was a different story.  The arrow looked like a car antenna with an LED topper sticking up from between the back hams and ribcage just to the left of his spine.  I was (and still am) sick.  After about an hour and a half, my buddy and I took one of his pitbulls down to where I hit the bear.  There was no blood anywhere that we could see.  After a few minutes, the dog found a coupl of pencil eraser sized drops.  We found about 4 other drops for a total of maybe a tablespoon full of blood over about 100 yards, then nothing.  We covered about 1/2 mile of distance and searched numerous different benches and a long, steep ravine and found nothing.  At one point the pitbull took off trailing scent.  He came back after we heard some leaves rustling.  The rustling was followed by 4 or 5 distinct jaw popping sounds (bear of some sort).  We got to where the sound had come from and found nothing.  Across the ravine and several hundred yards away we hear about 5 short moans.  These weren't like the death moans on videos I've seen.  They were short and separated.  We went and searched the benches where we thought it came from and found nothing.  The terrain was steep and rugged, but no sign of my bear.

I am still bummed.  For those of you who hunt with a bow... PLEASE, take time to be sure of your shot.  They say hindsight is 20-20.  I now wish I would have allowed him to get to about 20 yards at broadside near my barrel.  I thought it was going to be a slam dunk at 6 yards.  Instead, I'm questioning my shot and my judgment.  There are no do-overs in hunting.  Picking a specific spot on a 2D target is much different than on a big bear at 6 yards.  Grrrr...

[drenalinld]

I'm sorry it turned out that way. I know it's sickening. Cut yourself a little slack, it happens to every bow hunter that hunts very long. You'll be ready for the next shot. Good luck.

[LX_Trkyhntr]

Don't hang  your head Wendell!  It has happened to all of us at one time or another!  It happened to me on a whitetail doe last fall, I took a rushed shot and ended up just like yours.  Thank the Lord for allowing you the opportunity, and keep pressing on! 

[mossy835]

That is always a tough one we never want to see or experience.

[dirt road ninja]

Man that sucks. I've been following your reports and was looking forward to a better ending. I did almost the exact same thing on a deer a few years ago. I was in my stand and two bucks came feeding by me in a thicket. I had only a few holes to shoot thru even though the deer were well within 20 yards. The larger of the two gave me what I thought was a great shot at the "boiler room". I drew back, then settled my pin just behind the front shoulder and let it rip. The arrowed zipped right into where I was aiming, but I was aiming at the pocket just in front of the hind leg. As soon as I saw the deer reacted I knew I made a bad mistake.
I backed out of there and let him lay until the next morning. We found him not 70 yards from where he was shot.
Learned a bunch from that shot and have never repeated it.

It still had to be cool to be that close to a bear with a bow.

[barry]

The fact is as hunters we are not perfect. Things like this unfortunately happen.
The pain you feel comes from the respect you have for the animal, a respect that will make you an even better hunter in the future.
We all make mistakes but not all of us learn from them.

[TRKYHTR]

Sorry about that Wendell. Thats a bummer. I've been there as sure as many others have as well. Last year I went on my first whitetail hunt ever. I had never hunted out of a treestand or killed a whitetail. I finally had a nice wallhanger buck under my stand and when I ranged the spot it was 25 yards. He stopped before the spot so I shot him for 30. He was at 23 yards and I hit him high above the spine. He ran off with my arrow. Minimal blood, just a flesh wound. I was sick but thats bow hunting. Keep your head up and get back after them if you can.

TRKYHTR

[redarrow]

Sorry to hear that Wendell. It sucks and hurts big time,I know. Heading back on Thursday for the MI. archery opener.

[Woodsman4God]

Sorry to hear about it, I spined a buck a few years ago at close range , it turned and stepped right otwards me as I released.

I know it happens to everyone but watching the buck thrash around on the ground and having to put another finishing shot into it got me thinking about what I could do different, not long after I read this article and it changed my way of thinking about bowhunting completely. The one thing after researching alot of this information a statement I read was almost all broadheads/arrows will kill when everything goes right but what happens when everything doesnt go right.

http://www.bowhunter.com/feature_articles_bw_ashby_0909.html

[VAHUNTER]

Dang that really sux!! hate to hear it. but that is the reality of bow hunting as well as hunting in general. it happends to everyone if they hunt long enough.
i know as well as anyone how a animal like a bear can rattle a person.thankfully it did not happen to me until after i took my shot last Friday!!
do not let it get you down. bear are extremly tough and are built to withstand extreme punishment. it would not surprise me at all if this bear was to live.
Best of luck on all of your futue hunts