Hunting & Fishing 2018 black bear kill with bow

[MOUNTIC]

I drew my first bear tag here in CO after a few years of putting in for points. 6 days of bear hunting and I bagged a good bear with the bow. Saw a total of 7 bears. Not allowed to bait here in CO. Just ground stalking and no calls for me. Had bear as close as 5 yards and as far as 70. Average daily incounter was 15-20 yards. Hoty Carbon Element. 29 inch draw. 73 lb draw weight from a few different scales. . Spot Hogg grinder micro adjust 5 pin sight. Easton Carbon Injection 330 deep 6 arrows. Iron will broadheads.

It was a great hunt. First bear tag I have ever drawn actually. Took a few years to draw the tag. Kinda by Steamboat. I had 16 different bear on my trail cams over a month period. Lots of young bears but a few good ones. This guy was right at 300 lbs. I'll be doing a half mount with this guy. The tag I had was actually a rifle tag that coincided with archery elk/deer kinda. Was able to elk and deer hunt for a week and bear started 8 days later. So I decided to just carry the bow. I'm pretty dialed in through 70 with my bow and figured no need to bring the rifle. Hunting the wind was the key and with changing directions that made for a challenge a few times. But I could generally get within 20 yards without them having a clue! Gets your heart pounding that's for sure. Saw many, many deer but no shooter bucks. Let all the deer pass. Elk have been pretty quiet.. Kinda weird for the area. But we have a drought so that may have something to do with it. I have been on the woods 14 days over the last 5 weeks hunting and scouting. Will be heading back up for another few days here in the coming days to what I can find for closing weekend of deer and elk archery. First time using Iron Will broadheads too. Impressed so far. We'll see how they do on a big bull. Only one way to find out.

 

[TexasWicked1]

Bad ass! Congratulations!!!

 

[MOUNTIC]

Bad ass! Congratulations!!!

Thank you. It was an awesome experience.

 

[Fig]

That is a nice big black! How far off a road were you? Did you skin and quarter it there? Did you have to get it out of there by yourself?

 

[TexasWicked1]

I bet it was. I have been unsuccessfully hunting black bears in Arkansas on public land now for seven years.

Last year was the closest encounter I have had. Opening day it was pouring down raining and I was walking this game path that was quickly turning into a small creek bed due to all the traffic on it. After about half a mile, I encounter bear track, that we dry. I follow the tracks for nearly one hundred yards and they disappear.

I also stopped and immediately was on the look out and encountered a smell. Not like wild pigs, but a bad odor, haven't showered in a week, musky smell. At one point I'm certain we were both looking at one another, camouflaged trying to determine what/where each of us were, but sadly I was not able to harvest one.

Here's to doing it again this year, this Saturday and taking my son with me.

 

[MOUNTIC]

That is a nice big black! How far off a road were you? Did you skin and quarter it there? Did you have to get it out of there by yourself?

I was about an hour hike off of any motor vehicle trail. Just hiking game trails and through the bushes, some scrub oak, sage, and Aspens. Where I'm hunting there is little dark timber. Almost no deadfall here also. Its so dry here in CO, there are a few ponds that had not dried up yet that game has been hitting regularly. But it was hit or miss. I had set my cams up at those locations.

I had hung it up with a strap I had in the tree after gutting it out. That way I could skin it being off the ground. Took me til about 9pm (shot at 610pm) to have it fully skinned and trimmed fat and whatnot off the carcus. Took me about 30 minutes to find it as it went in some thick crap to die. I left the carcus hang up in the tree over night to chill and went to 1/4 it the following am packing out the 1/4s. Was 37 for the low so it cooled very nicely. I was hunting by myself.

 

[yakstone]

Nice bear. I have drawn 3 bear tags in Co. I try to always have one when archery elk hunting.
Seems like the year I Don’t have a tag is the year I see bear. Biggest one we ran into was around 600 lbs. huge bear, had a tag but couldn’t get a shot.
That was 6 years ago and haven’t drawn one since.

 

[MOUNTIC]

I bet it was. I have been unsuccessfully hunting black bears in Arkansas on public land now for seven years.

Last year was the closest encounter I have had. Opening day it was pouring down raining and I was walking this game path that was quickly turning into a small creek bed due to all the traffic on it. After about half a mile, I encounter bear track, that we dry. I follow the tracks for nearly one hundred yards and they disappear.

I also stopped and immediately was on the look out and encountered a smell. Not like wild pigs, but a bad odor, haven't showered in a week, musky smell. At one point I'm certain we were both looking at one another, camouflaged trying to determine what/where each of us were, but sadly I was not able to harvest one.

Here's to doing it again this year, this Saturday and taking my son with me.

They can be very tough to find sometimes. Sometimes it involves a little luck. Even if you don't fill out, it's always an adventure. Best of luck to you!!

 

[MOUNTIC]

Nice bear. I have drawn 3 bear tags in Co. I try to always have one when archery elk hunting.
Seems like the year I Don’t have a tag is the year I see bear. Biggest one we ran into was around 600 lbs. huge bear, had a tag but couldn’t get a shot.
That was 6 years ago and haven’t drawn one since.

Funny how that happens. I haven't seen any monsters where I have been hunting. Maybe 400 tops for one of the bears. Most of them seem to be in that 100-300 range.

 

[Dendro]

Man hunting black bear with a bow has to be a thrill, congrats!