e300winmag
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2013
- Messages
- 318
2015 Hunt Talker Bear Hunt
- Thread starter jryoung
- Start date
e300winmag
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2013
- Messages
- 318
e300winmag
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2013
- Messages
- 318
e300winmag
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2013
- Messages
- 318
e300winmag
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2013
- Messages
- 318
johnp
Well-known member
" Rubber Boa " Probably make a good snack for mr. Bear.
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I'm finally home and catching up on the thread. Man, what an awesome time. The fishing was hit and miss, but I got a toad of a trout in Browns Lake. Struck out on pike. Drank PBR for the first time since I was a private in the barracks and realized I liked it. The Kirkland light was amazingly pretty good too. I set my tent up right in the middle of the camp sight right next to the fire, so I schooled everyone on sleep apnea and snoring, but I prefer to think of it as keeping bears away. It was great hanging out with the HT crew, and even better getting to met new people. Ryan took over my drunk Cushmanisms, so I didn't have to try too hard and just got to drink and enjoy the show. On my way home I ran in to a snow storm in Wyoming and ended up spending the night in the Walmart parking lot in Casper. Got home the next afternoon and unpacked the truck and did laundry and repacked the truck to head out the next morning to go to Oklahoma for my oldest son's high school graduation. He was also a national honor society member and leaves for Army bootcamp tomorrow. I am one proud father. So, on my way home from Oklahoma Sunday I run into a storm in southern Colorado, well we see people pulled over on the side of the road and storm chaser vans running up and down the hiway and wonder why people are making a big deal about a storm. Well, then the rain starts coming sideways and the wind starts blowing to where I can't control the truck and the hail started, so I get off the road and we actually got to see the funnel cloud pass by behind us. Not something I want to do again any time soon. So, that calms down and me and the wife and sitting there looking at each other like holy crap, that just happened...and the storm chasers are out looking at the clouds out to our right and the wind picks up all of a sudden and that cloud starts to rotate....I was like screw this and got the hell out of there and up the hiway as quick as possible. So, we get through all of that and out of the storms and life is good and we're cruising...20 miles from home...BAM...I get pulled over and get a speeding ticket. So, needless to say, I am done with road trips for a while. I am so looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone.
MThuntr
Well-known member
Just another baculum measuring contest...turns out Julie's got the biggest one in camp
Jalapeno Poppers on the fire
Hey! My coffee cup made the pictures! 
Nice pictures guys! Ethan, Julie's bear is amazing for this country! What a brute. I'll leave the 'bones' for Ryan to ogle over.
John, again, grats to your son! It was cool to see you glow when you spoke of him and his plans. Thank him for me for his choice to serve our country!
Fan-freekin-tastic food! Whatever that soup...you are a damn great chef!
Nice pictures guys! Ethan, Julie's bear is amazing for this country! What a brute. I'll leave the 'bones' for Ryan to ogle over.
John, again, grats to your son! It was cool to see you glow when you spoke of him and his plans. Thank him for me for his choice to serve our country!
Fan-freekin-tastic food! Whatever that soup...you are a damn great chef!
devon deer
Well-known member
Great thread, and i recognize some of the faces!
Nice photo mtlion.
BTW, i had to 'google' baculum, the result was a bloody surprise!
Cheers
Richard
Nice photo mtlion.
BTW, i had to 'google' baculum, the result was a bloody surprise!
Cheers
Richard
mtlion
Active member
Some good pics here, I may have to nab some.
As far as the bone measuring contest I do believe I have started a HT bear hunt tradition here. Maybe the loser has to sit on the toilet seat around the campfire?
As far as the bone measuring contest I do believe I have started a HT bear hunt tradition here. Maybe the loser has to sit on the toilet seat around the campfire?
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
So now that the dust has settled back home, I thought I would add a bit more commentary.
Day 1: Ed and I linked up on Friday morning at the airport in MN. Ed had been out of town for work, so he never even left the airport. I already had his rifle and some another bag, so it worked out pretty slick. We made it to MSO around 1 and after a quick stop at BHA HQ and the grocery store, we were on our way to bear camp with provisions (including some Cold Smoke; which we did our level best to deliver intact, from Grant, to J.R. in camp).
We hit camp with enough time to say hi to everyone who wasn't already out for the evening, get our camp pitched, and get out for a few hours of glassing. No bears that first evening, but I did spot a lion crossing a slide about a 1000 yds off. It is always cool to see a cat.
As ussual the revelry in camp was outstanding, as was the food (thanks Cush!!)
Day 2: The next day was kind of dreary and rainy, and we decided to hike up into a couple of creek drainages that had been clearcut a few years ago. The top of which was just about at the snowline. Randy11 and Gerald had hiked into the base of them a few days earlier and had seen a sow and cubs, so we knew there were bears using the area, we just needed to find a bear with one of those fancy bones everyone had been ogling over back at camp.
We worked our way up into the drainages it looked like both had the potential to hold bears, so Ed and I decided to split up and each cover one. We hadn't seen any fresh bear sign on the way up. We did see some elk and a bunch of deer. As I worked my way up towards the top of my drainage I noticed an area all the way at the top that was screened from view by a stand of lodgepoles, so I decided to sneek out there and see if I could find some sign, as it looked like a great spot and was the greenest stuff we saw. There was a bunch of scat, and it was big. At this point I was torn between sitting on this spot hoping a bear would pop out, and back out of it so I could glass the whole drainage and try to locate a bear that we might have to come back in and kill the next day. I opted for the latter; which proved to be the right move.
I moved back out to the edge of the drainage to glass. I had probably been sitting there for a half hour or so, when I heard something further up the knob from me. Initially I figured it was some of the mule deer we had been bumping throughout the day, but a few seconds later a big furry black blob lumbered over the crest. My initial impression from his head, front shoulders, and gait was that this was a boar, but I am not an experienced judge of bears, and I had about 50 yds before he would get back into the timber. I watched him as long as I could to make sure no cubs came tumbling after him, at the same time trying to find a solid rest for the shot. Due to the crest of the hill between me and him, the only clear shot I had was offhand; which I don't like, but after pulling up on him and seeing the crosshairs rest perfectly I decided to touch it off. I didn't have time to range him, but I knew he was close enough that it wouldn't matter. With the light recoil of the .260, and the scope on min power, I was able to watch the round hit perfectly, and the bear fold instantly, tumbling down through the deadfall until he caught up on a stump. I cycled the bolt right away and held on him for a follow up if neccesary, but it wasn't, he was done. I ran up there, checked his wedding tackle, and freed him from the deadfall to roll down the hill a little further.
Where he held up:
I was able to get one photo taken, and one text to Ed that I had "got one". Then my phone died. As I sat there admiring my bear, I realized I had forgotten both of my knives down in the truck (2 hours away), so I didn't have alot to do at the moment, and decided to keep glassing until Ed came up later on. Well, wouldn't you know another boar steps out of the timber on the far side of the drainage to munch some grass. I got to looking at him and my untrained eye made me think that he might be a bit bigger that the bear I had just shot. Now, I have hunted alot of years with Ed, and I had no expectation that he would give up his hunt for the rest of the evening to come up to see my bear until shooting light was gone, but now I was really hoping he might. There was about 35-40 minutes of shooting light left and a 20-25 minute hike each way to go get Ed, so I figured my best bet was to stay put and watch this bear, so we could come back and kill him the next day. I was concerned about blowing this other bear out, so at last light I decided that as cold as it was going to be, if I propped the bear up on his stomach he would be ok there for the night, and I snuck out of the drainage.
Ed and I linked up for the long walk out, and that evening in camp was congratulations and story telling, as usual.
Day 3: Sunday morning we got ready to head back up and take care of my bear. Randy and Travis were going to walk in with Ed and I, and then shuttle out the meat, while I stayed up for the evening with Ed, to hopefully smoke that other boar.
Here are some more picks of the bear. He was a nice boar, I said about a "five footer" the evening before, but it turns out he was a little nicer. When the Taxi put a quick tape to him when I dropped him off he figured once the skull was out he would be an inch or two shy of 6ft. He did have an oversized noggin and big old mits.
Awesome Photography
Another Angle
Big Ole Mitt
Gratuitus Shot with New Rifle
To be continued.....
Day 1: Ed and I linked up on Friday morning at the airport in MN. Ed had been out of town for work, so he never even left the airport. I already had his rifle and some another bag, so it worked out pretty slick. We made it to MSO around 1 and after a quick stop at BHA HQ and the grocery store, we were on our way to bear camp with provisions (including some Cold Smoke; which we did our level best to deliver intact, from Grant, to J.R. in camp).
We hit camp with enough time to say hi to everyone who wasn't already out for the evening, get our camp pitched, and get out for a few hours of glassing. No bears that first evening, but I did spot a lion crossing a slide about a 1000 yds off. It is always cool to see a cat.
As ussual the revelry in camp was outstanding, as was the food (thanks Cush!!)
Day 2: The next day was kind of dreary and rainy, and we decided to hike up into a couple of creek drainages that had been clearcut a few years ago. The top of which was just about at the snowline. Randy11 and Gerald had hiked into the base of them a few days earlier and had seen a sow and cubs, so we knew there were bears using the area, we just needed to find a bear with one of those fancy bones everyone had been ogling over back at camp.
We worked our way up into the drainages it looked like both had the potential to hold bears, so Ed and I decided to split up and each cover one. We hadn't seen any fresh bear sign on the way up. We did see some elk and a bunch of deer. As I worked my way up towards the top of my drainage I noticed an area all the way at the top that was screened from view by a stand of lodgepoles, so I decided to sneek out there and see if I could find some sign, as it looked like a great spot and was the greenest stuff we saw. There was a bunch of scat, and it was big. At this point I was torn between sitting on this spot hoping a bear would pop out, and back out of it so I could glass the whole drainage and try to locate a bear that we might have to come back in and kill the next day. I opted for the latter; which proved to be the right move.
I moved back out to the edge of the drainage to glass. I had probably been sitting there for a half hour or so, when I heard something further up the knob from me. Initially I figured it was some of the mule deer we had been bumping throughout the day, but a few seconds later a big furry black blob lumbered over the crest. My initial impression from his head, front shoulders, and gait was that this was a boar, but I am not an experienced judge of bears, and I had about 50 yds before he would get back into the timber. I watched him as long as I could to make sure no cubs came tumbling after him, at the same time trying to find a solid rest for the shot. Due to the crest of the hill between me and him, the only clear shot I had was offhand; which I don't like, but after pulling up on him and seeing the crosshairs rest perfectly I decided to touch it off. I didn't have time to range him, but I knew he was close enough that it wouldn't matter. With the light recoil of the .260, and the scope on min power, I was able to watch the round hit perfectly, and the bear fold instantly, tumbling down through the deadfall until he caught up on a stump. I cycled the bolt right away and held on him for a follow up if neccesary, but it wasn't, he was done. I ran up there, checked his wedding tackle, and freed him from the deadfall to roll down the hill a little further.
Where he held up:
I was able to get one photo taken, and one text to Ed that I had "got one". Then my phone died. As I sat there admiring my bear, I realized I had forgotten both of my knives down in the truck (2 hours away), so I didn't have alot to do at the moment, and decided to keep glassing until Ed came up later on. Well, wouldn't you know another boar steps out of the timber on the far side of the drainage to munch some grass. I got to looking at him and my untrained eye made me think that he might be a bit bigger that the bear I had just shot. Now, I have hunted alot of years with Ed, and I had no expectation that he would give up his hunt for the rest of the evening to come up to see my bear until shooting light was gone, but now I was really hoping he might. There was about 35-40 minutes of shooting light left and a 20-25 minute hike each way to go get Ed, so I figured my best bet was to stay put and watch this bear, so we could come back and kill him the next day. I was concerned about blowing this other bear out, so at last light I decided that as cold as it was going to be, if I propped the bear up on his stomach he would be ok there for the night, and I snuck out of the drainage.
Ed and I linked up for the long walk out, and that evening in camp was congratulations and story telling, as usual.
Day 3: Sunday morning we got ready to head back up and take care of my bear. Randy and Travis were going to walk in with Ed and I, and then shuttle out the meat, while I stayed up for the evening with Ed, to hopefully smoke that other boar.
Here are some more picks of the bear. He was a nice boar, I said about a "five footer" the evening before, but it turns out he was a little nicer. When the Taxi put a quick tape to him when I dropped him off he figured once the skull was out he would be an inch or two shy of 6ft. He did have an oversized noggin and big old mits.
Awesome Photography
Another Angle
Big Ole Mitt
Gratuitus Shot with New Rifle
To be continued.....
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
Well, day 3 ended without that other boar coming back out. I was pretty confident that I did blow him out, but that's the way it goes. I walked out that evening with a heavy pack full of jet black hide and head.
Day 4: We got an early start and headed into town to get the meat and hide taken care of, and then heading back because we wanted to hike into some steeper stuff and check out some chutes and open faces up higher. It was a long hike back into some awesome country that day, but there were no black bears to be had. We did see a fair amount of grizzly sign, and were surprised how much elk sign was already heading back into the wilderness. We had to cross a pretty heavy flowing creek a few times on the way up, and one for sure was pretty sketchy, so we headed back down to some of the lower chutes to glass the last hour or so, even from there it was probably over two hours out, once it got dark. It was cool just to be up there, and it looked like we were the first to push that far back in yet this spring.
Panoramic
Taking a break
Day 5: We said go bye to the other two hold outs Sytes and Cushman, and headed back into the drainage where we had seen that other boar, figuring it was our best bet to punch Ed's tag, but there were no bears to be had. It was an awesome hunt.
Day 6: Packed up early, and headed back to MSO to fly home. Before we hit the airport, we did make the obligatory stop at the Double Front for chicken, and it was worth it. Breezed through check-in and off we went, I am sure our fellow passengers enjoyed the aroma.
All in all, it was another awesome bear hunt. Like everyone else has said, just a great bunch of guy and gals in camp. The first day in camp, and it was like we never left, just back to hanging out with a bunch of old friends. Can't wait for next year......
Day 4: We got an early start and headed into town to get the meat and hide taken care of, and then heading back because we wanted to hike into some steeper stuff and check out some chutes and open faces up higher. It was a long hike back into some awesome country that day, but there were no black bears to be had. We did see a fair amount of grizzly sign, and were surprised how much elk sign was already heading back into the wilderness. We had to cross a pretty heavy flowing creek a few times on the way up, and one for sure was pretty sketchy, so we headed back down to some of the lower chutes to glass the last hour or so, even from there it was probably over two hours out, once it got dark. It was cool just to be up there, and it looked like we were the first to push that far back in yet this spring.
Panoramic
Taking a break
Day 5: We said go bye to the other two hold outs Sytes and Cushman, and headed back into the drainage where we had seen that other boar, figuring it was our best bet to punch Ed's tag, but there were no bears to be had. It was an awesome hunt.
Day 6: Packed up early, and headed back to MSO to fly home. Before we hit the airport, we did make the obligatory stop at the Double Front for chicken, and it was worth it. Breezed through check-in and off we went, I am sure our fellow passengers enjoyed the aroma.
All in all, it was another awesome bear hunt. Like everyone else has said, just a great bunch of guy and gals in camp. The first day in camp, and it was like we never left, just back to hanging out with a bunch of old friends. Can't wait for next year......
mtlion
Active member
Just heard from MTFWP, my bear was tagged as part of a research project in the area that wrapped up a couple years ago. Should be some more tagged bears in that neck of the woods.
Lots of great pictures showing up. It's amazing how much you miss even with being there.
Again, the food was amazing. Bear tacos, elk burgers, mountain lion breakfast burritos, bear brats, Gerald's poppers and Juan Cushman' amazing pork stew. Not so mention the buckets of baked goods Julie brought. My lord that stuff was good.
A couple of guys were asking me about the rub I put on that pronghorn- http://midyettpremium.com/
Bear activity was definitely a bit slower this year, but nothing could match up the bearadise we were in last year. I think everyone who hunted at least had an encounter, except maybe J.R. Who I took on a hike right under a set of grizzly bears that we never saw but Travis watched from a distance. Hopefully your moose tag makes up for not seeing a bear J.R.
Again, the food was amazing. Bear tacos, elk burgers, mountain lion breakfast burritos, bear brats, Gerald's poppers and Juan Cushman' amazing pork stew. Not so mention the buckets of baked goods Julie brought. My lord that stuff was good.
A couple of guys were asking me about the rub I put on that pronghorn- http://midyettpremium.com/
Bear activity was definitely a bit slower this year, but nothing could match up the bearadise we were in last year. I think everyone who hunted at least had an encounter, except maybe J.R. Who I took on a hike right under a set of grizzly bears that we never saw but Travis watched from a distance. Hopefully your moose tag makes up for not seeing a bear J.R.
mtlion
Active member
JR, I took your hat to the east side to represent. Check out these healthy kitty's I enticed in, surely due to my headgear.
Just some creative editing...
Agreed though, the hats rock. Even if I wasn't part of the camp, I'm glad to sport one. Thanks a bunch JR!
