Joe Hulburt
Well-known member
Well I finally found a nice bear to hang the tag on last evening. It's been SLOW hunting here in the Trask unit and I was starting to get worried as my schedule wasn't working out to have the amount of hunting days needed for me to find a spring bear. I got lucky! So far out of 440 tags there have only been 3 bears checked in that I know of although as May progresses that will change if it hasn't already. At any rate on an average year there are usually only about a dozen bears killed in this hunt and with the little time I had to commit to hunting this spring I was getting concerned.
Last evening I was still hunting up a creek bottom in the very thick coastal rain forest when I spotted black about 52 yards up thru some alders and salmonberry brush. At first he fed to the left and was obscured by alders but after a few minutes he fed to the right into a shooting lane and the old 30-30 did what it likes to do.
He spun in several circles and went down right away but to my surprise he got back on his feet and headed towards the steepest part of the draw next to the bench we were on. I took a running shot and it appears I didn't follow thru well enough and centered his femur in one hind quarter (I learned when I skinned him) which didn't even seem to phase him. Light was fading fast and I could hear some brush popping in the draw so down in I went looking for a wounded bear. It was a tough call but the fact that there was ZERO blood trail where he had ran off told me not to wait but to try and get another bullet in him. By the time I was down in the brushy creek bottom I was really second guessing my plan when I see him slowly walking about 30 yards away so I knocked him down again. After this shot the brush shook for a minute of so and things got still. I almost headed straight to him but decided to swing wide to get a better look in the brush and I'm glad I did as he was UP and walking across the creek again! I waited for him to get out of the creek then the final shot hit him at the base of the neck and put him down for the count. Finally.......he was the toughest bear I've killed to date! The first shot hit 1" behind the near shoulder and it looks like the bullet is in the off side shoulder. I would have liked to have hit 3" higher but other than that it should have been a lethal shot but with no blood trail it could have got ugly. I still have faith in the old 30-30......it seems like every once in a while a bear can be a tough customer.
Anyhow here he is......beautiful (approximately) 250 lb. boar with a perfect hide.
I have been packing my new bow all season but decided to take the old 30-30 out last night. THe bear was in easy bow range and I could have stalked closer yet but I was getting worried about having enough time to fill the tag. I am determined to kill a good bear with the new bow this Fall!
Last evening I was still hunting up a creek bottom in the very thick coastal rain forest when I spotted black about 52 yards up thru some alders and salmonberry brush. At first he fed to the left and was obscured by alders but after a few minutes he fed to the right into a shooting lane and the old 30-30 did what it likes to do.
He spun in several circles and went down right away but to my surprise he got back on his feet and headed towards the steepest part of the draw next to the bench we were on. I took a running shot and it appears I didn't follow thru well enough and centered his femur in one hind quarter (I learned when I skinned him) which didn't even seem to phase him. Light was fading fast and I could hear some brush popping in the draw so down in I went looking for a wounded bear. It was a tough call but the fact that there was ZERO blood trail where he had ran off told me not to wait but to try and get another bullet in him. By the time I was down in the brushy creek bottom I was really second guessing my plan when I see him slowly walking about 30 yards away so I knocked him down again. After this shot the brush shook for a minute of so and things got still. I almost headed straight to him but decided to swing wide to get a better look in the brush and I'm glad I did as he was UP and walking across the creek again! I waited for him to get out of the creek then the final shot hit him at the base of the neck and put him down for the count. Finally.......he was the toughest bear I've killed to date! The first shot hit 1" behind the near shoulder and it looks like the bullet is in the off side shoulder. I would have liked to have hit 3" higher but other than that it should have been a lethal shot but with no blood trail it could have got ugly. I still have faith in the old 30-30......it seems like every once in a while a bear can be a tough customer. Anyhow here he is......beautiful (approximately) 250 lb. boar with a perfect hide.
I have been packing my new bow all season but decided to take the old 30-30 out last night. THe bear was in easy bow range and I could have stalked closer yet but I was getting worried about having enough time to fill the tag. I am determined to kill a good bear with the new bow this Fall!
