Blueniner9
Member
I spent a lot of time this spring hunting bears all around the Red Lodge area and even managed to see a couple towards the end of the season. I will admit it’s a major learning curve going from shooting one as a guided non-resident in 2009 to moving here in 2012 and going DIY as a resident. Finally, after three seasons of spring bear hunting (with each getting me a little more acquainted with what I should be doing thanks to forums like HT), I managed to get this beauty of a MT black bear last Friday. I was actually on a backcountry elk hunt when we got lucky. On our way in to set up camp for the weekend, we came across a ton of bear sign. The whole ridge was torn up from a bear digging through rotten logs. We stopped to glass the other side of the mountain and to take a quick lunch break around 1pm. After sitting for about 10 minutes, we began hearing logs being torn into below us. We ended up sneaking within 120 yards of him. One shot with the .300 WM and he didn't go anywhere. He's about 5'5" nose to tail, estimated weight between 225-240, with a solid noggin’ on him and some missing teeth. We skinned and quartered him for the pack out- my first attempt at the gutless method and my first pack out with my Mystery Ranch pack. It ended up being a full 24 hrs from the time we left my driveway until we returned. So our weekend hunt turned into a really long day hunt instead, but it was great to finally connect on a bear! Anyhow, enjoy and good luck with the rest of the fall season!!
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