drahthaar
Active member
For the last year, I have told my son that we would go out in the spring a kill a bear. Unfortunately, my job has not allowed me to put in much of an effort. Until this weekend, I have taken exactly one good hike with gun in hand, all the while looking forward to this weekend where my schedule gave me 5 straight days off. Burned one day working around the house and going to baseball games, then decided I can't screw around anymore, I have to just hit my clearcut, because in order to satisfy the other child, I promised camping up the North Fork of the Flathead. So I will have exactly 1 day to kill a bear.
This clearcut has provided 3 bears in 3 straight years, and every time I have killed a bear there, multiple bears were in the unit at the same time. If there is ever a good chance for a bear, this is it. But I always gave it at least 2 or 3 evenings to get it done there.
Went up lookin around Friday morning, saw lots of deer and a couple cow elk, but no bears. Ran up on some private ground that is full of bears, but again, no dice. So I was down to Friday evening.
5 o'clock, threw the boy in the truck and told him to say a prayer. We got out and headed up the hill to get to a nice glassing point at the top of this big clearcut. He was nothing but smiles in our ascent. It was warm and the thermals were still blowing uphill at a good clip, but there was a front moving in. We got to the glassing spot, and immediately, he has to pee(of course). Goes back behind us and then I spot two bull elk coming out into the clearcut. I go, "Cope, hurry up and get over here", then the grin starts again.
He gets himself put away and crawls back over to me. These elk didn't even know we were in the county. They moved off to the middle of the cut and stopped. Ears perched forward, just staring, both, down the hill. I see nothing, but I told the boy, "See those elk, they smell something or see something, it is probably a bear down there". They stood there for about 3 minutes, just staring, then sauntered out of the cut into the timber on the far side.
I wasn't 15 minutes later, I see him. Movement down in the same corner the bears always come out of. I glassed him, and wasn't convinced he was that great, but I really want this kid to be in on a hunt where I take something. I tell him, "We are going down there take a close look at him, and maybe kill him". "Okay dad, he says". As I am packing up my backpack, the winds really start getting lousy, swirling up an down, back an forth. I figure we have to cover 400 yards ASAP, as this bear keeps feeding back into the timber and out again. I am nervous he will feed in and not come back out. Plus I can't figure the wind for crap either. I warn the boy that the wind might screw us up. I take off down the hill over logs, under logs, every time I look back he is right there, big grin. Totally in the moment, stalking like a champ.
We get down level in elevation with the bear(I guessed because he was back in the timber), I figured the wind would blow uphill or down, more than across to the south. I have not seen the bear for about 5 minutes, when he shows himself again back up the hill(brush and topography are a bugger in there). All I ever get to see is his back too. I am not about 80 yards away, and get a stiff breeze right at my back blowing right to him. He stops, raises up on his hind legs, crap!!! I say, "Freeze Cope". This gives me a good look at his head, he is good bear for sure, very respectable. Now I really want to kill him. So we sneak up to a tree for me to rest on and the boy to hide behind a see this. The bear feeds out to where I can see his head, neck, and front shoulders. Another breeze blows his way, and he stops and looks right at us. I figure now or never and plant him with one in the neck right in front of the shoulders. Kimber MT 7mm-08, with a 140 grain barnes tsx, was through and through, massive damage. The bears rolled down the hill and that was it.
Perfect hunt.
Walkin up on it as it was.
Hero shot
This clearcut has provided 3 bears in 3 straight years, and every time I have killed a bear there, multiple bears were in the unit at the same time. If there is ever a good chance for a bear, this is it. But I always gave it at least 2 or 3 evenings to get it done there.
Went up lookin around Friday morning, saw lots of deer and a couple cow elk, but no bears. Ran up on some private ground that is full of bears, but again, no dice. So I was down to Friday evening.
5 o'clock, threw the boy in the truck and told him to say a prayer. We got out and headed up the hill to get to a nice glassing point at the top of this big clearcut. He was nothing but smiles in our ascent. It was warm and the thermals were still blowing uphill at a good clip, but there was a front moving in. We got to the glassing spot, and immediately, he has to pee(of course). Goes back behind us and then I spot two bull elk coming out into the clearcut. I go, "Cope, hurry up and get over here", then the grin starts again.
He gets himself put away and crawls back over to me. These elk didn't even know we were in the county. They moved off to the middle of the cut and stopped. Ears perched forward, just staring, both, down the hill. I see nothing, but I told the boy, "See those elk, they smell something or see something, it is probably a bear down there". They stood there for about 3 minutes, just staring, then sauntered out of the cut into the timber on the far side.
I wasn't 15 minutes later, I see him. Movement down in the same corner the bears always come out of. I glassed him, and wasn't convinced he was that great, but I really want this kid to be in on a hunt where I take something. I tell him, "We are going down there take a close look at him, and maybe kill him". "Okay dad, he says". As I am packing up my backpack, the winds really start getting lousy, swirling up an down, back an forth. I figure we have to cover 400 yards ASAP, as this bear keeps feeding back into the timber and out again. I am nervous he will feed in and not come back out. Plus I can't figure the wind for crap either. I warn the boy that the wind might screw us up. I take off down the hill over logs, under logs, every time I look back he is right there, big grin. Totally in the moment, stalking like a champ.
We get down level in elevation with the bear(I guessed because he was back in the timber), I figured the wind would blow uphill or down, more than across to the south. I have not seen the bear for about 5 minutes, when he shows himself again back up the hill(brush and topography are a bugger in there). All I ever get to see is his back too. I am not about 80 yards away, and get a stiff breeze right at my back blowing right to him. He stops, raises up on his hind legs, crap!!! I say, "Freeze Cope". This gives me a good look at his head, he is good bear for sure, very respectable. Now I really want to kill him. So we sneak up to a tree for me to rest on and the boy to hide behind a see this. The bear feeds out to where I can see his head, neck, and front shoulders. Another breeze blows his way, and he stops and looks right at us. I figure now or never and plant him with one in the neck right in front of the shoulders. Kimber MT 7mm-08, with a 140 grain barnes tsx, was through and through, massive damage. The bears rolled down the hill and that was it.
Perfect hunt.
Walkin up on it as it was.
Hero shot
