Here is the story from my first traditional harvest.
This story begins in 2006 shortly after I met my good friend Stickflinger (Ryan). I was a super green bow hunter and he invited me to hunt bears at his bait near Winnipeg. That was something that I never thought I would have the courage to do, but with someone experienced sitting next to me basically holding my hand I was able to harvest my first bear with my wheelie bow. What a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
I work in agricultural research so spring is a very busy time for me and the thought of running my own bait seemed impossible with my work commitments. But this year I decided I would give it a try. I figured I might as well get the bait out and hunt it if time allowed. Well a cool wet spring in Manitoba allowed me a few occasions to fill up my bait barrels and three evening hunts in June.
My bait is the same one I took my first bear on. Ryan no longer used the bait and graciously allowed me to move in. It is quite close to Winnipeg, I can be at the bait in an hour and a half from my door.
I managed to find the old bait site and got it up and running again. Two barrels of oats and 4 pails of fryers grease and a $300 repair to my truck and I was in business. I was back 2 weeks later to find that my bait was hit and it was time to refill. Another week passed before I finally got a chance to hunt.
I got in fairly early and settled in for the evening sit. I very quickly learned to appreciate my new Thermocell that I just purchased. On the advice of Ryan I had previously hung some opened cans of smoked oysters to get some stink going and bring the bears back to this old bait site. It worked as none of the tins remained in the trees where I had hung them.
June 3rd was my first day to hunt; I had an excellent first evening and saw 4-5 different bears. They were smaller bears and a sow but I enjoyed watching them drift in to the bait so quietly. I am amazed that animals of that size can be so quiet in the woods, and how squirrels which are so small can make so much noise.
I had another tin of oysters with me so I hung it up to see what would happen. I was treated to some comical bear antics and even snapped a few pictures of their apparent love of shellfish.
I got all the action on video. The evening ended with me having to bump off 3 bears from the bait at last light. I tell you, my hand was on that can of bear deterrent and I wasted no time getting to my truck. I just can't get used to being in the bear’s living room (that's probably a good thing).
My second sit was on the 9th of June. The barrels were almost empty so I was hoping for a good night but only one small guy came in and he only stayed for 5 or 10 minutes before he vacated the premise. I think I made too much noise trying to get more pictures. It turned out that my wife's SLR camera had dead batteries so I didn't get any pictures (note to self: always check the batteries in your camera before you head out the door).
I was a bit disappointed in the evening and was wondering if the bait had been mostly gone for a while and the bears weren't coming around anymore. With only 3 days left in the season and no time to restock the bait, I went home wondering if this was the end of my 2011 bear season. I was mad at myself for not restocking my bait the weekend before.
The last day of the season was June 12th and I had the green light from my family to go one more time to see if I could get my bear. I spoke with Ryan at our church picnic in the morning and told him about the previous hunt. He assured me that he had hunted empty barrels and had lots of bears come in. So with some renewed hope, 2 bags of oats and 2 pails of magic bear bait from Ryan, I headed back to the woods for one last kick at the cat.
The horse flies and mosquitoes were terrible, buzzing around threatening to take a piece of me with them. I got my bug net on and started in with my bait. I got everything in the barrels and a little extra of the magic bait out in front of the barrels to buy me a bit more time to get that perfect broadside shot we all long for.
By 5:30 in the afternoon I was quiet in my stand and waiting for my Thermocell to clear the air of bugs. Then 3 hours of nothing...
At 8:30 I was starting to think I was just sitting in a tree looking stupid, when I heard some faint noises behind me. I passed it off as a squirrel but suddenly in my peripheral vision I saw a black mass. The bear was right under my tree and I had barely heard a sound (no pun intended).
It was a young bear that cautiously moved to the bait and began eating the magic bait. As he crunched away I could tell he liked it. He moved to the barrel that I had restocked and instead of pulling it down towards my stand he went around the barrel and a tree and pulled it down with the bait hole pointing away from my stand. This would make it very difficult to get a clear shot and any other bears that may come in.
He was at the bait for 20 minutes when I saw his head and ears perk up and stare to the North, past my stand and into the woods. I immediately heard bush cracking and knew something was about to happen.
The smaller bear spooked off. I stood up, grabbed my bow and flicked on my video camera. The bear came in like he owned the place with no hesitation, there was a smaller fatter bear with him and they both moved toward the bait.
As soon as I saw him I knew this was the bear I would try and take. His attitude and actions told me he was likely a dominant bear, my heart was pounding and the adrenalin started flowing. He went to the almost empty barrel first and batted it around for a bit. Then he noticed the magic bait his mate was chomping on and got up to take a closer look. He stopped almost broadside to take a bite and I knew that the chance I had worked so hard for was staring me in the face.
My bait is 13 yards from my stand and I practice shooting 13 yards in my basement. I have made that shot hundreds of times. I tried to remain as calm as possible and just let it happen. I picked my spot, I drew my bow and when my clicker went off so did the arrow. The next thing I heard was a loud "Thwack" like it was right out of a Super Hero comic book. My shot was high and hit the bear in the spine, he roared and spun and got himself out of there, obviously hit hard. I tried for a second shot but by the time I had another arrow on the shelf he was in the thick stuff and presented no follow up shot. My heart sunk as I knew my shot was less than stellar and just prayed that it was enough to end his life quickly. I listened to him crash through the bush which seemed like an eternity and then all was quiet, with no death moan.
I got down and headed for home, knowing enough to back out after a questionable shot and not wanting to try and stalk up on a wounded bear. I don't know much but I know I don't want to mess with a wounded bear.
As soon as I could get cel reception I call Ryan up and told him the story. We made plans to be back early in the morning to try and retrieve him. I had a very weird calm about me as I told my story, not the usual uneasiness that I get when I have made a poor shot. I took it as a good omen and tried to get some sleep.
We were at the bait at 6:15 am and began the tracking job. We found blood almost right away and followed it for about 150 yards. There wasn't a ton of blood but enough to lead the way. I got to within 10 yards and saw my bear stone dead on the forest floor. What a relief, I approached with caution and double checked that he was dead. After a firm hand shake and a hug I went to put my hands on my bear.
He is not huge but he is bigger than my previous bear and that was my goal. His face is all clawed up from fighting with a wound on the top of his head. He ain't pretty but I am more than happy with him. We took a quick measurement after he was skinned and he squared 6'3".
For those who are curious I was shooting my Cari-bow Tuktu recurve, 56# at 28". My Carbon Express 150 Heritage arrows were tipped with 200 gr Zwicky 2 blades and 100 gr brass inserts for a total arrow weight of 525 gr. I can't believe I finally harvested a big game species with my recurve. It wasn’t easy but definitely worth the effort.
Thanks for reading my story, here are a few more pictures from my hunt.
Earl Bargen (Hunter 709)
