Growing up I remember setting in the driveway watching my dad driving off to go bear hunting. It seemed like every month he was driving back with another bear that he or a friend or someone he was helping took down.
I grew up in a house full of mounts including 3 bear mounts. My dad had 2 full size bear mounts and 1 rug and 2 of them are top in the books. Ever since then I've wanted to kill a bear. I've been on a few bear hunts with friends but for some reason or not we have only been able to close the deal one time. This year I gave myself a goal of getting a coues deer, bear, lion and a elk. With a coues deer down it was time to focus in on getting a bear.
I started my hunting in the desert and after a few days of seeing nothing but coues deer I joined a friend and we finally glassed up a bear. I was stoked and thought its was gonna be a done deal. We loaded up our packs and pretty much ran up the mountain.The hike was straight up a mountain and when we got to the spot where we thought we would have a good vantage point to shoot from we realized there was a smaller hidden hill and we still had a ways to hike. With the sky starting to darken we knew we were out of time. We sat back and tried to varmit call him in but we had no luck. Its always fun hiking out of the woods when its dark and you just tried to varmit call a giant bear in that you just saw near the area. lol.
Donnie Randall from Randall and Sons Guide Service said come on up to Strawberry and we would go out and get a bear. Even though I really wanted to get this bear by spotting and stalking I realized I was running out of time and the hunt could possibly close soon. So off to Strawberry I went. The first outing Donnie took a dirt road and dropped the first dog off and Im telling you just as soon as he put the dog on the ground it was a hit. Next thing I knew we were unloading all the dogs and the race was on. After 3 units and many miles on the feet the bear got away.
Our second outing out I felt good that we would get it done. We started the morning waking up and heading to the hills at 330am. After almost hitting a cow elk on the highway we finally got to the spot and we made a game plan.We decided we would circle this mountain with his hounds and try to catch a scent. After about 30 minutes the dogs caught a good scent and they were off to the races. This bear wasnt gonna go out easy and he pulled out all the tricks to get away but the hounds outsmarted him today. After a long hard hike we got to the spot where the dogs had the boar treed. The dogs were barking so loud I was almost getting dizzy.lol.
Video of this part Coming Soon!
I was just catching my breath when I saw the bear at the top of a very large tree. I tried to control my breathing as I drew an arrow from my quiver. We discussed the yardage and its a good thing because I didnt have my "BUSHNELL SCOUT 1000 with the Arc technology!lol
I pulled my Hoyt Carbon Element back and sat my 20 yard pin right at the bears vitals. I took a deep breath and released. Whack it looked like a perfect shot. I thought the bear would drop but he didnt. He decided to go up the tree higher. Worrying that I would have to climb this tree and get this bear out I hurried another shot as he moved up the tree. The arrow hit a branch and I missed the shot. I then moved around to get another shot off. This shot was a bit further but I felt confident I could make it. I let the arrow fly as the bear moved and it hit a little back but it did the job as moments later the bear tumbled to the ground. I was happy that I finally had a bear. We took some pictures and chopped him up and packed him out.
Thanks to the guy that let me use the cowboy hat for the picture so I could represent "CowBoy Outfitters" lol.
I was so amazed on how these dogs worked and what such a great respect I have earned for Houndsmen. Donnie was like a little "Cameron Hanes" out there hiking the hills and had no problem staying up with the dogs the whole time. I wish I could say the same for me. Lol. Thanks to Donnie Randall and his friends who helped out. It was allot of work but it all came together thanks to those Hounds and Donnie. I was very happy with the experience and the memory. Now the quest starts for the elk. I just purchased the over the counter elk tag and hoping that my luck continues.
If anyone is interested in a bear or lion hunt please support our newest sponsor " Donny Randall and Sons Guide Service. I assure you he is the best in the business and you will not be disappointed.
Here is the video of the complete hunt. Enjoy!
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