The 2015 hunting season has started off on a very high note for myself. I managed to take some time off work and go on a spring grizzly hunt in northern BC along with my dad, sister and her boyfriend. We are all avid hunters, so no matter the outcome of the hunting success, this trip was going to be one to remember right from the start. We had a total of 10 days to go and hunt grizzly as I was lucky enough to once again get drawn for a grizzly bear tag in the north western part of British Columbia. A seven hour drive later we were in grizzly heaven. What an amazing feeling this was. Ever since I can remember, harvesting a grizzly with my bow was a life long dream of mine. A true life goal, hoping that maybe one day it will come true. And a few days ago that happened, I still can't believe it! We managed to hit the spring season perfectly, the sign of grizzlies in the area was unreal, on day 3 of the hunt we had the first stalk attempt on a good size bear, but he spotted us at around 100 yards and bolted up the mountain side and didn't stop, eventually disappearing into the thick brush. Even getting to that distance was an adrenaline pumping experience. They look big when you see them on tv and magazines etc, but seeing one in real life is just jaw dropping. We hunted the early mornings and late nights on a regular basis. Getting up at around 4:00 am everyday and hunting til around noon and having a snooze and doing some fly fishing to kill some time in the crazy summer weather. We would start hunting again around 5:00 and til 10:00 pm or so since there was daylight nearly 24 hrs a day this time of year. Day 4 consisted of a lot of hill side glassing and spotting moose, caribou and mountain goats unfortunately no grizzlies, but we didn't let that get us down. Seeing all the different species of animals is increadible and absolutely awesome to see. That night I even managed to stalk up on a young bull moose for fun to under 10 yards and then having it swim across the river right in front of me was really cool! The day of the kill - day 5 We decided to get a couple of extra hours of sleep that morning and have a decent breakfast and a couple got cups of coffee while mapping out the days plan. We drove an old logging road into some higher country that was mostly still covered in snow that had not quite melted yet from the sun. After glassing the area for a good 30 minutes or so my sister spotted the lone grizzly roughly 800 yards away. We watched the bear as it was slowly working it's way towards us and once it got to about 500 yards it disappeared Beheind a small ridge. We waited for 10 minutes trying to wait out the bear to see what his next move was. He never re appeared and immediately we figured he must be laying down in one of the snow patches cooling off from the mid day sun. The wind was in our favor so we want for it and deciding to close in on the grizzly and hopefully get an oppertunity to get a shot. My sister stayed back watching our move thru her binos as I made my way to where the bear was along with my dad and sister's boyfriend. It took us a good 45 minutes to slowly and carefully make our way thru the snow and water covered terrain being as quiet as possible while looking thru the binos trying to spot the bear again. Once we were about 200 yards from where we figured the bear was I had spotted him. We quickly hit the ground staying in cover and trying to figure out our best move to get into bow range. The bear was bedded down with his nose in the air sniffing around. Once I seen him do that I thought he caught our scent (since there was 3 of us near him) he got up and moved away to our left into a creek drainage. That was our time to move. Once again the grizzly had disappeared from us but we wasted no time and I semi ran to the left to try and cut the bear off further down the drainage. I spotted him again at about 60 yards but I had a spot picked out in front of me that would put me within 30 yards of him. I set my single pin to 30 yards, and I knew the bear was right beheind a small drop off and as soon as I would step to the edge we would meet. I came to full draw before I seen him and took two more steps to the edge of the little ridge and just as I expected it to pan out, we spotted each other at the same time and I had a matter of seconds to aim and release my arrow. It was a quartering to shot, not the way you want it to be but I squeezed the trigger on my release and watched my arrow smash thru the shoulder and come out on the opposite side of the hind quarter. The heavy FMJ lead by a 125 grain slick trick magnum had done it's job! The bear went 30 yards and dropped and slide down the snow covered hill. I can't believe it, I just shot a grizzly with my bow. An amazing hunt in some of the most amazing country I have ever seen. Never ever will I forget this trip. A great adventure with family members and a beautiful grizzly to top it all off. I'm still speechless... A life goal of mine that I dreamed about countless times is now completed. I feel like the luckiest guy alive.
Dream hunt is right, and it's great to see you have such an appreciation for the animal and the hunt. What a blessing!
That's an amazing accomplishment. Really enjoyed reading that! What an adrenaline rush that must have been. Congratulations!
FTK, you had the right gear, the right state of mind, and a great result to what would be a dream for any bowhunter. Fantastic write up and congratulations sir. Thanks for sharing.
What an accomplishment! Great story and photos... thanks for sharing your dream come true You oughta' consider submitting your story to Bowhunting Magazine.
