Had my first two hunters arrive in camp Friday afternoon and had their first sit last night. It was a bit warm, but very calm. Within 10 minutes of dropping Chris off at his stand he had an aprox 180# bear come in and start hammering the bait. He said the bear was very nervous, a good sign that a big boy is around. As it turns out this same bear came in and out of the bait almost all afternoon during his 6 hour sit and the big guy didn't show up. When he got back to his atv he was putting his bow in his case and looked up and there was a little bit bigger bear standing in the road 20 yards from him, looking at him. The bear turned, walked down the road and entered the woods heading towards the bait. Our other hunter, Dave, didn't have much action until about 7:30, when he hear something walking in the swamp. About 15 minutes later he sees a bear in the brush. It took the bear another 15 minutes to work his way to the bait, a good sign that is a mature one. When the bear finally reached the bait he leaned over the logs and gently grabbed the bucket covering the bait and pulled it off. He couldn't reach the bait from there, so he made the mistake of stepping over the log and giving Dave a perfect broadside shot. After he took the shot, he thought he may have hit it back a little bit. The baits these guys were sitting were 15 miles from camp, so I decided to head down the road in the truck to meet them to save time if someone had shot one. An hour later Dave showed up with smile on his face, but still nervous about the shot. (I don't let my hunters track a bear without me.) When we got back to the stand we immedately saw blood and 5 yards later, the arrow. It was a good passthrough and I after inspecting the arrow, figured it was not gut shot. We ended up tracking him about 40 yards when I heard the bear give out 2 moans about 30 yards away. We decided to back out. Dave had a pretty sleepless night but was relieved when we found his bear 30 yards from where we stopped. The shot did end up being a bit back and caught liver and a little stomach. Ends up being a beautiful older boar with some teeth missing. Congrats to Dave and keep checking back for more kills over the next few weeks! Also, check my blog soon on a review of this Havalon knife with replaceable blades. I used this thing to gut the bear and I love it. (Updated 8/30/10) Last week turned windy and hot, making the hunting pretty tough. The one other hunter we had in camp ended up only seeing 7 bears on the week and killed this 3-4 year old 170# boar. This week we have 4 hunters in camp, two buddies and a husband and wife. The first night only the two buddies went out, as the couple got here a little late. Both of these guys had never hunted bear before and were pretty excited. About 6pm Mike had a smaller bear come into the bait. Being a first time bear hunter, he was having a hard time judging the size. After awhile he decided it was the first night and he wasn't going to shoot. At about 7pm another bear stepped out of the brush and he knew it was a much larger one. He let the bear settle into the bait and then let his arrow rip through the boiler room. About 40 yards and 2 minutes later, he heard the death moan. Ended up being a very nice boar about 300#. After looking at the teeth, it appears to be a younger bear as they were pretty white and were in great shape. It will be interesting to see what the age comes back at. I really wish I would have had some better pics of this bear. The log was too high and his head was too stiff to straighten out. He looks much smaller in these pics. The husband and wife are here for 10 days and he is trying to get her kill on film. Last night was a little slow with the heat, but the weather forecast looks much better.
The thing is awesome. It uses a scalpal blade and is crazy sharp. I imagine I'll get 1.5-2 gut jobs out of it and then change the blade. I'm not much of a knife sharpener, so this thing is perfect.
Yeah, me no likes sharpening. Used to know an old guy that would sharpen knives for me, sadly he is up in the happy hunting grounds. Since then, I haven't had as sharp knives. This knife would make it easy.
Awesome That's the coolest pictures I've seen in awhile. Congratulations on a terrific harvest. I like that knife as well.
I was wondering when somebody would make a spiffy handle for scalpel blades. I used to buy scalpel blades a couple 100 at a time. I like my 'knife' with a bit more backbone tho'. Awesome bear. One of these days I'll go bear hunting again.
Nice photos. I've had one of those Havalons for a couple years but I just don't use it that much. A guide friend of mine uses his exclusively for everything from boning and butchering to skinning and caping. He loves the thing.
very nice. ill be up in bayfield wi on sept 7 to start filming my buddies bear hunt. hope to see a nice bear like that.
Very cool! A couple more years and I should finally get enough points to draw a permit. Will they be carrying those knives here on BHC?
Dan'o, sounds like your camp is doing well already. You must do your home work to keep them on Bears like you do!!! Great pics,,,keep em comming EH <<<That was my best Canadian voice. The Havalon knife----I have one that Todd hooked me up with that I cant wait to try this year I have used it around the house and man o man is that dude SHARP And my Rut Junkie hat that I brought home,,,My oldest sone stole it before I could ever wear it PS: That arrow mush have had a seed on it, that Bear has a sprowt growing out of his wound
Looks like a great start Dan. Gotta make you feel good after all the hard work you put into their success.
