Bowhunting Page
This hunt took place during the 94-95 season in the Northern most part of CA. near a
town called Happy Camp, 10 miles south of the Oregon border. The area is just north of
the Trinity Alps and the terrain is similar; dense stands of pine with thick underbrush and
very lush, often with 100% floor coverage of ferns. It makes for tough hunting unless you
can find some partial clearcuts and hunt the edges. We were there hunting primarily deer,
but at the last minute bought a couple of bear tags 'just in case' since it is great bear
country.
Upon arriving we were not too optimistic because the weather was hot
and dry and the forests were far too dry for any kind of still hunting, especially with a
bow. The second morning we found a nice, lush area in the bottom of a canyon that had
plenty of deer sign. We decided that it would be a good place to hunt for the evening. One
thing that really caught my eye was the numerous piles of bear droppings in the fire roads.
It seemed that there was a new pile every hundred yards.
While driving to our
area that night, I heard some sort of thrashing off the side of the road. We went down a
couple of hundred yards and slowly walked back. Sure enough, there was a bear in there.
We split up, trying to pick a way to get into the brush without making too much noise. I
kept getting glimpses of the bear as I followed its noise down the road. About a half an
hour later, I was still slowly following the noise of the bear down the road, for it was the
only place I could move without making a bunch of noise. Suddenly, the noise started
getting closer, and in a flash I could see the bear as it made its way up the hill, and directly
towards the road. With no time to think about yardage, I had to draw, aim, and shoot as
the bear came up and over the road.
The arrow was perfect for height which I
guessed at 40 yds, but I did not lead the bear enough and the arrow went through the
belly. Uh oh. Not good. The bear was gone as quickly as it came. Not knowing exactly
what to do, I went back to grab Mark and concoct a plan. By the time we got back to the
area where I shot, it had been about an hour. I was going to look for my arrow when
Mark grabbed my arm. The bear slowly walked across the road in the same place where I
saw him originally. We watched what we could as it went back down the hill. Amazingly,
it bedded down just about 60 yds. off the road. During the next 45 min. we sloooowly and
quietly picked our way down the slope and moved in for another shot. I got to within
about 25 yds. of the bear and put another arrow in it, this time just right.
With
another leap of energy the bear scrambled off once again into the brush. We waited again
for about 20 minute before following, and the whole time it was getting darker and darker
due to the fact that we were deep in a canyon and had a full canopy of trees.
We
were glad to find a nice thick crimson blood trail. At the bottom of the hill we lost the trail
in the creek. We went up to an area where the creek went under the road and tried to find
where it had crossed. Perplexed by the lack of tracks or blood, we backtracked. We
spotted some blood on a branch right at the beginning of the culvert, which is used to
direct water under the fire road. We figured out that the bear had actually gone through
the Culvert. Realizing this, it was easy to pick up the trail on the other side. The trail led
to
a big deadfall, right into the middle of it.
We slowly looked into each little hole
until I finally saw a patch of hair. I took out an arrow and gave it a poke with no reaction.
It was over and I had a bear.
Tracking a bear in the growing darkness when I
know that it was poorly shot was one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever had as
a hunter. It was almost unexplainable. With every bird moving or squirrel scurrying, chills
ran up and down my spine. Armed with a bow in cover like that is not too reassuring when
following something like a bear.
The cleaning and skinning of the bear took
forever. It was not a huge bear, about 250 lbs., but a real trophy nonetheless. I was
surprised by the meat for I had heard bad things about it. I had most made into sausage
and it tasted like, well, sausage. I gave a lot away because one can only eat so much
sausage.
Since this hunt, I seem to run into bears every year while hunting. I
always have a tag, but told myself that I would not shoot another bear unless it was
significantly bigger. This year I have ran into three already. One was during bowseason
when for this particular zone, bears were not open yet. He was close, maybe 20 yds. and
completely oblivious of me. The second was during a rifle deer hunt, but he was small.
The third was a monster that stepped into the skid trail I was walking about 100 yds. in
front of me. CA has some of the biggest black bears in the country, and this guy was
pushing 500 lbs. The problem was that I could never get a good look at his vitals for he
was walking away from me. It was a good feeling to pass a shot at something that special,
knowing that I could not get a true killing shot. It made me feel a little more mature as a
hunter.
4 X 5 blacktail
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Email: michael_ireland@monterey.edu
