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GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
A true hunting story I wrote some years back that was actually published by an outdoor mag.

A Thanksgiving Bear​
What began as a long weekend get-away / deer hunting holiday began to go awry on our arrival at the lodge. A bear guide and Fernando, his 70 year young client from Mazatlan were our co-occupants and as the weather went from marginal to poor we did everything to make him feel welcome, including feeding them a full blown Thanksgiving dinner. The ladies worked furiously and the feast was magnificent and over cocktails he entertained us with hunting stories from elephant and lion in Africa to Elk in Mongolia.

Several of our group had gotten a couple of deer on the ridge high above the lodge, the next day they went back up and harvested another in the same small alpine bowl. While they were cleaning the deer, a bear showed himself a scant 100 yards away so under armed guard and with shaky knife strokes they finished, packed up the meat and made a quick retreat. That evening the weather worsened with 40 kt winds and blowing snow which effectively eliminated deer hunting as an option, so we put a plan in place to try and help our new friend find his dream bear.

At daylight the following morning, we set out – Guide in the lead, our Mexican friend following with three of us bringing up the rear. Our assent up the mountain to the bowl some 1700 feet up the steep snow covered deer trails was slow and nerve wracking, more than once our guide admitted later he had been moments away from calling off the hunt due to the tough climb and his concern for Fernando.

We finally crested the ridge to look into the bowl only to see strips and patches of alder in the winter wonderland, but no bear. It was very disappointing, but to make sure we didn’t miss anything the guide went up the lip of the ridge and I went down to gain a different perspective. Neither the guide nor myself saw anything resembling our quarry so we returned to the group, where upon we notice at about 70 yard a large snow hump in the middle of the main alder patch begin to move and then he shook off. Game On !!

Fernando took his time to line up for a good shot with his .416 magnum and his first round thundered into the massive bear’s left front shoulder. Upon impact the bear lurched to his feet roaring and swatting at the ground and trees, it was an awesome spectacle and one never to be forgotten.

The bear now had two viable options, to charge (and you can be sure he knew our location exactly) or to retreat. Charging would have brought the bear up the bowl, and retreating would mean that he would drop off into one of the three 800 ft vertical deep ravine’s a scant 25 yards behind his snoozing spot. Neither course of action would be acceptable and the guide gave the go-ahead to “give it to him”. The big .416 crashed twice more, a .338 magnum delivered four rounds, and my 30-06 Ackley improved also delivered four 180gr. Partition bullets. Less than 10 seconds had elapsed and the bear ceased moving, the guide then delivered the time-honored “Insurance” shot to be sure the game was over.

Everyone quickly turned to the task of getting Fernando down off the mountain – Tom elected himself to help him down as he was pretty wet from hiking and snow soaking through his pant legs & we all knew if he didn’t get down out of the wind immediately hypothermia was sure to follow.

Through no violation of my own I ended up being first “on scene” with the bear and I will say that the adrenalin level is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. That bear was huge & though he looked dead, one can never be sure!

We made it back to the lodge just at happy hour after dragging a 250 lb hide through the snow on a “Tyco” kids sled. No easy business there either.

We deserved those martinis!
 
ChingOwn

ChingOwn

Well-Known Member
GreatwhiteNorth said:
A true hunting story I wrote some years back that was actually published by an outdoor mag.

A Thanksgiving Bear​
What began as a long weekend get-away / deer hunting holiday began to go awry on our arrival at the lodge. A bear guide and Fernando, his 70 year young client from Mazatlan were our co-occupants and as the weather went from marginal to poor we did everything to make him feel welcome, including feeding them a full blown Thanksgiving dinner. The ladies worked furiously and the feast was magnificent and over cocktails he entertained us with hunting stories from elephant and lion in Africa to Elk in Mongolia.

Several of our group had gotten a couple of deer on the ridge high above the lodge, the next day they went back up and harvested another in the same small alpine bowl. While they were cleaning the deer, a bear showed himself a scant 100 yards away so under armed guard and with shaky knife strokes they finished, packed up the meat and made a quick retreat. That evening the weather worsened with 40 kt winds and blowing snow which effectively eliminated deer hunting as an option, so we put a plan in place to try and help our new friend find his dream bear.

At daylight the following morning, we set out – Guide in the lead, our Mexican friend following with three of us bringing up the rear. Our assent up the mountain to the bowl some 1700 feet up the steep snow covered deer trails was slow and nerve wracking, more than once our guide admitted later he had been moments away from calling off the hunt due to the tough climb and his concern for Fernando.

We finally crested the ridge to look into the bowl only to see strips and patches of alder in the winter wonderland, but no bear. It was very disappointing, but to make sure we didn’t miss anything the guide went up the lip of the ridge and I went down to gain a different perspective. Neither the guide nor myself saw anything resembling our quarry so we returned to the group, where upon we notice at about 70 yard a large snow hump in the middle of the main alder patch begin to move and then he shook off. Game On !!

Fernando took his time to line up for a good shot with his .416 magnum and his first round thundered into the massive bear’s left front shoulder. Upon impact the bear lurched to his feet roaring and swatting at the ground and trees, it was an awesome spectacle and one never to be forgotten.

The bear now had two viable options, to charge (and you can be sure he knew our location exactly) or to retreat. Charging would have brought the bear up the bowl, and retreating would mean that he would drop off into one of the three 800 ft vertical deep ravine’s a scant 25 yards behind his snoozing spot. Neither course of action would be acceptable and the guide gave the go-ahead to “give it to him”. The big .416 crashed twice more, a .338 magnum delivered four rounds, and my 30-06 Ackley improved also delivered four 180gr. Partition bullets. Less than 10 seconds had elapsed and the bear ceased moving, the guide then delivered the time-honored “Insurance” shot to be sure the game was over.

Everyone quickly turned to the task of getting Fernando down off the mountain – Tom elected himself to help him down as he was pretty wet from hiking and snow soaking through his pant legs & we all knew if he didn’t get down out of the wind immediately hypothermia was sure to follow.

Through no violation of my own I ended up being first “on scene” with the bear and I will say that the adrenalin level is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. That bear was huge & though he looked dead, one can never be sure!

We made it back to the lodge just at happy hour after dragging a 250 lb hide through the snow on a “Tyco” kids sled. No easy business there either.

We deserved those martinis!
Click to expand...
I feel like I read that in an old issue of field and stream at my grandpa's when I was a kid. Have a hard time believing martinis were the drink of choice after that adventure.

Edit: I did not read the intro where you said it was a true story..Good prose and writing, was it in the magazine???
 
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Herb & Suds

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
GreatwhiteNorth said:
A true hunting story I wrote some years back that was actually published by an outdoor mag.

A Thanksgiving Bear​
What began as a long weekend get-away / deer hunting holiday began to go awry on our arrival at the lodge. A bear guide and Fernando, his 70 year young client from Mazatlan were our co-occupants and as the weather went from marginal to poor we did everything to make him feel welcome, including feeding them a full blown Thanksgiving dinner. The ladies worked furiously and the feast was magnificent and over cocktails he entertained us with hunting stories from elephant and lion in Africa to Elk in Mongolia.

Several of our group had gotten a couple of deer on the ridge high above the lodge, the next day they went back up and harvested another in the same small alpine bowl. While they were cleaning the deer, a bear showed himself a scant 100 yards away so under armed guard and with shaky knife strokes they finished, packed up the meat and made a quick retreat. That evening the weather worsened with 40 kt winds and blowing snow which effectively eliminated deer hunting as an option, so we put a plan in place to try and help our new friend find his dream bear.

At daylight the following morning, we set out – Guide in the lead, our Mexican friend following with three of us bringing up the rear. Our assent up the mountain to the bowl some 1700 feet up the steep snow covered deer trails was slow and nerve wracking, more than once our guide admitted later he had been moments away from calling off the hunt due to the tough climb and his concern for Fernando.

We finally crested the ridge to look into the bowl only to see strips and patches of alder in the winter wonderland, but no bear. It was very disappointing, but to make sure we didn’t miss anything the guide went up the lip of the ridge and I went down to gain a different perspective. Neither the guide nor myself saw anything resembling our quarry so we returned to the group, where upon we notice at about 70 yard a large snow hump in the middle of the main alder patch begin to move and then he shook off. Game On !!

Fernando took his time to line up for a good shot with his .416 magnum and his first round thundered into the massive bear’s left front shoulder. Upon impact the bear lurched to his feet roaring and swatting at the ground and trees, it was an awesome spectacle and one never to be forgotten.

The bear now had two viable options, to charge (and you can be sure he knew our location exactly) or to retreat. Charging would have brought the bear up the bowl, and retreating would mean that he would drop off into one of the three 800 ft vertical deep ravine’s a scant 25 yards behind his snoozing spot. Neither course of action would be acceptable and the guide gave the go-ahead to “give it to him”. The big .416 crashed twice more, a .338 magnum delivered four rounds, and my 30-06 Ackley improved also delivered four 180gr. Partition bullets. Less than 10 seconds had elapsed and the bear ceased moving, the guide then delivered the time-honored “Insurance” shot to be sure the game was over.

Everyone quickly turned to the task of getting Fernando down off the mountain – Tom elected himself to help him down as he was pretty wet from hiking and snow soaking through his pant legs & we all knew if he didn’t get down out of the wind immediately hypothermia was sure to follow.

Through no violation of my own I ended up being first “on scene” with the bear and I will say that the adrenalin level is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. That bear was huge & though he looked dead, one can never be sure!

We made it back to the lodge just at happy hour after dragging a 250 lb hide through the snow on a “Tyco” kids sled. No easy business there either.

We deserved those martinis!
Click to expand...
I’ll channel my old man at this juncture
No offense intended
But he was one of the original up hill both ways, 20 miles in the snow ,
No shoes, lucky to have pants to share kinda guys
He would say
“PU$$y“ :lol:
Cool story though , good outcome
 
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Herb & Suds

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
;-)
ChingOwn said:
I feel like I read that in an old issue of field and stream at my grandpa's when I was a kid. Have a hard time believing martinis were the drink of choice after that adventure.

Edit: I did not read the intro where you said it was a true story..Good prose and writing, was it in the magazine???
Click to expand...
If ya drop an olive into a glass of moonshine it’s a martini
No?
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
We have Chronic Wasting Disease showing up in the white tail deer population in VA so feeding them is a really bad idea. It brings them into contact with each other much more often which spreads the disease like wildfire.
I'm lucky my place here at the house is loaded up with lots of does and that's pretty much all I need. I just hunt for meat but I'll take a buck if it walks out in front of me like this guy did. Only a 9 point but it was my first bow harvest of a decent buck and I'd never done a mount before so I had him done. Probably the only deer I'll ever get mounted, unless I harvest a monster non-typical rack. I try for a big bear every year but the dog hunters run them off the mountain pretty quickly once chase season begins and I don't use dogs to hunt.IMG_20220710_172646637.jpg
 
GreatwhiteNorth

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
FirstCavApache64 said:
We have Chronic Wasting Disease showing up in the white tail deer population in VA so feeding them is a really bad idea. It brings them into contact with each other much more often which spreads the disease like wildfire.
I'm lucky my place here at the house is loaded up with lots of does and that's pretty much all I need. I just hunt for meat but I'll take a buck if it walks out in front of me like this guy did. Only a 9 point but it was my first bow harvest of a decent buck and I'd never done a mount before so I had him done. Probably the only deer I'll ever get mounted, unless I harvest a monster non-typical rack. I try for a big bear every year but the dog hunters run them off the mountain pretty quickly once chase season begins and I don't use dogs to hunt.View attachment 5161343
Click to expand...
I use a broadcast spreader that cast's corn in about a 40' circle & since CWD is passed primarily by bodily fluids, transmission possibilities is much reduced over a trough or pile style of feeding.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
GreatwhiteNorth said:
I use a broadcast spreader that cast's corn in about a 40' circle & since CWD is passed primarily by bodily fluids, transmission possibilities is much reduced over a trough or pile style of feeding.
Click to expand...
That's good to know. I've never used feeders at my place as I have too many deer to begin with and no problem taking them from a stand within walking distance from the house, but I understand I'm very fortunate that way. I've also let my horse pasture go fallow over the last 7-9 years as a refuge for them and it's a nice thicket they use during fawning season so I get a lot of does that just hang out all year long.
VA placed bans on feeding in some counties and shortened up the time you can have them out in others for the CWD. It's out of an abundance of caution as we try to keep it from spreading into our state from WVA and Kentucky where it's done some really bad damage to their herds. When I lived in Texas if you didn't use feeders you'd never see a deer hardly. They also brought in the pigs, yummy little piggies :bigjoint:.
 
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