Well this was certainly not one of my toughest hunts. In fact, we have so much time on our hands now, we may just have to kills some pigs and ducks while we are here.
Neil, owner and head guide of giantsequoiaguideservice.com has been bugging me for a couple of years to come up on a black bear hunt. This year I was able to get the time so we settled on the dates. About a week before the hunt we discussed having JP come along to shoot a pig so that plan was locked down too.
On Thursday Neil called me and said there was a nice bear frequenting one of his properties on a regular basis. As excited as I was in the moment, I did not really put much thought into it over the next few days. The plan was to drive up on Sunday (today), check in to the local hotel and then head over to Neil's house at 3:00PM. At about 1:50PM I get a call from Neil asking where we were. I told him we were 10 minutes away from the hotel and that we were going to check in and police our gear for the evening hunt. Well that is what I thought the plan was. He said, "get over to my house now. The bear is in the same area as the last time we saw him”. So 20 minutes later we are at Neil's house quickly putting on our hunting costumes and just as quickly heading into the field; about a 10-minute drive. We get to the hunting area and there is the bear. Out of the rig we go, set up and take the shot. It was over that quick, and certainly not what we had planned for. But sometimes the easy ones are ok. There are plenty of tough hunts to come.
The bear was not a monster by any means, but I am pleased and enjoyed the experience regardless of its expedited nature. Neil is a great guy to hang out with and I always enjoy hunting with him.
We plan on hunting pigs and ducks for the next few days. The forecast calls for rain and then snow tonight (it is cold up here) so it should be an interesting hunt moving forward. Maybe this is why the bear hunt was so easy. The next few days might not be!
Neil, owner and head guide of giantsequoiaguideservice.com has been bugging me for a couple of years to come up on a black bear hunt. This year I was able to get the time so we settled on the dates. About a week before the hunt we discussed having JP come along to shoot a pig so that plan was locked down too.
On Thursday Neil called me and said there was a nice bear frequenting one of his properties on a regular basis. As excited as I was in the moment, I did not really put much thought into it over the next few days. The plan was to drive up on Sunday (today), check in to the local hotel and then head over to Neil's house at 3:00PM. At about 1:50PM I get a call from Neil asking where we were. I told him we were 10 minutes away from the hotel and that we were going to check in and police our gear for the evening hunt. Well that is what I thought the plan was. He said, "get over to my house now. The bear is in the same area as the last time we saw him”. So 20 minutes later we are at Neil's house quickly putting on our hunting costumes and just as quickly heading into the field; about a 10-minute drive. We get to the hunting area and there is the bear. Out of the rig we go, set up and take the shot. It was over that quick, and certainly not what we had planned for. But sometimes the easy ones are ok. There are plenty of tough hunts to come.
The bear was not a monster by any means, but I am pleased and enjoyed the experience regardless of its expedited nature. Neil is a great guy to hang out with and I always enjoy hunting with him.
We plan on hunting pigs and ducks for the next few days. The forecast calls for rain and then snow tonight (it is cold up here) so it should be an interesting hunt moving forward. Maybe this is why the bear hunt was so easy. The next few days might not be!
