Black Bear
- Thread starter Quantum673
- Start date
Big_Holla
Senior Member
Here is the first pic of the journey. The truck is loaded for the most part. Only thing left to load up is the bow and guns.
Thanks. I love it. I spend a lot of time there. I put a lift in it about 2 years ago and since then I don't think my wife likes it as much. That is unless she needs something done to her car. LOL.
Good luck! Can't wait to see the reports & pics. Killing a nice black bear is on my "to do" list. Hope you guys have a slammer of a week.
Checked the weather again today and it is looking awesome. Highs in the 60's and lows in the upper 30's to low 40's.
About 13 hrs until we leave.
We will have about a 15hr drive and should be at the cabin about 1pm tomorrow.
We are hunting approximately 15-20 miles south of the Canadian border so I will have limited cell coverage and no Internet.
Since I won't have any access to the interwebz
I will try to talk my wife into posting any pictures of updates but no promises.
If she can't do it I guess next Saturday will be the official write up of the adventures.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.
About 13 hrs until we leave.
We will have about a 15hr drive and should be at the cabin about 1pm tomorrow.
We are hunting approximately 15-20 miles south of the Canadian border so I will have limited cell coverage and no Internet.
Since I won't have any access to the interwebz
I will try to talk my wife into posting any pictures of updates but no promises.
If she can't do it I guess next Saturday will be the official write up of the adventures.
Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.
Big_Holla
Senior Member
What an awesome week.
Sorry haven't updated this since we left.
We made it back Friday morning and have been busy catching up on Household chores and sleep.
The trip was awesome. I would go every year if I could.
We left Friday night about 11pm for a 13-14 hr drive. Everything went well until we hit Wisc Dells. We had a back tire blow out and took out some of my fender as well. We got the tire changed and hit the next exit. Found a new tire to put on and after a couple hours we were back on the road. The rest of the drive was uneventful.
I must say though driving through Duluth, MN on Lake Superior was pretty cool. The big ships and old Foundries everywhere was a sight to be seen.
We got up to the hunting cabin about 4pm. The cabin was locked up as they were out checking baits so we went down to the closest watering hole and waited.
The rest of the guys saw my truck at the bar and stopped to let us know they were back. So we all headed to the cabin.
The cabin we were staying is a great hunting shack with limited amenities. We had electricity but no running water. There was an outhouse in the back and they had a portable hot water heater for us to wash our hands and faces and stuff. The cabin has a kitchen for meals and a big table for hanging out and passing the time. There is one bunk room on the main floor with about 8 beds. Then another bunk room upstairs with another 8 beds. We only had 5 of us in camp so we had plenty of room.
We spent Saturday evening talking about the bait sites and where we should hunt the next day. As you can imagine everyone was pretty pumped up. Most the baits have been getting hit daily so after looking at some trail cams and talking it through we all had a game plan.
Sunday was a rainy drizzly day. We spent the morning hours double checking gear. Making sure all our guns and bows were sighted in and getting ready for the evening hunt. We left about 2pm to hit the woods. Each of us loaded up a couple bait pails and headed out. First stop was to get my buddy Randy to his stand. This was his first time in Minnesota so we made sure he knew where he was and where we would be.
We checked another half a dozen bait sites and refreshed them all. Then I headed to my stand. I was situated in a deep bottom. I was surrounded by extreme thick brush with only a small clearing about 30 yds out where the bait was. The bait was getting hit daily and there was a ton of good sign all around.
After 5 hours in the stand I heard a shot. From the location I knew it wasn't Randy but was probably my BIL or his buddy. It was getting pretty dark so I waited until I couldn't see my bait and climbed down. I met my BIL up the trail a couple miles and saw he had blood on his hands. He had shot one and needed help getting it loaded up. We went and loaded his bear then headed to the trucks.
As the lights from our 4-wheelers came over the hill I could see another set of eyes on the back rack of an ATV. As we got closer I realized it was Randy's 4-wheeler. He had got a Bear. As you can imagine I was pumped. My one goal going on this hunt was for Randy to at least see a bear and have a chance at shooting one. He had done it. It was a small bear probably a 3-4 yr old weighing about 130-140lb field dressed. But as Randy said it was the biggest bear he has ever seen. He was all smiles.
Not a bad opening evening 5 hunters and 2 bear taken. BIL's bear was around 240lb field dressed.
Sorry haven't updated this since we left.
We made it back Friday morning and have been busy catching up on Household chores and sleep.
The trip was awesome. I would go every year if I could.
We left Friday night about 11pm for a 13-14 hr drive. Everything went well until we hit Wisc Dells. We had a back tire blow out and took out some of my fender as well. We got the tire changed and hit the next exit. Found a new tire to put on and after a couple hours we were back on the road. The rest of the drive was uneventful.
I must say though driving through Duluth, MN on Lake Superior was pretty cool. The big ships and old Foundries everywhere was a sight to be seen.
We got up to the hunting cabin about 4pm. The cabin was locked up as they were out checking baits so we went down to the closest watering hole and waited.
The rest of the guys saw my truck at the bar and stopped to let us know they were back. So we all headed to the cabin.
The cabin we were staying is a great hunting shack with limited amenities. We had electricity but no running water. There was an outhouse in the back and they had a portable hot water heater for us to wash our hands and faces and stuff. The cabin has a kitchen for meals and a big table for hanging out and passing the time. There is one bunk room on the main floor with about 8 beds. Then another bunk room upstairs with another 8 beds. We only had 5 of us in camp so we had plenty of room.
We spent Saturday evening talking about the bait sites and where we should hunt the next day. As you can imagine everyone was pretty pumped up. Most the baits have been getting hit daily so after looking at some trail cams and talking it through we all had a game plan.
Sunday was a rainy drizzly day. We spent the morning hours double checking gear. Making sure all our guns and bows were sighted in and getting ready for the evening hunt. We left about 2pm to hit the woods. Each of us loaded up a couple bait pails and headed out. First stop was to get my buddy Randy to his stand. This was his first time in Minnesota so we made sure he knew where he was and where we would be.
We checked another half a dozen bait sites and refreshed them all. Then I headed to my stand. I was situated in a deep bottom. I was surrounded by extreme thick brush with only a small clearing about 30 yds out where the bait was. The bait was getting hit daily and there was a ton of good sign all around.
After 5 hours in the stand I heard a shot. From the location I knew it wasn't Randy but was probably my BIL or his buddy. It was getting pretty dark so I waited until I couldn't see my bait and climbed down. I met my BIL up the trail a couple miles and saw he had blood on his hands. He had shot one and needed help getting it loaded up. We went and loaded his bear then headed to the trucks.
As the lights from our 4-wheelers came over the hill I could see another set of eyes on the back rack of an ATV. As we got closer I realized it was Randy's 4-wheeler. He had got a Bear. As you can imagine I was pumped. My one goal going on this hunt was for Randy to at least see a bear and have a chance at shooting one. He had done it. It was a small bear probably a 3-4 yr old weighing about 130-140lb field dressed. But as Randy said it was the biggest bear he has ever seen. He was all smiles.
Not a bad opening evening 5 hunters and 2 bear taken. BIL's bear was around 240lb field dressed.
rgecko23
*Supporting Member*
Ricer2231
Senior Member
Day 2 of the hunt. The weather dried out and the temps were up.
We checked baits at 2pm and only 2 out of 12 were hit. We refreshed those 2 and put together our game plan for the evening.
I sat in a different stand. This was a new bait site that was just established this year. This was also 1 of the 2 that were hit the previous 12 hours.
The stand was in an awesome location. There was a swamp and lake to my left. Extremely thick to my right and front. When I got in the stand I really thought this was going to be the evening.
Mosquitos were horrible in this site. Had to make sure that every part of my skin was covered.
I thought about shooting some but was afraid that as big as they were the shot may just piss them off.
No action on this evening. Did get a little scare though. Right after dark when I was climbing down had a pack of Wolves really start making some noise. Couldn't tell how far away they were but it made the walk out to my 4-wheeler a little unnerving.
We checked baits at 2pm and only 2 out of 12 were hit. We refreshed those 2 and put together our game plan for the evening.
I sat in a different stand. This was a new bait site that was just established this year. This was also 1 of the 2 that were hit the previous 12 hours.
The stand was in an awesome location. There was a swamp and lake to my left. Extremely thick to my right and front. When I got in the stand I really thought this was going to be the evening.
Mosquitos were horrible in this site. Had to make sure that every part of my skin was covered.
I thought about shooting some but was afraid that as big as they were the shot may just piss them off.
No action on this evening. Did get a little scare though. Right after dark when I was climbing down had a pack of Wolves really start making some noise. Couldn't tell how far away they were but it made the walk out to my 4-wheeler a little unnerving.
Day 3
We spent most of the day checking all 12 baits. None were hit.
We could only speculate that the blackberries, blueberries, and the fact that acorns were dropping had the Bear staying on natural food sources.
I sat in a different stand location. This location has a high success rate so figured why not try it out.
Sat past dark with no action.
Day 4
Returned to the same site as Day 3.
Still no action.
We spent most of the day checking all 12 baits. None were hit.
We could only speculate that the blackberries, blueberries, and the fact that acorns were dropping had the Bear staying on natural food sources.
I sat in a different stand location. This location has a high success rate so figured why not try it out.
Sat past dark with no action.
Day 4
Returned to the same site as Day 3.
Still no action.
All in all it was a great time full of memories. 2 of the hunters were able to harvest a bear.
We spent a lot of time in the woods running baits and seeing a new kind of woods.
Here are some other random photos.
Most are of a Resort that was about 5 miles away. This resort sits on Crane Lake which runs into Canada.
The other pics are of Grouse we ran into. We probably saw a couple dozen across 3 days. It was amazing that we were able to ride right up to them and they would just sit there.
We spent a lot of time in the woods running baits and seeing a new kind of woods.
Here are some other random photos.
Most are of a Resort that was about 5 miles away. This resort sits on Crane Lake which runs into Canada.
The other pics are of Grouse we ran into. We probably saw a couple dozen across 3 days. It was amazing that we were able to ride right up to them and they would just sit there.
