Minnesota Black Bear

[Quantum673]

Tuesday I hunted the same stand but got run out of the stand about 6:30pm by a wicked thunderstorm. It lasted most the night.

Wednesday I decided to hang up the bow and grab the gun. I also decided after checking baits and cameras I would hunt a different bait. Got to the stand at about 5pm and got all settled in. At 6:15 a 250lb bear started heading in. He got to about 40-45 yards from the bait and hung up right behind a tree. After a few moments he turned and headed back the way he came. I already had my gun up and ready so when he hit a opening I put the crosshairs on him and squeezed the trigger. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Where he landed I couldn’t see him but could hear him grunting. A couple seconds later he jumps up and takes off. I waited about half an hour and climbed down to go look for blood. As soon as I got down the skies opened up and the bottom fell out. WTF! It rained hard for about an hour the let up. I went back to the parking area and met up with a few of the others. We went back with lights and did a quick search. No signs and no bear.

Thursday morning I woke up grabbed my gear and Marcus and I went back out to do a grid search. We searched an area about 400 yards by 400 yards in the direction the bear ran. We did not find him. Best guess is I hit him high right below the spine in no mans land. Shocked the spine which caused him to drop. Few seconds later he got his bearings back and jumped up to live another day.

Thursday night and Friday Night I did not see any other bears.

 

[Quantum673]

A few things I learned or took away from this trip.

Red Squirrels are pound for pound the loudest animal in North America. Not only do they sound like a human walking through the woods they are also very vocal. And when I say vocal I mean very very vocal.

Ravens are huge!

Bears are the quietest animal in the woods. They are like ghost. They just all of a sudden appear.

Pine Martin are the river otters of the woods. They are very fun to watch.

The weather forecasters in Northern Minnesota suck!!! Only one day was there any rain forecasted. It rained almost everyday.
The outdoor opportunities in Northern Minnesota are mind boggling. Between the National Forests, the hundreds of miles of ATV trails, and of course the unlimited amount of lakes it is a paradise.

 

[giles]

Very common shot with a bear. They are built different than what we are used to shooting. Even worse with grizzly bears because of the fat hump above the shoulders.

Sounds like yall had a hell of a good time though. Do your preference points start over now or how does that work?

 

[Quantum673]

My preference points now start over. It will be 3-4 years before I am drawn again.

 

[giles]

Bummer

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

Maybe I should start applying with you so I can tag along, Jon.

 

[Sgt Fury]

Maybe I should start applying with you so I can tag along, Jon.

 

[giles]

Maybe I should start applying with you so I can tag along, Jon.

I was thinking the same thing. Only I don't have soccer

 

[Dustinb80]

Maybe I should start applying with you so I can tag along, Jon.

You can't, you've got soccer games that weekend

 

[Quantum673]

It’s only $5 a year to apply. We can do it as a group which make sure that we all get picked at the same time.

 

[Fletch]

Sorry you didn't score on a nice big old bruin... Goes to show baiting for bears isn't a slam dunk thing... A ton of work goes into maintaining an active bait site only to have bears on it that are nocturnal or have them hang up for some reason just short of giving you a shot... Amazing how they appear out of nowhere without making the slightest sound as if they were a ghost... Hey, I'm sure you had a great time in bear camp and made a ton of memories... And that's what counts...

 

[Big_Holla]

Sounds like you had a good time even though you didn't bring home a bear, That damn rain can ruin a blood trail quicker than anything as they don't leave much in the way of tracks. The bear I killed the skies opened up through the night and washed away anything that we did find the night before. We looked for a dead body and luckily one of the guides picked the right trail to follow and found him lying in a 2 track that split off of the one I hunted near. Goes to show that hunting over bait isn't any kind of guarantee either as it sounds like the bears were reluctant to come in for you guys. Sure miss sitting in a stand and having them just appear out of nowhere. Get them points together again and I look forward to your next hunt.

 

[Isaacorps]

Man, what an awesome trip! Great pics and write up, thanks for bringing us along!

 

[Quantum673]

One correction I want to make regarding Superior National Forest. I had my numbers wrong.

It is 3.9 million acres 6,100 sq miles.
445,000 acres is water surface. That is 695 square miles of water surface.

 

[Wildlife]

Having been through nearly every state in the country over the last couple of decades, Minnesota was the cleanest of them all while driving through it each time, and the penalties for littering exceeded $2,500.00 bucks the last time I drove through the state.

It's funny because as you drive for hours through it, something eventually dawned on me, which was, I didn't see ANY trash anywhere, period!

I hope it's still that clean today cause I thoroughly enjoyed that fact at the time. Beautiful state for sure, at least it was the last time I drove through it.

Great write up John, and thanks for sharing!

Get'em next time!

 

[Sgt Fury]

Having been through nearly every state in the country over the last couple of decades, Minnesota was the cleanest of them all while driving through it each time, and the penalties for littering exceeded $2,500.00 bucks the last time I drove through the state.

It's funny because as you drive for hours through it, something eventually dawned on me, which was, I didn't see ANY trash anywhere, period!

I hope it's still that clean today cause I thoroughly enjoyed that fact at the time. Beautiful state for sure, at least it was the last time I drove through it.

Great write up John, and thanks for sharing!

Get'em next time!

Same thing when you drive in Canada….you realize something is different but just can’t put your finger on it, then it strikes you…no roadside trash. It’s amazing when you can drive for five to six hours and not see one piece of litter.

 

[xbowguy]

I enjoyed the read John and sure glad to hear you have a good time!

 

[Jamie]

Same thing when you drive in Canada….you realize something is different but just can’t put your finger on it, then it strikes you…no roadside trash. It’s amazing when you can drive for five to six hours and not see one piece of litter.

same thing in Australia. that was the first thing I noticed because it was so odd to not see any trash. not a single piece of refuse anywhere in didn't belong.