New Jersey 2025 Bear Hunt......
- Thread starter Fletch
- Start date
- 7,103
- 145
- 7,103
- 145
Going tonight... Here's that big sow with 3 big cubs by my one spot . Was there yesterday also.. She gets a pass as I won't make orphans.
- 7,103
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So it's a wrap... Seen nothing tonight... So before I say down for the evening hunt I hung a camera over a fake scape I made... Just checked that cam and that big bastard was there shortly after dark... ONE HALF HOUR AFTER I LEFT.....
Well it was a fun ride! Thanks for the very exciting thread to follow along!
- 7,103
- 145
Total bears killed in segment A was 361....
- 7,103
- 145
Well it's not a total wrap as I'm sure they will extend the season to include the first week of Dec. However weather plays a big part then as they move around less..
Bigcountry40
Member
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First thing I need to do is thank Rich (fletch) for his hospitality and generosity, opening up his home to Dan and I over the last two years. I consider Rich almost like a uncle, older brother, close cousin, etc…. We talk regularly and typically get along, but sometimes bitch and argue with each other, then make up in 5 minutes.
Also need to thank a handful of New Jersey outdoorsmen that helped me track, find and load the bear I harvested.
Wednesday of the season I decided I was going to sit all dayafter having a long interaction with a Sow with her 3 cubs. She was 15 yards away, double ear tagged and I watched her cubs climb trees and play. She eventually winded me and took off with her offspring. This was around 10:40ish. I climbed down out of the stand for about an hour total and was up ready to go by about 12:30. I was a long 4 and half hours. Around 5 activity began to pick up, wind was swirling all day but it was predominately out of the NE. A bear ( may be the one killed)came in behind me the (west) through thick vegetation got 20 or 30 yards from me eventually winded me and headed up the mountain. 530 I had a bear come in from my left (south) that wandered around but would not commit to an opening or the bottle neck I was hunting. Shortly after this all hell broke loose,I had bears moving all around and deer blowing at bears. During the last 10 minutes of legal shooting light I missed an opportunity at a large bear that came in silent from my right (north). this was due to the having another bear to my southwest (deer blowing at bear) and I was turned completely around in a stand; When the southwest bear continued moving away from me, I tried to quietly and slowly turn back into my seat and ran the big bear off. While feeling sorry for myself, cursing myself and feeling like a blew it, another big bear came in from the exact same spot minutes after running off previous bear. I slowly position myself with my crossbow put the illuminated scope about 5 inches behind the shoulder and pulled the trigger.
I thought it was a great shot only 15 yards away. I heard a giant whack that sounded like a deer lung shot on steroids and the bear ran off with my arrow sticking straight down in the ground with blood on the fletching. I listened as the bear ran off expecting to hear a crash and the famous death moan. It never happened the running/thrashing through the brush just became more distant and disappeared. I gathered my stuff, got out of the stand checked the arrow confirmed blood then looked at the first ten yards after the shot where she dove into the ultra-thick brush. No blood trail. Confused I walk back to my van make a few phone calls and a few guys that hunt the area that I had previously met and drank some tailgate beers with, came to help. Within about 20 yards of the shot in the thick we found blood and started tracking, blood ranged from a pin drops to spray paint like. There were times we were literally crawling on our bellies with a spot light because of the thickness of the brush. We tracked this way up and down a mountain for about 200 to 300 yards in a giant circle. Eventually we found several of its bed with puddles of blood in them and figured out we were now pushing her. We decide to mark the blood trail and back out, giving the bear time to expire. It was supposed to drop into the high thirties that night and believed the bear would a couple more hours to pass. One positive was we actually pushed her closer to our parking lot and it crossed down into the very front part of the lease next to the road. That night I contacted a houndsman, who contacted me the next morning and met me at the property. We put the wiener dog where we backed out and he took off like a bat out of hell, we tracked this bear through more ultra-thick brush which the wiener dog walked through with ease all the way up to someone back yard. Houndsmanwas also concerned that the blood was too fresh meaning bear was still alive. The lease and the track led up to a homeowner’s yard, houndsmans explains I have to get permission from the property owner. I approach the house while the houndsmanwaits, a older gentleman in a neck brace gives me permission and the dog starts dissecting the track. Dog becomes extremely excited but an older lady now appears from the house, approaches us asking question and explaining that she is an anti-hunter and sort of an animal rights person.
Side note- I personally have never actually came in contact with an anti-hunter/animal activist. Growing up in North West rural Ohio and lived in the south, hunting has always been a way of life, cultural norm and a rite of passage. I had never really realized that these people actually do exist and are amongst us. For my family it is perfectly normal to have dead animals (wild and domestic) hanging and being cleaned in your house/garage. This was a culture shock while trying to convince her that I am not an evil person and everything we are doing is in the name of conversation.
After talking for a couple of minutes she allows us to continue our track (the dog is still going crazy), moments later as she is walking back into her house, I have call for her and now have to explain that my bear died behind her garden shed in a pit that appears to be an old play fort. The lady is now like “omg omgomg, get it out of here!!! Please, just get it out of here, I don’t want to see it!” The houndsmans immediately leaves after the recovery, I make a phone called to one of my new found Jersey buddies, minutes later he pulls his truck down her driveway we load the bear and immediately get the hell out of there before she could change her mind.
Shot placement- This was probably the worst kill shot of my life! The bear was standing broad side, head facing left, left front and back leg forward. Because I was hunting in a thick dense area, it gets darker quicker than a field, also bears are black because of these factors, my shot placement was farther back than I thought. When skinning and quartering the animal, I discovered that my slick trick it the tibia/femur redirect left caught liver and lung came out the bottom of the stomach on other side (this is why the arrow was sticking in the ground after I shot). I guess better to be lucky than skilled/good.
Also need to thank a handful of New Jersey outdoorsmen that helped me track, find and load the bear I harvested.
Wednesday of the season I decided I was going to sit all dayafter having a long interaction with a Sow with her 3 cubs. She was 15 yards away, double ear tagged and I watched her cubs climb trees and play. She eventually winded me and took off with her offspring. This was around 10:40ish. I climbed down out of the stand for about an hour total and was up ready to go by about 12:30. I was a long 4 and half hours. Around 5 activity began to pick up, wind was swirling all day but it was predominately out of the NE. A bear ( may be the one killed)came in behind me the (west) through thick vegetation got 20 or 30 yards from me eventually winded me and headed up the mountain. 530 I had a bear come in from my left (south) that wandered around but would not commit to an opening or the bottle neck I was hunting. Shortly after this all hell broke loose,I had bears moving all around and deer blowing at bears. During the last 10 minutes of legal shooting light I missed an opportunity at a large bear that came in silent from my right (north). this was due to the having another bear to my southwest (deer blowing at bear) and I was turned completely around in a stand; When the southwest bear continued moving away from me, I tried to quietly and slowly turn back into my seat and ran the big bear off. While feeling sorry for myself, cursing myself and feeling like a blew it, another big bear came in from the exact same spot minutes after running off previous bear. I slowly position myself with my crossbow put the illuminated scope about 5 inches behind the shoulder and pulled the trigger.
I thought it was a great shot only 15 yards away. I heard a giant whack that sounded like a deer lung shot on steroids and the bear ran off with my arrow sticking straight down in the ground with blood on the fletching. I listened as the bear ran off expecting to hear a crash and the famous death moan. It never happened the running/thrashing through the brush just became more distant and disappeared. I gathered my stuff, got out of the stand checked the arrow confirmed blood then looked at the first ten yards after the shot where she dove into the ultra-thick brush. No blood trail. Confused I walk back to my van make a few phone calls and a few guys that hunt the area that I had previously met and drank some tailgate beers with, came to help. Within about 20 yards of the shot in the thick we found blood and started tracking, blood ranged from a pin drops to spray paint like. There were times we were literally crawling on our bellies with a spot light because of the thickness of the brush. We tracked this way up and down a mountain for about 200 to 300 yards in a giant circle. Eventually we found several of its bed with puddles of blood in them and figured out we were now pushing her. We decide to mark the blood trail and back out, giving the bear time to expire. It was supposed to drop into the high thirties that night and believed the bear would a couple more hours to pass. One positive was we actually pushed her closer to our parking lot and it crossed down into the very front part of the lease next to the road. That night I contacted a houndsman, who contacted me the next morning and met me at the property. We put the wiener dog where we backed out and he took off like a bat out of hell, we tracked this bear through more ultra-thick brush which the wiener dog walked through with ease all the way up to someone back yard. Houndsmanwas also concerned that the blood was too fresh meaning bear was still alive. The lease and the track led up to a homeowner’s yard, houndsmans explains I have to get permission from the property owner. I approach the house while the houndsmanwaits, a older gentleman in a neck brace gives me permission and the dog starts dissecting the track. Dog becomes extremely excited but an older lady now appears from the house, approaches us asking question and explaining that she is an anti-hunter and sort of an animal rights person.
Side note- I personally have never actually came in contact with an anti-hunter/animal activist. Growing up in North West rural Ohio and lived in the south, hunting has always been a way of life, cultural norm and a rite of passage. I had never really realized that these people actually do exist and are amongst us. For my family it is perfectly normal to have dead animals (wild and domestic) hanging and being cleaned in your house/garage. This was a culture shock while trying to convince her that I am not an evil person and everything we are doing is in the name of conversation.
After talking for a couple of minutes she allows us to continue our track (the dog is still going crazy), moments later as she is walking back into her house, I have call for her and now have to explain that my bear died behind her garden shed in a pit that appears to be an old play fort. The lady is now like “omg omgomg, get it out of here!!! Please, just get it out of here, I don’t want to see it!” The houndsmans immediately leaves after the recovery, I make a phone called to one of my new found Jersey buddies, minutes later he pulls his truck down her driveway we load the bear and immediately get the hell out of there before she could change her mind.
Shot placement- This was probably the worst kill shot of my life! The bear was standing broad side, head facing left, left front and back leg forward. Because I was hunting in a thick dense area, it gets darker quicker than a field, also bears are black because of these factors, my shot placement was farther back than I thought. When skinning and quartering the animal, I discovered that my slick trick it the tibia/femur redirect left caught liver and lung came out the bottom of the stomach on other side (this is why the arrow was sticking in the ground after I shot). I guess better to be lucky than skilled/good.
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Bigcountry40
Member
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- 137
