Dans 2016 bear hunt ( Bighunt too)

[feutza]

Congrat guys

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[john1984]

You guys did this MN bear hunting thing to perfection. Some pretty lookin bears there, congrats.

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[Stanley]

Good job to all of you on the nice bear.

[Bearman13]

Looks good guys. Sorry I didn't make it down. If I wasn't so busy dragging bears out of the woods I woulda made it down. We're still knocking them down.

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[headgear]

Nice work fellas!

[dan]

Looks good guys. Sorry I didn't make it down. If I wasn't so busy dragging bears out of the woods I woulda made it down. We're still knocking them down.

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It was a good year... I have never had bear action like this year before. maybe the 1st year I hunted up there on my own, but regardless it seems to b e getting better. We had a lot of bears, and a lot of big bears on camera. I figured you were busy.

[vermonthunter16]

Congrats to all involved. Beautiful bears and 4 for 4!

[dan]

The plan was to bait as soon as baiting opened up, which we did... We put 6 buckets of bait per bait at 12 sites (3 per person) I concentrated on thick swamps up against hardwood ridges and near clearcuts. This year we found a lot of bear sign in the areas before we even started baits, which was a good sign. Running 12 baits from 450 miles away is not an easy task. We loaded them up to keep them active till we returned. I have noticed in the past that when you run out of bait you often loose consistent bears. With so many baiters up there, I think the bears simply wander to someone elses bait.

The next weekend we returned and were surprised to find many of the baits were emptied in 2 or 3 days. So we rebaited with everything we had with us... Johns bait had the biggest bears, and the most. Its a bait site I started many years ago when I 1st started hunting up there. We named it the "outfitter stand" cause after getting it established about 15 years ago, an Outfitter came thru the woods in a truck and stopped at the bait while I was baiting it and said it was his road and that I was in his area and needed to move. I told him that there was not even a truck track down that trail for over the 1st week of baiting and he said he starts his baits 5 days before his clients get there... I said and then how am I supposed to know your here? I asked him if he had a close bait, and he didn't, just said its his road.... I said I was not moving it now that its established. He harrasssed the spot a few times after that everytime we went up there, but we had such good action there that I kept it open... That outfitter has been gone foe about 5 years now though... When we went in this year to bait 2nd weekend, I saw foot prints going up the bait trail that were not ours... Then we went to the next bait that is in a real remote grown in spot and you have to walk about 500 yards through thick rasberrys and briars to get there with no trees marked. And would you believe we got two people on cam that looked like hippies or wolf patrol? It was hard to believe cause the spot is so remote. (maybe bighunt can post a hippie pic) I regret not doing what I have always done in the past... Driving past the spots and turning around and then baiting on the way back past so the bait trail don't start where the truck tracks stop...

On the next baiting weekend we decided to bait 3 days before the hunt cause cameras consistantly show the big bears being shy at 1st when we put the bait out but being all over it all day by the 3rd day... That was a mistake... Cause we only got half of them baited 3 days before the hunt and the other 1/2 stretched into the next day, and based on when we baited the week before the baits were empty for a long time and the bears wandered off to other peoples baits (i think) It took a little to get them back going... Johns bait and my bait was not even hit opening day after being out 2 days. That did not deter me to much cause on the cameras we see a lot of bears circling the baits and then leaving to come back another day, and I would think there are a lot we don't see on the camera.

One of the baits got a late start and had 2 shooter boars and a sow with cubs on it, one of the boars was a giant, the biggest that was hitting on opening day. The stand was pressed up against a beaver pond so the bears couldnt circle so you could go through water to get to it and straight up the tree. the down fall is that cause of how thick it is its set up for a 5 yard shot.. Tyler has done a lot to help with this trip, us old guys would of had a hard time without him. I asked tyler if he thought he could handle shooting that big boar at 5 yards. His face lit up and he said "YES SIR!" I said then sit there for the opener... The remote stand was not real active this year, but had a big boar visiting it, and I just love that spot, so I sat there for the opener, steve took a spot that had a nice cinnamon bear and a couple "nice" bears. He really wanted the cinnamon. John hunted the outfitter... Steve had nothing come in in shooting hours. Johns bait was not hit since we baited it, and nothing came in. I had about a 150 pound boar circle the bait and come right under my stand. He never went to the bait.

I was to meet Tyler at a cross road. He was there, and based on the camera I was expecting a story... He said a bear came in and he thinks it was the big boy. it was eating cookie dough rolling around and then finally committed to the opening. He drew his bow and the bear spun its head around to look at him but it was too late... 1st bear down. It was not the giant, turned out to be the smaller boar, about 180/200 dressed. A great 1st bear. and he was able to get great self film of himself shooting it...


Day 2... I decided to hunt moose pond (the hippie spot) A good bear in the 350/400 range showed up and was on the camera all day long chasing the small ones out. Steve wanted to hunt his same stand for the cinnamon, John felt it was also a good idea to sit the outfitter stand again... I tried to talk him out of it, cause now all the other stands were getting pounded, and with some decent bears... I think he had visions of the giant coming back, and said, well my stand is already set up there, I said we could have Tyler whip him up a stand in another spot real quick, but he wanted that spot.

Steve was sitting in stand and heard something to his right, he looked over and there was his cinnamon. He said it was a sight to behold. and as he waited for it to come in, he heard something coming from the other way... It was an awesome looking black with a giant white "v" on its chest... He said he always loved the white v's and now he had to make a decision. The bears were always together on the camera, but from the high angle the cam did not show the "v" so it was a surprise. Steve said he new right away he waited the white "v" bear, and he shot it 1st chance it gave him. Steve was self filming, but for some reason the record cut out shortly after hitting it before the bears came into focus.



Johns bait still was not hit, and nothing came in while he sat it... And then there was me on moose pond. As soon as the wind calmed and it got quiet, I heard something behind and down wind. I stared down there till I saw a bear appear. It was a small guy around 120 pounds or so.. He came in cautiously and as he was going right under my stand, I heard another one from the other direction. He was an Identical bear, and he came in fast with no hesitation and started eating real fast and looking around nervously. The bear under my stand just stared at him and kept looking up a small thick hill. Then I heard another bear coming over the hill. Both of the small bears freaked out and ran up trees. Then I heard a loud hissing sound I have never heard a bear make before that was followed by teeth snapping, This was very close, but I could not see the aggressive bear cause its so thick. He charged the tree one of the smaller bears was in and was making quite the racket underneath. The little guy climbed up to the very top making whimpering noises like a scared puppy (again, a noise I had never heard a bear make before) The little bear by the bait climbed down the tree and started trying to eat as fast as he could. Then it got quiet and I heard a 4th bear coming. When he got into the thick area with the other bear there a short but loud fight broke out. It ended pretty fast with the new bear quickly leaving the way he came. The big bear continued to snapping and hissing noises and I was moving around trying to see him, I could just see a little black between the trees/bushes. Then all of the sudden he charged my tree (i think he saw me move and thought I was a small bear... He ran faster than I have ever seen a bear run right over and through small sappling trees and was suddenly standing at 5 yards starring at me. I am in no way afraid of bears. But you would have to be sub-human not to get shooken up by that. I froze till the big bear shifted and started to circle a down tree to get to the down wind side. I drew my bow and when he turned broadside I put the pin on him and shot. But in the excitement I choked... I shot to fast and felt myself pull to the left and watched the lumnok pass thru high and center. Probably thru back loins. The bear walked away... I sat down for a minute to try and collect my thoughts and loose the nervous shake.

I left my equipment in the tree and snuck over to take a glance at the arrow. It had red blood on it, like flesh blood. I quietly snuck out. The next morning all of us returned and got on the track. after about 3/4 of a mile we kicked the bear out of a bed. Then he went into a thick swampy area I had to crawl thru on hands and knees where there were bear tunnels. It was evident he was right in front of us somewhere with the blood being fresh and wet, along with wet tracks. It was almost like he lured us down to the swamp cause based on the trail he kept circling and was following us, while we followed him... We stated the track at 1st light, and followed him till he quit bleeding in the early afternoon... I knew the bear would be ok, but felt it my job to follow up the track as best as possible... On the positive side, I found a nice moose shed when we came out.

DAY 3: John was starting to have truck issues (those woods do a number on a guys truck) and was getting desperate. He wanted to hunt the "sow bait" named years ago cause we always end up with a huge sow on that bait that takes it over. We won't shoot sows with cubs so she was always safe. But the wind was predicted to blow straight at the bait, so he decided to hunt "Steves bait" named cause Steve picked that spot out and shot his bear there last year. It only had two bears on it, and they were both small, I urged him to hunt one of the other baits but he wanted to hunt one that already had a stand up and where he would see a bear for sure... Tyler went with him to film. John shot the bear that was coming in regularly after a game of circle and sneak.


I decided to hunt to new bait we put in, but it was an hour drive. and we did not have a lot of camera intel on it yet, but there was excellent bear sign all around it when we set it up. We pulled a bait to set this one, so it went in late... On the way to it, I had to go past the sow bait, and I new john was going to kill at Steves bait, So it was bothering me that we had a lot of great bears on film there but were going to have bad winds the rest of the week. So I stopped and snuck back there to see if there was anyway to hunt it without getting winded and was surprised to see the wind at the bait was not doing what the wind on the hills was doing probably cause of the terrain. I kept checking with milkweed for about 15 minutes and never had a bad wind...

So I went back and got my stuff and went in for the hunt. The camera showed there were good bears there all morning till about 10am. It was real windy and sunny and nothing moved till the wind died. Cause of the iffy wind, and cause its another very close to the bait tree, I was checking the just off wind a lot. I especially was concerned about how the thermals would react to sunset... I was watching a mild weed float up toward the road and looked back to see a bear quickly walking away from the bait at 10 yards. He was a small bear and was acting spooky. I new he didnt get my scent. Maybe he saw me? Probably not. My thought was he is likely scared of a bigger bear in the area. I starred up wind of where he spooked trying to see if a bigger bear was approaching. Then I glanced to my right and saw a nice shooter boar standing 10 yards from me starring at the bait. He looked to be 250 + dressed and I was deciding if I would shoot him when he suddenly spooked and speed walked out of there... I checked the wind current, he didn't smell me. He was starring into the wind which made me think a big bear must be coming. Then I saw black coming out of a thick tangle... It turned out to be a little guy. He got right up to the bait and sat down. Then suddenly his head spun around and he starred into the wind. Then he crashed off hard the way he had come.

A couple minutes went by then I looked up to see a good bear coming into the bait. I looked at it for a minute or so and decided it was a shooter. It came in confident, not scared like the others. It was facing my and digging in the bait for cookie dough. Occasionally it would look up at the blob in the tree and then go back to eating. Finally it turned broadside and I drew my bow, its head spun around and locked on me as I let the arrow fly. The bear jumped into the air and spun and ran straight into my tree, I thought "not again" but it quickly veered and ran into the woods where I could hear it dyeing. When we retrieved the bear we found that it was a sow, and looked to have some age. I am thinking it might be the old sow that always showed up there... looked to be 250+ dressed.


All in all a great hunt. And we really got some good video of these hunts. I will be putting out a series of Exreme bear tactics videos soon with these hunts on them.

When we retrieved cameras we found that a big bear had been at every bait. John would of probably got a bigger one at one of the other baits, and the bait I was going to go to... The new bait. Had an absolute monster on. I think its the same bear that was on Johns bait early. its only a mile away and the same swamp.

[seazofcheeze]

Congrats to everyone, sounds like a hunt for the ages.

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[stash59]

Thanks for the write up. Looking forward to the videoss!!!

[Mibowfreak]

Great write up. Congratulations guys.

[Stanley]

Great story thanks for sharing.

[vermonthunter16]

Great write up! Definitely plenty of action.

[Boo]

Awesome hunts! Congrats to all the hunters!

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[DaveT1963]

congrats on a very successful hunt