FIELD JOURNALS -
Fall Bear Hunt From Hell
xx/xx/xxxx
Well...the first hunt of the
fall has come and went. This
trip can only be described
as the hunt from hell!
The hunt was in MN and we
were guests of Renegade
Archery owner Bill Herrmann.
He has a fantastic little
cabin on the MN/WI border
and had several baits that
were getting hit. I should
start off saying that
regardless of the bad luck I
am going to describe, we owe
Bill a huge THANK YOU for
all his help. We also got to
tour the Renegade factory,
which was very cool.
No bears were spotted the
first night. But the second
night was quite exciting for
me and my cameraman, Larry.
Early a nice bear was headed
in, only to wind us and turn
around at only 18 yards to
melt back into the woods.
About an hour later, I
notice another bear in the
thick stuff practically
right under us. It wasted no
time stepping out to the
bait, only 9 yards away. A
perfect broadside shot was
there, but I waited so we
could get some good footage
of this nice bear. But...one
sniff of the bait and the
bear walked behind the bait
and never came back!
Hmmm...what was that about?
Not 10 minutes later,
another bear comes in on the
same trail. This time, I
didn't wait quite so long to
draw. Due to the close shot,
I outsmarted myself and
decided to shoot for the
heart, aiming low and tight
to the shoulder. The arrow
flew true, right to where I
aimed. NOTHING but HAIR!!!!
Why I did that is beyond me,
because everyone knows to
aim for mid-body on a bear
because their hair is so
long underneath that it
gives a false impression of
the body line, right?!?
Keith did not see a bear
this night.
The prelude to the
nightmare...
The third day brought in
near record heat, and
nocturnal bear movement that
would last the next several
days. It also brought a
disaster for Keith. Riding
back, Larry and I noticed
his truck was no longer
behind us, so we turned
around to see what happened.
A half hour went by and then
Keith and Mark Cummings (a
friend of ours filling in as
cameraman) pulled up with an
empty atv trailer. They lost
the atv while going down the
highway at 65 mph, and
couldn't find it!!!
Eventually it was found,
upside down in the woods and
in terrible shape.
So...now one atv short,
we kept hunting in the heat.
Keith and Mark even spent
two 8 hour days in the stand
trying to catch some bears
that had been hitting a bait
in mid-day, but they only
saw one bear that circled
and winded them. It was time
for them to head home, while
Larry and I stayed for a
couple days.
On our last scheduled
day, a cool front finally
came through. With the
cooler temps, we finally had
a bear come in to the bait,
and it was the big one we
had captured on our trail
cam.
He didn't come all the
way in to the bait, but we
decided we needed to stay an
extra day to try again. The
bear did not come in that
next night so, we packed up
and hit the road the next
morning.
Let the nightmare
begin....
My truck had made a
strange noise on the trip up
a couple times. By the time
we made it a couple hours,
it was really acting up.
Next thing I know, the
transmission completely let
go and we had no power. Many
phone calls later, with help
from our friend Jon
Issaicson, we had a tow take
us to Kallenbach Auto
Service in Eau Claire, WI. A
bright spot for us was Todd
Kallenbach. I can't tell you
how much he bent over
backwards to help us. He
went over my options for
repair, arranged for the
parts, called to get us a
rental truck, gave us a ride
to get the rental, and even
offered to let us take his
own car for a couple of
days! If you are ever in
that area of WI and need any
auto service, you cannot go
wrong with Kallenbach. Give
them a call at 715-834-8840.
So, here we are stuck for
3 days out of town the day
before my wife's birthday.
Believe it or not, she tells
me to go back to the cabin
and hunt for a couple of
days! OK...why not?
Nightmare continues...
20 miles back toward the
cabin, the tread flies off
one of my trailer tires. No
problem right? I mean, I
borrowed a good spare to
bring. Well...my tire tool
is back in my truck and the
rental's doesn't fit. A call
to Bill H tells us he is
just miles away and he
brings us one. Tire
off...spare is a fraction of
an inch from fitting! So, we
put the old one back on and
limp in 7 miles to the
nearest Wally World. Afraid
of another flat, we get both
tires replaced, and head on
to the cabin.
Can it get worse....?
Well, YA! A few minutes
later, Laura calls my cell
and I hear crying as soon as
I answer. Now she is at
Karate with my son Zac, and
her car won't start!!!! Zac
is crying because the "car
won't work" and Laura can't
believe how many bad things
can happen in one day.
Thankfully my dad was a few
miles from her and got her
going with a new battery.
And so, back to the
hunt...
The first night back
hunting, a good bear came in
and sat down about 12 yards
away, but offered no shot.
Later on, the big one was
back, pacing back and forth.
Just as Larry gave me the
lights out signal, the bear
slowly came in and started
eating. Just enough light to
get a shot, but no video, so
I held off, hoping for the
next night.
The last night, again,
and I have a shooting lane
trimmed out to 25 yards
where the bear paced through
the night before. Larry has
a good view of it as well.
Just before dark, I see him,
headed right for the lane I
trimmed out. I signal Larry
and he is ready. I just need
the bear to go 5 more
steps...
NOPE! The bear stopped
behind a tree 3 yards from
the lane. We never saw him
again.
This time we made it home
after picking my truck up.
My checkbook emptied out and
more than a little
disappointed. But, like I
told someone...Murphy went
bear hunting with us, but he
left the important things
alone; family, home, and
health.
I really need to thank
Laura for being so unselfish
and understanding. It takes
quite a person to suggest
that rather than come home
with the rental for a few
days, that I miss her
birthday and hunt some more.
Thanks to Mark Cummings for
going along to film us on
this hunt. Also, Jon for the
phone calls to Eau Claire
(he is from the area, and
his folks still live there).
And, to my folks helping us
out on such short notice.
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