Frequently Banned Troll
Well-known member
This hunt was not one of those epic hardcore solo DIY extreme public land backcountry grinds, running the latest game changing gear while in a flow state, unlocking next level tactics to turn up a giant and get’r done on an ancient old troll of a warrior beast. It was the opposite of that, thankfully.
It was 5 days into the season and my first day out. The older I get, the slower my start to spring bear hunting has been getting. I chose to hunt a place that I haven’t seen many bears, but was a little easier to get around in. By noon, I’d put about 3 miles on my boots, hoping to find maybe an antler but not really expecting to cross paths with a bear. I didn’t find anything - but it was a nice hike and my feet were a little sore. In the afternoon I did a couple more short hikes, mostly looking to find an arrowhead or artifact. As luck would have it, I did find a couple broken old stone tools.
The original plan for the evening was to follow a friend’s hot tip to the top of a big ridge in a roadless area that would offer some excellent glassing. It was late in the day and sounded like making it to that lookout would be a little more than I wanted to take on. I chose to stay closer to the truck (and cooler) for an evening sit. I’d never seen a bear within 10 miles of this place, but had seen tracks nearby a few years ago. Regardless, my plan of a nice day in the hills to get a little exercise was lining right up with what I expected and hoped for.
I sat glassing on a small hill, about 40 yards from my truck. After about 20 minutes I started to get a little cold. I walked back to my truck to get my jacket and also figured grabbing my orange vest and rifle might also be a good idea. Grabbing the rifle was mostly just wishful thinking. Imagine my surprise when I saw the large black bear ambling through the opening just across from where I’d been sitting.
Did it look big? Not especially. I could tell when it walked from left to right that it did not have the typical sow (pear) shaped body. Its head did not look especially big, but it was lanky and level with the ground, its body moved slow and deliberate when it walked. I really had nothing to compare it to, and just figured it was an adult boar, probably 6’ or better, which would be plenty big enough for me to try for.
I didn’t know if he was going to stick around or not. He looked preoccupied, but for a minute he froze, looking right in my direction. I ranged him at 245m, got prone and tried to get comfortable. I’d recently been bragging about how I could shoot a flea off a coyote’s ass at a half mile with this rifle - so this was going to be too easy. 6 shots later, I had a big dead bear at my feet.J
I didn’t really know what to think, as he was rolled into a ball close to the bottom of a narrow draw. He looked really big, and from the size of the rear paw I could see, I knew it was certainly not a boo-boo. Still, unsure of what I had - I confirmed the male parts when I tried to push him over to better evaluate him. I took a few pictures, and being that it was getting dark there were not many good ones. The longer I worked on the bear, the more I realized how huge and rare he was.
Aside from my poor marksmanship, this bear and hunt checked a lot of boxes for me, several of which I’m going to keep to myself for a while. There are some things missing here that are a tragedy of telling the tale, but sometimes less is more on the WWW. He’s a true Montana 7 foot plus bear with ease and will likely qualify for a B&C certificate. I can’t really say what he weighed but I’d estimate 350-450 lbs. live. The hide is 81” nose to tail with a 93” wingspan, skull 20-5/8. I got 119# frozen bear meat and saved all his bones- wicked cool big scapulas and femurs. Lots of things to be thankful for this spring already and it’s still April.
It was 5 days into the season and my first day out. The older I get, the slower my start to spring bear hunting has been getting. I chose to hunt a place that I haven’t seen many bears, but was a little easier to get around in. By noon, I’d put about 3 miles on my boots, hoping to find maybe an antler but not really expecting to cross paths with a bear. I didn’t find anything - but it was a nice hike and my feet were a little sore. In the afternoon I did a couple more short hikes, mostly looking to find an arrowhead or artifact. As luck would have it, I did find a couple broken old stone tools.
The original plan for the evening was to follow a friend’s hot tip to the top of a big ridge in a roadless area that would offer some excellent glassing. It was late in the day and sounded like making it to that lookout would be a little more than I wanted to take on. I chose to stay closer to the truck (and cooler) for an evening sit. I’d never seen a bear within 10 miles of this place, but had seen tracks nearby a few years ago. Regardless, my plan of a nice day in the hills to get a little exercise was lining right up with what I expected and hoped for.
I sat glassing on a small hill, about 40 yards from my truck. After about 20 minutes I started to get a little cold. I walked back to my truck to get my jacket and also figured grabbing my orange vest and rifle might also be a good idea. Grabbing the rifle was mostly just wishful thinking. Imagine my surprise when I saw the large black bear ambling through the opening just across from where I’d been sitting.
Did it look big? Not especially. I could tell when it walked from left to right that it did not have the typical sow (pear) shaped body. Its head did not look especially big, but it was lanky and level with the ground, its body moved slow and deliberate when it walked. I really had nothing to compare it to, and just figured it was an adult boar, probably 6’ or better, which would be plenty big enough for me to try for.
I didn’t know if he was going to stick around or not. He looked preoccupied, but for a minute he froze, looking right in my direction. I ranged him at 245m, got prone and tried to get comfortable. I’d recently been bragging about how I could shoot a flea off a coyote’s ass at a half mile with this rifle - so this was going to be too easy. 6 shots later, I had a big dead bear at my feet.J
I didn’t really know what to think, as he was rolled into a ball close to the bottom of a narrow draw. He looked really big, and from the size of the rear paw I could see, I knew it was certainly not a boo-boo. Still, unsure of what I had - I confirmed the male parts when I tried to push him over to better evaluate him. I took a few pictures, and being that it was getting dark there were not many good ones. The longer I worked on the bear, the more I realized how huge and rare he was.
Aside from my poor marksmanship, this bear and hunt checked a lot of boxes for me, several of which I’m going to keep to myself for a while. There are some things missing here that are a tragedy of telling the tale, but sometimes less is more on the WWW. He’s a true Montana 7 foot plus bear with ease and will likely qualify for a B&C certificate. I can’t really say what he weighed but I’d estimate 350-450 lbs. live. The hide is 81” nose to tail with a 93” wingspan, skull 20-5/8. I got 119# frozen bear meat and saved all his bones- wicked cool big scapulas and femurs. Lots of things to be thankful for this spring already and it’s still April.
