2 brothers and our first bear

TheKnigit
TheKnigit
My little brother has been my hunting buddy for almost as long as I can remember. Even when we were little, we used to pretend we were riding horses through the woods while we stalked the mysterious big game of our imaginations. We have had an amazing young lifetime of memories chasing waterfowl, deer, and various small game. My obsession with the outdoors has only seemed to grow as I get older, whereas my brother's has diminished ever so slightly. We still manage to share a deer camp together each fall though. This year we had drawn our second choice doe tag and were trying a weekend hunt before we head out chasing bucks in a different area this coming weekend.

Things started off about how they normally do. I bounced out of bed, excited and ready to go and chase some deer. Got started on making a couple of breakfast sandwiches, packing a lunch, and getting all of our stuff together by the door. All while nudging my passed out brother about every 5 minutes in attempt to wake him up. About 10 minutes before it is time to leave he jumps up, throws on his clothes, and asks, "are we ready to leave?" We pack up and head out to try and make it to a spot early before anyone else does.....well we weren't early enough. everywhere we tried to go in our limited unit had someone already there.

We finally pulled off at a wide spot on one particular road, almost as a last resort, and pushed our way into the timber along the side hill. We came out at the lower end of a clear cut that still had some long shadows where we decided we would sit and watch for a while. We had been in the clear cut for about an hour, just watching, making some idle chit chat and listening to birds and the occasional crunch that would get both of us excited. We were just beginning to talk about leaving when I look down into the clear cut below us and this black bear is standing up on her hind legs reaching for some blackberries. I pick up my binoculars and whisper to my brother, "bear!" He spots her and says, "Please tell me you have a tag." I rummage through my tags and pull out my fall black bear slip with a smile. We sat and watched her for a little bit longer to make sure she was alone.

"On the count of three?" My brother said. "Sounds good to me." "3....2....1" BOOM! We both fired and she went down. After spotting her laying there the excitement began all over again, and the buck fever set in....hard. We tried to high five and celebrate and just about smacked each other in the face we were so excited. My brother made his way back to the truck to get my pack frame, while I sat and watched the bear to see if there was any movement. I somehow managed to get a call out to a buddy who lived close by to come and help us. About 45 minutes goes by and my brother is making his way down to the bear, while I direct him from up above. We took a little bit of time to take some photos, and appreciate what an amazing opportunity we had just had, and then the work started. She is now resting in the cooler, curing, and the hide is sitting in the freezer until we find a taxidermist. ODFW is estimating that she is about 10 years old, and we will find out for sure whenever I get the card back in the mail. While we were skinning her we found 2 entry holes and 1 exit hole, and one heck of a memory.
 
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Reactions: colt, Mister Bisley and Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Wow, congratulations! Sounds like one amazing adventure. Being with your brother only makes it better! :thumb:
 
C_Run
C_Run
Congratulations! I just had bear for the first time a few weeks ago visiting up in Canada and it was great. They are allowed to bait bear and deer up there and hunt with crossbows, too. Much different attitude than here. Maybe your brother's interests will be revitalized now with your success.
 
TheKnigit
TheKnigit
Thanks guys. The little bit we had the first night was really good. We will see how the rest turns out once it has had a little bit to cure.

I certainly hope he does C_Run I have been trying to talk him into elk hunting with me for a couple of years now.
 
SiletzTroutKiller
SiletzTroutKiller
Nice bear man! I’ve still never shot a fall bear!
 

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