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First Bear! 12th in 11 years for our group!

zoschag08

By zoschag08,
in Bear Hunting

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zoschag08 Newbie

zoschag08

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Hunting out of my camp in Cameron County, PA we've been pretty successful since we started hunting bears, taking 12 in 11 years. Our largest was taken two years ago, live weight 470 lbs. Up until this year I had never seen a bear during the season. I'd run into them hunting archery or rifle for deer but never while actively pursuing them.

I got into my camp early Friday afternoon and joined my cousins and uncles who were already there. After planning our hunt and enjoying the camp atmosphere, we setup our things for the opener the next morning. We drove all day, covered roughly 7 miles of ground but never saw/heard a bear. But arriving back at camp we realize one of our older members had shot a bear on the top bench of the property. Being energized by the success we planned our hunt for Monday.

Climbing the hill Monday morning my cousin told me that since I was younger I got to be top watcher, aka got to climb the furthest. So I set up on a rock in the middle of thick cover. I couldn't see more than 30 yards clearly in any direction. The drive starts and I find my shooting lanes, now just to wait. After roughly 30 minutes I hear something coming, but since past experiences had provided deer not bear I wasn't all that nervous. Then I saw the black body coming through the laurel, no more than 20 yards from me and directly on my level. I shoulder my gun and fire, he runs down the hill and I put another into him and he drops. I radio to my group that we had a bear down and the reaction is incredible. We meet up and take pictures/enjoy the moment.

The best thing about these bear hunts are that if someone gets one you feel successful, regardless of who it is. You feel like you had a part in it and it really is a special hunt. He weighed in at 177 lbs live weight and I'm currently waiting for him to get mounted. Getting a half body, couldn't be happier!

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