yellowbeard
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2020
- Messages
- 71
My brother and I were elk hunting in Idaho, and my brother also had a bear tag.
We'd seen some elk on an open hillside above us, had setup and called with no response and then stalked around the hill and were above where we had seen the elk, now in heavier timber. We figured we'd either bumped the elk or they had fed off up higher. We came to some freshly used elk beds, and heard some noises above us. Visibility was around 30-40 yards. My brother starts to stalk slowly up and I stay put, looking and listening.
A blond bear appears 30 yards above us. I whisper and point him out to my brother. The bear is small, and is feeding across above us and has no idea we are there. My brother moves to potentially get a shot. We whisper to each other that he's very small and probably shouldn't take him despite beautiful color. My brother continues to move along under the bear who is feeding around the hill and towards us, now only about 15 yards away.
I hear movement in the other direction. Another bear appears, this one perhaps 20 yards away. I can only see the head. It's the same color. Brother or mother, I'm not sure, but I immediately realize this is no longer a hunting situation, but something we need to get away from. I whisper back to my brother so he realizes what's happening to make sure he won't shoot. The second bear is looking at me, but we are down-wind, and seems it doesn't know what we are. I start waving my arms and yelling "Hey bear, get out of here bear". Second bear pauses for a second and then charges straight at me, growling quietly. As she moves, I can see from the size this one must be the mother. Not huge, but not small either. Nothing to do but keep waving and yelling, which I do. She comes in to about five yards, then swerves up the hill towards her cub, and they both disappear.
Got my adrenaline flowing Never felt super threatened. It wasn't a huge sow, but I'm sure she could have torn me up if she wanted. The only weapon we had between us was my brother's bow. I only carry bear spray in grizzly country, which we were not in. Wind was solidly in my face, so bear spray probably would have been a disaster anyway.
What should I have done differently? Clearly I should have realized this could have been a cub with a mother nearby, but in spring bear season we saw so many small bears, honestly this thought did not cross my mind! I think once we were in this situation, a better response might have been take a slow step sideways away from the bear and start talking in a normal voice rather than immediately go to intimidation mode? Any advice from those more experienced would be appreciated.
We'd seen some elk on an open hillside above us, had setup and called with no response and then stalked around the hill and were above where we had seen the elk, now in heavier timber. We figured we'd either bumped the elk or they had fed off up higher. We came to some freshly used elk beds, and heard some noises above us. Visibility was around 30-40 yards. My brother starts to stalk slowly up and I stay put, looking and listening.
A blond bear appears 30 yards above us. I whisper and point him out to my brother. The bear is small, and is feeding across above us and has no idea we are there. My brother moves to potentially get a shot. We whisper to each other that he's very small and probably shouldn't take him despite beautiful color. My brother continues to move along under the bear who is feeding around the hill and towards us, now only about 15 yards away.
I hear movement in the other direction. Another bear appears, this one perhaps 20 yards away. I can only see the head. It's the same color. Brother or mother, I'm not sure, but I immediately realize this is no longer a hunting situation, but something we need to get away from. I whisper back to my brother so he realizes what's happening to make sure he won't shoot. The second bear is looking at me, but we are down-wind, and seems it doesn't know what we are. I start waving my arms and yelling "Hey bear, get out of here bear". Second bear pauses for a second and then charges straight at me, growling quietly. As she moves, I can see from the size this one must be the mother. Not huge, but not small either. Nothing to do but keep waving and yelling, which I do. She comes in to about five yards, then swerves up the hill towards her cub, and they both disappear.
Got my adrenaline flowing Never felt super threatened. It wasn't a huge sow, but I'm sure she could have torn me up if she wanted. The only weapon we had between us was my brother's bow. I only carry bear spray in grizzly country, which we were not in. Wind was solidly in my face, so bear spray probably would have been a disaster anyway.
What should I have done differently? Clearly I should have realized this could have been a cub with a mother nearby, but in spring bear season we saw so many small bears, honestly this thought did not cross my mind! I think once we were in this situation, a better response might have been take a slow step sideways away from the bear and start talking in a normal voice rather than immediately go to intimidation mode? Any advice from those more experienced would be appreciated.
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