Idaho Unit 1 2022 - Someone took my bear!!!

[Brentreese]

Just got back from my first Spring bear hunt with my brother - Unit 1 : Drainage South of (S) Mountain just North of (S C) Creek

Fought unbelievable obstacles with the deep remaining snow (not factored in as an out-of-state hunter), rain and terrain. Took us 2 days just to get our camp in on our backs since the roads were impassable, and lost 2.5 more days to rain. Finally put it together on my first bear on June 9. Shot a little far forward but had good blood. Lost the trail in the rain and had to head back to camp around 6:30 pm to beat nightfall since we had an unscouted river crossing and 700 ft elevation off-trail pull, before a 4 mile trek through the snow drifts to get back to camp.

Came back in the next day and after an extensive grid search, we found our bear - 100 yrds below last blood, exactly in line with our blood trail. It had no hide, no head and no backstraps. The rest was freshly skinned and left to rot. The entry wound was still bleeding and the carcass was covered in ants and flies.

I like to think that someone came across our down bear, assumed it was abandoned or unrecovered, and took what they could. This was not the case.

I know this is a long shot message in a bottle, but if anyone has any knowledge of this bear being recovered I would love to try to recover the hide at a minimum. This was not a trophy bear. In fact it was on the small side of average- but it was legal, hard fought and well earned. It was our first bear between us, and a true trophy in our eyes. I'm proud of the hunt we pulled off and the success we had. For someone to come in and take that from us put a real downer ending on an otherwise awesome adventure.

 

[92xj]

Ask a well known rokslider

 

[Forest_Ghost]

WKR strikes again.

 

[rclouse79]

Here we go again.

 

[Danny Hoey]

Tribute thread?

 

[Brentreese]

Actual Thread. Pic taken June 10.

 

[JGross1]

Ask a well known rokslider

JLHOIS out for revenge

 

[Dos Perros]

[/cracks knuckles, flexes finger joints]

 

[Cahunter805]

That’s a bummer! Did you see any other hunters in the area? Tracks from them hiking in or out?

 

[FlyGuy]

Man, I am truly sorry to hear that for you.

(But, God Damn that’s one Hell of a coincidence. Left over night, missing back straps and head…. I mean. There has to be a WKR lurking in that area of ID! Nothing is safe overnight!)


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[Brentreese]

That’s a bummer! Did you see any other hunters in the area? Tracks from them hiking in or out?

Thats the crazy part. Didn't see anyone all week. Would have put $ that we were the only ones back there, but we're pretty sure it got skinned out that night. Our best guess is may have been a long range guy posted up cross canyon (?)

The only thing they left behind was their discarded Outdoor Edge blade which we packed out for them. Called ID Game and Fish - apparently it isn't illegal to skin out someone else's down bear as long as it isn't tagged yet - just seems like a weird thing to do.

 

[Rob5589]

 

[FlyGuy]

Thats the crazy part. Didn't see anyone all week. Would have put $ that we were the only ones back there, but we're pretty sure it got skinned out that night. Our best guess is may have been a long range guy posted up cross canyon (?)

The only thing they left behind was their discarded Outdoor Edge blade which we packed out for them. Called ID Game and Fish - apparently it isn't illegal to skin out someone else's down bear as long as it isn't tagged yet - just seems like a weird thing to do.

Did ID game and fish offer to do a necropsy?


(Sorry man, I couldn’t resist. I genuinely feel bad for you. It’s just too tempting)


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[WeiserBucks]

OP obviously didn't learn anything from the BOAL thread. NEVER leave your wounded game over night in Idaho when there's any possibility of a WKR in the area.

 

[FlyGuy]

 

[MuleyFever]

 

[EdP]

Maybe I don't understand the situation but it sounds like you abandoned the recovery effort 100 yds from your downed bear. Someone else was out there and out worked you. If that's the case I'd be embarrased to complain about what happened on a public forum, let alone even admit it.

I have hunted bear in Maine and in Idaho and noticed a completely different attitude towards bear meat among the residents. By the folks I met, bear meat was relished in Maine and considered unfit for human consumption in Idaho. Given that, I am not surprised the carcas was left to rot. It is completely legal to do so in Idaho.

Just to be clear, I have not been in Idaho this year.

 

[idelkslayer]

Here's my critique. You abandoned the blood trail at 6:30 PM. You still had 2.5 hours of daylight left. You should have stuck it out and found the bear. I completely understand the terrain in that area, it is not pleasant to navigate in the dark, but sometimes that is what's required to be successful.

How many bullet holes were in the carcass? It is entirely possible that you did not fatally shoot that bear, at least not immediately fatal. Another hunter could have come across that bear after you left and shot it themselves. Even if there weren't any bullet holes in the carcass, they might have shot it in the head, which would leave no new evidence for you to find in the morning. I've been on several bear blood trails that ended in finding a live bear even though it was shot in the chest. In one case we didn't find the bear for over an hour and it was still alive. My point is, you can't be certain the other hunters found it dead. And if they had to shoot it, then they have as much or more claim to it than you, especially if you were gone.

I feel for you, I really do. Maybe some additional information would clear things up for me, but right now it seems like you gave up you search with a lot of daylight left for someone else to come in and finish the job. If you never knew other hunters were around, then it is entirely possible that they didn't know you were there either.

 

[oake]

Would you consider it a bear of a lifetime?? Asking for a friend

In all seriousness sorry things turned out the way it did.

 

[Brentreese]

Maybe I don't understand the situation but it sounds like you abandoned the recovery effort 100 yds from your downed bear. Someone else was out there and out worked you. If that's the case I'd be embarrased to complain about what happened on a public forum, let alone even admit it.

I have hunted bear in Maine and in Idaho and noticed a completely different attitude towards bear meat among the residents. By the folks I met, bear meat was relished in Maine and considered unfit for human consumption in Idaho. Given that, I am not surprised the carcas was left to rot. It is completely legal to do so in Idaho.

Just to be clear, I have not been in Idaho this year.

Lost blood in heavy rain in a huge section of willows. No choice but to begin a grid search, as the bear at that time was an unknown distance from last blood. Soaking wet and far from camp, we decided to come back in the morning for the recovery - which I believe to be a fairly common practice.

Packing out someone else's bear does not seem to be an ethical or common practice among the hunters I know. We were pretty surprised to find what we did. Had we been aware that some hunters in Idaho jump at the chance to take hides from non-trophy bears they did not harvest, we would have stuck it out later.