WA Fall Bear down with my wife!

[shanevg]

It's been a tough fall for bear hunting for me. I've made it out quite a few time and despite finding a ton of blueberries, the bears just did not seem to be out.

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I had a great morning hike in the sun with a bow in tow. The scenery was great but we didn't see any animals.

With the weather system moving in last week, I made it out with a buddy on Saturday hoping to find some bears moving. Unfortunately, with fog moving in and out, we weren't able to spot anything. I've never had luck hunting bears on rainy days, but it sure hasn't stopped me from trying!

 

[shanevg]

Over the weekend, the snow level dropped below 5000 feet and I thought it might really start getting the bears moving. I got out of work a couple of hours early and convinced my wife to go on an afternoon hike with me. This is my favorite time of the year with snowcapped mountains and fall colors everywhere.

We made it up to alpine and it wasn't long before we spotted a large boar feeding right below snow line.

I was able to position a group of trees between me and the bear and stalk down a 50 degree snow covered slope to the trees. After slipping and sliding my way down I was within 100 yards of the feeding bear. I straddled a tree on the steep slope and used a branch to steady my rifle. I took the safety off and slowly squeezed the trigger only to hear a very loud "CLICK". I had forgotten to chamber a shell!!! The bear immediately looked uphill straight at me, luckily the wind was in my favor and he started feeding after 15 seconds or so. Then I pulled the bolt back to jack in another shell and of course he started looking right at me again. I quickly jacked the shell in and got settled in for a shot. My first shot was a perfect heart shot and he only made it about 15 yards before he was rolling down the hill.

It was the first time my wife has ever been with me when I got something. She's quite the animal lover and I didn't know how she'd handle it, but she was so excited she couldn't believe it! It was so much fun having her along when I actually got an animal!

The bear was an old, gnarly boar. He probably weighed in at roughly 250lbs and his teeth were all yellow and broken or missing. Unfortunately, it was 6pm and below freezing and I was more worried about getting my wife off the mountain before she froze than taking a ton of pictures. These are the best pictures we got:

 

[shanevg]

I was able to get the front quarters and the head and made it out the 3+ miles to the car by 9pm. I had to get up early to go to work the next day and start calling around for a buddy to help me pack out the rest of the bear the next night. Finally, TJ agreed to help me pack and we made it back to the bear at 6pm the next night. Luckily it had been below freezing all day and the bear was in great condition. This time, we made it back to the car with the rest of the bear by 8:30pm.

TJ has never hunted before but was so excited to help me with butchering the bear. He did about half the butchering work himself! He has already asked time off work for opening weekend of modern firearm season to pack into the backcountry with me. I can't wait to get back out there!

 

[7mag.]

Congrats Shane, nice bear. Good work getting your buddy hooked. Maybe your wife will get hooked too.

 

[River Rat]

Congrats on a great bear ! Beautiful pics

 

[Logan T]

Great bear!

 

[30338]

Wow, that looks like a nice bear. Was he in pretty good condition despite having worn out teeth?

 

[realunlucky]

That's beautiful high country right there. Very nice bear

 

[Shrek]

Congratulations ! It's great that your wife was with you and enjoyed it and it gets better with the addition of your friend TJ. If you could get them both hooked on hunting it would be awesome !

 

[shanevg]

Wow, that looks like a nice bear. Was he in pretty good condition despite having worn out teeth?

He was plenty fat to make it through the winter but he was definitely past his prime. I'm guessing he'd have been a lot heavier bear this time of fall 5 years ago or so.

 

[greyghostnw]

congrats...... nice adventure and bear. great you had your loved one to share this with.

 

[MLHSN]

Congrats!

About what elevation did the fresh snow start?

 

[shanevg]

Congrats!

About what elevation did the fresh snow start?

5500

 

[coastalyeti]

Thanks for sharing this! Great pics, great bear, beautiful country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[justinspicher]

Nice bear, I am still looking for one here in Washington. Any suggestions?

 

[Muledeerhunter]

Great pics, congrats on the bear.