Originally Posted By CTM1:

Last month I had a good size sow with last years cub sneak right up on me
at night while predator hunting.
That is the second time in my life this has happened.

Well yesterday I was predator hunting and about 20 minutes before dark I heard something right up behind me.
At this time of year I was never expecting to see what I did. ~20 yards behind me is a bear. Season was still open so I
roll onto my side trying to get a shot but the up hill angle would not allow it, so I got up on my knees. The bear was facing me
but there was a hemlock limb in the way, small limb. The bear heard me and stopped so I put the cross hairs right on his chest
and fired 3 rounds. He took off to my right and then quickly back to the left and I was able to get off another round with the bear broadside.
Gun was on and given the distance I felt the shot would have been good despite the bear running.
I then jumped up and ran to my left trying to get a clear shot and slipped on a snow covered rock and went right down. I recovered
and I could here the bear walking up the hill but could no longer see it.

I gathered my gear and pulled out a light to go look. I moved about 30 yards to my left before heading up trying to get on the
same level where I saw the bear last. Well as I worked my way in to where I had shot I found speckled blood in the area of both shots.
I followed for about another 15 yards and called it a day as it was now dark and I have an aversion to mixing it up with a wounded bear at night.

Well I asked an older friend to give me a hand looking and we started out a 9am today.
My buddy took one look at how steep the mountain was and said I''ll hang back in case you get eaten.
Started finding better blood but nothing great. Found the first bed about 75 yards further up the hill but again not alot of blood.
As I continued my tracking I was finding a drop or speckles here and there and now with fresh coyote tracks following.
About 300 yards up the mountain I found another bed with only a few drops of blood. Not looking good. Right on top of the mountain I find
another bed, the last one and it is full of blood but I know how blood and snow can make it look like more than it really is.

Well I continued on over the mountian and down the other side. I followed the bear right to the bottom of the mountain and I did not find
another drop of blood, not another bed. The bear did not seem to stop even once it just just walked. When I got the bottom of the mountain the bear
started up the next mountain and I followed for another ~400 yards. It was at that time I came to the conclusion that this bear would not be
recovered, that I made bad hit(s).  

I had tracked the bear for 3 1/2 hours and I was wiped out. Had I even seen another drop of blood since the last bed at the top of the mountain I
would have continued on but nothing.

Absolutely sucks as seeing a bear on the second to last day of the season is pretty rare here and then to have F'd it up makes it all the more worse.

FYI for the curious gun was AR15 loaded with 5.56 HP
I have taken 5 bears prior to this with the bow and I know bears are not hard to kill and have taken a few deer with this set up so I was not concerned about not having enough gun .