My hunting partner and I were able to get a pass to hunt yesterday and today. Last night after a little fishing we set up and did some elk calling. The only thing that came in was a nice bear that stopped and winded us at 65 yds. This morning we changed locations slightly and set up for elk again. After 20 minutes we hear branches breaking and we get ready. Out comes the same bear from last night oblivious to us. He fed around for a minute or two then turned my direction where I had set up against a downfall. He walked around the base of the tree and I was thinking I would let him go because we were after elk. When he made the choice to turn at the base of the tree things changed quickly. He was now headed strait at me and still clueless I was there. At six yards I put an arrow strait into his chest. Fortunately he spun, unfortunately he bolted strait into the blackberry and poison oak brambles. The good news was he was dead within 20 yds. The bad news was what I had to crawl through to get to him. That sucked! He was too heavy to drag out at an estimated 300 lb. I set up and quartered him in the thick of the blackberries. Double ouch! I am really looking forward to eating him. His meat smelled wonderful and he was dead before he new it. Now my feet are killing me from the pack out so off to bed!

I just got the data card from ODFW. This bear was 9 years old! Wow...

congrats, and i am wishin i was huntin.Good luck on your Elk.

great bear congratulations

Congrats!  Great bear.  Good luck elk hunting.  

Thanks everyone. I made some backstrap fajitas tonight. They were excellent! I may not avoid killing bears in the future…

The biologist who checked him in said he was an older bear. The front teeth were worn almost to the gum and the k9's had grooves in them. Fortunately he came out of some seriously thick blackberries and his meat benefits from that.

Awesome bear OP..congrats..so much fun taking bears..makes the other animals seem kind of tame...

Outstanding, thanks for posting!

Nice bear OP

Congrat's OP.
6 yards is up close and fun

Congratulations OP!  What broadhead did you use?

100 gr Shuttle T Lock. Entrance wound missed bone the exit went through a rib behind the left leg. Very good performance and a very fast kill. Severing the arteries at the top of the heart will do that...

Great shot and great bear. Have fun eating.

I just got the data card from ODFW. This bears was 9 years old. That seems pretty old but then I don't know bears very well.

Congrats on the bear, 9 is up there, I think they only live to 12 or so.

9 is actually average middle age for northeast bears. a documented 31 year old was taken in 2014 in maine. it had a lip tattoo serial number from 1986 and it had some history before that date recorded. lets just say it was in BAD shape.

the mouth was completely destroyed from infection








this was the bear when it was alive. very old and worn out. its fur was extremely thin and it had very little muscle mass

from maines website on bear hunting . i do remember a story from last year of a 33 year old female taken . the oldest black bear recorded . she was the very first bear tagged by one of the biologist when he started his career



Summary of bear age reports (2008-14)

IFW has been working with hunters and hunter check stations to collect teeth from harvested black bears since 2008. Like most hunted black bear populations, older bears made up a smaller proportion of the harvest with 1/4 of the bears greater than 4 years of age. Bears are long-lived and every year a portion of the harvest includes bears that reach 20 to 29 years old. The oldest bear harvested in Maine were females between 25 and 29 years of age. The oldest males were between 20 and 31 years old.

In 2008, the oldest bear was a 28 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 20 years old.
In 2009, the oldest bear was a 25 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 20 years old.
In 2010, the oldest bear was a 29 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 25 years old.
In 2011, the oldest bear was a 29 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 23 years old.
In 2012, the oldest bear was a 29 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 21 years old.
In 2013, the oldest bear was a 26 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 25 years old.
In 2014, the oldest bear was a 25 year-old female and the oldest male bear was 31 years old.

eta
here's the story on the 33 year old . they say Randy Cross has handled more live black bears than anyone in the world
http://bangordailynews.com/2015/09/04/outdoors/hunter-ends-mystery-of-long-lost-research-bear-in-maine/

Randy Cross is THE black bear expert.  I know a couple people that have gone tagging with him.  His knowledge on black bears is unmatched IMO.



 

i called randy once because he was listed as a reference for a guide i was interested in hunting with. he answers the phone and is whispering to me . i told him i could call him back later if he was too busy and he replied "i can talk now, just not very loud because im in a bear den at the moment"

always makes me laugh telling that story

Thanks for the info! I learned something today!

9 is still a nice old mature bear. great trophy !

Congrat on your first bear...

Congrat on your first bear...