After several years of not drawing a NM elk tag, I finally got one this year. With all the excitement that comes with preparing for an elk hunt also comes a traditional scouting trip in August. My father-in-law, Kyle said he wanted to go and attempt to kill a bear.
The plan was simple, I would scout for elk and he would sit some water holes for a shot at a bear. The conditions were decent for water hole activity but there were still some small pockets of collected rain water deep in the canyons. He sat water for a few hours on a couple different occasions with no luck. Thinking water hole activity was slim we decided to walk a few draws and top out a couple ridges to glass. We were able to see a few elk and couple of very nice eight point mule deer bucks but still no bear.
Since this was primarily an elk scouting trip we geared our attention back to finding elk. As the weekend rolled along the trip became very productive. I purposely sought out new country I had never hunted. This strategy along with occasionally making it through my old stomping grounds allowed us to see 125 elk, (a few small bulls but nothing very big) 20 mule deer, 15 white tails, 60 turkeys, but still no Yogi’s.
When we first arrived to camp Kyle and I set up a trail cam on an area that held some water but was also a natural travel corridor for game. The only problem was finding a good tree to hang a camera on. I decided to hang it on a cedar post used to hold up an old barbed wire fence. I was a little apprehensive about placing it here and for good reason. A darn elk pointed my trail camera toward the ground.
If not for this I could have got some pretty good pics but I had to settle for what I got.
Let’s backtrack a little! This is where the weekend gets VERY interesting. Kyle and I were easing up the ridge to retrieve the camera. I was so focused on trying to see if my camera was positioned right I was not paying very much attention to what was directly in front of me. Big Mistake! I walked up to within 15 yards of 2 bear cubs playing in patch of tall grass. The two cubs were hopping in circles and jumping straight up in the air at times. One cub was jet black and the other one was a jet black with a cinamon streak toward the top of its back. They had no worries in the world. When I finally realized the cubs were there I instantly went into OH Crap mode. I started trying to find momma. I seen movement a few yards behind the cubs and momma was standing in the tall grass. Momma was the same color phase as the cinamon streaked cub.
Big problem, the cubs are now right in the middle of me and momma bear. She was not happy! The way Kyle and I were positioned caused me to be slightly in front of him and to his left. This is when things got a little hairy. Momma bear started quietly barking at us. Not like a dog bark but more like a “woofing” sound. She stood up on her hind legs while she continued to “woof.” I’m not sure how accurate my account of how tall she stood but I think she was every bit a foot taller than me so that would put her at 7 foot. I’m not a good judge on standing bears nor do I want to make it a common practice so I might be off a little. At this point she could have been four foot tall and this would not of affected my concern one bit.
This stare down went on for approximately 30 seconds but seemed WAAY longer then that. She continued to go from standing on all fours to raising straight up. As the cubs seen momma standing now they started standing. I knew one thing, I needed to get behind Kyle and the 300 Win Mag. I slowly took a step back and this caused momma bear to start popping her teeth. This is one of the most eerie feelings I have ever had. Momma bear woofed at the little ones again and they slowly left up the side of the ridge.
Trying to put this encounter in words is very hard. It is definitely one of the cooler things I have witnessed in the hunting woods and I will never forget this experience I got to share with my “paw-in-law” and will always cherish this memory.
Mailman, you and Doc have brought to light how to appreciate the NOW and to cherish every second you can with your loved ones. No one knows what tomorrow holds or if it is even guaranteed. I would like to say Thank you for that. You guys relationship has motivated me to spend as much time possible in hunting camp with my “paw-in-law.”
Here is a trail cam pic of one of the cubs and of a bigger bear that came in that night.
The plan was simple, I would scout for elk and he would sit some water holes for a shot at a bear. The conditions were decent for water hole activity but there were still some small pockets of collected rain water deep in the canyons. He sat water for a few hours on a couple different occasions with no luck. Thinking water hole activity was slim we decided to walk a few draws and top out a couple ridges to glass. We were able to see a few elk and couple of very nice eight point mule deer bucks but still no bear.
Since this was primarily an elk scouting trip we geared our attention back to finding elk. As the weekend rolled along the trip became very productive. I purposely sought out new country I had never hunted. This strategy along with occasionally making it through my old stomping grounds allowed us to see 125 elk, (a few small bulls but nothing very big) 20 mule deer, 15 white tails, 60 turkeys, but still no Yogi’s.
When we first arrived to camp Kyle and I set up a trail cam on an area that held some water but was also a natural travel corridor for game. The only problem was finding a good tree to hang a camera on. I decided to hang it on a cedar post used to hold up an old barbed wire fence. I was a little apprehensive about placing it here and for good reason. A darn elk pointed my trail camera toward the ground.
If not for this I could have got some pretty good pics but I had to settle for what I got. Let’s backtrack a little! This is where the weekend gets VERY interesting. Kyle and I were easing up the ridge to retrieve the camera. I was so focused on trying to see if my camera was positioned right I was not paying very much attention to what was directly in front of me. Big Mistake! I walked up to within 15 yards of 2 bear cubs playing in patch of tall grass. The two cubs were hopping in circles and jumping straight up in the air at times. One cub was jet black and the other one was a jet black with a cinamon streak toward the top of its back. They had no worries in the world. When I finally realized the cubs were there I instantly went into OH Crap mode. I started trying to find momma. I seen movement a few yards behind the cubs and momma was standing in the tall grass. Momma was the same color phase as the cinamon streaked cub.
Big problem, the cubs are now right in the middle of me and momma bear. She was not happy! The way Kyle and I were positioned caused me to be slightly in front of him and to his left. This is when things got a little hairy. Momma bear started quietly barking at us. Not like a dog bark but more like a “woofing” sound. She stood up on her hind legs while she continued to “woof.” I’m not sure how accurate my account of how tall she stood but I think she was every bit a foot taller than me so that would put her at 7 foot. I’m not a good judge on standing bears nor do I want to make it a common practice so I might be off a little. At this point she could have been four foot tall and this would not of affected my concern one bit.
This stare down went on for approximately 30 seconds but seemed WAAY longer then that. She continued to go from standing on all fours to raising straight up. As the cubs seen momma standing now they started standing. I knew one thing, I needed to get behind Kyle and the 300 Win Mag. I slowly took a step back and this caused momma bear to start popping her teeth. This is one of the most eerie feelings I have ever had. Momma bear woofed at the little ones again and they slowly left up the side of the ridge.
Trying to put this encounter in words is very hard. It is definitely one of the cooler things I have witnessed in the hunting woods and I will never forget this experience I got to share with my “paw-in-law” and will always cherish this memory.
Mailman, you and Doc have brought to light how to appreciate the NOW and to cherish every second you can with your loved ones. No one knows what tomorrow holds or if it is even guaranteed. I would like to say Thank you for that. You guys relationship has motivated me to spend as much time possible in hunting camp with my “paw-in-law.”
Here is a trail cam pic of one of the cubs and of a bigger bear that came in that night.
Comment