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Shot at a bear with the crossbow from 18 yds in a tree stand. Bear ran slowly for 20 yds. then wandered through the bush to a meadow. I watched him in the meadow for 5 min. then he went slowly into the bush. Climbed down & found my bolt. Not a drop of blood or any grease on it. Tracked the bear to the last spot I saw it & not a drop of blood. Looked further in the bush but decided that I had missed & it was dark so I went back to camp. Showed buddies the bolt & they laughed & said too bad you missed. Found the bear next morning a little further than I went the night before. I hit the artery just below the backbone & the bolt came out low on the other side. Never touched the lungs, stomach or any other organs. It bleed out internally. Three of us backtracked it & never found a drop of blood. Even though I have been hunting for 50 years I am still learning.
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Yup better he staved to death, mauled to death by bigger bear, hit by car etc. etc etc. Life is cruel death not that much different. Very few wild animals die peacefully in their sleep. As a hunter every kill is done with the intentions of a quick demise. Stuff happens but the main point is the hunter recovered his game and the animal was not left to rot.
This post has been edited by nsfisher on May 25, 2017 - 06:14 pm
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How do you know is was a slow painful death?!? If ya got nothing positive to say, keep your comments to yourself. Its a common mistake, from a treestand the shots are usually high, remember that for next time. Kudos for you for going back and finding him and not letting it go to waste.
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Can't make a perfect shot everytime! This bear died quickly for sure. If not you would have never found it. They will travel a long way in the nastiest terrain. This shows how much it pays to go back and have a second or even 3rd look. Even better when you have help for another opinion or just a second set of eyes. Congrats on the bear! I wouldn't worry about what others have to say.
This post has been edited by nsfisher on May 25, 2017 - 06:18 pm
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I think the bear died quickly, otherwise you would have been tracking him all the next morning. Who's to say if was a painful for quiet death. As a hunter I always wish for a quick demise for my game. And as a hunter I know that that always isn't the case. Congrat's on the bear.
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Get off your high horse Charlie. I said its a common mistake to hit high from a tree stand. Yes I have done it, learned from it and now routinely practice from elevated stands. The danger of the bear vs deer was not why he stopped tracking, he said there was no blood trail. Any good hunter would back out under the same circumstances when hunting deer also. And I have the ultimate respect for ytjigger for going back the next day to confirm. He found the bear, harvested it and now has great table fare for him and his family. We cant all be perfect like you Charlie.
This post has been edited by nsfisher on May 25, 2017 - 06:20 pm
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My respect for you for returning the next morning to see if any chance of recovery
A short story from the past ; Back some years ago while deer hunting in the kashe lake area , while sitting on a nice watch hoping for a nice buck out ambles a nice big bear in perfect coat, raised the 30-30 as it walked up a hill and held low to catch the vitals ..two direct hits ..bear ran over the hill.. sat for about five minutes and heard shots , turns out the local trapper had the bear just about run him over before a killing shot ..
Point is , nowhere from where my hits to the kill sight was there any blood..With the amount of fat bears can carry it can happen that the fat blocks blood exit..
Lesson learned .. I no longer hunt where bears present with my 30-30 (the .270) does just f Hey ; If I hit a bear at dusk with "ANY WEAPON" and could not find a good blood trail I also would take it up in the morning ... Hey, would you scratch through the dark to maybe end up on the receiving end of a very irrate carnivore..?? Not a bright move..
Bear hunting, Lesson learned
