A MN Bear hunting adventure!
Contributors to this thread:Bears
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
Whew-it's been a whirlwind week! I've been on a quest to shoot a monster bear in MN since I first started bowhunting there in 1995. Although I have taken some good bears, I've never shot a true monster. I hoped to make that change this year, after a 3 year wait to draw a tag in our unit again. My good friend, Ed, who runs King's Corner Guide Service, has been on this quest with me for the last 8 years and 3 tags. We've had our share of learning together in our adventures, between finding bait sights and where to hang stands. We hunt in an area with very little pressure, and we have some big bears, as you will see from the pics I will post. These bears have proven to be as wily as an old whitetail, especially after the acorns drop.
From: Kodiak
11-Sep-15
That looks huge.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
No Mercy's Link
We have one we have nick named Sleepy, which is the bear I have been trying to tag. See attached video for the reason for his name. Unfortunately, I only got two glimpses of him, and a shot opportunity never presented itself.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
No Mercy's Link
Here's another video of him-
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
Well-fast forward to this year. We tried two new bait sites and went went with a few of our normal ones. The bears turned on fast! I was pumped-we were getting pics of BIG bears and two chocolate bears, which are rare for this area.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
And this one started to show up regularly. I was getting pretty pumped!!
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
The baits were getting pounded now. Multiple bears on each bait.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
We call this bait Big Balls....
From: Huntcell
11-Sep-15
Daylight pics would help! Nice bears but need them during shooting hours Always a dilema
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
We had them coming at all times. Morning. Midday. All night.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
This big guy was pretty regular
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
Then-the acorns started dropping. Raining. All at once. The baits literally shut down. Now we have this happen every year, but this was a week earlier than normal. I decided to sit on the bait the chocolate and one big black colored bear were hitting on opener. It's on a ridge, way back in the middle of nowhere. Perfect wind, but it was hot. No bears sighted.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
Night two my wife decided to sit in a blind with me. This was turning into a chess game, as well as a guessing game as to which bait was going to get hit. Spent a very warm evening listening to birds, chipmunks and squirrels, but no bears again.
From: Kodiak
11-Sep-15
I think I like where this is headed.
From: No Mercy
11-Sep-15
Night 3 I decided to move to a different bait. One we call Automatic, because of its past success. It was not as good this year, due to a pack of wolves taking over the bait. I never knew wolves would eat donuts and candy, but they do. No bears tonight either.
From: Huntcell
12-Sep-15
Nice
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Due to really warm temps, I decided to take the next night off. Of course, you know one of the big boys shows up in my absence. Ugh. Can't win!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Sat two more nights. No bears again. Took Sunday off to celebrate my wife's birthday, and guess who shows up during shooting light.
From: spike buck
12-Sep-15
Too bad you have such a wolf problem. We are about to take out a few I hope on Tuesday!!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Monday, Labor Day, would be my last opportunity for awhile to hunt. I decided to return to the same bait that the big bear was the previous night. The temps had dropped to the upper 60's and it was a beautiful night.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
At 7:15 he came in from my left, but turned and walked straight away from me. I was set up perfect at 12 yards in a ground blind. He circled around, and came out at 5 yards. I couldn't get a shot because of brush!!! Talk about adrenaline pumping. He was HUGE! He then walked over to the bait and I released. The shot looked good.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
No Mercy's Link
The trail camera even caught the shot!!
From: spike buck
12-Sep-15
AWESOME!!!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Here's a pic of how well the blind blended in
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Anyway, it was not to be that night. After finding a big glob of fat, the blood trail ended, and after watching the shot video, we decided we did not want to pursue this beast after dark with minimal blood. Although the blood looked good, we determined the shot was a bit more back than I had though originally.
From: kota-man
12-Sep-15
Very cool Jason...Congrats.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Next morning we were back at it. We picked up the blood trail and found the arrow. He was taking us through some absolutely brutally thick stuff, but the blood trail was good, until he went in the open.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
He crossed some stuff that we thought to be not possible, and couldn't believe how far he was taking us. There was a bear den located in this old logging trash pile and he walked right over the top of it!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Sadly, the blood trail ended when the bear went into a swamp. I was devastated! We decided to just start doing circles around the swamp and see if we could happen to stumble on him.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Well, my guide, and best friend, Ed, did just that! The bear had swam across part of the swamp, then crawled up in a beaver run and died! I can't believe he even saw him! This is what he saw!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
We discovered that I had totally underestimated the size of this bruin, as 3 of us could not budge him. We had to blaze a trail with a chainsaw and the Ranger to get to him. We had to use the winch to get him out of the beaver run.
From: WV Mountaineer
12-Sep-15
Maybe I'm stupid but, that shot sure didn't look to far back to me. Good luck and God Bless
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
I finally had my monster bear! While we could not weigh him, the 3 of us could not lift him into the Ranger! We had to devise a lever/pulley system using the Ranger and a tree to get him up in the bed.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
We are guessing between 400 and 450 lbs. The hide was right on 7' from nose to tail. Skull is 20" green score. Heck of a bear-especially in MN.
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
I couldn't be happier!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Huge pumpkin head!
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
An awesome bear and an end to my quest.
From: WV Mountaineer
12-Sep-15
Cool. Where was the shot? God Bless
From: No Mercy
12-Sep-15
Shot hit liver, diaphragm and guts.
From: SpyderTurbo
12-Sep-15
That was a day to remember!! Congrats again !!
From: Callingalldeer
13-Sep-15
Congrats a real trophy.
From: WV Mountaineer
13-Sep-15
Way to go on the recovery! God Bless
From: Kodiak
13-Sep-15
That bear has a nice coat too.
Nice animal, congrats.
From: HUNT MAN
13-Sep-15
Congrats
From: SwampStalker
13-Sep-15
That's a honey of a bear!
From: INbowdude
13-Sep-15
Congrats and way to stay at it. Sweet rewards for hard work.
Rug or lifesize?
From: No Mercy
13-Sep-15
That topic is currently up for discussion in our house! If you know what I mean. Haha.
From: Mark Watkins
13-Sep-15
Jason, congrats on a true Northwoods monster!!!
What a pumpkin head!
Mark
From: Buffalo1
13-Sep-15
Congrats on a great trophy. That hide is beautiful.
From: Ibow
13-Sep-15
Great story & picts, great bear. Thanks for sharing!
From: tacklebox
14-Sep-15
Great bear, Congrats
From: KY EyeBow
14-Sep-15
Congrats on a great bear! I was up that way at the first of the season as well hunting with 2 friends. I couldn't believe how thick those woods are up there. When I was blood trailing my bear, it was hard to see more than 10 feet in front of you. My bear wasn't as big as yours but we were impressed by his size. As you can tell from the pics, we recovered him at night which is a whole story in of itself! We calculated his weight to be right at 350 live weight. Thanks for the story!
From: SteveB
14-Sep-15
And happy you should be! Congratulations!
From: No Mercy
14-Sep-15
Congrats KY Eyebow!
Thanks everyone.
From: Amoebus
14-Sep-15
No Mercy - a couple observations...
Your first bear picture has stretch marks. Was that bear bigger than the one you got?
I think you were wise to not pursue your bear the first evening. We might have had a thread from the bear's perspective on how to turn the tide on a hunter.
Was the meat any good after being out that long? I was in central MN over the weekend and the night temps were ~40F.
From: No Mercy
14-Sep-15
Amoebus-yes-definitely bigger-that bear is still out there somewhere! Yeah-once we ran out of blood that night-we thought it best to back out-he could have eaten us in two gulps.
Unfortunately, and it still makes me sick, the meat was not good. I think with him crawling in that beaver run, combined with having 2-3" of fat all the way around him, he just never cooled efficiently. I tried my best, just couldn't get it done. It sucks.
From: No Mercy
15-Sep-15
Congrats KY Eyebow!
Thanks everyone.
From: KY EyeBow
15-Sep-15
Thanks, No Mercy. Sorry about your meat spoilage. I shot him on opening day and you may remember how hot it was then. I shot my bear at 615PM and it took us until 2:00 AM to get everything taken care of as far as skinning, hanging, etc. It was alot bigger job than I typically have back here at home with a whitetail! Wonderful experience.
From: Alexis Desjardins
15-Sep-15
nice bear fond memories, congrats
From: No Mercy
16-Sep-15
Look at this brute!
From: No Mercy
16-Sep-15
And these pricks are back
From: stick33
16-Sep-15
You should take the highest bidder w/ a tag and put him on that bait!
Congrats on a great MN bear!
From: No Mercy
16-Sep-15
Haha. I wish we had daytime photos of him.
From: No Mercy
18-Sep-15
Kind of a big toothpick, but whatever works I guess
From: Mark Watkins
18-Sep-15
Keep your pics rolling!
Great stuff Jason!
Mark
From: No Mercy
20-Sep-15
Now they're coming during the light. And there's the proof-wolves like licorice!
From: Brotsky
22-Sep-15
Congrats on an awesome bear Jason! You guys did some solid work in recovering him! I think it's time to start laying down some wolves.
From: No Mercy
23-Sep-15
Thanks Brotsky. Appreciate it. Congrats to you and your wife too!
From: Bowboy
23-Sep-15
Congrats and thanks for sharing!
From: Bowboy
23-Sep-15
Congrats and thanks for sharing!
From: No Mercy
24-Sep-15
Here's the mount I'm going to have done. I'll build the base and habitat myself.
From: BULELK1
25-Sep-15
Dang good read.
You did great
That will be a real cool looking mount too.
Good luck, Robb
From: No Mercy
25-Sep-15
Thank you!
From: No Mercy
25-Sep-15
I think we should change the name of this bait to the zoo!!
From: No Mercy
25-Sep-15
Crazy what comes to this bait!
From: No Mercy
25-Sep-15
This Fisher is a regular
From: No Mercy
10-Oct-15
Well, sounds like Sleepy made his last move. One of the locals killed a giant bear right in his area. Damn. The end of an era.
From: Kodiak
10-Oct-15
That's a good sized cat. Bucket list item for me.
The fisher is beyond cool.
Great thread.
From: TODDY
10-Oct-15
55 gallon barrels can be used on private land only and they need to be secured to a tree. Pig Doc, Without hijacking this thread, we don't know if that is a bait station or not. But if it is, not legal. :o)
Anyway, Very Nice bear Jason!
TODDY
From: elmer@laptop
11-Oct-15
Wow. Great job!
From: No Mercy
11-Oct-15
Thanks again guys.
From: No Mercy
13-Oct-15
No Mercy's Link
Found a video of the winch burning out on us. Lol
From: KY EyeBow
14-Oct-15
Pig Doc, We just propped the bear up on the barrel for pics after we got him back to the shed to get him skinned. It was not used for bait. Why would you think it was a bait barrel if it wasn't specified as such? Have a great day, Pig Doc. I'd think if anyone should call me out on "hijacking" this thread, it would be No Mercy. No Mercy, if I offended you by posting, I apologize. Some of you all(Pig Doc) on here just really need to get a life. You ruin the whole concept of this site by accusing folks who are just trying to add to this bowhunting site.
From: No Mercy
25-Oct-15
Nah man. All good!!
Check out this slob!!!!
From: No Mercy
20-Jan-16
Taxidermist has begun!
From: No Mercy
20-Jan-16
It's coming together nicely!
From: No Mercy
21-Jan-16
My little man was surprised at how big it was!
From: No Mercy
21-Jan-16
Melon head
From: drycreek
21-Jan-16
Great thread and a helluva bear ! Congrats !
From: No Mercy
28-Feb-16
Thanks Drycreek! Can't wait to get the base finished!
From: Knife2sharp
28-Feb-16
Great thread, I like the pics with short written words. It's hard to maintain interest when the author is long winded.
I've killed some nice animals in my career, but my most rewarding is my only bear, a P&Y black bear that I baited myself in MN. To me, there is no equivalent.
Congrats on the bruin. You will admire that trophy above all others.
From: Mark Watkins
29-Feb-16
Looking good Jason! What a mellon head is right...yikes!
Good luck this year on "the slob!"
Mark
From: No Mercy
15-Mar-16
Thanks Mark. No more bears for me. I think I'm going to hang it up and let the boys kill the bears for awhile.
From: kota-man
15-Mar-16
Never say never Jason. I gave up Black Bears about 10 years ago. Hunted them last year, and will again this year. Beats the heck out of turkey hunting. (Sorry Chris)
Mount looks great...
From: No Mercy
25-Mar-16
I hear ya Cory. I'm going to concentrate on deer for once this year. I'd like to shoot a velvet one, then actually do some upland and waterfowl hunting....
From: Shug
29-Mar-16
Congrats. ...great stuff
From: No Mercy
29-Mar-16
Scoot-you guessed correctly! He does a great job!
From: Paul@thefort
29-Mar-16
Hey Jason, I missed your bear hunt last September but I am sure glad you brought it back up to show the stuffer.
Great pics and story. Exciting for sure.
my best, Paul
From: No Mercy
31-Mar-16
Thanks Paul
From: No Mercy
21-Jul-16
Well, I finally got the skull back. That was an adventure all it's own!??
Scored 19 12/16". Bruiser of a MN bear!! Also got the age back from DNR-they say it was only 4 years old.
Mount is nearing completion too. I'll update with pictures then.
From: Grubby
21-Jul-16
4 years? I find that one hard to believe. Do you think the dnr could have made an error?
That's a great story!
From: No Mercy
22-Jul-16
Its possible Grubby. I'm thinking the same thing.
From: Medicinemann
22-Jul-16
Do you know if they aged the bear by pulling a tooth?
From: Mark Watkins
22-Jul-16
A monster regardless of age....Congrats Jason!
I assume you are bear hunting again (assuming you got drawn)?
Mark
From: Grubby
22-Jul-16
Medicine man, when you register a bear in Minnesota you are required to submit a tooth.
From: St Cloud
22-Jul-16
My bear came out of the MN woods last year in 4 pieces that weighed 280# My guessed live weight was 340#. My aged tooth patch/card came back at 3 years old?????? I have been in contact with MN Bear Researcher D Garshels now---something is going on with whom is doing the aging. I sent in 3 teeth from my bear. Not just one.
From: No Mercy
22-Jul-16
Mark-no. I'm done bear hunts for awhile. Time for the kids to take over.
Yes. It was aged with two teeth, which is a requirement of the mm dnr.
From: No Mercy
18-Aug-16
Bears are hitting SOLID with multiples on most baits. We shall call this one Tank!
From: Eddiebobeddy
18-Aug-16
Great bear and very nice job telling your story. This is the stuff I love to come and read. Very nicely done and a nice mount. A lot of excellent pics. Maybe I don't need to go all the way up to Manitoba bear hunting anymore :)
I can't believe how many animals you have coming in to the zoo bait.
Question.... Are those timberwolves? Just curious, they don't look extremely big yet are certainly much bigger than coyotes. Just curious what type of wolves those are.
Thanks,
From: No Mercy
19-Aug-16
No Mercy's Link
I've wondered about the coloration of them too. As far as I know, they are Timber Wolves. Here a more recent video of a mama and 5 pups
From: No Mercy
25-Aug-16
Another HAWG !!!
From: No Mercy
31-Aug-16
The mount is almost done!!!
From: Bucksnort32
31-Aug-16
Wow what a trophy , and you suck!! ????, I've dreamed of a pig like that
From: No Mercy
07-Oct-16
Finally officially scored. 19 11/16. Pretty damn happy!
From: stick33
07-Oct-16
Rightfully so - tank of a MN bear!
I'm anxious to get my skull and age back from my bear this fall, although hard to believe a few of the ages posted here.
From: No Mercy
17-Oct-16
Here's the mount. Still waiting on the barn wood base
From: No Mercy
17-Oct-16
He's on display at the Scheels in Fargo, ND for awhile, and will move to the new Scheels in Johnstown CO next year
From: Mark Watkins
17-Oct-16
Looks awesome Jason...congrats!!!
Mark
From: No Mercy
14-Jun-17
The final piece of the adventure arrived last week
From: kota-man
14-Jun-17
Nice...Congrats
From: Nogutsnostory
14-Jun-17
Did you have it measured for the Minnesota book?
From: No Mercy
14-Jun-17
NOguts-yes-it is also in the MN book
From: Drahthaar
14-Jun-17
Congratulations. No Mercy, I was also looking at the wolf pictures, I am from N.C. and they look a lot like the Red Wolves we have, you can have ours if you want. Forrest
From: No Mercy
15-Jun-17
HAHA-no thanks Forrest. You keep them-we have enough!
