Mike's Outfitting 2015 Alberta Bear Hunt
Bears
Hey Bowsite fans, I thought I would start a new thread on our 2015 Spring Bear hunts with the traditional video to hit it off. This bear had no fear of us or hint of aggression, maybe we should have been scared of it but I'm pretty handy with a good ole stick for protection. haha, just having some fun!
This is where you want to be sure you are faster than your buddy with the camera.
Hunted with Mike the first week of bear season. Seen 24 bears! Excellent guides, good food,and had a great time with five good friends. 7 bears were taken in our group. Mike runs an excellent guide outfit!!! Thanks Mike
Something tells me Mike has done this before? :)
No actually I was a virgin bear petter.
A lot of Death occurred here at Mike's Outfitting and Eagle Eye yesterday evening, pics coming soon!
What every bowhunter wants to see coming around the corner of his bait set up!
and finally this, the perfect bow shot! He is in trouble this evening, a giant for sure!!
Your pictures got me thinkin.............would crow decoys help bear confidence at a bait? I know how wary they are around baits!
Great observation Shortstop, that is the beauty of this, the crows/ravens land on the ground and eat the bait while the hunter is in the box just 15 yards away. Ravens will never come into a bait while the hunter is in a treestand, I think big old smart bears clue into this fact and don't come in when the bait is empty of ravens. We have half of our baits with a box right now and we will have one of these at every bait site for next year, a total game changer, especially with an ozonics machine. The hunter will become invisible.
A decoy might help but I believe the cawwing/calling racket the ravens make is more important.
The Gang is all here, 4 cubs.
"Your pictures got me thinkin.............would crow decoys help bear confidence at a bait? I know how wary they are around baits"
wary around baits ..........huh? did you not just look at the first post to this thread. he walked up and petted the damn thing.........
Bou'bound.........talking about the crows being wary, not bears! I haven't seen many crows stick around when you're in the stand anyhow! Anybody that has, I'd like to know your trick to fooling them.......the crows that is.........Bou'bound!
Bou, Aw shucks Bou, any guide worth his salt can pet a bear...most just do it once tho. Maybe I should make a bear hat for Mike so he don't have to use a stick.
Big mature boars are usually very wary around baits especially in farmland areas. Every trick you can think of still doesn't mean you are going to kill them. We have several giants we have been trying to kill for years!
Comparing every day bears and big bears is like comparing spiker and 2.5 year old whitetails to giant mature whitetails. Yes you can absolutely stand beside spiker whitetails in many areas, just as you can small bears. Big bears and big whitetails are totally different from the average.
Though I must admit I know a lot of guys that know a heck of a lot more about bears than I do!!
Bears on average also live a lot longer than whitetails, so they have more years to get smart before they become a target. I killed a bear a few years back that was aged at 18 years+.
Here is one of the bears from the Tuesday evening hunt. Jerome Lavigne aka Captain Marvel from Calgary, Alberta with a 295 pounder, 7 foot square hide, 19 1/16 skull. First bear kill for him, very happy hunter!
Repeat hunter Brandon Goodwin from Illinois with a giant! 385 lbs, squared 7 foot 1 inch, with a 19 14/16 head.
Brandon is an avid archery hunter but this was his 4th bear hunt in a row with no kill and the WARY bear would not commit to the bait site, he kept circling, staying at 30 to 50 yards in the trees and finally Brandon got nervous that the bugger would leave and not come back like so many big bears do, so out came the rifle. He knows the sin he committed and hates to admit it here on BOWsite but look for it in your hearts to forgive him and admire the beast of a bear.
Thanks a great bear regardless of weapon, and I may have done the same thing in that circumstance. Forgiveness granted!
Would be hard to do for most bow hunters as we don't carry a rifle on a bowhunt. That however is just my choice for the past 40 years.
Dave Cichon gets a big one, 270 lbs, 6 ft 10 inch hide, 18 inch skull.
LeAnne Goodwin finally gets a big bear. I say finally because she has passed up so many bears in the last 2 years hunting with us wanting to be sure the one she took was a good male bear. This one is at 7 foot 1 inch hide, 19 inch even skull and 330 lbs. A great bear!
And the best bear picture of ALL, my nephew, 13 year old Josh Ukrainetz arrows his first big game animal!! A beauty bear, perfect heart shot. He passed on the bear the evening before because it wouldn't give him a good broadside shot, the next day the bear cooperated.
And for anyone who says hunting bears over bait is boring, Josh said this was the most heart pounding, exciting thing he had ever done! That is from a kid who does aerial ski jumping where he can land a back flip on skis and land a 30 foot long jump and in the summer he does BMX bike racing!! He is no stranger to adrenaline and fear.
Beauty LeAnne! Way to go! Congrats to all, some dandy bears as usual Mike!
Josh and my other 13 year old nephew Sean Currie with a great field photo. Sean did the videoing. We will see if we can get it edited into something we can post.
That's awesome Mike! Congrats to your nephew! Look forward to seeing the video!
Looks like a great week to be in bear camp! If Mike's brother was in camp with Josh, I would have paid to be there just to hear the tales he tells about Mike's beginning days as a bowhunter.:-) Congrats to all.
Looks like a couple of natural born killers, Mike!
Lots of nice bears as well. Congrats to all of your hunters so far!
And Brandon Goodwin does it with his bow on his 2nd bear! 19 8/16 skull, 6 ft 10 in hide, 275 lbs. A big skull for the body weight. Brandon's other bear weighed 110 lbs more but only 3/8 of an inch bigger skull.
The nephews come along on a hike looking for a bear. We have some beautiful river valleys in the Peace River area.
The hunters were all trying out different camo face patterns and Michael Chiasson thought this was a really good one?
I'm not sure if he is trying to make fun of me?
LeAnne Goodwin takes her 2nd bear too. A solid big boar, 275 lbs, 6 ft 10 in hide, 18 14/16 skull. Her and Brandon ended up with 4 big boars in total. 1265 lbs of bear!! I think that is some kind of husband and wife record?!
David Holy from Alberta takes his first bear on the last day to hunt.
Mike, Thanks again for the wonderful camp and amazing opportunities to take some truly fantastic bears. LeeAnn and I look forward to coming back.
Thanks Brandon and LeAnne, it was great having both of you in camp.
We just finished up our 2nd week of hunters and we took another 7 bears for the 6 hunters making it a total of 14 bears for 12 guys. Of course we could kill many more bears than that but we try to mainly target large male bears and let the little ones and females walk. This selective hunting method has kept the numbers and size of our bears top quality for over 20 years! We feed somewhere between 400 and 500 bears each year for 2 months and we only kill 30-40 of them each year. Most of our sows have 3 cubs every 2nd year and some have 4 and even 5 cubs. These cubs grow up on our baits and become big, healthy bears in just a few years.
We have another group of guys coming in today and 4 more weeks of hunting to go, hopefully we can get one or two of the giants we have hitting the baits.
Here is one of the bears from the week before for anyone who missed the other thread about our hunts. Doug Kizzar from Kansas with a 275 lb, 18 inch skull, 6 ft 10 in hide bear.
Jim Brown also from the 1st week hunt, 18 8/16 skull bear, Jim's first bear kill.
Randy Ginest from Kansas with his big colored bear, 18 10/16 score head, squared just under 7 ft.
Doug Kizzar's 2nd bear, a rare spot and stalk opportunity came up and guide Josh Harb helped set up Doug for a 120 yd shot. Nice bear.
Terry Pifer with another first week bear. This was Terry's 2nd hunt with us.
Terry with another great bow killed bear.
The whole first week gang.
Jim Brown or J.B. also got a big cinnamon bear 270 lbs, 18 4/16 head which made for 7 bears for the 6 guys. It was the last evening of the hunt and we didn't get any good pics in the dark before it was skinned out. The 6 of them estimated they saw over 100 different bears in 6 evenings of hunting.
For the curious hunters here is what we use for a great bait set up. Two barrels for bait with one full of meat and the other full of licorice, popcorn or oats and honey. A cage for the beaver carcass. All of it is cribbed with logs to give a bowhunter the perfect broadside shot. We also use a honey pot where bears have to stand up to get their tongue in the slit, this enables the hunter to identify the sex of any bears with a sweet tooth.
Then we also use a comfortable, safe, permanent tree stand just 12 feet of the ground. Most of them can fit 2 people or...
...we use the latest in ground blind technology, made of space age, 2 by 4's and 1/2 inch plywood. Then of course we use a super special application process to apply our patented Mike's Outfitting camo pattern. The final step is getting the dam things to the bait sites! A pain in the @#$%!
And the final pain in the butt, a trail camera at every bait. This has changed my guiding life with me having to spend 4-5 hours a day staring at a computer screen! Brutal but necessary for a top notch bear hunt.
Here is what over $1000 worth of memory cards looks like to run all the cameras!
Had some death yesterday evening too, pics tomorrow.
Ron Kellner from Arizona with a nice cinnamon boar.
Charlie Redfern from Colorado with his first bow killed bear, a solid Poper 18 7/16, 270 lbs.
Kinda cool when a wolf shows up on one of your baits.
Even better when you shoot 2 giants in one evening! Pics tomorrow!
Prelim pics, a Legend Dies.
It appears a bowhunter may even be the guilty party?
Could be, bowhunters were a bit deadly yesterday.
The legendary scarface huh?
The Legendary Ear Tag Bear. We have been trying to kill this bear for 4 years! He showed up on one of our baits in 2012 and was already big enough at that point to become a prime target, a solid 300 pound 19+ skull, almost certainly a 5 or 6 year old bear. He was probably a problem bear that had been trapped and relocated to our area. I thought he would be fairly easy to get, he wasn't. I had several hunters burn up many days of hunting, trying to get him and pass up up other bears while in pursuit.
Clint Morrow from Utah is the lucky hunter here in the picture with the beast! The bear came into the bait following a sow but stayed out of range and disappeared over a nearby ridge. Clint's heart sank but he soon came back and gave a perfect 15 yard broadside shot.
An amazing bear, he scores 21 1/16 skull which green scores above the Boone and Crockett minimum, his hide squared 7 ft 2 inch and he weighed 360 lbs. Not a gigantic body but some Alberta bears top out at 350-360 not matter how old they get. I'd like to see the bear that gave him the nasty face scars.
Way to go Clint and Mike, bear of a lifetime for sure! Was he in a one of the new ground blinds or stand?
He was in a tree stand, the bear paid virtually no attention to him, love got him, just like all of us.
A beautiful white blaze too. This really is the bear of a lifetime. I know guys who have killed more than 20 big bears and have never killed a green score 21 inch bear, especially not with a bow. Some good guiding areas in Alberta will kill 500+ bears before they kill a Booner too. Big Congrats to Clint, he knows what he has, very happy guy.
Congrats and always nice to see the cooler shed Matt built in 2006!!!
and the other bowkilled bear from the same evening as Clint's. Mandie Tuttle pictured here with her videographer/husband Ryan. Mandie's bear squared just one inch less than Clint's at 7 ft 1 inch, 310 lbs and an 18 12/16 skull. The bear had the skull of the average 4 yr old but the body of a 5 yr old bear so could have been either age is my guess. Anyway, a great bear and a crazy looking wall of bear photo!
Her bear had some big ole mitts on him!
Two "bears of a lifetime!" Not only giants, but great character as well!
Congrats Clint and Mandie!
Mark
Lots of great bears Mike! Congrats to all of your hunters.
Any other info, i.e.: dates, location, etc., on the tag in the bear's ear or just a reference #? Love the blaze on him!
Hey t-roy, I'm trying to track down the info on the bear. On the tag it says, Don't Eat. I assume they meant the bear, not the plastic tag?! I guess it's not safe to eat after getting tranquilized? I had no idea. Will see what I can find out.
New group of 6 hunters today. Still lots of bears hitting the baits and quite a few big ones, some new ones too with the rut picking up. Record high temperatures is slowing down the daylight activity though.
Here's another Legendary bear that has just now been giving us some daylight pics. 9:30 pm, an hour before dark. Hopefully he is in trouble, big pumpkin head on him!
Mike, how are the new custom camo ground blinds producing?!
Mark
Hey Mark, the ground blinds are working really well. More effective than a treestand for sure, especially where the sun sets behind the blind, the bears can not see you in there, even the ravens can't. Then with the ozonics they can't smell you, it's awesome!
In the end though big bears, especially the giants, are still random hitters and often come at night, that is still the greatest challenge, just having the bugger come into the bait while you are sitting there. You can burn up your whole hunt trying to kill one specific giant bear and not get him, just like the one pictured above who is tempting us again with daylight photos after weeks of nighttime feeding. It often becomes do I shoot the 270 lb Poper bear or hold for the 400 pounder like the one above that just showed himself in daylight?
Mike -
Congrats on an awesome season thus far! Can you give us (me) your honest assessment of the ozonics you're using. I heard some good things, and then you read the negatives - interesting, but confusing. What's your take….? Thanks!
Those are some bruisers. Awesome!
Yea, I can see (by the pics ) it would be a tough decision for sure.....nice to have a "target rich environment!"
Mark
Hey wild1, not 100% sure on the ozonics. It does seem to help and the bears seem oblivious to the hunter but maybe that is more because they can't see the guy?Bears over bait probably isn't the most definitive way to get an answer. Sometimes even mature bears just don't care about your scent because they want to eat. Whitetails out of a ground blind with the wrong wind or testing it with your dog somehow would probably give the true test.
Beautiful Bears congrates to all hunters.
Now the Legendary Good Enough Bear has decided to show up in daylight following a sow. A giant for sure!
His 20+ inch head is a bit rubbed. Randy Ginest from Kansas almost killed this bear last year and this year but had to settle for 7 foot colored bears instead of this 7 1/2 ft+ mammoth.
That is an 8 footer for sure don't you think mike He makes some of your 7's look like yearlings
We killed a 7 foot 11 incher last year and this guy could compete for the title of an honest 8 footer!? Who knows? We have a hunter on the mission!!
Well, unfortunately the legend took an arrow. 8 yard shot right in the shoulder, he should be ok, only a couple of inches of penetration. He circled around the bait site after being shot. He may become even more legendary now.
what a heartbreaker.
did the guy hang himself in the stand.
what a shame.
there is no shot that can't be missed.
He was in a box blind so all he could do was bang his head on the wall.
Total bummer.
Not trying to start a firestorm, but curious on the guys setup that would only get a couple inches of penetration at 8 yards? Must have hit just perfect to not get past the bone and into the chest. (or break the bone)
The 2 inch penetration was just an estimate, could have been 4-6 inches. Modern compound bow with mechanical heads but shoot a 400+ lb bear right in the shoulder with any bow and I've never seen it break through the solid part of the shoulder blade.
The blood trail was pin drops for a meandering 500+ yds and the bear was walking along logs and going back within 80 yards of the bait site in a nearby open meadow. He was back to just being a bear, a much smarter one though I'm sure.
Here's a couple of beauty colored bears (pictured below). We don't shoot bears just for color though. They still need to be mature boars before we want them taken, hard for lots of hunters to resist!
We would shoot this one, especially if he gave this perfect bowshot! Aim for front edge of opposite leg, just below midline (top to bottom) of body.
Is that the chocolate at gravel pit Mike?
Yes the gravel pit chocolate, 9 lives that bear! Accidentally passed up by 2 different hunters, shot at with a rifle by another and almost shot at again with a rifle, still alive!!
Ray Dickey from Texas with a good bow killed boar. 6 1/6 footer.
My daughter Brooke with a bear just outside the box blind. An exciting moment for both of us!
Ken Dittig from PA with a Pope and Young recurve kill. 18 6/16 head, 230 lbs, 6 ft 8 in hide. Happy guy!
Repeat hunter Nick Snoke from Texas takes a last day good sized blackie with his bow. Nick had a bit of a tough hunt, only saw about 13 different bears which is low for us at this time of the year, this is when our bear numbers usually peak. Nick never did see a shooter boar but the other 5 hunters his week all did and they got their shots or very close calls. They all saw between 20 and 32 different bears in 6 days of hunting. If we were just shooting bears everyone would get 2 of them, but here we target the big boars. It just doesn't always work out for every single hunter, baiting bears is still hunting. Two more weeks and 8 more guys to go, wish us luck!
I'd be ALOT more scared than Brooke looks in this pic! Ha! How is "TyBer" doing this season?
Mark
TyBer, Brooke and the wife Jen are doing great. We were watching bears, shooting bows, riding quads and having some fun!
The Itchy Nuts Legend lives! Someone needs to shoot this bear!! He has a solid 20 1/2+ inch head, the long nose ones like him always score the best.
This new giant just showed up too on Sin Bin bait following the cinnamon/blonde sow. Big chocolate, what everybody wants!
Mark Corry from Utah takes a big colored bear. 18 8/16 skull, 265 lbs, hide squared 6 ft 10 inches. I've been watching this bear for 2 years on camera, he is only a 3 year old. Fantastic genetics!
Here's a couple of camp pictures, a high stakes poker game in the midday lull. Emile Vaillancourt, Eric Vaillancourt, Mike Turner and Bonita Petti.
Sam and Mark Corry relaxing in front of the big screen.
The Beauty Spot Beast with a chunk of beaver, perfect time in the evening, lots of daylight. Big, round head!
Has the 3 legged chocolate bear showed up this year?
No 3 legs so far, might have met his maker somewhere else!
My money is with with Bonita! Great season your having Mike! Are you seeing less colored trophy bears this season?
Trophy8, we are not seeing as many trophy colored bears as I would like mainly because they are too tempting for most hunters to pass up when they are 3 or 4 yrs old, heck lots of hunters want to kill them when they are just 2 yrs. I understand why, they are just so pretty and make a great mount, even a small one. It's a bit of a dilemma, everyone wants to kill a big trophy colored bear but once they are here on the hunt they don't want to pass the young colored ones up. What do you do?
Eric and Mike loading up their plates for breakfast. We do buffet style meals, 3 hot ones each day. Our cook/chef Ana Terhorst cooks some fantastic meals along with great desserts. It is hard to not gain weight on the hunt!
Sam Corry from Utah takes his first bear.
Emile Vaillancourt also a virgin bear killer, got his with his bow.
Mike Turner made a great 12 yd shot on his first bow killed bear.
Eric Vaillancourt is on a mission this evening to kill one of these 2 bears. This giant black or the next one pictured...
...this beauty chocolate boar. Which one would you take if both of them were standing in front of you?!
I'd take chocolate. Great pics and stories. Thanks again for posting and sharing. Good luck!!!
Eric killed this boar, not the giant in the picture though. My mistake, just before Eric went out the door to hunt I got bear trail cam pictures mixed up and I showed him 3 pictures of this bear and just 1 of the big boar. He killed this one, still a good bear, just under the Pope and Young minimum of 18 inches.
Emile took this bear with his bow for a 2nd kill. A three legged chocolate, 18 1/4 inch skull, 250 lbs. NOT the same 3 legged chocolate that woodguy65, Jerry Westfall, was asking about, very different bait. This bears missing leg was a bloody stump, half healed over.
close up, bone was almost exposed. He could run really good on it though, amazing how bears can survive.
Well our 5th week ended with 10 bears shot for 6 hunters. Most of the hunters were new to bear hunting and just wanted to have fun and shoot some bears, not be too picky about size. We have tons of bears so it's ok. That also leaves more of the big ones still roaming the woods. We still have about 12 really big big ones hitting the baits, and you never know what else will show up in the rut, they are being rather random though, coming into the baits whenever they feel like it and going missing for a few days at time, bit frustrating. Lots of up and coming bears for next year too!
Only 2 bowhunters left, Tom Snell and Scott Slusser from Michigan on a special trophy hunt this week, 1 on 1 guided on our best 8 baits for this year, hopefully it works out!
Mike, once again you show why any serious archer wanting a high quality fair chase hunt should select Mike's Outfitting! Not only for your Big Bear but also for the fine camp and guides you provide! You all set the bar for the rest! GBTA! Mike Connett PS Here is the bear I harvested with you! Just about done at the Taxidermist!
Thanks Mike! Cool looking mount!!
One of the big ones on the hit list, Honey Hole bear.
Tom sat Honey Hole Monday evening June 8 and saw 6 different bears, no big guy, even though he was in the bait friday and sunday in daylight. Bugger!
Scott went to Beaverdam bait the evening of Monday June 8 for a nice 6 hour sit to see if this giant would come in. Saw 11 different bears, no giant.
The soon to be big bear killers, Tom Snell and Scott Slusser. Tom went back to Honey Hole and Scott went to a new bait, "Chads" with a more regular recent visitor.
The Chad's bait beast. I'm not sure about his head crease though? I think he combed in a fake one!? You know those Alberta bears, they are in cahoots with the Alberta outfitters.
I got a good lesson about how slowly bears grow in Northern Alberta a few years ago from one of the High Level fish and wildlife officers...she told us about a nuisance sow she shot that she felt, even in great health, only weighed about a hundred pounds...she sent a tooth in for aging and that rather small bear was already 5 years old
DDave
In High Level which is mainly all woods, and a sow, for sure a 100 lb, 5 year old is how it would be. Now make it farmland and a boar in Alberta, totally different story. 5 year old boar in our area is over 300 lbs, squares 7 ft and has a 19 1/2+ inch skull. A 5 yr old sow in our area may only weigh 150 lbs though.
Check out this new bear! I think he is a 330 lb 5 yr old with a 19 1/2+ inch head or one of my guides thinks he is a 4 year old weighing around 290 lbs, 19 inch head. Hopefully we get to see who is right? Plus there is an even bigger boar, the Beauty Spot Beast on the same bait. Scott is hunting it this evening. Wish us luck!!
Some awesome death occurred! Pictures coming soon...
Whoops, Scott killed a dam grizzly!
Wow what a beauty! Congrats Scott!
Now that is a pretty bear. Congrats!
Here is Scott Slusser from Michigan with his beautiful boar in our customary lawn picture. My guess from the trail camera picture was bang on for the weight, 330 lbs, seeing the dead bear lots of guys would swear the thing would break 400 lbs. His skull also went well over my guess of 19 1/2+ at 20 4/16. I really would not have guessed that it would have broke 20 inches because I thought the bear was a 5 yr old, he was way older than that with somewhat worn teeth, chipped canine and an off set, under bite, bottom jaw suggesting older age, 10+ years old I bet. Strangely enough his ears were a bit big for his head, you can see it in the trail cam pic, made his head look smaller. He squared just under 7 ft, short legs.
Anyway, one arrow kill, but he went about 500 yards with no blood trail, hit slightly back, my guides Josh and Cody, along with Tom and Scott found him on a grid search. Josh literally sniffed him out, good to have blood trail sniffing guides! Scott is thrilled, he has seen around 37 different bears in 4 evenings. Going for a big black now. Tom is going big or going home empty too, I love it!
That bear is worthy of a life size mount!
Tom Snell's target bear. Two evenings left to kill him on Sin Bin bait. The bait also has a big, but not huge, black on it too.
Wow! Awesome bear for Scott there.
Some great bears killed this year Mike. Absolutely can't wait to get up there next year to put a big one on the ground.
Mike you continue to impress us with the bears you bring in.
Mike: You take fantastic trophy photo's. It takes more time than hunters usually want to take but I doubt any hunter ever regrets the finished photo. Great job as always. C
Thanks Charlie and habu john! My guides have become great picture takers too, these last few are done by them. It's all about the setup for good pics, ours are done on a slight rise on the ground, small log on the ground, works better than a big one, and the hunter sits tight behind the bear, photographer is laying on the ground, click away!
Another cool picture of Scott's bear.
Tom Snell and his big black boar, 5th evening out of 6 evenings to hunt so he took this great bear. The chocolate bear was a once a week or so hitter and mostly at night so we didn't want Tom to gamble his whole hunt on him. The beauty is that he still has a 2nd tag in his pocket, gotta love Alberta!
Solid Pope and Young qualifier at 18 11/16, 255 lbs, squared just below 7 ft at 6 ft 11 in, the same as Scott's 330 lb, 20 4/16 skull, 10+ yr old brown one, it just goes to show how half useless the square of the hide is, as a measurement of size.
Finally, daylight pictures of The Picnic Bait Bear! The smaller one is about an 180 lb sow. How big is he?!
(This isn't a yearling cub with a sow as it might look like.)
Scott is on this bait for his final sit, an all day affair, but he is more interested in the wolf that has been pulling meat right out of the barrel in broad daylight!
Tom is going after the Chads bait bear, pictured above june 10, this evening.
Appears your finishing up the season strong with big bears! Maybe put out some red wine...you know bears like hunters with red wine...:)
Congrats to the hunters!
That's an awesome coloured trophy bear. I enjoyed following your spring hunt thread.
Congratulations on another successful year!!
For the last day's hunt of the year Scott passed on a 270 lb Poper boar, he was happy with his huge cinnamon, and Tom saw one lonely little, rubbed up, chocolate bear so no more kills. They both left this morning and they booked an Elk and Moose combo bowhunt for 2016. That hunt is a blast, my favorite.
It was a great season, the hunts all went well, I'll post back later with my full bear hunt report, need a break for a few days and to get everything cleaned up. Only 6 out of 30 spots left for 2016 so contact me right away if you are interested? Probably going to run a couple of 1 on 1 guided bear and whitetail deer combo hunts this fall too. Let me know if that might float your boat! Thanks for tuning in, see you next year!!!!
MIKE’S 2015 SPRING BEAR HUNT REPORT
We had another very successful spring bear hunt in 2015! We once again hosted 32 hunters in our comfortable lodge over 6 weeks of hunting. We shot 37 bears with our 2 bear per hunter limit. We could always take 2 bears each but we do our best to target mature male bears and not shoot females or little ones regardless of whether they are colored bears. We killed 21 big boars and unfortunately flesh wounded a couple of other giants that we didn't recover, 18 of the 21 big bears had skulls scoring over the Pope and Young minimum of 18 inches. Almost all of these boars have a spring weight of well over 250 lbs and have hides that square around the 7 foot mark or better. Six out of the 21 boars were giants with skulls over 19 inches, 2 of them were over 20 inchers and one broke the magical Boone and Crockett minimum of 21 inches! These great statistics are all due to our cooperative, trophy hunting clients, many of them return customers. Our hunters also usually see a ton of bears too, upwards of 40-50 different bears in a week of hunting. A poor week is one where the hunter only sees a dozen bears. We live with an abundance of bears in big bear heaven!
The first week of hunters was repeat clients, Randy Ginest, Terry Pifer, Jamie Shultz and Doug Kizzar along with newcomers Josh Austin and JB. They killed 5 big male bears with Randy getting the biggest one, a beautiful 7 foot cinnamon with an 18 10/16 skull. We hosted 4 Alberta boys and 2 Americans the 2nd week of hunters. Jerome Lavigne from Calgary won the Alberta big bear contest with a 7 ft, 300 lb, 19 1/16 big boar and the Americans cleaned up with 4 big bears for the return clients, husband and wife team of Brandon and LeeAnn Goodwin. LeeAnn's biggest was a hefty 330 lbs, 19 1/16 skull and Brandon's was a giant 385 pounder with a just under 20 inch skull, it ended up being the heaviest bear for the year. We killed 4 more big bears and shot a total of 11 bears in the 3rd and 4th weeks of hunting taking us to the end of May. Some of the repeat hunters were Mike Blain from Utah and Ed Keppler and Nick Snoke from Texas. Clint Morrow from Colorado was another repeat hunter and one of the luckiest hunters of the season. He was sitting the Gravel Pit bait when the Legendary and Ghostly Eartag Bear came strolling in, hot on the heels of a sow. We have been trying to kill this bear for 4 years! Clint took him down with one well placed arrow, 21 2/16 skull and 360 lbs, an awesome bear!! Some other notable big bears those 2 weeks were taken by Mandie Tuttle, Charlie Redfern and Ken Dittig. Ken took his bear with a traditional, recurve bow.
The June breeding season gave a flurry of activity with another 11 bears being shot by 8 hunters. Mark Corry, Emile and Eric Vaillancourt all took big male bears. Repeat hunter Tom Snell took a good sized 18 11/16 skull bear and Tom's buddy Scott Slusser took a melon headed, old, gorgeous, chocolate bear with a 20 4/16 skull, 330 lbs, 7 foot hide. Tom and Scott are from Michigan. Honorable mention also goes out to my nephew Josh Ukrainetz who killed his first animal and with a bow! A perfect heart shot on a big ole bear. His Dad, (my brother Phil) and I couldn't have been more proud. Well, maybe I was more thrilled when my 8 year old daughter Brooke got to lightly poke a bear in the nose with a stick out of one of our new, wooden, ground blinds. Very exciting for her and me! Special thanks goes out to repeat guides Josh Harb and Cody Colbourne and new guide Clayton Hood. Ana Terhorst did another fantastic job on the cooking! They all appreciated your generosity in tips too, thank you very much!!
We are almost booked up for 2016 so call me right away if you are interested in a top quality, fun bear hunt. Our long term goal is for all of our hunters to continue see lots of bears and to selectively harvest only the big, old male bears, no sows and no little ones, regardless of color. Hopefully this sounds like the hunt you are looking for?
WE ONLY HAVE FOUR SPOTS LEFT FOR FOUR HUNTERS FOR 2016, JUNE 5-12, RIGHT IN THE BREEDING SEASON, GREAT TIME TO SHOOT A BIG BEAR! EMAIL me at [email protected] or call 780 864 3770 if you are interested in booking. Thanks!!
Mike, The bear on the left is the bear that I got with you on my fall hunt of 2013! The other bear is one that I took that following spring of 2014. Thank you so much for such a great hunt! I'm so happy that you had such a successful spring this year and I'm sure this fall will be just as great! GBTA! Mike Connett.
