Some ground hunting excitement tonight..
Pennsylvania
Tonight was the first night I was able to hunt this season. We moved in June and while I'm still within driving distance of my old haunts, there are a lot of state game lands around here begging to be investigated. I’ve done virtually no pre-season scouting because I've been working on the house and garage, but figured I would mostly just hunt as I explored new territory during the season.
Tonight I went to a state game lands just down the road and worked out a ridge that appeared to have been logged years ago. I found this sulfur shelf on an old stump, figured I’d grab it on the way back out, took a picture, and continued out the ridge.
After I had traveled out the long ridge a ways, I crossed a cut to get to the mature oaks I could see on the other side. As soon as I got under them I could see acorns and deer droppings everywhere. I was on the downwind edge of the oaks facing into a light steady wind and the setting sun. I stood by some fallen trees and waited for the woods to settle. It didn't take long until I was surrounded by grey squirrels and chipmunks doing their thing. I could see over the hill to a bench and then a ravine to my right and thought maybe a deer would come up from that direction to feed on the acorns as dusk approached, so I was content to hang around there until dark.
After about 15 minutes of watching the squirrels tease me like they knew their season wasn’t in yet, directly in front of me, about 75 yards out, a bear stepped into view. Boy THAT gets the heart pumpin’. Somehow with just a selfbow and knife, you feel a little more vulnerable on the ground in their presence than you do in a treestand :^)
It was feeding on acorns and I watched it for a while… eat, sit, scratch, eat some more. He seemed quite respectable in size… big head, big fat round hind end. I’m not gonna guess its weight, but it appeared filled out pretty good. The wind was right, there were a few trees between us and the ground was still a little damp and quiet from yesterday’s rain, so conditions were just right for sneakin’ in on him. I wanted a picture if possible, but all I had was my cell phone, so I knew I’d have to get pretty close for the bear to even show up. It was just over a slight rise with some ferns between us, so I couldn’t tell for sure if there were cubs hiding in there or not. I just kind of watched it go in and out of the cover for awhile and then when I figured it was probably alone, I crept closer and closer until I was maybe 35-40 yards away. I took a couple of pictures and then inched my way just as carefully backwards toward the cut again, and ultimately got out of there without him even knowing I was there. The key was to keep the little critters calm while I moved… no ripples :^) One bark of a squirrel or grinny and he would have been looking for the cause. I feel pretty confident I could have closed the gap and got within my range of him if the season was in.
On my way out, I also saw a raccoon, a doe, two fawns, and a nice 8 pt. but they moved off before I could find a shot opportunity. It didn’t matter. I got what I came for :^)
I think that would be more than my old heart could stand !!! I would have been back pedaling the minute I saw it .I'm pretty crippled up, but I think that would have given me a little burst of extra speed if it was on the downhill. Thanks for the post, don't have those critters where I am, and I am pretty sure I won't be moving to PA any time soon !!!
Jeff,
95% of bowhunters would say you had an unsuccessful hunt.
Very nice indeed.
I would wish you luck this season but it looks like you already found it.
Dave
Jeff,
Enjoyed reading about your evening afield. Nice photos. That bear does indeed look like a nice hefty one.
Great post jeff! Sounds like my kinda afternoon. There is nothing quite like a Great bear encounter.
Did U get the sulfur shelf ???? Like the Red said U did have a successful hunt ! Awesome Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks for sharing! I'm headed out after work and decided yesterday to stay on the ground. I will stillhunt to my spot and then tuck into a deadfall where deer passed on Sat. eve(just out of range). I hope to have as successful an outing as you did. And if not, maybe I'll shoot a doe! ;-)
Red, yes, but we're not like 95% of bowhunters. I considered the stalk a successful hunt only after I left him there feeding without interruption. I knew you'd appreciate it. I was really into it. Stalking critters and spending time at eye level in close proximity to them... whether I aim to kill em or not.... just feels natural.
Got the stillhunting pace and 'feel' back... maybe never lost it?... I'm confident. I'm ready. Vacation starts Saturday and I'm only working 2 days in the next month :^)
Nice story and photos Jeff, that sure is a beautiful bow you made there also.
I also had a successful ground hunt yesterday. I had not been seeing much from the stand so I decided to use the windy afternoon to still hunt some standing corn on a SGL I hunt in 1A. I managed to sneak in on a deer I heard feeding in the corn, it was a nice young 6 point I got to within 10 yards of him till he finally noticed something didn't look right and he walked off. Very exciting because I was not sure what kind of a deer (buck, doe, big, little) until I managed to get into shooting position. I got to observe him at close range for quite awhile before he noticed me. Pretty cool.
Mike
Jeff, that is figgin' awesome dude. My vacation starts in a couple weeks - can't wait.
That's success to me, thanks for sharing
Very cool, Mike. Good job on the sneak!
Ground hunting is for sissy-pants, who are afraid of heights!! LOL!
In all seriousness, that sounds like an awesome encounter, Jeff! I can't imagine wanting to be that close to a bear at ground level...what a rush! Thanks for sharing, and look forward to hearing more of your adventures.
Didn't have quite an exciting outing as Jeff, but did play "peek-a-boo" with a spike buck for about 5 min yesterday after work. He came in dead down wind and directly behind a big rootball from a blowdown. When he came around it, he caught my sent, but didn;t see me. He kept circling around that rootball trying to find out where that scent was coming from. Finally walked off behind me and into the woods. Pretty cool when they can get within 10y on the ground and can't figure out where you are! ;-)
Great thread Jeff, thanks for sharing.
jeff
Jeff,
Let me know if you would like a tour of the SGL in Bradys Bend, off of Kittanning Hollow Rd. on some rainy day. One of the most underhunted in the state. Wild country.
Art, yes. I'd like that very much. I'm on vacation from now until Nov 10th with no solid plans. Maybe we can go for a walk?
I can "break free" about any time. I can meet you some place, give you the truck tour of parking places, then a walk after I show you the layout on google earth. I have taken my device and Wi-Fi in there with me so I know exactly where I am at. There are some neat spots in there, where most people don't want to walk to. I am going to be taking my disabled buddy hunting a time or two over the next couple weeks, but other than that, I am good to go. Weekdays might be best, especially rainy ones. LOL.
Google Earth, Electronic devices and wi-fi, I don't think that sounds like Jeff's style...lol
What was I thinking. OK Paper map.
Jeff, doan kno' if I ever shared this story with you or not..but I'll do it again..if I did. And swear it's true. I was on my long hike out one evening after a full on the backside. From the top of the ridge it's a full three miles out to the road on an all but 'gone' old logging tram. About halfway out in the last of the evening's light I encountered a fair sized bear gorging himself on white oak 'corns at the base of a trailside oak. Leaves were damp, the evening thermals in my face..and I was much younger (indestructible;) So for whatever inane reason (you may read that "insane" if you wish :)...I soft-soled right up behind hind him/her and poked it in the round soft spot closest to me with the tip of my unstrung longbow with a simultaneous loud shout. I guess the good news for sure is best related by saying I could hear the bear for a sure half mile down the side of the mountain. The better news is; I'm a bit wiser now ;)
LMBO!!!!!!!!!!! Leave it to Ed to play "tag" with a black bear! ;-)
Cool story Ed! That would get the blood pumping for sure!!
As for ground hunting for me. Haven't done much of it in the last 25 years or so. When I first started hunting, I didn't care much for heights. I hunted from the ground for most of my teen years, took my first 4 archery bucks from the ground. Killed one on a deer drive, one from a natural blind, one on a spot and stalk, and one standing by a big Oak tree which I shot at 5 yards! Think that one might have been blind and deaf!... Lol
Now days I enjoy sitting 25 feet up relaxing and just watching critters go about their business. I get all my walking out of my system the rest of the year scouting, shed hunting, and hanging stands.
Ben
Holy crap, Ed. Yeah... Let's go with 'insane'. :)
Pulled two ticks out of me today. They scare me worse than bears.
Jeff, bite the dollar thing, and buy yerself the perethrin/permethrin (whatever, "tick chemical" ) spray fer yer clothing. USE it, follow the instructions. I don't remember ANY of my previous life certification and intimate knowledge of all the kemeikals...I have no use for it much anymore. But I do know that da** stuff works!! I've watched ticks roll backwards trying to get off treated clothing, and I've caught the lil bast*** and put 'em right back on it to see what happens. If you do it for about fifteen minutes...they cork off :) :) The only ticks I've had since starting to use it, are ones I'm sure went down my neck/collar. It is one of the few tolerances I have anymore for the kemikals. I think the risk from Lyme is probably greater than the risk from any exposure to the P stuff..especially as ..best I recall the P compounds were/are a little safer than DEET or any of the other stuff that will actually kill or repel the bast***s.
FWIW..the last several bears the crew I sometimes hunt with killed...would have needed more skin to have any more ticks imbedded. Poor buggers. I swear the one had more ticks than hair.
Also, I 've noticed on the up swing..that I'm a much better still hunter thanks to the dam* things. I've learned to go slow enough and pick my steps in such a manner that nothing that might have one of the basta**s hanging on it touches me.
As I age..I've decided slower (MUCH slower) is better..and schmarter ;) Makes the walk back to the pickemup shorter too ;)
Ben,
Neglected to acknowledge your contribution. Forgive me, please? I've always really enjoyed yer posts and yer viewpoints on the vast majority of whatever you have commented on here. I guess if I were to have a legacy...I'd really like to think you're a part of that :) You remind a lot of someone...just have trouble remembering exactly whom ;)
ed
Ed, I hear ya. Since the onset of my Lyme battle, I haven't gone anywhere, even in the backyard, without thinking them little guys are clinging to every twig or weed with legs outstretched, waiting. I must look strange in the woods sometimes avoiding every weed like they're all poison oak :^) It does slow ya down, and I tend to avoid brushy fields altogether if at all possible, but the other day 'bullrushed' back in to check a few spots real quick for apples and akerns... and they got me. Pulled one off Roscoe's muzzle yesterday. Didn't see a tick here all summer... must be nearing another breeding cycle peak for those little bloodsuckers.
Will look into permethrin. Part of my recovery though has been building up the immune system so I try to avoid nasty chemicals. Kind of a damned it ya do, damned if ya don't thing.
Permethrin works well. Try the bug suits for protection without chemicals.
And that would be from a guy lives in the tick capital of the known world:) Went down there a couple times for spring turkey hunting..and all I did the entire time I was there was kill ticks. Funny, upscale folks, my hosts, and they delight in putting them on the little round thingy in the middle of a gas range burner and turning the heat on ;) They pop just like a hamster in a micro wave ;)
" They pop just like a hamster in a micro wave ;)"
That's funny Ed. When I worked for a tree service years ago, we use to pick em off us and drop them in the ciggarate lighter from the truck and watch them pop!
Ben
