Eventful day
West Virginia
It started when I took my girls out to the bus stop - when we pulled out of the driveway and drove down past the neighbors field i saw something running along the edge of the woods and it just did not look like deer but i normally see them there. We were running a tad late so I did not really pay much attention to them. Came back home to finish taking care of the pets and livestock. Well - when I went back out the driveway it was light by now and found a dead fawn! Pretty sure what I saw was coyotes. Needless to say I put a few more traps out in that area.
So I went and got my work done today - came back and went down to my food plot. Got into my treestand on the northwest side of the plot. About 5:30 (which is a little late for the deer) they start coming in but very skittish. The wind was blowing from them to me but they were on high alert. There were about 15 deer total - 2 small bucks in the group. They ended up snorting and leaving the area - all except for two little button bucks. They fed around and ended up walking pretty much under me and up the ridge.
Daylight was fading fast and a 4 point came in to the plot and walked by me at about 20 yards - then I heard another deer come across creek - it look to be a really nice 2 year old - 8 points and about 15 inches wide. He comes into the plot feeds around me - goes back over the the east side of the field and works over one of the mock scrapes I put out. He put on a great show - even standing up on his hide legs to work of the branches!
Well he turns and starts working his way to me when he looks to the east side of the plot and starts snorting and then runs thru the field! Next thing I know is a nice size bear walks out. Well I have a popup tent blind in a little thicket on that side - he procedes to walk up to it and knocks it down and I am afraid I heard him chewing on it - guess I will check the damage out tomorrow. Then my irrigation heads that I have on top of some t-post - he went to check them out and I am pretty sure I could hear him chewing on them! By this time it is getting pretty dark and he turns to come towards me - he passed me at about 20 yards but I could barely just make him out. Much to dark to shoot! So hopefully he will come by again at a more decent hour so I can show him how much i appreciate him tearing down my blind!
So would the deer have been on high alert because of the bear or because of the coyote pressure? Not a lot of bear around here so i am sort of figuring it was the bear...
Both. You did have an eventful day.,lol
We would get a lot more pics of people if we used xanax licks.
I believe I got a picture of the culprit! LOL any guess on size?
Bears are so hard to judge, not the greatest picture bu I think he looks pretty decent. 250+ ??
Nice bear. He might weigh more since he has been eating your blind and your sprinklers.,??
I hope a blind and sprinkler heads would not be considered bait!!! LOL I agree gobbler hard to tell - nothing in the background to help you judge either. Still pretty neat for here in Berkeley County!
Here is a little better picture of him. Was wondering what would he be coming to the food plot for - oats - turnips or kale? Not much clover if any at all in it.
Not a bad bear, I might be going out on a limb but I'd say 250 +??
Bears are omnivores, meaning they will eat anything. The closer they get to hibernation the less selective they get. They are just looking to pack on fat for hibernation.
Hell he ate 100 lbs of sprinklers lol
Don't have to worry about my sprinklers having bite marks in them anymore! Got him this morning - thought I had one heck of a morning - 5 minutes after shooting bear - I had several bucks show up chasing does in my food plot. I thought I put a good shot on a very nice buck - all I found though was hair and no blood - spent all afternoon looking for him or any sign.
He filled up the bucket of my tractor!
Nice bear. I too had a weird day today. In my treestand with my recurve this morning and here comes a string of does on the run headed my way . The lead doe was a huge one so I got ready and she stopped at 15 yards. I drew and as I was releasing she lunged forward and I missed. Oh well they were on the move. A little later a small doe came up the trail and walked right under me. As she got to the flat above me here came a shooter buck. Coming up the trail that the herd of does traveled he came right up to a couple small trees and stopped. With my bow up and ready, take 2 more steps and you may be in trouble. He stuck his head to the ground and whirled, spooked and walked off in the brush. You guessed it ,he smelled my arrow sticking in the trail. Hey that's bow hunting. I love it, anything can and will happen.
Nice Jay D. That will teach him to ear sprinklers. Congrats.
Congrats on the bear!!
Great WV trophy.
Well I just found out someone reached the buck I shot before I was able to retrieve him! This is the buck I shot at just after getting the bear. They removed it as I was taking care of the bear! He fell about 275 to 300 yards from where I shot him out in the open. I knew he was nice - was told by the neighbor that several guys took him - trying to find out who they were but it is not an easy task!
So you shot a deer and located it and then went to take care of a bear you killed and when you came back it was gone? Holy cow. And I thought stealing treestands was bad
Maybe the vulture left the Pepsi can. Lol
It has happened to me about a half dozen times here in Berkeley County - only once on Public ground - all the other times on private ground. The last time it happen was like 2 years ago! The deer two years ago - I started tracking within 30 minutes - it ran 225 yards through a patch of woods and fell in a open field. I walked up to get my 4 wheeler and by the time I got to it - it was gutted and gone! That deer was similar in size also! Would like to catch them just one time!
Wow unreal. At least they don't steal my tree stands while I'm there . That takes big ones. I hadn't had that happen yet where they steal my deer off my own land.
Good grief, what a disappointment. I feel your pain though I have never experienced that. I guess nobody else wants the deer I shoot, LOL. That is one fine buck. I agree with Gobbler about the lack of true sportsmanship these days. It seems that the emphasis on big racks has led many to do whatever it takes to show one off for bragging rights even if they didn't take it--a shame.
