Adrenaline Outfitters 2019 Spring Bear
Bears
The season is less than a week away! Thought I'd add another thread outlining the 2019 Spring Bear Season! Been incredibly busy between pre-season scouting, baiting, the Pope & Young Convention and general camp prep, so here's a bunch of posts to get you up to speed on our season so far.
Hope you enjoy!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd
OK, so about 20 minutes wasted trying to upload photos that are NOT upside down. Not exactly sure what to do except leave them here upside-down. Sorry for the sore necks guys! - Edit...I didn't figure it out completely, but if I post them one at a time, at least I can use the image tools to rotate them.
Getting ready for an early pre-season scouting trip. Going to be checking trails, bridges and snow conditions. Really just a reason to get out in the woods early!
Here's a bridge that will need a little TLC before the season!
Here's a bridge that will need a LOT of TLC before the season!
This trip was in early April and we were worried that with all the snow we had in February and March, we'd have a late start to the season. Trent is checking the snow depth and we were actually pleasantly surprised that there was 'only' a foot and a half of snow in the woods.
Just before we headed South for the Pope & Young Convention, we had our first truckload of bait delivered.
This is what nearly 30,000 pounds (not including cooking oil) of bait looks like just before the season.
Here is a view of the first site prepped this season. This is an established bait site that has been in this area for over 20 years!
We were extremely lucky the ground was still frozen. My truck would be sitting in over a foot of water at this point! Maybe it's a little early for baiting!
Here we are in mid April, with most of the guides doing some of the grunt work the hunters don't see when they get to camp. We setup 19 baits in 3 days...each bait takes over 500 pounds to start, plus grease. Here is Pat, Roy and Tom working hard while I'm taking photos!
It's always good to see the bears haven't forgot about you! We found several sites with sign just like this, where bears are wondering why we are not here yet! Tracks were melted out, but by the length of the stride, this looks like it could have been a pretty nice bear!
Part of the pre season work is checking all the stands for safety and quietness. While I was up in the stand, I snapped a quick photo of the boys at work!
Little nostalgia photo here...this will be the Rhino's last year with us. It's had a hard life as an ATV at a bear camp and hopefully at the end of the season we'll find it a good home where it can spend it's last years puttering around a farm or small acreage.
Our first official hit!! We loaded this site up Friday and when we came in Sunday morning to fix a stand problem, this is what we drove up to!
Good stuff. No trail cam pics/vids??
Best always Russ! Safe hunts for all! C
Good luck this year Russ. Hoping to make it back soon.
Good luck to you guys! looking forward to seeing some harvest pics!
Anxious to follow along Russ! Good luck!
Good luck, guys! I really need to do an outfitted bear hunt again. Such a relaxing hunt.
Looks great Russ! Will be following along...
Thanks for the well wishes guys, looks like it should be a great season. First hunters will be here Sunday!
JL - you have to forgive us old guys with this computer stuff. It took me longer than it should have to post these pics. See the next few posts for some of our early bears!!
Here's a trail cam pic from the first bait hit. Excuse the brush in the way, new site and we hadn't finished cleaning it up. Pictures will improve, I promise.
A little more open site. This bait is a little more established. Generally hunt it after the poplars have leafed out!
Bears showing up in good shooting light on most of the baits.
Most baits have multiple bears on them already! Should only get better!
One of our oldest baits, usually hit early, this year is no exception.
Someone will be sitting in a ground blind after this bear as soon as the conditions allow! He's pretty regular right now during daylight.
Look at the neck on this bear! He's posturing for the benefit of the bear in the background.
Look at the neck on this bear! He's posturing for the benefit of the bear in the background.
If you look closely at his left ear, you'll see the notch we'll be telling our hunters to look for...that's if they have trouble judging this bear as a shooter!
If you look closely at his left ear, you'll see the notch we'll be telling our hunters to look for...that's if they have trouble judging this bear as a shooter!
Another bear we will be going after ASATWIR (as soon as the wind is right). We had a hunter 'accidentally' pass on this bear last year! Not this time. As soon as a hunter sees that notched ear, the arrow will be on it's way! EDIT - sorry for the time/date on these photos. No this was not from January 2013! User error that has been corrected. These photos are from the week of April 21-27, 2019.
That's it for now. I had more photos, but left those at camp. With limited wi-fi up there, updates will be done only every few days once the season starts.
Good luck to all the outfitters and everyone who'll be sitting in a bear stand this spring!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Good luck Russ!!
Looking forward to following along!
Mark
Good luck Russ - looking forward to following along on this!! Already shaping up to be a great year I'd say!!
Thanks Russ for the pics! If those are indeed 55gl drums, that last bear is big.
We just call them 205 litre drums!! ;-)
Or, 55 US gallons, or 45 Imperial gallons...whatever you call them, that's a great bear.
It makes it easier on beer drinkers south of the border to judge them if they are 55 gl drums. Liters sounds smallish. He looks like he could be pushing 35" - 36"+ at the top of the shoulders.
Awesome bears so far! Good luck to your hunters. Can't wait to see those big uns on the meat pole!
Great looking bears Russ! Looks like they wintered well. Those pics should get some of your hunters excited for these upcoming weeks!
JL - hopefully we'll know exactly how big he is next week!
Tyler - We were a little concerned with the dry summer last year and the late snows this spring, but it seems all is well in the bear woods. You must be getting close to Buffalo season? Good luck to you and your hunters! Someday I'll make it down there!
Back from a weekend up in camp and have a few more photos to show. Cool week up here, but our 2 hunters are from ND, so they should be used to the temps. Good news is there are no mosquitoes yet!!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Starting to display and mark territory!
Starting to display and mark territory!
Another target bear!
Another target bear!
Looks like love is in the air!!
Looks like love is in the air!!
Wow May 2nd I'm impressed! That boar must have the moves!
Man you have some great bears Russ! hope your guys connect on some of these brutes!
Tough first week at Adrenaline Outfitters!
Had two experienced bear hunters in camp, one has taken a bear with us before, and the other several bear, including a couple of 20+ bears. We were excited to get the season going!!
Hunter 1 sat two days and saw 9 bear. He was hoping to get a chance at a colour phase. We don't get a lot of colour phase bears, and had only small ones on cam so far this year. On night two, we took a flyer on a bait that had a great bear on it, and also had a decent chocolate last spring. Sure enough, the brown showed up. He got the shot, but unfortunately the blood trail thinned out and we needed to go back in the morning. After and exhaustive search with 2 guides and the hunter, we had to call it as unrecovered.
Hunter 2 sat 5 days and saw 28 bears. He had a great bear come through on Wednesday evening but couldn't get an ethical shot. On his last day, another target bear came through and finally gave him a shot. While trailing, two different sows with cubs became increasingly aggressive, so the plan was to go back in better light in the morning. We searched for a little over 2 hours but lost the sign.
Hopefully when we pull cards, we'll see one or both returning to the baits, we'll have to see.
Hate to be the bearer of such disappointing news, especially when it appears it was a great opening week for everyone here, but in the spirit of transparency, I wanted to detail week 1 as it happened.
Due to scheduling, our next hunters arrive tomorrow and start hunting Wednesday. This will be their 9th trip with us and they will both be holding out for something special. We have a few on camera that will get them excited. I'll share some pics later on.
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Sounds like a great week of hunting Russ!! With each hunter averaging 5 bears per night that's nothing to sneeze at! Unfortunately sounds like a rough week of shooting, which is the part that you can not control. Hope the hit bears pull through.
I see what you did there ;)
Here's a good bear hitting during daylight hours! As soon as we have a nw, n, or ne wind, we'll be going after him!!
Here's a good bear hitting during daylight hours! As soon as we have a nw, n, or ne wind, we'll be going after him!!
Russ....well done telling it like it happened! Were these two fellas bowhunters?
Thanks Bou'bound.
JL, they were not bowhunters, but shots were at bowhunting ranges (18-22 yards). As I mentioned, both have taken bear with us in the past, both shot their weapons prior to the hunt in front of the guides to confirm zero. Sometimes it just happens, but for it to happen twice in one week just plain sucks. Good guys and both reacted as I hope they do in that situation.
Our two upcoming hunters are both bowhunters. We'll see what the week brings!!
Russ
Gunhunters then(?)......that is painful. Do you know what cal they were using?
Yup, a .270 and an 06. And we always inform them that bullet weight and construction is as important as the calibre. Early on we had a few bullets 'pinhole' the bears due to the close shots and bullets designed to open slower. Now we ask for quality bullets with controlled expansion. All that being said, from the evidence we noticed, these were issues with placement over calibre/bullet quality.
New hunters in today and hunting tomorrow, time to move forward! Will keep you guys posted on how they do.
Russ
Another bear we'll be after if we get N, NE, or E winds!
Another bear we'll be after if we get N, NE, or E winds!
12 gauge slug guns solve that close range issue.
If Pat can't find a bear, it's can't be found, was my opinion of his tracking ability when he worked for me.
Very nice bears! Keep the pics coming
Russ...good call on bullet quality and expansion. For that...I'm a Nosler Partition fan. My personal opinion is to stay away from lower tier rounds like cor-lokts. You can research the manufactures online info and research their various rounds. What I look for is bullet weight retention. Some will retain 60% of their weight, some alot higher....in the 90% range.
Hard to see (which is a good thing) but there is a treestand in the red circle. Note the premium time this giant is visiting the site!!
Hard to see (which is a good thing) but there is a treestand in the red circle. Note the premium time this giant is visiting the site!!
Just wondering do you guys see a slowdown in the baits when the trees are budding?
Not yet!! Kind of wish we did as we are going through more bait than we have in a long time. Trees are almost done budding out, so if there was a slowdown, we missed it!!
Another great bear hitting during daylight hours!!
Another great bear hitting during daylight hours!!
Fingers crossed!! The boys are on the trail this morning.
Last night was the first night hunting for this week. Heavy wind, rain, and even some snow!! Hunter 1 saw 3, nothing he wanted to shoot (pretty selective as this is their 8th hunt with us).
Hunter 2 saw 6 bears, with a good one coming in about 20 minutes before the end of shooting light. She felt good about the shot, but with the timing and the cold temps, decided to wait until this morning to track. Hopefully better luck tracking this week! No cell service up there, so waiting on updates!
Will keep you posted, have a great day everyone,
Russ
Good luck on the recovery!
Nice, good luck recovering her bear today. Sleepless night for the hunter last night I'm sure. Thanks for the updates Russ!
Bear has been recovered...just waiting on photos...
Russ
Here is Cindy with our first bear of Spring 2019!
Here is Cindy with our first bear of Spring 2019!
Didn't have to ask Cindy to smile for the photos!! Grandkids are gonna love these pics of their Grandma!!
Didn't have to ask Cindy to smile for the photos!! Grandkids are gonna love these pics of their Grandma!!
We're thinking over 20, but we'll have to wait until the weekend to find out...
We're thinking over 20, but we'll have to wait until the weekend to find out...
After a long tracking job, and some serious grunt work getting this bear into position for photos, we finally have bear #1 of 2019 in the freezer!! Way too far in to get a weight, but we'll probably get some calipers on it this weekend to get a green score on this bad boy.
Cindy's husband Jim is hunting the rest of the week trying to top this one!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Beautiful bear Cindy! Congrats!
That is the kind of black bear I envision in my dreams, wow! Congrats to you and the hunter, she's gotta be super happy with that one.
What a beauty! Congrats!!
Awesome bear congrats to all! P.S it’s gotta be over 20.
Beauty! 20" easy! Congrats to the hunter!!
Great bear. I appreciate how big it is without the hunter being positioned 20' behind the bear! Thanks for the posts.
Fantastic bear! That is one that will be hard to top for the remaining hunters coming. Congrats to you and the hunter.
Great thread and some great bears. Wishing you a successful season.
Congratulations to Cindy. Awesome bear. Let's keep it positive... how is she 20 feet behind the bear when she has hand on it? Jealousy is a terrible attribute
Brute of a bear! Congrats to Cindy!
"how is she 20 feet behind the bear when she has hand on it? Jealousy is a terrible attribute"
I think you mis-read his post...
10-4 Nick, my bad. Sorry for my own negatively. Congratulations again to Cindy!
What a beast! Congrats to the hunter!
I read it the same way Ghostbird. Thankfully, we have Nick to decipher the English language for us! :) What a bear! Congrats...
We don't get a lot of colour up here, so this is exciting!! Not to mention 3 bears on the bait at just after 4 in the afternoon!
We don't get a lot of colour up here, so this is exciting!! Not to mention 3 bears on the bait at just after 4 in the afternoon!
OOOOOH Dang, that bear is a hoss. Way to go Cindy, way to go Russ and staff. I always maintain that bears are animals you can't fool with for pictures. Big ones look big, and small ones look small regardless of what you do.
Ain't no way to make that bear look small!
That’s the bear of a lifetime. Congrats to Cindy!
Congrats to Mrs Cindy!!!!
Jim was sitting in the tree about 21 yards away from this bear for nearly an hour!!
Jim was sitting in the tree about 21 yards away from this bear for nearly an hour!!
Jim's view on the last evening of the hunt!!
Jim's view on the last evening of the hunt!!
Update after week 2!
Jim hunted hard and ended up seeing a total of 21 bears. After Cindy knocked down her beast, he set the bar pretty high for himself. I have included a pic of the bear he passed on day 3 of his hunt. HIgh winds, rain and even some snow didn't help his cause.
I have also attached a pic he took with his phone on the last day of his hunt - to say he was covered up in bears is an understatement!! There are 3 more bear NOT shown in the photo (a sow with 2 two year old cubs couldn't get into the action).
Being a Pope & Young measurer as well as a Senior Member, I know some guys get irked with 'green' and rough scores, but we couldn't wait to get the calipers on Cindy's bear. After the 60 days I'll post the official score but I can tell you we were right and it will surpass the 20" mark!
I've got some catching up to do, but I'll have a pile of trail cam pics from last week to post.
We have 6 hunters in camp this week and I can tell you a first time young lady hunter took her first big game animal yesterday and it's a gooder!! Pics as soon as I have them.
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Here is a pic of Cindy in the stand before her bear walked!! In a short time after this photo, she'll be one of the happiest ladies in Manitoba!!
And here is the bear standing, moments before the arrow was on it's way!!
Looks like a great hunt Russ! Thanks for the posts.
Early pic of Erica's bear.
Early pic of Erica's bear.
It's great when the bear has tell-tale markings for hunters to look for. This bear had a great blaze!
It's great when the bear has tell-tale markings for hunters to look for. This bear had a great blaze!
Here is Erica with her first bear!! The ladies are really getting it done this year!!
Here is Erica with her first bear!! The ladies are really getting it done this year!!
Erica was fortunate enough to take a great bear on day 1 of the hunt! 5 stands being sat, over 20 bears spotted including this 360 pound, 19+ beauty. Have a couple of trail cam pics of for you to enjoy as well!!
Day 2 looks promising, great weather, steady winds, could be a busy morning tomorrow.
Good luck to anyone still out there bear hunting!!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
What a beaut!!! Congrats on the bruin!
Getting a few of these guys on camera...unfortunately, wolf season closes on March 31 up here.
Getting a few of these guys on camera...unfortunately, wolf season closes on March 31 up here.
'Notch' is still hanging around. We've only been able to sit a couple of times due to winds...hopefully we'll get in there again shortly!
'Notch' is still hanging around. We've only been able to sit a couple of times due to winds...hopefully we'll get in there again shortly!
Boars are starting to spend more time following sows now...the best time of the year is almost upon us!!
Boars are starting to spend more time following sows now...the best time of the year is almost upon us!!
This boar just moved in...and tonight is the perfect wind for this stand!!
This boar just moved in...and tonight is the perfect wind for this stand!!
Cool pic of mom taking a young one away.
Cool pic of mom taking a young one away.
Bears are herding up!!
Bears are herding up!!
Big boar coming in for an afternoon snack!
Big boar coming in for an afternoon snack!
Boars are starting to act 'rutty'!!
Boars are starting to act 'rutty'!!
The guides are out tracking this morning, hopefully all goes well and it's a quick recovery. Worried the shoulder may have gotten in the way...
Ever the optimist....looking forward to the pics.
I would have to pass on "Notch".....he would have no fur on his belly because it is dragging on the ground and I want a standing mount....lol
great bears Russ! Keep it up!
This boar found the perfect tree for marking! Doesn't even have to stand straight up!!
This boar found the perfect tree for marking! Doesn't even have to stand straight up!!
Some baits have slowed down a bit with the green up and dandelions, others, well...
Some baits have slowed down a bit with the green up and dandelions, others, well...
Giant boar moving in!!
Giant boar moving in!!
This boar just moved onto a bait we weren't able to access last year. Should be good to go now!!
This boar just moved onto a bait we weren't able to access last year. Should be good to go now!!
Unfortunately, the tracking job did not end up with a bear yesterday. It was determined to be in the shoulder with poor penetration. Crossbow, 18 yard shot. Very frustrating for the guide (and outfitter).
In case anyone is wondering, we have a wound policy in camp. It is on the website and every piece of correspondence between myself and the hunters. It states once you draw blood, your hunt is over and we will put forth every effort to retrieve your bear. Our hunters have always handled these situations with class and understand it is about protecting the resource.
On a happier note, last night another lady hunter got her first bear - specs and pics later today, but I know it was a good boar.
We have two brothers in camp trying to outdo their sister's bear from earlier this week. They saw around 40 bears between the two of them last night, including a couple of decent bears, but they're holding out, waiting for a bear bigger than Erica's! They are having a great time and realize they may eat their tags. Last night tonight and rain and wind are moving in, never good. Will keep you posted...
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Russ, a for what it's worth thought....the last outfitter I was with in Manitoba had a similar blood/wound policy. He did have the caveat the hunter could still hunt the same bait for the same wounded bear in the rare chance that specific bear did happen to come back in. We had a lady bowhunter in camp wound one and he let her sit on the same bait just in case that bear came back in.
Here is last night's bear and hunter Sherry. Seems the women are having no problem getting their bears to drop! Over 6', over 18" and almost 300 pounds. Her first bear!!
Nice bear Sherry, Congratulations. And yes the ladies are tearing it up.
Time to start a women's only camp Russ!! Congrats on the bears!
Well, week 3 ended pretty quiet. Sherry's husband saw a bunch of bears, but held off. They're coming back next spring with their 2 sons, so we know they had a great time. Sherry stopped fishing one day just because she didn't think she could reel any more in! And this isn't even the peak fishing season yet!!
Erica's two brothers held out for bears bigger than their sister's. They both saw qualifying bears, but neither was able to close the deal. Sounds like the family is coming back in 2021!!
Our new group started hunting yesterday. Some had trouble counting the exact number of bears they saw, but between the 7 hunters, they saw at least 72 different bears (and up to 77). One shot was taken, boys are out on the track right now. Will send an update when I have more info. Until then, I'll post some photos of 'target bears' for this week of hunters.
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd.
77 bears??!! WOW! Sounds like a great hunt.
Boar on a mission!!
Boar on a mission!!
More of these guys showing up. Too bad their hides are not great quality this time of year.
More of these guys showing up. Too bad their hides are not great quality this time of year.
May have to change out this camera, all latest pics from this site have been blurry. You can still tell there's some size to this bear!!
May have to change out this camera, all latest pics from this site have been blurry. You can still tell there's some size to this bear!!
Nice boar with a good crease on him!!
Nice boar with a good crease on him!!
Paul's first bear...definitely won't be his last!!
Paul's first bear...definitely won't be his last!!
Here is Paul's bear from Sunday night. Just misses P and Y, but an awesome first bear!! He's hooked! Unfortunately we didn't get a weight as the bear was a looong way back.
Last night had 6 hunters in the stand and I still haven't received confirmation on one hunter. There were at least 51 bears seen, including a giant 'target bear' that was in the area for 20 minutes. The hunter showed great restraint and refused to take a marginal shot, so we'll be back after it tonight!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Not sure what's going on with this post, there is supposed to be 4 photos here. I'll try and re-post and apologize in advance if it ends up a double post!
Congratulations Paul, nice bear.
Great morning bear!
Great morning bear!
Trying a different camera angle on this site. From here you can see the crease better!!
Trying a different camera angle on this site. From here you can see the crease better!!
Pardon the bear goober on the lens, but here's a sow letting a boar know he's a little early!!
Pardon the bear goober on the lens, but here's a sow letting a boar know he's a little early!!
Gotta keep trying though!!
Gotta keep trying though!!
Russ....your fuzzy cam pics could be condensation forming on the lens cover as the temps change??
I pulled a camera on the weekend and gave the lens a good cleaning and now it is fine. I am thinking every time a bear licks it, he leaves a little grease on it (assuming he's just come from the bait) and what we're seeing is a heavy grease build up.
At least they're not eating the cameras!!
They quit eating my cameras once I raised them to near 6'.
Sorry for the lack of updates...was up in camp and there was a 4 bear night so a LOT of running around, tracking, skinning and butchering!! I'm a couple of bears behind, so I'll play catch up today. I won't even bother with number of sightings for the last couple of days...let's just say the sows are starting to pull all the boars in and hunters are seeing multiple bears...plus they stop counting after they shoot one!
Here's a night 2 bear. Another first time bear hunter (Jim) that is hooked. 18+ on the skull.
Here is Daniel with his archery bear! Well into the 18's. This is Daniel's third hunt with us...probably not his last.
Here is Daniel with his archery bear! Well into the 18's. This is Daniel's third hunt with us...probably not his last.
Night # 3 was insane. 4 of our 5 remaining hunters tagged out! Still waiting on the pics from a couple, but here are the first 2.
I'll post the other pics as soon as I get them. Guides are taking it easy this morning! One hunter left for this week. I just got a report that he saw 6 including the target bear but no ethical shot was presented, so he passed.
Dennis and his archery bear...just into P & Y, will probably dry just shy.
Dennis and his archery bear...just into P & Y, will probably dry just shy.
Here is Dennis and his bear. He's hunted with us a number of times and brings a mixed group of past and new bear hunters. He puts a LOT of time in with these groups making sure they practice and come to camp prepared. Absolutely the dream hunter for an outfitter. Next year he's pulling together a group of ladies/daughters...should be an interesting week!!
Way to go guys[ Dennis, Daniel Jim]. Three awesome bear.
Here are the remaining two bears from that insane Tuesday night!! Brandon took his first bear with his bow, and Mike took his first bear with a custom rifle he had built for a future grizzly hunt - he wanted to test drive it on a black bear hunt first. I'd say it worked!!
Good for you and your hunters Russ!
Nice job Mike and Brandon, Congratulations on couple of awesome bear. Also Congratulations to Russ, seems you're having a heck of year on big bear.
Went 7 for 7 last week!! Here is Zach's Friday evening bear!! His first bear and 2nd biggest of the week...330 pounds and nearly 19"!! Bonus - he got to send 2 arrows at this bear!!
This week started off with bang as 2 hunters needed to start Saturday night because of commitments and needing to go home early. Saw 10 bears between the 2 of them. One bear is in the freezer but at the request of the hunter, photos won't be shared.
On night 2 (Sunday), the other hunter saw 6-8, but not what he was looking for.
Still waiting on updates from yesterday's hunt for this hunter and the other 4 that went out last night.
Have a great day everyone!!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters
Very nice bear Zach, Congratulations.
Here is Brad with his night 2 bear! Greens right at 18".
Here is Brad with his night 2 bear! Greens right at 18".
Here is Youth Hunter Nolan with his first bear! His dad Jason got to watch the whole thing while sitting next to him!!
Here is Youth Hunter Nolan with his first bear! His dad Jason got to watch the whole thing while sitting next to him!!
Another update: 6 hunters in camp this week, 1 left to fill his tag!
Hunter 1 made a clean kill on his first night. Hunter 2 had clean miss on 3rd night. Both of them are on their way home as they had business at home - they had an adjusted Saturday-Tuesday hunt.
Regarding hunters 3-6: Hunter 3 had a shot at a bear on night 1, unfortunately, no recovery, we are thinking high and forward. Hunter 4 and 5 both tagged bears on night 2, see pics. Hunter 6 has 3 days left!!
Big bears are still holding their hides.
Big bears are still holding their hides.
Here's a grainy shot of a shooter moving through at the end of legal shooting light - which is about 10pm at this time of year.
Here's a grainy shot of a shooter moving through at the end of legal shooting light - which is about 10pm at this time of year.
Another shooter coming in during the last half hour - important to sit right to the end of the evening for these big boars!
Another shooter coming in during the last half hour - important to sit right to the end of the evening for these big boars!
It's that time of year!!
It's that time of year!!
No bears down last night, hunter only saw 6, but no shooters. Peak rut going on so some of the boars 'lock down' their sow for a day or two, and if the hot sow doesn't come in, you won't see a lot of big bears moving through either.
Been too busy to post many trail cam pics, so here's some while we're waiting for another bear to go down!!
Thanks Russ, always enjoy looking at trail cam pictures. Lots of really nice bear around.
Jason's first bear on night 4 of 5!
Jason's first bear on night 4 of 5!
Hunter 6 tagged out on his first black bear last night!
One more week, hope to post a few more pics before it's all over!!
Here's a great boar showing the classic late season rub from displaying.
Here's a great boar showing the classic late season rub from displaying.
Getting a few more pics of these guys. Hides are pretty rough looking at this time of year.
Getting a few more pics of these guys. Hides are pretty rough looking at this time of year.
Great boar that's been living at this site for about 3 weeks now!
Great boar that's been living at this site for about 3 weeks now!
Future Booner!!
Future Booner!!
Last week starts today! 4 hunters in camp, rut is going strong, 3 bowhunters and 1 rifle hunter.
Here's some more trail cam photos while we wait for some hero shots!
Russ
One of the best weeks to hunt. Good luck Russ.
Feast or famine time...from no bears to too many bears in one day. All depends on the hot sow!!
Feast or famine time...from no bears to too many bears in one day. All depends on the hot sow!!
Bear number 1 for the last week goes to Bowsiter Justin! He took this boar on Tuesday evening.
The Christmas Auction winner (Doug) is hunting this week as well...and he brought his son with him. Rumor has it they have one bear down...pics shortly!
Awesome bear Justin, Congratulations.
You’re a top-notch guy Russ, with a top-notch operation. Again, I can’t thank you enough. What an incredible hunt at an incredible place.
Very nice!! Congrats guys. Great bear Justin, and great outfitting Russ!
So with Bowsite down for a few days, lost track of where I was with posting pics. Our last week ended on the 14th. This last week had 4 hunters and you have seen the first bear of the week (Justin's).
There were 3 other hunters in camp. Alan from SD and then Doug and his boys Zane and Samuel. Doug was one of this year's Christmas Auction winners. He passed on hunting and brought his 2 boys up to hunt. Great people to have in camp!!
Ended 4 for 4 on the week. Pics coming up!
Here is Doug and Zane with Zane's bear. Love these father/son moments!
Here is Alan with his last day bear!!
Here is Alan with his last day bear!!
Great bears Justin and Zane! Congrats!
Zane and Alan Congratulations!!! on two really nice bear.
That was a great year Russ. Thanks.
Great job! I remember Alan from a few years ago, we al.ost had a bear rodeo up north!
Both nice looking bears! Glad to see they both tagged out!
Big thanks to Russ for his generosity! The charity auction was great, the week at camp was great. Boys have great memories. And I ate very well. Thanks for having us. Doug
Thanks for the kind words Doug.
Here is our last bear from Spring 2019!! Doug's son Samuel took his first bear with his bow while Doug sat next to him. Perfect way to end the season!!
Russ - Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd.
Russ, what a fantastic year Adrenaline had ! Lots of big bear taken, memories made and stories that will last a lifetime. Thank you again for another great time. Now that it's over, it's time to start thinking about next year. I know that Cindy and I are thinking about another Adrenaline filled adventure. See you guys next year.
Season is all done and just putting away gear and servicing equipment. I want to thank all the hunters that joined us this spring and Bowsite for allowing us to document our season.
Here are some stats for Spring 2019:
- We had 27 hunters go through camp, starting May 6 and ending June 14 (6 weeks)
- Those hunters combined for a total of 83 sits
- During those 83 sits, they reported seeing 443 bears (average of just over 5 bears per sit)
- We had 18 bears taken with 8 more shots taken (some clean misses, some unrecovered)
- 4 hunters did not take shots for various reasons, but everyone had opportunities at mature bears
- 15 repeat hunters are already booked for next season!!
At this time, we only have 4 spots remaining for 2020, so if anyone is interested, PM me and we'll see what we can do for you!!
Thanks again!
Russ and Shelley Mehling - Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd.
