My Babine Bear Adventure Recap!
Contributors to this thread:Bears
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
It has been snowing here for the last three days and I'm getting cabin fever bad. Bow season ended here and I'm looking for something to do to take my mind off the lull. My kids have only been at school one day this week and my home office is my only place of refuge. What better time to get started on my bear hunting recap with Babine from this past season!
From: kota-man
24-Jan-20
Go for it! Can't wait to hear about it...
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
So my bear hunt starts on day 8 of a 10 day adventure. This is actually my third archery bear hunt and I’ve yet to kill a bear with my bow. When I was in college, I went on a hunt in Manitoba but I ended up killing my bear with a gun on the last morning of the hunt. And I also hunted a bear with my bow while caribou hunting with Jack Hume Adventures, but I only saw one bear on the flight out of camp once the hunt was over.
My guide on this hunt at Babine was Gavin. I had just spent every minute of every day for the last 9 days with Gavin while we hunted in the mountains, so we were starting to get along! LOL
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
guest cabin that I was assigned to
guest cabin that I was assigned to
This was my cabin for the duration of the hunt, but it really just served as a place to scatter out my hunting stuff. I think I only spent 2 maybe 3 nights in "my" cabin during my hunt since we were either in a tent or at an outpost.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
I believe Babine is probably best known for its successful traplines, moose and goat hunts. Their bear hunts are always full, but you don’t hear much about them… maybe its like when you find a hot fishing spot and you make sure to keep the details from even your siblings and closest friends! This is definitely one of the best kept secrets of the north.
The Hooper’s run a first class operation and have outrageous amounts of game. They recently added to the operation, probably enough acres that one man couldn’t possibly explore or hunt the entirety of it in two lifetimes. I forget the number of hectares, but I know they compared it to the size of some decent sized European countries. When booking my goat hunt, I inquired about adding a bear on a trophy fee basis. I had no idea the extend of their bear experience and bear knowledge.
They had already killed 49 bears that spring and that only scratched the surface of area they could potentially hunt. This was going to be good!
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
The original focus of my hunt was to kill a mountain goat with my bow, but the bear was definitely an exciting part of the adventure and something I was looking forward to. I had always assumed that this would be a "stumble upon" type bear hunt while pursuing other things, but that wasn't the case. Gavin and I were going to give it all we had!
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Couple things I'm realizing...I'm six posts in, and this is going to take a really really long time. I'm not the best story teller, but this format is not something I'm used to.
Also, I lost my phone during the hunt...and never recovered it, so most of my pictures are being taken from the video camera I had running most of the time I hunted. So the quality isn't there, but it will probably be good enough to help tell the story.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
So at around 2:30 on the 8th day of my hunt, we go for a drive to look for what Lloyd and Jack were calling a big nuisance bear. I wasn’t really picky about what I was going to shoot given the short amount of time I had to get it done. We drove several roads looking for fresh tracks and bear scat. We saw some but no bears to go along with it.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Bear burgers in gravy!
Bear burgers in gravy!
We head back to the lodge for supper and find we are having bear burgers in gravy...this has to be a good sign. It was delicious and we couldn't wait to get a bear of our own.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
How big is it? Surely it's a shooter!
How big is it? Surely it's a shooter!
After supper, Lloyd jumps in the truck with us and we make a small loop through the neighborhood to look for the big nuisance bear.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Again, I don't have much time to get it done with my bow and I've never killed one with a bow so I wasn't going to be very picky. When we first saw this bear, I was jacked up and ready to shoot it. Lloyd and Gavin assured me that it wasn’t a very big bear and I could probably have another shot at that exact bear towards the end of my hunt if didn’t have any opportunities at any bigger bears on my hunt. I probably would have been happy with the bear, but I'm glad I didn't end my hunt so early. Don’t guide the guide…or the outfitter!
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
So the first day of bear hunting ends with only the one bear being spotted. We never did run into the big nuisance bear, only the little nuisance bear, which Gavin guessed was under 6 feet. So after dark that night while relaxing in the lodge, Lloyd asked if I would be interested in running the big bear on the neighbors with his bear dogs…I was excited!
I cut my teeth on coon hunting with my dad in the Ozark mountains when I was a very young boy, probably 4 or 5 and those are some of my first memories of hunting with my dad. In high school, I had a couple hounds of my own and loved hunting with them. I told Lloyd that I’d be ecstatic to hunt with his HOUNDS. He laughed and said they weren’t exactly hounds. I had never heard of bear dog that wasn’t a hound so I was anxious to see what we had in store for the morning.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Flowers near the lodge.
Flowers near the lodge.
During my goat hunt, Gavin had mentioned the "new cabin" several times. This was across the lake and was a several hour commitment to get to the cabin, so that night before bed we agreed that if the dogs didn't have any luck with running a bear in the morning, we would head over to the "new cabin" mid morning or around lunchtime. So that I night we gathered some supplies and packed for a night at the other cabin. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into, so I packed most of my stuff since space or weight wasn't limited.
I had trouble sleeping that night with the anticipation of a busy day the next day. I was super excited to hunt with the dogs in the morning as that is something I've always been a fan of. Its not for everyone I understand, but this is all part of the adventure for me.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Boots is the blue tick
Anne is the red tick
Boots is the blue tick
Anne is the red tick
Like I said earlier, I used to having hunting dogs when I was kid and they shaped the hunter I am now. I don't have a dog as pet, but I realize most hunters do; my dogs were special to me, special enough that I have carried pictures of them in my wallet for almost two decades. I bought them both as pups and raised and trained them myself...back when I actually had time to commit to something like that. They both ended up being excellent hunting dogs with very different personalities, but they both died when relatively young so they never reached legendary status.
I know some hunters that have never hunted with dogs don't understand the romance or pure adventure of hunting with dogs, but I've always been a fan. Here's the picture that's been glued into my wallet for the last 15+ years. Boots and Anne.
From: Chief 419
24-Jan-20
Great story telling and pics so far. Keep it coming!
From: Shiras42
24-Jan-20
Following... lovin it so far!
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
24-Jan-20
Keep it up! I can really appreciate your view on the dogs. They can really make a hunt special.
From: bohuntr
24-Jan-20
Looking forward to the rest of this!
From: Shug
24-Jan-20
God stuff
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
The next morning during breakfast (I don't remember the menu, but I'm 100% sure it was something amazing as all the meals were), Jack said that his dad had just called and said that the bear was in his yard again that morning, so we hurried our breakfast and went to get the dogs. Since the dogs were close by, we didn’t have to load them up, we just walked up the road to Lloyd and Jack’s dad’s house and tried to get the dogs to pick of the track.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Gavin and Lloyd with the dogs
Gavin and Lloyd with the dogs
These aren't ordinary dog, these are Karelian bear dogs!!
Cronin and Gomer were pretty young and energetic
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
We took them a short ways up the road and ran them through Mr. Hooper's front yard to see if they could cut the track. Lloyd was explaining that the dogs have hot noses so the bear scent has to be extremely fresh in order for the dogs to pick it up and run it. Once they pick up the scent they are good at using all of their senses to trail the bear, not just scent like a typical hound. Both of my coons hounds had really hot noses also and that sure helped the coons from reaching den trees and becoming inaccessible to the hunter and it sure makes for more exciting hunt.
The scent must have been too old so we loaded the dogs and decided to look for something hotter to run.
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
We loaded the dogs into Lloyd’s truck and Gavin and I loaded into the UTV and followed. Because of the recent rain, we were looking for fresh tracks as we went. We found some smaller tracks several miles from the lodge, but it looked like a sow and cub, so we weren’t interested in that even if the tracks were really fresh. On our way back to the lodge, Lloyd took a brushy side road. He caught movement ahead and sped up to see a bear cross the road. We got out the dogs and put them on the track…couldn’t get any fresher!
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
From: Korey Wolfe
24-Jan-20
Anticipation was high as the dogs definitely could smell the bear as they went tearing through the woods. Interestingly enough the Karelian Bear dogs don't actually bark during the chase, but only when they have spotted the bear. As fast as these dogs move, I can only imagine this leads to short trails or many of the bigger bears being bayed up on the ground. This was awesome!!!
From: Babine Guide
24-Jan-20
just took the dogs out for a bit of exercise. The snow is a little deep for trying to run lynx right now so we just run them behind the truck to keep them in shape for when bear season starts. The front left hound is Chappy (he has a great nose for cats but haven't tried him on the bears yet) the it's Cronin and Gomer. On the right side are 2 new hound pups that should be ready for next fall with a little running this spring. Their names are Willow and Toughy.
From: Babine Guide
24-Jan-20
From: Bowboy
24-Jan-20
Keep it coming!
From: Shug
27-Jan-20
Hellooooooo
From: Ambush
27-Jan-20
.....and then???
From: dakotaduner
28-Jan-20
Not so patiently, for the rest of the story
From: Babine Guide
28-Jan-20
One big tree
One big tree
Here's a couple pictures from bears after Korey left to tie you over till Korey gets back to his story. In case anyone is still looking for a bear adventure this spring we do still have a few openings.
From: Babine Guide
28-Jan-20
From: Babine Guide
28-Jan-20
From: Babine Guide
28-Jan-20
This one we tried to find 3 times before we dug it out of a swamp that it was spending it's days in. Big old bear that squared 7 1/2. Should save a few moose calves.
From: JohnMC
28-Jan-20
I see a picture of a bear in a tree like that, I wonder if when out in they mountains if there is ever a bear or cat in a tree looking down at me as I wonder through the woods.
From: Mark Watkins
28-Jan-20
Great story...and results!!!
Mark
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
Sorry for the delay in my story telling. I had a really rough weekend. My daughter was injured during a basketball game on Friday and was transported to the hospital via ambulance. She has a broken tailbone and a concussion. It was a scary situation and that has taken up the majority of my time...that and getting some extra work done in preparation for the impending medical bills.
Thanks Lloyd for posting some pictures while I was occupied.
From: Beav
28-Jan-20
Sorry to hear about your daughter. Love the story so far!
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
Lloyd calling Cronin back to the truck
Lloyd calling Cronin back to the truck
So, unfortunately, the track didn't work out on that first bear. I was still pretty excited and Gavin assured me that there would be plenty of opportunity to fill my bear tag.
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
We drove around for another hour or so looking for some fresh sign or possibly a bear crossing the road in front of us. It wouldn't have taken a big bear for me to get excited, just anything that the dogs could tree. I was hoping we could find a bear to tree to add to the adventure, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Gavin and I decided that we would pull up stakes and cross the lake and head over to the new cabin. Gavin had spent a lot of his spare time this summer helping Jack with the cabin and I was looking forward to seeing what I had spent so much time hearing about. Lloyd would continue to keep tabs on the local nuisance bear while we were away.
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
Gavin tying down the boat
Gavin tying down the boat
The ride across the lake was also a hunting mission, because if we spotted any bears we could park the boat and stalk them. The ride was a bit longer than I anticipated, but it was great. I was happy to be back on dry land.
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
Me checking my bow after the rough boat ride.
Me checking my bow after the rough boat ride.
Once we land, we are greeted by a member of the logging crew (one of leading industries up here) and he saw that we were loading our stuff into a Babine truck. It was a little comical, but I don't think the guy was going to let us leave before proving our affiliation with Lloyd and Jack. I think it's great having folks lookout for each other...reminded me of home.
We decided to shoot my bow a little before starting our afternoon hunt. There was a target in the back of the truck so we used that to make sure my bow was still on.
From: Korey Wolfe
28-Jan-20
Good enough, about 3/4 inch left of the aiming point...at 25 yards.
Good enough, about 3/4 inch left of the aiming point...at 25 yards.
Luckily my arrows hit where I wanted them. Hopefully we can find a good bear to stalk on the way to the cabin.
From: Korey Wolfe
29-Jan-20
Bear heading into cover: opposite the yellow sign
Bear heading into cover: opposite the yellow sign
The road system on the way to the new cabin was pretty good. Mostly constructed to utilize the timber in the area. They were all gravel, but for the most part were in great shape. There were motor graders working on different stretches almost daily. To my surprise the road ditches were full of ladino clover...bears love clover.
We made it to our first turn off before we saw our first bear. Its on the right side of the road diving back into cover. I was probably a 6 1/2 foot type bear, which was plenty good enough for me. We spooked the bear with the truck, but most of the time the bears would return back to the exact same spot they were spooked from within a few minutes. So we backed up out of sight and waited for the bear to return to feed in the road ditch.
From: Korey Wolfe
29-Jan-20
This river might have a name, but it wasn't marked.
This river might have a name, but it wasn't marked.
The big bear never materialized and we ended up continuing our hunt. We went a short distance down the road and found this beautiful river. Gavin says that when the salmon spawn there are grizzlies feeding in that area on occasion. It looked like a great place to find a bear, but after a short wait with no participants, we decide to continue hunting our way towards the new cabin.
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
29-Jan-20
Your story is great. Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery!
From: Korey Wolfe
29-Jan-20
My daughter with her buck from a couple years ago!
My daughter with her buck from a couple years ago!
Just wanted to say thanks to those wishing my daughter a speedy recovery via PM and this thread.
She is an awesome kid; competitive gymnast, student council president, in line for Val Victorian or salutatorian when she graduates 8th grade in May, and she's the only girl on the boys team (starts every game). I feel really bad for her injuries since it was our decision to put her on the boys team, which is slightly more physical than she was used to. I too hope she makes a full recovery and this injury didn't end her basketball career as she doesn't plan to play in high school.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention...she has killed a pile of deer, probably double the number of anyone else in her class or in the school.
From: t-roy
30-Jan-20
Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery, Korey. Great story so far! Keep it coming!
From: caribou77
01-Feb-20
Hope your daughter is doing well. Great story so far
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Young little bear
Young little bear
We hadn't gone too terribly far down the road before Gavin spots a bear on the side of the road...sleeping on a rock. We knew it wasn't a shooter, but I wanted to stalk it and see how close I could get. We parked the truck and snuck in pretty close. I believe we got to 15 yards without a problem and took some pictures and then snuck back to the truck. The rush of getting so close to the bear was pretty cool, it was a great stalk, but now its time to go find a bear that is a shooter.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Sow with 2 or 3 cubs
Sow with 2 or 3 cubs
We drive around for the rest of the evening. We ended up seeing 13 bears that day. Many sows with cubs.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
We decide to head to the cabin while we still have a little light... glad we did. When we pull up we hear a strange noise. It's an unmistakable hiss that gives you an almost deflated feeling.
From: Beav
05-Feb-20
Sweet! Been waiting for the rest of this!
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Thank goodness for being prepared!
Thank goodness for being prepared!
I carry tire plugs in my truck and in my work truck for my atv's when they get a flat at work, but how many of us carry them in all of our vehicles? I would probably just rush to the closest tire repair shop or if that wasn't possible put on my spare. Out in the bush, you have to make due with what is given to you. Gavin and I found the leak and plugged it and made the repair.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Here's a picture of the old cabins.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Inside the new cabin
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
We had leftovers that night for dinner, I believe it was rice with stir fry? I remember it was really good. sorry no picture
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
That night before bed, we received a text message from Lloyd that we had left too soon. He had located the big bear and his dogs got it treed not 2 hours after we left. I'm a little foggy on the exact hours, but I remember that they kept it treed for something like 5 or 7 hours before they lost interest. I was really hoping that I could have stayed and killed one out of a tree off of dogs, but I wouldn't have traded the day I just had for anything! 13 bears! Great adventure so far.
I also forgot to mention that I saw a lynx near the new cabin. It was moving and I had no chance at getting a shot with my camera...season wasn't opened yet.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
When the lake freezes over, this is one of the spots were Lloyd and Jack place bait for wolves. I do believe there have been a few killed out on this lake.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
I don't remember how I slept that night, so I guess that means I slept pretty good. In the morning we had a breakfast of eggs and bear breakfast sausage. The sausage was maple syrup flavored and it was amazing. I right then and there determined that I was going to shoot any bear that could provide me with some trophy meat. I wasn't concerned about the size of the bear anymore. I told that to Gavin, but he laughed and was still determined to find me a big bear to take back home.
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
05-Feb-20
Welcome back to the story. Looking forward to the rest of it!
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Sorry, I'm a little frustrated right now. I've made several posts but my internet keeps kicking me off. I may try to just do the typing in Word and then post it when my service straightens out. Another snow day, that's the only reason I have the time!
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
The above picture is of the new cabin that the Babine crew was talking so much about. I see why...it has everything you could ever want in a hunting cabin and more.
From: Ambush
05-Feb-20
Is that the little lake with the old, sunken wooden boat in the reeds?
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Notice the solar panels to keep the cabin charged up!!
Notice the solar panels to keep the cabin charged up!!
So we go outside and check the tire and it is in good shape, so we load the truck with our gear. While standing around on the porch, we hear a familiar voice “Good Morning!” I had forgotten that Lloyd told me about the security cameras they installed at the cabin. I believe “Blink” security cameras? Anyway, it about scared me to death! When we got there last night and charged the cabins batteries with the generator the camera started working again allowing us to have a conversation with Lloyd even without cell service…pretty crazy stuff for the middle of nowhere.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
Cruising down a side road, we spot the first bear of the morning and the biggest bear of the trip, or at least the biggest bear during this leg of the trip. Unfortunately, it was a she and she had cubs. She was enormous…or at least enormous to me. She wasn’t super long, maybe 6’10” squared, but she was chunky. Very healthy sized bear. No picture...
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
The next bear we saw had some potential to be a shooter. I wasn’t going to allow it to get away if it gave me a slam dunk shot. We pulled past the bear out of sight and began our stalk while the bear fed on berries up in a clear cut. The grouse hatch was phenomenal this year and there were grouse everywhere. Unfortunately, the season didn’t open for several days so I couldn’t shoot any with my bow. The grouse nearly ruined the stalk, but luckily the bear was busy with the berries. We closed to 40 yards and the bear was paralleling us and then started to feed away. It had no idea we were in the world, perfect opportunity for a shot.
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
05-Feb-20
From: Shiras42
07-Feb-20
Hope your daughter is doing ok!
In the meantime...Waiting...
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Weathered in again today so I hope to wrap this up today or tomorrow!
Back to the story.
I decided I didn’t want a small bear to take home with me. Gavin was happy I decided not to shoot. He was just a young bear, one that would have been delicious I’m sure, but I know we could do better and I couldn’t help but think about the back up bear near the lodge.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Removing my shoes for the stalk
Removing my shoes for the stalk
It never got old getting ready for a stalk. Was sure glad to be out of my boots for a while and into my shoes again.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
I never did get good pictures of this bear, but he had a skunk strip down his back. When we first saw it Gavin said – “Grizzly!” But upon closer observation we determined it was a cool brown/cinnamon color with a blonde stripe down its back. As we got closer, again, I knew this bear was too young to shoot. This isn’t the greatest picture, but I think we ended up 23 yards from the bear before the wind swirled and the bear headed for the woods.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Can you see the bear?
Can you see the bear?
Here is the skunk bear. Not a very good picture, but he is in there.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
So far we have encountered 20+ bears in two days and I’ve been in bow range 5 or 6 times. I didn’t really anticipate having this many opportunities on this hunt. I had anticipated this portion of the hunt to be a stumble upon type add on to my adventure. I had no idea the bear population was so stinkin high in this area. Given the vastness of the Babine empire, I find it hard to believe that there are bears in this area that are ever hunted more than once or twice. There are no doubt bears dying of old age here in great numbers.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Anyway, we head down the road to try to find another bear. We stop to get some lunch from the cooler in the back. I think I had a fish sandwich or possibly roast moose, but I do remember that it was excellent. It’s midafternoon and we decide to start heading in the general direction of the boat. We wanted to make it back to the lodge with enough time to run the dogs before dark.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
We aren't too terribly far from the boat, probably two miles away, when we spot a good bear out in the road. We spot it before it spots us and we are able to back up over the hill we just crested and park the truck without spooking the bear. The wind wasn't great, but at least it wasn't swirling like it was the day before. Gavin grabs the video camera and we head off to begin our stalk.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Wind wasn't great and the sun was shining in our eyes but it was worth a giving it a go. The picture above look was the cover we would have available to us as we made our way closer to the feeding bear. From the position portrayed in the photo, we moved forward slowly, maybe 35 yards until we crested the hill. We could see the bear down feeding alone. Looked to be a good bear and Gavin said it was a shooter and fit my criteria for harvest.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
We started sneaking down the road, but then after only making it 10 yards or less the bear looked our direction so we froze in our tracks. The bear was probably 120 yards away and was content to be feeding in one spot or so we thought. For no apparent reason, at least not apparent to me, the bear started to feed our direction! When the bear got to the road ditch and we got a little cover between us, we jumped into the ditch on the right side of the road for some cover.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Bear is the fuzzy black spot at the tip of my cap!
Bear is the fuzzy black spot at the tip of my cap!
The bear covered ground in a hurry. I was ranging bushes at various distances trying to get ready for the shot. The bear was close and I was hoping it would all work out.
I need the wind to hold.
From: Korey Wolfe
12-Feb-20
Heart rate was up! Maybe maxed out!
Heart rate was up! Maybe maxed out!
When the bear was inside 25 yards, I had to draw before the bear was on top of us. The bear started to head for our side of the road and into the ditch, I took this opportunity to draw and was hoping he would offer me a good clear shot.
From: Marty
12-Feb-20
ohh ya, keep it coming!
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
13-Feb-20
Oh man, you're leaving us hanging at full draw? Great story so far....
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
I was able to get drawn because the bear had started feeding again on our side of the road. With wild animals you just can't predict what they are going to do, so there I was at full draw with a shooter bear under 25 yards and I couldn't get a shot! There was a small tree/shrub in between us giving me some cover to get drawn and stay hidden, but this same bush was preventing a shot. I was trying to rotate my body to get a shot, but it just wasn't going to happen. Maybe a left handed shooter could have had a better angle, but I couldn't risk the extra movement. The bear hadn't seem us or smelled us, so we had to be patient.
I hadn't held the bow back all that long, but I decided to let down in hopes of being able to draw again if the bear made it back into a clear shooting lane.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
Catch 22
Catch 22
The bush I circled is the one not allowing me to get a shot at the bear. I was behind the bush and Gavin was behind me.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
So the bear made it another 5 feet into the ditch and I absolutely couldn't get around the tree to make the shot. So I had to let down.
My heart was thumping pretty good, but I held my composure as the bear started walking the ditch we were in right to us. I can't say I was really excited to smell the bear's breath, but that was looking more and more likely with ever step that the bear took closer to our hiding spot.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
Full draw with a bear close!
Full draw with a bear close!
Thankfully the wind was holding steady for us and it also gave me the tiniest amount of background noise to let down with a bear so close and at ground level. Luckily, as the bear headed our direction it climbed back out onto the road and thankfully left the ditch we were in, but it still continued our direction and at it's current projection, it would pass by us at 4-5 feet...which would be way better than zero!
As soon as the bear stepped out of the ditch I drew my bow. My heart was beating out of my chest as the big bruin lumbers my direction. Come to think of it, maybe I blacked out, because I don't actually remember drawing my bow at all the second time...but apparently I did, since I have a picture of it. I was in full kill mode.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
12 yards and still unaware of our presence! FULL DRAW
12 yards and still unaware of our presence! FULL DRAW
The bear made it's way to 12 yards. I was at full draw and there was no way to let down if something didn't work out just perfectly...I was going to have to make something happen. I was in the zone.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
And then it happened! The bear looks at the two shiny blobs in the ditch and it's body posture completely changed. It was obvious we had been spotted and it wasn't going to stick around to find out what we were. I wasn't offered the broadside or quartering away preferred archery shot...but this was 12 yards! I knew it was now or never for this bear.
I've not taken too many hard quartering towards me shots like this before, but I knew it could be just as deadly. So I but my 20 yard pin where I wanted my arrow to hit and slowly pulled the trigger!
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
Alerted to our ambush location
Alerted to our ambush location
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
Arrow in flight!
Arrow in flight!
Really cool still photo captured from the video.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
Arrow in flight!
Arrow in flight!
Really cool still photo captured from the video.
From: Shiras42
13-Feb-20
So cool! Really enjoying this story. I killed a bear in 2014 from the ground with a close frontal shot. The bear made it about 15 yards before piling up.
From: Korey Wolfe
13-Feb-20
I think it’s really cool to see the flex in the arrow!
From: TREESTANDWOLF
13-Feb-20
Excellent photo! Keep it coming !
From: wooddamon1
13-Feb-20
Hell of a good story! What a cool adventure!
From: Ambush
14-Feb-20
I hope the next post is a video!!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Bear beginning to recoil from the impact.
Bear beginning to recoil from the impact.
Contact! Bear is hit. As the arrows skips across the gravel behind the bear and he turns to leave he lets out a short growl or grunt; when whitetails do this, it's almost always a good sign.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Bear dives out of sight into brush in the opposite road ditch
Bear dives out of sight into brush in the opposite road ditch
From: bohuntr
14-Feb-20
Great story and supporting photo's/footage! Looking forward to the rest!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
I think my smile tells it all. I think my shot was a touch high, likely because I held my 20 yard pin right where I wanted it when the bear was only 10 yards. No enough to make a difference at such close range.
After a very short celebration we jump out onto the road to try to see the bear or hear it going down. No death moan, but we can certainly hear a gurgly breathing of an animal about to expire. We listen to this for about thirty seconds and then nothing. Silence in woods below.
We quietly make our way back to the truck to gather a few things and let the bear completely expire.
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
14-Feb-20
Awesome pictures!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Blood soaked and bent!
Blood soaked and bent!
We pick up the arrow and it looks good...other than it's damaged from a truck that drove over it before we could recover it! How unlucky would that have been to have a truck scare away the bear if we had waited another two minutes to start the stalk?
Gavin gets his gun and insists on recovering the bear while I say on the road. Didn't bother me, but I would have gladly helped with the recovery. Gavin did the right thing, he didn't want to have to worry about where I was in the unlikely case that the bear wasn't dead and he needed a follow up shot.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Gavin with his tracking gun.
Gavin with his tracking gun.
So Gavin went first with his gun and I stayed up on the road with the bear hauler and camera. Gavin went right to the spot where we heard the bear expiring.
From: Ambush
14-Feb-20
Looking good!!
After his own grizzly episode, Gavin may be a little extra careful for his hunters around bears.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
When Gavin got to the last spot where the bear was, there was no bear. He did find some good sign.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Oh yes, if we only had time to talk about our collective grizzly encounters, I think people would be more likely to understand the extra caution!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
A little ways past the blood sign started, Gavin see the bear...dead and calls out the words I was waiting to hear. "I FOUND YOUR BEAR!!!!"
I hustle down to Gavin with the stretcher/hauler and take a couple pictures in the woods.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Tickled with my first archery bear!
Tickled with my first archery bear!
I get to the bear and we check it out before we take some pictures. That's when we discovered that I killed a big dry sow.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
From: Yellowjacket
14-Feb-20
Great story and bear! No ground shrinkage there!
From: Ambush
14-Feb-20
Awesome and very cool how it went down!! Hopefully you can post the video.
Looks like a very long snout on that noggin.
From: Helgermite
14-Feb-20
Great thread / story Korey! Congrats and thanks for sharing!
From: wooddamon1
14-Feb-20
Nice, congrats!
From: Bwana
14-Feb-20
Congrats and thanks for sharing your story!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
So we loaded her up onto the bear hauler and got her up out of the bush. We put her in the truck and drove a couple hundred yards down the road to a open area to set her up for pictures. I'm really pleased we took the time to get some good pictures. I'll share part of the harvest pictures with you guys. I think we took over 20 in each location.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
The one picture that Gavin and I have together is a little out of focus, but it will have to do!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
I do all of my own gutting, whether it's a guided hunt or hunting on my own, so Gavin gather up the gear and loaded the truck, while I went to work with the knife. My knife was a gift from my dad and has been with me for most of my adventures. He created the adventure spirit in me when I was young and I owe him and my mom both a lot for their support in my live. I love you both very much!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
This knife has been to CO, WY, AB, MT, IL, KS, QB and now BC... and probably a few others I can’t remember.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Decent sized skull.
Decent sized skull.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Beautiful coat!
Beautiful coat!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
This made moving the bear much easier for sure!
This made moving the bear much easier for sure!
So after gutting the bear with my special knife, we loaded the bear into the truck and headed towards the boat.
Here is a picture of use carrying the bear onto the dock using the bear hauler. I just love this picture!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Notice the blood on my arms?
Notice the blood on my arms?
I was successful in killing a bear, but there was still a lot of work to do. We hurriedly made our way back to the lodge before darkness made our upcoming tasks more difficult while still trying to soak it all in!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Fuzzy boat decorations!
Fuzzy boat decorations!
It felt really good to be boating up to the lodge with a bear on the front of the boat. I was excited!
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Jack, Gavin, and Lloyd skinning the bear. I stepped away to take the picture.
Jack, Gavin, and Lloyd skinning the bear. I stepped away to take the picture.
Now we have some work to do. My flight leaves in 20 hours and I have several trophies to prepare for the flight; the hide, the skull and most importantly the meat!
Lloyd, Jack, Gavin and I went to work on the bear to get it prepped for my flight the next day.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
This is where Babine is superior to all other outfitters I have ever hunted with. They didn't just go above and beyond to make sure I killed a good bear, but once the bear was down it was all hands on deck until the bear was skinned, the skull was boiled and bleached and all the meat was cut up and place in freezer paper and packed into the freezer. I mean who else does that? As if it wasn't enough to skin the bear, they turned the ears, finished the paws, turned the lips and after that was done they salted the hide and then put two high powered fans on the hide to make sure it was dry enough to transport tomorrow with my luggage.
On top of all that, they wrapped the fat that I trimmed off the bear (which was a lot!) in freezer paper for the natives in a nearby town to use. I was told they use the bear fat for various purposes so it felt good that none of my bear was going to be wasted.
From: Korey Wolfe
14-Feb-20
Natives "fishing"
Natives "fishing"
The natives were gathering here with some fish traps. This is the same approximate location where my bear fat was being donated.
From: ryanrc
15-Feb-20
Great write-up. Thanks for taking us along!
From: Bou'bound
15-Feb-20
Great job
From: Korey Wolfe
17-Feb-20
Jack boiled out my bear skull and got it all cleaned up. Once it was cleaned it was then placed in a solution to make it look really white. I'm sure it was degreased during the boiling and then bleached with peroxide. It turned out perfectly and was ready to be displayed as soon as I returned home. This saved me some serious time, money and hassle.
From: Korey Wolfe
17-Feb-20
Once I returned home with my bear hide, I unpackaged it and hung it in my garage for another couple of weeks with a fan on it. Unfortunately, in Missouri, we deal with extremely high humidity in late August and it made the drying process pretty slow. But as soon as it was dry enough, I packaged it and sent it to Idaho to the tannery where I send all of our other critters that we have tanned after trapping season is over. We have had good luck with their facility for beaver, coons, skunks, opossums, squirrels, and coyotes and I was sure they would do a good job with the bear.
This also saved me some time and money, since I didn't have to pay a taxidermist to do any additional fleshing or preparations.
From: Korey Wolfe
17-Feb-20
The bear hide returned from the tannery in perfect shape!
The bear hide returned from the tannery in perfect shape!
From: Korey Wolfe
17-Feb-20
A big thanks to Gavin, Jack and Lloyd at Babine!
A bear adventure of a lifetime!
A big thanks to Gavin, Jack and Lloyd at Babine!
A bear adventure of a lifetime!
Babine Guide Outfitters has a reputation for being a top notch outfitting business and they far exceeded my expectations. I want to thank them all for the commitment to make my trip one filled with memories to last a lifetime. I'm already looking for ways to make a return trip a reality.
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
18-Feb-20
Great write up Korey. Thanks for sharing it with us!
From: BigSkyHntr
18-Feb-20
Good story! Congrats, nice bear!
From: Goat Guide
18-Feb-20
Thanks for sharing Korey!!!!!!
From: Babine Guide
21-Feb-20
Thanks for bringing the memories back Korey. Starting to get excited about spring bear starting soon. We still have a couple openings for this May if anyone is interested in doing a bear hunt. Could be a combo hunt in using the dogs and spot and stock.
From: Russell
21-Feb-20
Congrats on the fine bear. What an awesome adventure and the story-line you shared.
The folks at Babine Guide Outfitters are the Best! Lloyd, Jack, the guides, and camp chief are the A-team for sure.
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
