2021 Annual Bowsite Christmas Auction
Bears
Trail Cam photo with a Christmas theme!
Trail Cam photo with a Christmas theme!
Hello Fellow Bowsiters,
So, 2021 saw some improvement, but was still a difficult year for many. After a lengthy discussion with my wife, we decided we’re going to run the Annual Bowsite Christmas Auction once again.
Unfortunately, we had to cancel our entire 2020 and 2021 seasons, but we were lucky enough to rebook almost all our hunters. This means our 2022 season is fully booked up, and you are competing for a hunt in 2023 (maybe) or more than likely 2024.
Here’s hoping for an incredible auction.
The rules will be the same as in the past:
1. Bowsite, it's owners, employees, and its sponsors are not affiliated, or responsible for this auction or any issues regarding from it, nor will be held liable if any problems arise.
2. Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd. will not receive any monies generated from this auction. All funds generated from this auction will be donated to the charity of the winning bidders choice.
3. The Auction will run until 15:00:00 CST, December 23, 2021.
4. You are bidding on a five-day hunt, but will be required to purchase your hunting tags (sorry, different from years past). This hunt may be taken in 2023 or 2024 available dates (please contact me for availability). The winning bidder will need to comply with all border crossing regulations at the time of the hunt.
5. This is not a leftover or fill in hunt. You pick your dates (based on current openings at time of Auction close).
6. To claim your hunt, the Auction winner must donate to their charity of choice, their full bidded amount, then produce the tax deductible receipt showing the date and amount donated. Once that is provided, we will confirm your hunt dates and complete all booking forms.
If you have any questions about the hunt, travel, logistics, etc., please ask on this thread in case others had the same question.
Thanks to Pat and Bowsite for allowing us to do this, we really need something like this this year! Good luck and thanks in advance to all bidders.
Russ and Shelley Mehling/Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd.
That is very nice of you and the wife and extremely nice considering the business challenges all of the outfitters are experiencing. A big thank you!
You should have bears running everywhere? I can't imagine what a man could see in the western states if seasons just closed for two years! It would be a major deal!
Here's a bear moving in temps similar to what we woke up to this morning!
Here's a bear moving in temps similar to what we woke up to this morning!
Yes, there are a lot of bears around!! I ran all the baits this spring and had trail cams running. I'm posting pics daily on our Facebook Page if anyone wants to see what's going on.
Russ....a humble FWIW....a lot of folks don't/won't do Facebook. You might be missing out on some viewership.
Very generous of you. I hope it raises a lot of money!
I am sorry and could have possible missed it. But where do we go to bid on this auction. I hope not FB, because I do not do it. Thanks for doing this and looks like you have some really big bears. Bob
Bobster, Bid right here.
I’ll open it up with $1,500. Charity TBD.
—Jim
I'll start posting bear pics here daily as well.
I'll start posting bear pics here daily as well.
Bobster, I was just referring to FB (and IG) to let guys see some of the bears that made it through last spring. Bid here, bid often!! Place a bid higher than the current highest, and list your charity. Highest bidder's charity gets a donation, highest bidder gets a tax receipt and bear hunt! Win-Win-Win!!
I won this hunt in 2019 and took 2 of my sons. It was great. They rank it at one of their top memories in life. Russ and crew are great people. Lots of bears even before this 2 year bear build up from covid. PM me if you want more details.
Doug
2000. 1500 to St Judes. 500 to P&Y. If P&Y is not allowed. All 2000 to St. Judes.
Bid with confidence. I had an awesome time up there years ago. Fishing was great too. We were catching a lot of walleye right off the boat dock. The guides Russ had were all fantastic. Bear sightings were high. I literally had bears trying to climb in my lap….
mountainman, as long as you can get a tax deductible receipt, the charities are allowed. Last year's winning bid was donated to P & Y.
That was a memorable week Cole!!
$2500.00 with it going to St Judes also, or maybe splitting it with another. Keep posting pics of the bears. Really would love me a big chocolate bear. Bob
Kudos to you, your wife and your crew. This is a great auction for charity. It has to be more difficult to do after the past two years.
Hoping the bidding lights up!
A nice up and comer that could make someone very happy next spring!
A nice up and comer that could make someone very happy next spring!
Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the bids Bobby and Jim! Sitting at $2500 right now to a worthy cause. Just FYI, the retail value of the hunt is $4147.50, so it's a great deal right now!!
Strong work Russ. Thanks for doing this. I hope your business is blessed in this coming year.
COVID19 delayed my winning Christmas auction hunt, but Russ was kind enough to schedule it again this spring. Looking forward to it!
I don't know much about this outfitter, but this seems like a cool idea. I've hunted Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, but never Manitoba. I've never bear hunted, so all that said I will throw my hat in the ring.
$2,600 to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital (located in Westchester County, NY) if I'm the winning bid.
Catslam, I have never hunted with Russ either. But several people on here have and they always give high marks.
2800. 2k to St Judes and 800 to P&Y.
Looking forward to having you up this spring Steve!
Thanks for the bids guys! Good luck to you.
$3000 to Arkansas Children's Hospital
Another pic to get the bids going!
$3,025 to Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital (located in Westchester County, NY) if I'm the winning bid to beat Greg Simon
New bait site looks like a hit!
New bait site looks like a hit!
Go away for a weekend and this thread almost drops off the first page!!!
Here's a pic of a new spot we set up for the 2020 season...hasn't been used yet!
Keep bidding, 10 days left.
Russ
I'm not normally one for naming animals, but sometimes we do to help identify specific bears for hunters. Meet 'WishBone"
I'm not normally one for naming animals, but sometimes we do to help identify specific bears for hunters. Meet 'WishBone"
Awesome. I'll take Wishbone!
Had a lot of wolf action at the baits last spring.
Had a lot of wolf action at the baits last spring.
8 days left, high bid is currently $3025...
Russ How many mature Boars would you estimate are in your area? How does that compare to 3 years ago?
Can I grab a wolf tag if I win? I hunted Alberta and Ontario for wolf, never saw one. Grabbed a wolf tag when lynx hunting BC and never saw one.
I can't say how many mature boars we have in the area, but if you consider we take 20+ bears per season (not all will be mature), and we haven't taken any bears for 2 seasons, I'd guess LOTS!!
At this time, the wolf season is not open during the spring bear season.
Russ
$4000 The Good Fight Foundation
I knew BPM would show up!
A FWIW thinking out loud thought.....if I was going to bid/win this auction and because this is a Canadian hunt, I would split my donation between a US military/vet charity and a Canadian military/vet charity. Could also do a split with some other charity-type that works in the US and Canada. That way I could give something back to both sides. Attached is a link to some Canadian military/vet charities. Just a thought if anyone else was also curious about that too......
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/explore/charities/category/social-services/sub-category/military-veterans/
John that’s an awesome idea. Really like that thought
I'm out, but congrats to Pizzaman or whoever outbids him
Great spot to hunt once the leaves come out!
Great spot to hunt once the leaves come out!
Thanks for bidding Tommy!
If you guys don't mind, when you bid, could you provide a brief description of the charity you're donating to? It could draw attention to a worthy cause and may even generate other donations.
7 days and counting...
https://www.thegoodfightgroup.com/
https://www.thegoodfightgroup.com/
Up and comer with a cool blaze at another new bait site!!
Up and comer with a cool blaze at another new bait site!!
Thanks BPM! 6 days left!! Don't get on here on the weekends, so we'll see how things look on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!!
Russ & Shelley - Adrenaline Outfitters
I wish I could put in for this, but not to be. Glad to see BPM on the board though.
Beautiful bear to look at for a Monday Morning!
Beautiful bear to look at for a Monday Morning!
3 days to go!! BPM in the lead with $4000!!
Another site, another great bear!
Another site, another great bear!
The pizza man always shows up!
Sometimes the camera gets moved, but some bears are still easy to judge even without using barrels or pre cut logs!
Sometimes the camera gets moved, but some bears are still easy to judge even without using barrels or pre cut logs!
Just over 30 hours left guys...been pretty quiet on the bidding with BPM still holding the lead!
Russ & Shelley - Adrenaline Outfitters
I won't add much to the bidding, cause I'll just hunt Russ's baits when he isn't looking! Class act that I am lol. Russ and Shelley are pretty awesome people and he brings that professionalism to his bear outfit. One minor thing you'll notice straight away here. I see Russ is running plotwatcher cameras and I can only assume that is because bears often move so slow, and with long black fur motion sensing cameras often don't pick up bear movement. Having a plot-watcher set to regular interval pictures would catch many bears that motion sensing cameras won't. It's those kinds of details throughout an operation that make a hunt one for the ages.
This bear will be more that good enough by next spring!!
This bear will be more that good enough by next spring!!
Down to 7 hours left and it's looking like BPM may be winning a hunt! Would love to see some last minute competition!! Remember, your charity gets the donation, you get the receipt and you get a bear hunt!!
I'll hit refresh when my computer hits 3 pm central time, and whoever is the highest bid at that time will be awarded the winner.
Russ & Shelley - Adrenaline Outfitters
This is the bear I was talking about in the previous post!
This is the bear I was talking about in the previous post!
How did that elk picture get in there?!?!
Im not sure Russ, but you're right on both pics....they both are "good enough" !!
Thanks Tim!
90 minutes and counting...
3 minutes left...
Going once...
90 seconds...
Going twice...
SOLD!!!
Thanks to all the bidders and especially to Bigpizzaman with a winning bid of $5000 going to The Good Fight. Tim, I'll send you a PM and we'll work out the details.
Thanks to everyone who bid or followed along. And thanks to Bowsite for allowing us to host this Auction here.
Merry Christmas everyone, be safe and be kind.
Russ & Shelley Mehling - Adrenaline Outfitters
Thanks for your kindness and generosity. Congrats on winning the bid on a great hunt. Wishing you best of success!
Merry Christmas
Thanks for doing this Russ! Pretty stand up thing to do if you ask me.
Congrats to the winner! Looking forward to hearing about the hunt.
Well done Russ and Tim. Very generous of you both.
Great bear but I hate it when they're walking toward the camera!!
Great bear but I hate it when they're walking toward the camera!!
Sorry for the late update, but I was away from the computer over the Christmas break.
I have been in contact with BPM and as usual, another generous act occurred and he will be donating the hunt he won to the P & Y Youth raffle program! Looking forward to meeting Tim in Reno next April!
Bowhunters are just great people to be associated with!
Happy New Year everyone!
Russ & Shelley Mehling - Adrenaline Outfitters Ltd.
Wow! What is that, a triple donation? Russ with the auction, BPM with the donation to The Good Fight and again donated to the Pope and Young Youth Hunt! Way to pay it forward! Awesome BPM and Russ! Excellence all the way around!
Good to see the continued generosity. Props to all!
