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Prologue: April of 1999 as a 10 year old I was invited to an archery birthday party in Winnipeg. The friend that invited me came from a hunting family, his father was an avid whitetail bowhunter. I fell in love with archery from the first arrow and returned home that day to ask my parents if they would buy me a bow. That spring or summer one day they came home with a second hand silver eagle compound and a dozen aluminum arrows. I was now target practicing daily in the yard shooting a haybale with a judo point and a paper target after a few weeks I thought I was getting good at this! By mid summer I tell mom and dad I want to bow hunt! They didn’t even know people actually bow hunted. Their response was, well we have 100 acres that has deer, black bears and an assortment of small game, they said “do your best”. I turned 11 that fall and started to hunt. Hanging stands, building brush blinds, I had no clue what I was doing but I didn’t care! My parents soon found out their friends son who is 15 years older than I, also was a bowhunter, so I now had a mentor. Jeff took me under his wing and answered my millions of questions and helped forge the bowhunter I am today. Jeff also steered me to Bowsite.com where I would lurk the forums reading away. Consumed by Bowsite and bowhunting I had created a list of a few animals I really wanted to bowhunt Mountain lion, caribou and mountain goat were what really peaked my interest. It was now 2004 and I was still yet to take my first big game animal with a bow. Jeff told me I should try bear hunting as it’s easier than whitetails, and once I got my first animal with a bow it would become much easier. so with instruction I set up a bait and stand in the back 40 and would sit every night after school watching bears eat old bread that I’d collected from subway dumpsters and beaver carcasses that were saved from my winter trapping season. Looking back at old photos I passed some really good bears not knowing any better but I think I was just consumed by watching them. On the second last day of the season I decided to shoot a bear, a young sow which I made a great 25 yard shot on. I was now hooked for life. It wasn’t long after that bear season that I added to my bucket list of animals that I wanted to bow hunt “The Polar Bear” The years ticked by and I was able to take several whitetails and mule deer and even booked a couple successful archery pronghorn hunts in South Dakota, at age 15 and 17. In 2008/09 I booked my cat hunt Utah and after a few attempts and 13 days I took a great Tom. In 2013 I started guiding full time as a career and kicked off with central Canadian barren ground caribou. I started that season with camp maintenance and as a resident of Manitoba I was able to take 2 tags of my own up. I took 2 caribou bulls in late August that year before the hunts started, I have had the pleasure of guiding for caribou every year since. In 2016 I had a friend of mine hunter host me in BC for a late season mountain goat hunt. Another incredible hunt shared with a good friend as well as my father. Day 11 I was successful in taking a nice Billy. This left my list rather empty apart from the polar bear which seemed like a long shot that would ever achieve such a hunt. The years ticked by I followed the great polar bear stories on Bowsite and spoke to dozens of hunters in camp over the years about their polar bear hunts. I had the itch real bad for the past 4 years but just want able to justify spending the money as I don’t make a lot of it as a guide outfitter. After having kids 18 months ago some things changed for me and I decided I needed to not put this on hold any longer. It was mid October I was guiding a good repeat client and friend of mine Taylor for woodland caribou and we were sharing camp with Mr Tom Foss as I do with most of my clients I had brought up my dream hunt and asked Tom of details of his bear hunt. Taylor spoke up and said to me well I’m not going to the Arctic to hunt one of those damn things unless you’re backing me up Chubb (my nickname/lastname) he said line it up let’s go. That was the push I needed. We killed a booner caribou that week and I kept thinking about what Taylor had said. Season ended early December and I started sending e mails to the guys that offer polar bear hunts even though I was already fairly certain I would book with Jo Verni as I had been recommended him several times by a few different hunters. I called up Jo in hopes to line things up for 2025 and next minute we are on the fast track program for April May 2024 2 hunters 14 days out of Hall beach. Everything gets lined up and by late March a month before our hunt there is a hiccup and we get moved to Pond Inlet. We take the change in location with a grain of salt and go with the flow. 25 days and counting now!!

Thanks for writing this up...it should be an interesting tale of the "last" (haha, I bet it isn't) bucket list hunt! You can always find another critter/hunt that you just have to experience!

Looking forward to more.

Haha Adam after 15 years of friendship you know me well!!!

Thanks for the kind words Kurt as well as the motivation sharing your bear hunt stories with me back in buff camp! Hahah I have to laugh as it’s almost like you spoke to My wife as she’s always known I was going to do this hunt it was just a question of when. Once it was booked I said well that’s it for me this is my pinnacle, she rolled her eyes and said this is just the start!!! Turns out she knows me well too!

Thanks for sharing,

Robb

Off to a great start, Tyler!

Think I might become a peanut butter and jelly smuggler geez ;)

3 dogs were released immediately and they were on that bears ass in no time! They knew the drill. Taylor, Lee and the dog team were assembled, Lee released the break and they shot off like a rocket towards the bear who had now stopped to face the 3 dogs. I grabbed my .375 h&h as an extra backup and phone for video and jumped on a snowmobile and followed. We parked about 100 yards off the bear and Taylor and Lee were already in bow range they had ridden the sleigh right into 35 yards. I approached slowly behind Taylor and lee filming the whole time. The first shot was at 27 yards with a slight quartering to angle, on impact it looked good with lots of blood sighted, Second shot appeared low and forward. The bear started to move from Right to left and now the dogs lost interest and departed the scene. It was the 3 of us and the bear. The third arrow was too far back as the bear was still moving. However it made him lay down immediately and the final arrow finished him off quickly. I think I was just as in shock as Taylor was. It was truly something words can’t describe. The guides seemed very excited too having done the hunt with the bow. After many thanks to our crew and a few moments with the bear we did the photos skinning and quartering of the beast. For me as a guide this was a highlight as I don’t see myself skinning many more polar bears in my lifetime. We loaded up and traveled a good hour or so back to Baffin Island. They picked a sheltered cove area to park up and set camp By the time we were all In the tent it was 1AM. A quick supper of Peak chicken curry and off to bed it was.

Can’t wait for the rest.

Can't wait,

Robb

This is awesome!!!!!

Congratulations Taylor! Great pictures, Tyler!

Looking forward to the rest of the story!!!

Jake yes the first photo has blood pumping out as it was a heart shot! I’m not going to post the video online unfortunately.

This is epic Bowsite!!!

Thank you!!!

Mark

Thanks Tyler

From our perspective the photos and the story are amazing.

Congrats and thank so much for sharing,

Robb

Fabulous action shots! Almost close enough to touch him!

Jeff, Good luck on the buff slapping, haha! And the snakes were only momentary terror out of a great week of hunting!

The following day we checked in the bears and provided samples of meat, fat, a tooth, some hair , liver and the baculum bone we packaged the bears and skulls up and even managed to take a bit of meat home with us along with a couple Arctic char!

Being in the Arctic getting home was far from straight forward the earliest we could get out of pond inlet was the following day but then we would have to spend 2 nights in Iqaluit. Taylor has a good friend there so we were set to crash at his place. We landed in Iqaluit and managed to jag seats on the plane going to Ottawa 45 mins later we landed in Ottawa at midnight and took our bears to a friend of Taylors who owns a resturant who let us put the bears in the walk in freezer!!! It was a laugh! Jo met us early the next morning at the resturant to collect our bears and take to a tannery in Montreal. Everything was seamless! I ended up having to stay in Ottawa for 3 nights before I could get home to Winnipeg but all in all I could t have asked for a better trip!

Cheers, Tyler

Mike

And your late season weather wasn’t too cold relative to February up there.

Bou I was shooting a newbreed blade 70lb 29 inch draw. Total arrow and broadhead weight was 540 grains widowmaker arrow and a 125 swhacker 2 blade mechanical head. Always shot bears with mech heads.

Troy they are huge bears! The one I shot is not even what I would consider to be a big bear either! Incredible animals.

Yes Kurt it was awesome getting to do 2 hunts for the price of 1. Weather was great for the most part! Zero complaints from the Manitoba guy!

Countdown is on Trevor!

Thanks again guys.

Bou I was very lucky I had that mechanical head. with the poor shot choice I took/made that big cut was what sealed the deal so quickly.

Congratulations Tyler and thanks so much for taking us along with you!!!!

Epic.

Did you have any concerns that the mechanical head could possibly freeze shut had condensation/or water somehow gotten into it?

Is there pros and cons to doing a polar bear hunt earlier or later in the season?

This hunt took place late April early May. I killed May1. Advantage to going later 24 hour daylight. Warmer weather and more stable weather. Peak rut. And still good winter hides

Great story Tyler! Well done! I'm fired up now!!

Just fantastic.

Thanks for sharing.

Have you had the skull officially scored for P&Y?