SW Ontario Bear Hunt Date Question - Bear Hunting - Bear Hunting

Well, we are back from our hunt. What an experience! This was a time of many firsts…..first time ever seeing a wild bear…..first time hunting in Canada….and first time bear hunting. I am officially hooked! We arrived to camp to find they were 13/13 this season, and expectations were high. Bears were hitting all baits at all hours. My brother Doug planned on hunting archery and me with a slug. The outfitter knew we wanted to video the hunts, so they had set up 2 ground blinds and some double tree stands a few days prior. They had a number of good bears coming into one ground blind and a single, huge bear into the other blind. We went with the odds, and decided to hunt the blind with multiple bears on the bait. We set up the next morning; to our amazement we were located 9 yards from the bait. As we questioned our own sanity, the outfitter left with a wink, told us to enjoy the experience, and that he wished he had remembered to acquire the names of our next of kin. Adrenalin was flowing at an all-time high, as we wondered what the he&& we got ourselves into. After jumping at the sound of every squirrel, gray jay, and raven, we finally settled down afer a few hours. 6 hours into the hunt, I hear my brother whisper “here we go – here we go – here we go”. His eyes as large as hubcaps said it all, especially when he was looking out the side blind window (next to me). I did not was to move; as I was in my best freeze-frame, Doug whispered “don’t move, the bear is 4 yards away.” That’s was all it took to wish that I had packed adult Depends and to wonder if the bear could hear my heartbeat. When the bear came into view, it was obvious he was nervous about the blind. Doug was very patient before shooting, and though his shot was a little higher and further back than what he intented, the sow was found expired 60 yard from the bait. She weighed in at 240 lbs and according to the outfitter, she was very old, as her milk tooth (?) had been worn down to nothing. Day 1 was a huge success; we had our bear and the hunt on video. That lead to day 2; coming off our first bear kill we were excited to get back at it. We went to the other ground blind (where there was only one bear coming in, but he was a big one). The plan was to see if the bait had been hit; if not we were off to a double tree stand where multiple bears had been hitting the bait. An additional bonus to the big bear location was that it was only a few miles from camp (close to where Doug shot his bear), and an easy wheeler drive back to camp. Being raised a South Dakota flat-lander, any area with trees and/or curves automatically turns me into a directional-idiot. The other option was 18 miles out….which the thought of being left there with only the wheeler, my slug gun and the bears was cause for heartburn. As luck would have it, the bait had not been hit…..time to settle in for a long haul from gravel to logging trails to wheeler trails to the end of the earth. We arrived to find the bait empty and a great tree stand set up for recording the hunt. Two hours later, a dandy bear appeared out of nowhere. (Do they always just materialize out of thin air? And how does soemthing that big not make any noise when it walks?). This bear was very nervous; I remained frozen with my gun accross my thigh. When he finally exposed himself and walked to the bait, he was walking directly toward me….I could not move….or I would be busted. Once at rhe bait, he turned, and went up a trail. At this point I was not too concerned, as the outfitter had instructed us not to take the shot too early and to wait until the bears were on the bait and presenting a broadside shot. We should expect them to be a little nervous coming into the bait, and to be patient, as eventually they would get comfortable and come in to feed. Experiencing that same behavior with Doug’s bear, we were no worried. The bear disappearing up the trail allowed me to bring the gun up to prepare for my shot. As if on cue, the bear came back to the bait. For a few seconds, I had the bear in my sites with a great shot opportunity….but the bear was not in the bait so I waited….and the bear turned and walked away….never to be seen again except on video. The following day, a cold front hit with winds and torrential rains. Though the following (and remaining) 3 days of our hunt were very nice weather-wise, the bear behavior changed dramatically. Fewer bears were hitting the baits and they had begin to go nocturnal. I was not going to get my bear this year…but am thrilled to have had the opportunity to have been on this hunt and see my brother shoot his bear. When I first planned on bear hunting, I considered it as something on my bucket list….do it once and move on. Fat chance…..I am hooked. I have already reserved my spot for next year, and will be going much earlier in the season to significantly increase my odds of success.

First link is Doug’s bear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fhX3JwKh-c

The second link is footage of the bear that came into my bait.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qypbm7oSp1w