My Broken Curse

Hunting season. So it begins for a new year...archery starts September 1st-9th and rifle opens the 10th. Some are polishing up their archery skills before opening day and even more are cleaning their rifles in anticipation for 10 days later. Kyle and I are among the few that get to start our season early in hopes of beating the rush. Some come in from all over the province for archery season while many come in for rifle. Most are in hopes of scoring on an elk. Ive been hunting since 2005 and have not gotten an elk..year after year i would try my hardest and get out whenever i could. Most of the time with my 2 kids in tow. It wasn't easy and i kept wondering if maybe i was cursed. Would this be the one animal that would elude me and haunt my dreams for all my days? Or has it just been year after year of bad luck and my time will come? Either way i started my year with hope that this would be it.
The archery season came and i was ready. 

I headed out opening day, kids at the grandparents, so i had the whole day to myself to hunt. I met up with my friend James and his boy to hunt in the morning. We seen 2 cows and a calf first thing in the morning, they were pretty spooked but i figured i would try anyway. I knew where they would pop out of the trees and i already knew which cow had the calf. I set off and as i came around the treeline to the opening i was stopped dead in my tracks. There was a guy walking slowly down the treeline towards where they would pop out and i was frozen with disbelief. At first i thought maybe he didn't know i was there so i stood there contemplating what to do next. While lost in thought he stopped and turned around. Noticing me standing there he came walking over to me. It didn't take long of talking to him and the hunt was ruined for both of us and I discovered he was well aware that i was chasing them. I left the clearing fuming. That was the first time I've ever had another hunter deliberately ruin my hunt. 

The rest of my archery season go by at a fast pace. We managed to make a trip to visit and Hunt with Kyle's cousin Randy in the next valley over for a couple days. We seen lots of bulls and some were calling but nothing managed to come together for us. Out of the archery season i only missed 1 or 2 days of hunting, i didn't see elk every day but I did see some decent whitetail bucks that I was able to attempt a stalk on. 

The archery season passed and although I was feeling slightly defeated, I was looking forward to rifle season-sort of. This year rifle opener fell on a Saturday, which meant the amount of people in the bush was going to increase big time, more so then if it fell on a weekday. While archery season I can shoot any bull and below 1100m a cow as well, come rifle season its 6 point or better unless you stay below 1100m then spike is open as well. My chances were narrowed down significantly, but at the same time increased. Getting into range of a bull with my rifle would be much easier than with my bow but it was finding a 6 that was the hard part. Last year we had elk everyday of season (except in archery, we seen nothing) but none were legal. 

The day before opener, September 9th, still during archery season and Kyle was on days off. So his parents took the dogs and kids for us and we headed up the valley. The plan was to get up to where Kyle wanted to hunt for the morning of rifle opener and we would hunt our way up with our bows. On our way up we seen a nice black bear but no elk. We got up into the mountains and it was full of people ready for opening morning. Every corner we turned held a new camp, some with multiple trailers, ATVs and trucks. We did see a cow and calf moose. Kyle was frustrated. We glassed until dark and without seeing anything Kyle decided he would rather sleep in our own bed for the night. So we started the long drive home. On the way home I suggested going up to where we had our trail camera in the morning, traffic in there was pretty limited and I just had a good feeling about the area this year, even though we hadn't seen a 6 point in there. He hummed and hawed but i insisted. So in the morning, that was the plan.

We were up early even after a late night, all the gear was still in the jeep so we just had to get dressed and grab the guns then go. It was a closer drive then where we went the night before but difficult to get into with the jeep. We managed to get in with it still dark out and parked down below. The plan was to walk the 2 kms in then go sit where we could see the trail that cut through the clearing  and where the camera was set up. The wind was perfect and it was still fairly dark when we started walking up the road but light enough for me to see the rocks on the road so i didn't kick any. We got up to where the trail cuts through the clearing but it was still too dark for me to walk up it without scaring everything in the valley ( I cant see very good in low light and usually end up kicking something, tripping or falling). As we waited for it to lighten up more I scanned the clearing with my binoculars. I was really happy I had my Minox binos because they work awesome in the limelight. After about 10 minutes of glassing on and off, I found 2 elk. I quietly said Kyle there are a couple of elk on the landing, which was about 500 yards in front of us, but I cant tell if any are bulls. We stayed rooted to the spot, we were in the wide open and didn't want the elk to notice our presence. I watched them through my binos, as it lightened up a little bit more I could tell one was a bull and now Kyle could see through his binos as well. He confirmed the bottom elk was a bull but couldn't get a count on him. We watched until they disappeared around the ridge and we started hiking up to the landing- abandoning our original plan. We got up to the landing and it was finally light enough to see around us without issue, so headed up and followed the ridge. On the other side of the ridge it dropped down into a small clearing without any type of road or trail access. Just as we crested the ridge to see down into the clearing we caught them heading into the trees on the other side- we were too late.
We backed away and went to the landing and decided to go back to plan A, the wind was still good and we had time to get up there before it got too late in the morning. We went up and sat for a couple hours until the wind started to change and swirl. So we backed out. 

We decided to go into town to get some gas and a snack. We tried to decide what to do for the afternoon/evening. I suggested going back to the same area and having an afternoon nap until it was time to go again for the evening. So we did. After a late night and early morning I was tired, the jeep isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in but i still managed to get a couple hours in. Once it was time to go, we got ready and checked the wind-it was blowing all wrong. It was a huge dampener on our evening..now what to do? We took a chance and left the area for another one, we didn't want to stir the area up with our scent and I was dead set on being back in there for the morning. So we drove around, glassing trying to find something but we had no luck at all. After dark Kyle wanted to go all the way back home to sleep but I didn't want to, I wanted to go back up to where we had been that morning and sleep in there, i mean we had the tent and our sleeping gear along with the stove and mountain houses- we were set up to stay on the mountain. So much to Kyles dismay and my persistence and stubbornness- we slept on the mountain. I wanted to be the first ones in there just in-case that bull was a 6. We parked farther down then we had parked that morning and Kyle in all his grumpiness said he didn't want to have to mess around with the tent in the dark or in the morning so I suggested we sleep in the jeep, that didn't make his mood any better. I grabbed my sleeping bag and put my seat all the way back and settled in for the night. It wasn't the best night sleep, my knees disagreed with this sleeping arrangement immensely.

In the morning we didn't even bother eating, we just put our gear on and went up to where we had parked last time. Kyle was concerned we weren't going to see anything, and i was worried as well but didn't want to divert from our course. The night was a very bright night, it was like daylight- you could see everything.We were worried they would leave the clearing earlier and we would miss them again. As we hiked up to the same spot as before we stopped to glass the clearings, there was nothing. So we continued to the clearing  he had disappeared to the morning before. We came up to the ridge and with Kyle being over a foot taller than me, he could see much more than me. We didn't get to far up the ridge when Kyle grabbed my arm and said the bull was bedded in the middle of the clearing.I quickly got my rifle ready while he counted his tines. I got up to a spindly little Christmas tree and used it as a rest...it wasn't the best rest. Kyle said he is a six, take him when you are ready. It took my a few seconds to feel like I could take a good shot off that spindly thing. Once I felt a little more comfortable i squeezed my trigger on my new Browning x-bolt 300wsm. After I shot I quickly reloaded, and Kyle was already celebrating. My bullet hit him and he didn't even move, his head just dropped. I instantly started shaking so bad from the adrenaline and cold, I was in shock- I finally after all these years got my elk!! 

Kyle said he would go back the 2 kms to the jeep and bring it up to the landing and grab our packs. I stayed with my rifle ready for either a bear to come in or for the bull to jump up and run (it has happened before to people we know!). I was still shaking pretty badly and I thought I had seen his head move. So I tried my best to look through my binos and keep still to watch him. Sure enough he moved his head again! I got back behind my rifle and tried as hard as I could to stop shaking. I wasn't succeeding very well. One I felt somewhat better I tried to put another in him- and missed. After hearing my gun shot Kyle rushed a little more to get back to me, not knowing if a bear came in or my bull got up. Once he got to me I told him the bull was still alive and to please put a bullet in it to end its suffering- I tried but was shaking to badly. So he did and with that the bull expired right away. 

As we got our packs on and loaded up to hike down to retrieve him, I had a mixture of emotions. I was excited to see my bull but it was now overshadowed by this guilt and doubt. If my shot didn't kill the bull right away, but Kyles did- was it really my bull? Did I just wound him superficially? If I did, how could I claim the bull as mine when it wasn't a killing shot? Was it my fault that the bullet strayed from where I wanted it to go? Did my rifle somehow get knocked out? All these questions would be answered once I got my hands on that bull. 

I desperately needed the answers and I was trying to rush down to my elk, but Kyle wouldn't allow it- he wanted pictures of me when I lay my hands on him. I was impatient. When I finally got to him, I was in awe of his beauty and strength. My shot was a killing shot, it would have just been a longer death and for that I was racked with guilt. I was thankful that Kyle had been with me and was able to make death quicker for him, I didn't expect to have quite that strong of a reaction after shooting him. I always shake a little after I pull the trigger but never so much as to render me useless if I needed to take another shot. My only guess is after trying so hard, doubting myself, working myself up every season, excitement, disappointment...10 years of all these emotions built up, and in that moment of celebration it came out all at once.

After we got some photos, i started to field dress him but I was going to slow for Kyle and he soon took over. So I got all the bags out and the tarp out to put the meat on and held legs when he needed. Once one of the hind quarters were freed from the bulls body I put it on my pack and strapped it down. I managed to get my pack on and get up without any help, the pack didn't feel too bad (Thank you Crossfit!) and I made my way up to the ridge and dropped down to the jeep. By the time I got to the jeep, unloaded the quarter into the jeep and made my way back to Kyle he had the bull pretty well done. He was just working on the head but all the meat was separated. This round I was taking a front quarter, backstrap, tenderloin and the head as well as my rifle- it was much heavier than my first pack. Kyle, being the giant he is, decided to take both quarters, tenderloins and backstraps in one trip. Needless to say I had to help him up off the ground, but he still beat me to the jeep.

A week later I took my gun out to double check my zero. It was off by almost 3 MOA- which was exactly how far over my bullet hit from where I was aiming. I was happy it wasn't me, but confused how my gun got knocked off. It must have gotten bumped or something while it was in the jeep.

Nikita

On Edge - Spring bear hunt 2016

Bear season, my favorite time of year for many reasons. I love the spring smells, beautiful wildflowers and new babies running around the bush. And of course, you see so many bears! More than any other time of year. This year was slightly unusual as well in the fact that we have seen quite a few mountain goats while hunting for bear, and not in places you expect. Two were right on the bush road.

The season certainly wasn't a slow one for sightings. I was out a lot and only had one day where I didn't see a bear. The best day was 5 bears. The nice part was they weren't just all little guys either, I seen some really nice bears. This year I was a little more picky on what bear I wanted. I ended up hunting mainly with my rifle because it's easier when the kids are with you. We seen a couple monster bears this year, one was when I took a friend out on her first bear hunt. Unfortunately she missed him but he would have been an unreal first bear. We caught him sleeping in the middle of a cut block. The other one was a great big cinnamon bear. Really pretty bear.

We had our Minox trail camera up a few times and got some nice pictures and videos. One thing I was surprised about was only seeing one grizzly bear...and not how we wanted. And that brings us to my bear hunt. 

We were exploring a new area we hadn't been in before. It looked promising and we did see bears but nothing that was really what I wanted. They were all little 4 foot guys except one, he was the biggest we had seen, not a big body on him but he certainly had a melon. It was deceiving. After I let him walk I started to second guess my decision. But it would turn out to be short lived.

After we seen this guy it was basically the end of the road so we thought we would turn around and go back to our trusty spot before it got dark. As we were heading out I was paying attention out my window trying to catch a glimpse of any possible bears when Kyle goes, "Oh there's another one! He looks like a decent bear." So we drove past quite a ways and parked. We jumped out with the guns and hiked back up the road to where he had seen him. I guess the bear had been just about to disappear over the ridge when he had seen him. So we hiked up, hoping we could catch up to him. The ridge he was on opened up to a clear cut and he was already across it by the time we seen him (about 500 yards away from the ridge). He was hanging out near the treeline with a little sow (pic above of sow). They were playing and wrestling around which gave me the opportunity to sneak in closer and get a good rest on a broken tree. By the time I had crawled on my hands and knees and got set, they were only 200 yards away and they had finished their play time and were eating. I made sure Kyle was ready with the camera and settled in to my gun. I touched off the trigger and it was a perfect shot, he jumped then started to run a little to the left and down the hill towards us a bit before he went down. I would say he went no farther then 20yards from where I shot him. The little sow jumped and headed for the treeline but just stayed there. She started feeding again and then noticed we were there, so just stayed put and watched us. I didn't realize until I stood up that I was laying at the edge of a deactivated road and the landing was just to my right.We didn't know where the road came off from the main road. So Kyle said he would go back to the truck and see if he could find it. I stayed and filmed the little sow and waited. It wasn't 10 minutes after Kyle left me that the yelling started. I shut off the camera and got my rifle loaded and ready. The commotion caught the sows attention too and she wasn't sticking around. Then came the rifle shot and more yelling. I knew what it was but I couldn't see very far down to where the road was and where Kyle had gone. After the ridge it drops steep back down to the road so I couldn't see anything. I didnt know where the Grizzly would have gone or where it had come from- I was blind. So I stood my ground with my rifle ready. Kyle then yelled up to me from the ridge that a grizzly had come running in to my gun shot. Kyle had gotten to the ridge and looked down towards the road when he seen it come running out of the bush and on to the road towards us. He had yelled at it and made it stop on the road, but it wasn't willing to leave so he put a shot into the road just in front of the bear which made it turn and leave. But I needed to be on full guard just encase he decided to circle around and try again while Kyle ran up the road to get the truck. I was starting to get anxious when I watched the truck leave one way then come back and go the other way. He was having troubles finding the road up to me, being deactivated with some pretty deep water bars the road hadn't been used so it was grown in and hard to find. He eventually found it and made it up to me, we dragged my bear down to the road because we felt safer skinning it and quartering it up beside the truck. The whole time we were on full alert until we were safely driving away. 

I have heard of grizzlies coming into rifle shots during elk season, but I have never heard of one coming in during the spring. We have had many run ins with them while goat hunting as well, so far we have gotten lucky with no one injured and no injured bears.






Here are some more photos of bears we seen during the Spring:

 The very first bear we seen on the first day

Cute little fuzzball

He did not care that we were watching him at all.

This one was a lot more jumpy

And im pretty sure this one wins the ugliest Bear award...someone didn't winter well

Nikita