First off thanks for all the kind words from the bragging board! This has been a long journey this season with a lot of hope and despair. Being in Colorado all summer I wasn't able to do proper scouting ahead of time, so I was counting on an aquaintance of mine to help me get things started for when I returned. After trying to reach him a few times as the season grew closer, I gave up and knew I would be one my own over a week behind the baiting season in a zone that I had never been in before... I knew I had my work ahead of me.

To add to that, when shooting my FA 83 with my hunting loads (my primary hunting gun) before the season, the reticle in my scope broke! So I then shot my SBHH in 45 colt a few times with the open sights and was satisfied.

Despite all of this, I quickly scouted an area in the new zone I would be hunting in and found an area that looked promising, and started baiting. Baiting for nearly a week without any solid hits, I spoke to a local Conservation officer who said hunters in the area were getting baits hit regularly and hard because the natural foods in the woods were not prevelant because of the dry year. Great I thought. I knew I was doing the right thing though and kept on.

Once I started getting hit, it opened up the flood gates, and by final tally I believe I had about 8 different bears coming in (confirmed via trail-cam). When I sat in the stand last night I only knew of a sow and cubs that were coming in because they ripped my camera off my tree. I sat there on the stand waiting for any action when i caught a glimpse of a bear about 50 yards through the timber circling me. I adjusted my seating when he was behind the brush but then it looked like he took off running. I was thinking "there is no way he saw me... or did he? Maybe he caught my wind? but the wind is perfect! what the heck!"

Then I heard crunching in the leaves next to my stand and anticipation filled my mind, but when that skunk showed himself, it quickly left again. While the skunk was milling around the bait, I heard a few more crunches in the leaves behind me where the bears had blazed a trail. I sat deadly still when I caught a black figure out of the corner of my eye. Without moving a muscle i waited for the black figure to approach the bait. After a quick survey of the area, the bear made his way into the bait sight "like he owned it". My blackhawk at the ready, I surveyed the bear as it helped itself and rolled in the bait, no cubs and I thought "that sure looks like a good bear to me". The bear stopped rolling for a minute and presented a perfect broadside shot standing at the bait so I raised my gun and lined the sights up on his vital area and the mighty 45 Colt barked in the stilleness that only hunters know at dusk in the timber. The bear hunched at the shot and took off running with my revolver barrel following him as he ran waiting for a follow up shot, but there was no need, he crashed down not 20 yards from the bait, gave his final death bellow and was mine forever. Long live the beast! Elated, I called my girlfriend and told her i finally got one. She drove out to the woods to help me take pictures and drag him out (I know, that's one hell of a women!) I thanked God for that bear and completed the work that needed to be done.

After all the despair leading up to the season, it ended quickly with a 200lb boar (estimated weight). The 260 gr Nosler Partition handload hit home right through both lungs, and left a "healthy" entrance and exit hole.

oops, the pictures didn't work

BB,

Great story and congrats. I took a look at the pictures on the bragging board, looks like a nice bear. Pretty jet black hide.

Well done,

Craig

Enjoyed the story. Thanks for sharing. If all goes well, I'll be leaving out for my New Mexico bear hunt on the 20th. It'll be a new area for me so it's heartening to know you were successful your first time in a new area.

I fixed that.

Excellent hunt! Great bear and congratulations!

Congrats on a real nice bear. Nice job!

Thank you fellas! it was a fun ride!

Gregg, thanks for fixing that for me!, I had to get going and didn't have time to look into it

Russell, good luck in New Mexico! hope to see you post some pictures up here...

Great trophy, and great shooting!! Congratulations, you've done great!

Congrats. Nothing like a nice bear to get you reved up for the rest of the year.

Congratulations bbw! Great writeup and great bear, awesome job!

YAAA!!!!!!!!



Nice work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1



That is one of my dream hunts BTW!!



Duane

Very cool. Congrats on a pretty bear. reflex264

Outstanding congratulations.

Beautiful.....and with a 45 Colt no less...................

Great job and a beautiful bear. Congrats.

Thanks for the good words everybody!

it is a lot of fun and very rewarding doing all of the work scouting and running my own baits instead of being guided. Truly blessed to get this guy, and thankful for making a great shot.

Duane, I hope you get to live that dream some day, bear hunting is awesome!


-Jeff

BBW,

Congratulations! Great work!

What a fantastic tophy. The best part is that you were succesful despite the adversities. That makes the success sweeter.

Beautiful bear! Congrats! I hate your reticle broke on your primary gun, but that's a cool kill with the iron sighted bisley!

Congrats! I'm with TCTex, someday I'll get a chance.

Nice bear! Congrats!

KRal,
That was a bummer, i was looking forward to using the 454 on a bear, but the scope should be back soon and hopefully good to go.

Thanks everybody, I wish all of you good luck and safe hunting on your adventures, and I hope to see some more pictures up here!

now I switch gears to whitetail and hopefully wolf!

Awesome Job on the Bear! and with the Iron Sites and the .45 Colt sweet...Great Shooting...Congrats Again!

BB, I have full intentions of killing a Maine black bear next fall with my FA's M97 in 45 colt. If I, or my guide, gets drawn for moose; I'll be after one those also, but with the 475 linebaugh.

KRal, that sounds awesome! I have been considering starting to apply for a Maine moose myself.

As far as the bear goes, that 260 partition did an awesome job, he was spraying blood, and didn't run 20yards from where I hit him... complete pass through and the entrance and exit were substantial to say the least.
I hope you get drawn for moose, and from what I here they have a good number of black bears over there too so I hope you'll have some luck!

Congrats on a fine trophy..Looks like it has a great pelt

congrats bbw,and it does look like a fine hide

That's great man! Congratulations. You will be enjoying those memories for a long time. Definitely hope to do that one day myself.

Nice bear! Looks like all ended well. Congratulations.
Steve

Loved the story! Congrats on the bear

Congrats. Thanks for sharing the story, I really enjoyed reading it. I have never hunted Black Bear but that one sure looks nice to me. Hopefully some day I too will get to hunt Black Bear in Northern Minnesota. A good friend of mine is a Conservation Officer up at Ely and has said I need to come up there.

Congrats once again on what is a great looking Black Bear.

Larry

thanks everybody for the congrats!

Larry, I lived in Ely while going to college up there, it is an awesome place! and literally the end of the road before you hit the BWCAW and Canada. Make it up there sometime, you will not be disappointed!

My buddy was a conservation officer here where I live for 10 years and has been gone and up at Ely now for 12 years. Yes I do need to make it up there one of these days.

Larry

Nice hunt and story. Great shooting as well. Those hunts with the adversity are trying sometimes but all the sweeter when ya connect. Comgrats

great bear man and story.....

thank you gentlemen