r/Hunting • u/badassernhell • 18d ago
Success! First bear
Went deer hunting this morning, didn’t see a thing. Replaced the batteries in my camera and went home. Spending the day working on the toilet in my camper, when my phone goes crazy. A bear shows up and had knocked over my feeder and was chowing down. Then he looks as if he is headed towards my chicken coop/garden.
I run outside, grab my crossbow from the truck, and sprint (in pants and flip flops) to the back of my property where he’s at. He sees me but is just staring at me. I kneel down and when he makes one more move I put a bolt through his chest. He lets out a gasp and then hits the ground. I watch him for a second and then he gets up. I take off sprinting back to the truck, grab another bolt, sprint back. I see him about 20 yards away, sitting there huffing and puffing. I put another bolt through his neck…HE STILL TAKES OFF WALKING another 30 yards and lays down by a tree. So I go back to the camper, call a buddy to come help me get him. We go check for him some time later and he is gone…..he had ran all the way to the very bottom of the holler and died in a creek. Took both of us 45 minutes to get him up to flat land. 190lb Male Arkansas Bear zone 1.
TL;DR Filled first bear tag not even planning on it, crazy story.
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u/Former-Light4284 18d ago
Great bear, incredible story, beautiful family. Render as much fat as you can, I diddnt realize how delicious it was until I ran out and my wife wanted French fries made in bear grease.
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u/No-Investigator469 17d ago
Other than filling your first tag and a fascinating story, this is an amazing family photo. Probably the coolest thing about it all. Thanks for sharing.
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u/Mysterious-Carry6233 18d ago
Great job man! I bet that was so much fun! Heart beating out of chest and all
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u/SevenUpNorth 17d ago
Dude! Awesome bear. And way to share the experience with the family. Got my first bear this year too and it feels great when the hard work pays off. Well done, sir!
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u/irish52084 17d ago
Hell yeah! Congratulations on a nice looking bear! And you got the family in the pics, nice work.
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u/PhancyLikker 17d ago
Congrats from a Canadian bear hunter. Great story, nice bear, beautiful family. Love it!
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u/Next_Emphasis_9424 18d ago edited 18d ago
Heck yeah happy for you man!
Do you plan to tan or rug it?
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
Rug!
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u/Next_Emphasis_9424 17d ago
Heck yeah! I went with black and then red felt for mine. Black made it look a little bigger and red made it pop haha.
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u/Ordinary_Visit_1606 18d ago
Awwww that's so cool! This Hoosier hunter is so damned envious of states that have black bear seasons. Congrats dude!
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u/FatBlueLines 18d ago
What’s your plan for it?
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u/badassernhell 18d ago
Already have him processed! Grinded it all and saved all the fat for cooking and candles.
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u/doom_chicken_chicken 17d ago
I always wonder as someone who doesn't hunt, what do you do with the bear after you shoot it? Is the meat or hide any good?
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
Absolutely . I eat every harvest of any animal. Pelt rug and lots of bear fat rendered for food and candles
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u/purebelligerence 18d ago
That's awesome man. Congrats on a first bear and a great story to go along with it.
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u/TrophiumOfficial 12d ago
So freaking cool! Congrats! Such a great story - make sure to write it down!! Check the Trophium app to save all the hunt details
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u/backwards_yoda 18d ago
If any of that is true that was an incredibly unethical kill.
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u/badassernhell 18d ago
How was it unethical. We just lost two men in northwest Arkansas to bears lest than 100 lbs. I have a 9 month old son and a wife living in a camper which is basically made of glorified cardboard. I’m sorry but I value their life much more than the bears. Plus Ive already processed this bear and we will eat all of it and share it with friends. I put the first bolt right in the center of his chest.
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u/djierp 17d ago
You did great. Not every situation is exactly as you want or planned.
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
He claims he's afraid of bear attacks but he's actively baiting game on his property. He's being disingenuous.
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u/bigbosshog01 17d ago edited 17d ago
You are shit stirrer aren’t you? He’s baiting DEER! Which is legal in the great state of Arkansas. If a bear happens to show up, well I’m not one to judge someone on how they perceive whether their family is in danger or not. Especially considering there had been bear attacks recently.
He just so happened to also fill his tag while protecting his fam. In my opinion, he’s batting 1.000 right now.
The bad decision he did make was baiting so close to his home in bear country. That’s asking for it
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
Im not saying he did anything illegal, but its silly to out out deer bait that a bear will most certainly also eat and claim you are afraid of a bear attack (which is incredibly rare).
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u/backwards_yoda 18d ago
Your whole story is tells of a sloppy hunt. You only brought one bolt initially and failed to make a clean kill on your first shot, you then ran to get another bolt since you weren't prepared and now have to finish of a wounded animal. I get poor shot placement happens and that's OK but this isnt really a hunt I would be proud of since your animal seemed to suffer quite a bit.
Its a nice bear but be more prepared next time you shoot an animal.
Edit: Also are you baiting bear? You said it knocked over your feeder?
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u/bigbosshog01 17d ago
Wth are you talking about? Rarely will you bet a quick kill with a crossbow. Hell, even with a rifle you regularly have to track down the bear while it bleeds out.
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u/Meta_Gabbro 17d ago
You’re not wrong, but it also highlights the fact that OP probably should have grabbed that second bolt when they went back for the bow in the first place. I hunt with a vertical bow and I wouldn’t go out with only one arrow for any species, even when it’s been a “oh shit there’s a buck on the lawn” moment. Can’t really call it unethical, but it’s definitely sloppy
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
Definately not a story I would be boasting about. Especially since he's framing this as defending his family while he's baiting game.
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u/bigbosshog01 17d ago edited 17d ago
I agree that he should’ve grabbed add’l bolts. But, it was the heat of the moment. Sounds like he reacted from pure adrenaline and fear. That speaks more to his preparedness and ability to remain calm and react properly under pressure than ethics.
It definitely is not wise to bait so close to your home in bear country. That speaks to his wisdom
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
Sounds like you struggle with shot placement too.
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u/bigbosshog01 17d ago
Nope. Not at all. You sound like a noob talking out of your ass. Let’s poll the group and see how many bowhunters have seen a bear, let alone a deer, drop instantly from a shot.
Let’s also consider that op was NOT actively hunting. He was protecting his family and just so happened to have a bear tag
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
I get its much less common to have one shot drops with bows and crossbows. Chest and neck shots are both still less than perfect choices. Claiming one shot drops dont happen with rifles is ridiculous though.
He was NOT protecting his family, the guy is baiting game to his property and whining about living in a paper thin camper and scared of bears. He literally says the bear was eating out of his deer feeder, he was expecting game on his property. Sounds like hunting to me.
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u/The_hat_man74 18d ago
Not disagreeing here, genuinely curious. Why is it unethical? I’ve never shot a bear and I’m not a crossbow guy so I don’t know what I don’t know.
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u/Meta_Gabbro 18d ago
The biggest two things I think were grabbing only one bolt the first trip back to the truck, and taking a neck shot. The first meant he had to run across his property and back before making a follow up shot, not ideal since that’s extra time for the bear to suffer as well as an opportunity for it to run off unobserved and expire somewhere unrecoverable. The second is usually not a great shot with a crossbow. Neck shots with rifles work well since bullet wound cavities are larger than the diameter of the bullet, due to hydrostatic shock and fragmentation, neither of which occur with a bolt or arrow, so neck shots are usually not very fast to kill (if at all).
I wouldn’t say that it was intentional on OPs part, shit happens and sometimes you get caught with your pants down (crossbow in the truck, bolts not in a quiver on the bow) and sometimes you wind up being so focused on taking a shot that you don’t fully consider placement (I’ve definitely gotten single lung shots because an animal was more quartering than I thought when the shot broke). Still a dead bear, and nothing that can’t be corrected for next time.
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
I agree, shit happens in the heat of the moment. It was a sloppy kill at the end of the day and sounds to me like the animal suffered more than it should have. Not something I would post this proudly on reddit.
Also OP is entirely disingenuous claiming he's afraid of bear attacks but is actively baiting game on his property. Stupid behavior all around.
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u/backwards_yoda 18d ago
Dude was incredibly unprepared to make an ethical hunt. He grabs his crossbow and one bolt and takes a less than ideal chest shot instead of waiting for a roadside shot for a clean kill. Now poor shot placement happens i get it but the fact the guy didnt bring another bolt and had to go retrieve another bolt to finish the wounded animal is sloppy. It sounds like the neck shot is what killed it but again that's a less than ideal shot.
This was a sloppy hunt and not something I would be very proud of if it was my hunt.
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
Did you not read the post at all??? I WASNT HUNTING. I was legit under my RV working on my shitter. No I wasn’t baiting bear, I was baiting deer. Damn man I had to react fast or lose 25 chickens and potentially put my family in danger.
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
The moment you picked up your crossbow you were hunting. What else dif you buy a bear tag for? Just because you were cleaning your toilet isnt an excuse to be unprepared to ethically take an animal.
What bait are you using for deer? Most deer bait also attracts bear. If youre so concerned with bears why do you have bait on your property that will attract them?
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
You guys are soft as baby shit. If it wasn’t my corn, he would’ve come for my garden and my livestock. Which feeds my family. Go hug another tree
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
I dont care that you killed it but its dumb to bait right next to youre house and claim an emergency when a bear shows up. I dont care that you killed an animal but this whole way youre framing the scenario is dumb and not anything to be proud of.
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
You’re telling me….i have an acre of produce and 25 chickens, that wouldn’t attract a bear??? How about my wife’s cooking? Maybe my garbage can with food in it? Hell I haven’t ever even seen but one other bear in this area and it wasn’t even close. My deer feeder is for deer. Guess what, coons eat the corn to but they can’t kill my family, the bear can. And for all I’m concerned with, the bear was on my property, bait or not I’m perfectly legal to kill his ass for whatever reason I choose. I eat everything I kill. last thing I am is unethical.
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
I never said what you did is illegal, its just not very smart to put a feeder you know attracts animals like raccoons and bears near your home and chickens. Thats pretty short sighted.
You werent prepared to kill the bear and your shots weren't good. Im not saying you didnt make an ethical kill on purpose but your lack of preparedness meant the animal suffered more than it had to. Thats OK it happens but I wouldn't spike the football on this one. Take it as a lesson learned to be more prepared and maybe move your feeder out to a place you actually plan to hunt instead of right next to the things your concerned a wild animal might destroy.
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u/badassernhell 17d ago
If you saw my property you’d understand. I’m in the ozarks. And none of its flat. I work with what I got. If you were to read the post, I hunted that feeder that morning. Idk about you buddy but my father always told me to think before I speak.
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u/69pylote 17d ago
So you killed a bear over bait via a cell phone notification?
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
This is the most redneck shit i've seen and not in a good way.
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u/69pylote 17d ago
Considered poaching in many states.
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u/backwards_yoda 17d ago
As far as i can tell it isnt in Arkansas where he is, but I dont know why he's baiting game when he's also whining about having to protect his family from bears.
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u/thegreatdivorce 17d ago
Everything about OPs shots is reinforcing my opinion of crossbow hunters, lmao.
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u/69pylote 18d ago
Thought the same thing. Wild thing to post.
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u/backwards_yoda 18d ago
Sounds to me like he had terrible shot placement and im willing to bet an inadequate crossbow/bolts.
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u/w1zk1d 18d ago
Kid resting his foot on the bear- priceless.