The Bear chronicles pt 2 finale.............

[Wayne in BC]

Back in Camp all was well and Jody was glad to see us he quickly and proudly showed John's son Randy what his "guard duty" was about. After a quick recount of the mornings excitement and a round of laughs at my expense, all us guys were of the same opinion, there was a sad chore to be dealt with.

John mentioned that even though they had been coming in early, there had been some activity back a few miles nearer to the road and firing any shots on a Sunday could possibly lead to nosy weekend fishermen making a report. We had not had any incidents with the government flunkies, didn't want to start one for sure. Now and again they would buzz by in a helicopter just to remind us that they knew our location, but because of the big country and the fact that nobody but a couple other guides had ever found the camp, well, that was a factor also.
How do we proceed from here? We also had the kids there and did not want to seem callous about the nasty chore that now faced us.

I kept the dog away and we backed off a ways but now the cub would not come down the tree. One more risky shot on a Sunday? Nope not gonna go there.
hey which one of you kids wanna climb up and shake that critter loose? I seem to remember Jody losing his new found bravado but Randy went up the tree.......and the damn bear hopped to the next and smaller one so.......that tree got shook a bunch with no luck
Finally we all saw the futility, the shot was fired and evidence buried. Yah we hated it but were obligated. The boys were sad but understood as country kids do. Jody got a bearclaw for a keepsake, which at age 37 he still has.
We never had any problem so the shots had not been noticed or maybe ignored. Although quite remote, the Cutthroat trout fishing in that little river was kinda famous and in summer some fishermen would walk many miles up it.

This the camp where the incident happened, the blue tarp indicates that i finally ran out of silicone and those $*%$&*# bears were not done with us yet! Note the spotting scope on the stump, there are open mountain sides right above. That pic was probably taken in the early 80's and that same old Bushnell spotting scope, about a 1975 model, is still being used as last month i loaned it to John to spot his targets in Pistol competition.

 

[rmptr]

Good story Wayne,

I've seen a number of instances where politically driven gubment conservation programs just did not function well.
An awkward situation you had to deal with. I can't stand to see a starving, sick, or mistreated animal. It's not right.
rmptr

 

[Wayne in BC]

there were a few that we respected but not the ones who were "company men". The local ones did not push the envelope too much cause they had to live there

 

[Ron J]

n/t

 

[Dan-MO]

You sure write a great story. I bet with your past experiences you got a thousand more,heck I bet at least a few of them could be posted here! Thanks for a great read!

 

[George-CT]

I enjoyed camping. We would stay on Pine Island all summer. Some of the best times of my life spent there in a wall tent and living for the most part off the ocean. Fish, clams, lobsters and barter with the weekend picnic crowd on the weekends for regular food. 50 rock crabs would get you a watermellon, or sea clams for fluke fishing would get you 6 hot dogs and rolls. We kept and eye on their island camps and they took good care of us for fishing bait for the weekends.

The young bear in that condition and no mother you did it a favor. Some other prey animal would come and take it out anyhow and it might not be a quick kill or it may have starved to death. No one enjoys that stuff, its just the right thing for the right reasons.

Funny, I had a few girlfriends that did not want to kill lobsters...Tears and the whole bit. Then once you stuffed a hotdog roll will of lobster tails and butter, they seemed to able to adjust.

Much like yours, our fish cops and or DEP people can be a real pain in the butt. Common sense seems to leave the body with them when they got that badge on and gun on their hip. I was bad for fishing in the reservoir here. It was great bass and pike fishing without having to go up to Maine. The fine was 25 bucks for getting caught, so it seemed like a deal to me back then. Now its $250 so that takes the incentive out of it.

I've been looking a new spotting scopes myself. Mine is very old and was not the good to start with. Now I want one to show me 22 holes at 100 yards. Some of them now get pretty pricey. I'm shopping daily on EBAY for one.

I sure like that picture of your camp. Thats looks like a very nice way to make a living. I'm sure a lot of x factors enter into it, but if your doing what you enjoy, the work part of it seems to disapear.

Thanks for story.

Geo

 

[Arkie John]

Nature can seem cruel but only when we judge by OUR standards. Geesshh!

It is not called the great outdoors for nothing. Thanks so much for another great story. Who needs Outdoor LIfe??

aj

 

[Wayne in BC]

wonderful cause i tend to forget the bad stuff like fencing, feeding horses, fixing equipment, etc
I enjoy sharing them with all of you and thank you!

 

[Wayne in BC]

understand how the natural world works otherwise i would not dare to post true stories. My friend is able to see the bullet holes at 100 yds with that old Bushnell with the 20x eyepiece, it also has a 32 x but is seldom used.
I bet if you go to Walmart or a sporting goods store you could test one through the window, that is what i did many years ago and i bought the cheaper one

 

[Wayne in BC]

n/t

 

[Wayne in BC]

thought long and hard about some stories and did not tell them because they would be watered down and boring
Good insight bud, i suspect you are their also

 

[david(tx)]

guess you miss that from time to time.

 

[Royal]

there was not much in the way of options it seems. You have some great memories buddy.

 

[Larry (IL)]

n/t

 

[Micheal_R]

I cheated yesterday and went out arrowheading.. did not find anything but getting out was great though!!!

Fair winds

Mikie

 

[Wayne in BC]

n/t

 

[bdahunter]

Sad about the cub and sow but what else could be done. Too often problem bears are relocated and it just moves a problem. I don't kill needlessly but sometimes commonsense has to prevail and the real menaces should be put down, not moved. The responsibility certainly shouldn't be downloaded onto a guy trying to camp in the woods. Good thing the rifle didn't jam!

Cheers,

BDA

 

[Wayne in BC]

it was not a Grizzly! That round misfired because there was no powder in it! ONE out of 40 rounds i had loaded the previous week. That was the only screw up i had in 30 years of reloading, what are the odds?

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

Great material written by a great writer ! You had to be a bit worried when that rifle wouldn't fire though ? Cripes man......I suppose there's no choice but to keep on trying. An interesting life, to say the least.

 

[Wayne in BC]

n/t