Killed a Beautiful Bear Today!

[Etter1]

#3773

I killed a 200# dry sow today in North Georgia. She was up in a red oak when I found her on a ridge top at 3600 feet. I watched her for about 30 minutes when she decided to climb down. The tree shark entered just in front of her hind quarters and passed all the way through her body cavity and exited through her sternum bone. I mean, THE BONE!

She ran about 80 yards straight down the steepest mountain that can be climbed without rope and death moaned once. As bears are want to do, she didn’t bleed a drop between where I shot her and where she died.

She has very yellow and broken teeth and I assume that she’s over eight years old. I felt privelaged to get to watch her and take her life and I doubt I’ll be wanting to kill another bear for quite a while. They are too special to me to kill annually like deer and turkeys. Next year I’ll likely scout all summer again for my friends and hopefully just watch one of them kill one.

It took me four hours to get her skinned, butchered, and off the mountain. It was very special. When I tried to figure it out in my head, I calculated that it took me over 100 miles of scouting and hunting to kill this bear.

Pictures to follow. By the way, 49 degrees at 3600′ this morning at daybreak.

[Doc Nock]

#23400

Look at you! Ole Dan’l Boone! Congratulations!

Bear meat can be some of the finest table fare going!

[archer38]

#23420

Best liver I’ve ever had is bear liver ! Congrats !!

[Etter1]

#23429

Terrible early morning cell phone pic but here’s one.

This bear is easily over 200. Just weighed the hide and head and it was 46lbs. Can’t wait to hear the exact age. Ga dnr pulls a tooth for cementum annuli.

Bow is a black widow PAII. It’s 57 pounds at 29 inches but I only pull it to 26. Arrows are 28 inch carbon blems with 100 grain inserts and 200 grain tree sharks.

She’ll make a beautiful hide and some great table fare.

[1shot]

#23449

NICE!!! Way to get it done…

[mhay]

#23455

congratulations Etter ,,,,,,,,,heck of job! ,,,heck of a trophy

[Jason Wesbrock]

#23470

Congrats on a fine bear!

[jason samkowiak]

#23475

Congrats on a beautiful bear!

[coastalbendbows]

#23507

thats a awesome harvest bud. Congrats.

[William Warren]

#23571

Congratulations on your bear!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#23626

Well done!!

[Rupe]

#23640

Congrates! I love bears, I love to call them in. Yet to take one with a bow, but I sure would like too!

Great pic.

Rupe

[Etter1]

#24442

One more pic

[Etter1]

#24531

Also, here is a good video of a sow and two cubs up a tree. I stalked up on them on the opener and saw that she was a small sow with two tiny cubs. Webmother put it together for me. Thanks again.

I watched them for ten minutes or so before the little sow finally spotted me. You can hear her huff and then she ditched her two little ones and hauled butt. The cute little suckers came down just moments later.

[Ptaylor]

#24693

Hey that’s great man! Sounds like a good workout back up the hill too! Awesome.

[mhay]

#25199

not only is that a good looking bear , but that’s a fine lookin’ bow too

[Bunyan Morris]

#25265

Sean, congratulations again on a well deserved black bear kill. With the amount of sweat, anxiety, shoe leather, and studying that you have put into this hunt, nobody in our group of traditional bow hunting friends deserves that kill more than you.

[BuckyT]

#26246

Congrats again bro! As broadhead stated, you deserved that bear!! You worked hard for her, and I’m envious of your dedication and skill as a hunter.

Looking forward to enjoying your harvest by the campfire this weekend! The picture of the backstraps looked delicious!

[David Fudala]

#26754

Way too go and congrats on a fine harvest! Bears are my favorite! Can’t wait to draw another tag for those Black Beauties! Enjoy that fine table fare!

[James Harvey]

#29732

Well done Etter! I enjoyed reading about all your pre-season stomping around, it’s great to see it pay off.

[David Coulter]

#29819

Nice story, very nice bear. Congrats. dwc

[Ben M.]

#29878

I want in on this too. Well done, man.

[Ptaylor]

#33317

Hey Etter, here’s one that let me kill him yesterday. I say let me, cause he walked right into me and would’ve literally bumped into me if I hadn’t hissed at 5 yards, which turned him broadside and allowed me the shot!

He’s my first bear with traditional gear. Spotted him feeding on fallen acorns, started to stalk him, when I decided that I’ve ruined to many opportunities by rushing in to things, so I waited next to an oak trunk, and that’s when he walked, feeding, up the ridge to me.

preston

[coldpak]

#33392

Nice job guys!! My favorite animal to hunt.

Congrats

[Etter1]

#33945

Thats a beast! Congratulations. Love the color and those huge paws!

[mhay]

#33995

Outstanding , Taylor. Admirable patience,,,,admirable trophy. Congratulations.

[tailfeather]

#35162

Great bears, gentlemen!

[Etter1]

#37097

Made bear burgers for some people without telling them what they were. They were raving about the burgers and two said they were the best they had ever had.

[Doc Nock]

#37110

I had a spring bear roast when living in MT…it was grey like pork and tender as it comes…just out of spring hibernation and still very tender, feeding on grass when shot.

More recently, I had some much darker bear meat that I couldn’t tell from deer by looks.

Bear, if NOT having fed on carrion, is the best or some of the best meat out there.

Like hogs, can carry trichinosis, but aside from cookin it well, I wish bear hunting was more do-able here in PA… long, long drive to where a few live…but most never see any.

I’ve seen one Ma with adult cubs 2 x in my life and those cubs once in bow season…in all my years in PA woods, 3 sighting!

[Etter1]

#38340

Come on down. We’re covered with them here in the mtns. I’ve personally seen 29 since july 1. A buddy of mine hunted my spot one afternoon in october and saw 12 in one afternoon.

[David Coulter]

#38358

That is amazing. We have plenty of bear in the Poconos, but you never see them like that!

[Doc Nock]

#38363

That is wonderful Etters1. Bears are magnificent critters! I admire them so much likely because I’ve seen so few.

Like DWC said, up where he lives in the Pocono area, mountains and such, but what we hear down this way is much of that land is posted off to hunting…

Dunno if that is gospel or not… but long, long drive to go find out…and if’n they were easy to see and play with, I’d bet ole DCW would be out there chasin em! 😀

[Anonymous]

#38720

Doc Nock,

You’re not that far from the Shenandoah in Virginia. There are a lot of bears down there.

[Doc Nock]

#38737

You offering to guide and get that whole bear out with proof of sex attached for me???:lol::roll:8)

[Anonymous]

#38742

Doc Nock wrote: You offering to guide and get that whole bear out with proof of sex attached for me???:lol::roll:8)

Nope… 😉

[Doc Nock]

#38758

Forager wrote: [quote=Doc Nock]You offering to guide and get that whole bear out with proof of sex attached for me???:lol::roll:8)

Nope… 😉

Figured!:P I don’t think I could hump the Shenny anymore, let alone get a critter out… but nice thought… Takes me 6 hrs to get to Norfolk… 4 to Richmond…not sure what it would take to get down there, but with gas prices…nah! LOL

Nice idea though!

[tailfeather]

#39573

Hey Ptaylor, I can’t tell from the photo…..is that a selfbow in your bear pic?

[Ptaylor]

#39598

Tailfeather,

Yeah it is, pacific yew. I cut the tree down about 40 miles east in the mountains from where I shot the bear. Its about 60 pounds. I made it really long, so the draw is smooth. The next one I’m going to make this winter will be a shorter 50# bow.

[tailfeather]

#40704

Very nice. Sounds like a great winter project. I’ll be working on some hickory bows this winter, myself. Have two trees (material for 8 staves) waiting patiently in the barn. I’m hoping for an osage stave for Christmas.:D

Congrats again on a great hunt with a selfbow.

[Ptaylor]

#40968

Thanks man. Have fun with the Hickory and Osage. That’s one of the things I miss about the east coast woods, lots of trees to make bows from.

[Stix]

#41399

Congrats! and some nice pics too!

[ozzyshane]

#44613

nice bears guys hey preston what is your bow arrow combo looks like an EFOC set up Thnaks Shane

[Ptaylor]

#44634

Shane,

The bow is a yew selfbow, 60 pounds. With the help of people on this site I built a realy nice arrow. It is an EFOC, about 28%, using a 225 grain tuffhead, a 175 grain insert/adapter combo, and a 90 grain 3″ brass footing (for extra weight and strength behind the head) on a carbon arrow came out to 712 grains about.

The tuffhead is still sharp, but the arrow shaft broke, after the hit.

[ozzyshane]

#47494

Thanks for that sounds like a great set up …would you change the arrow set up after the kill .Thanks Shane

[Ptaylor]

#47763

The only things about the arrow I want to change are a better footing system or a stronger carbon arrow, more FOC, and cut down my fetching to A&A. But I think the scenario would have been a lot worse if I did not have a heavy total arrow weight, tuffhead, and EFOC. I just wouldn’t have busted through this guys scapula, the bone was huge- the size of a dinner plate.

[Ptaylor]

#47766

I should add the arrow broke as the animal ran past a tree.

[Author]

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