Hunts On Outfitting Podcast
Stories! As hunters and outdoors people that seems to be a common thing we all have lots of. Join your amateur guide and host on this channel Ken as he gets tales from guys and gals. Chasing that trophy buck for years to an entertaining morning on the duck pond, comedian ones, to interesting that's what you are going to hear. Also along with some general hunting discussions from time to time but making sure to leave political talks out of it. Don't take this too serious as we sure don't! If you enjoy this at all or find it fun to listen to, we really appreciate if you would subscribe and leave a review. Thanks for. checking us out! We are also on fb as Hunts on outfitting, and instagram. We are on YouTube as Hunts on outfitting podcast.
Hunts On Outfitting Podcast
Ep.23 First Bow Kill: Lane's Unforgettable Black Bear Hunt
Imagine the heart-pounding excitement of bagging your first big game trophy. This week on Hunt's Own Outfitting Podcast, my longtime friend Lane joins me to recount the unforgettable experience of his first bow kill on a mature black bear. Lane and his buddy Brody’s innovative baiting technique, using "snout suckers," made all the difference. It's a tale of planning, teamwork, and the sheer joy of outsmarting an elusive quarry, all while juggling the demands of full-time jobs and the joys of new fatherhood.
Persistence is the name of the game in our next segment. Picture this: a bait site that had gone cold for over a week suddenly springs to life with a last-ditch effort involving a frosting-covered bait. We dive into the ups and downs of bear hunting, sharing the creative strategies we employed, from using beef finisher to chaining beavers. The story of Ranger, a bear that had been elusive for a year, is one that underscores the unpredictability and patience required in the field. The thrill of finally spotting Ranger on the trail cam and the tough decision to skip a hunt due to bad weather makes for an engaging saga of determination and adaptability.
We wrap up with an adrenaline-fueled recount of the precise moments that lead to a successful bear hunt. From selecting the ideal tree stand to ensure perfect lighting, to the spine-tingling sounds of twigs snapping as the bears approach, every detail is meticulously covered. Lane's insights into bow hunting gear, like the Elite Envision bow and Victory arrows, highlight the importance of preparation and the right equipment. The emotional climax of tracking and recovering the bear, followed by a heartfelt interview with Lane, captures the camaraderie and storytelling that make these hunting adventures so deeply rewarding. Don’t miss this episode if you’re looking for both practical hunting tips and an inspiring tale of friendship and perseverance.
Check us out on Facebook and instagram Hunts On Outfitting, and also our YouTube page Hunts On Outfitting Podcast. Tell your hunting buddies about the podcast if you like it, Thanks!
this is hunt's own outfitting podcast. I'm your host and rookie guide, ken marr. I love everything hunting the outdoors and all things associated with it, from stories to how-tos. You'll find it here. Welcome to the podcast. All right, welcome to Hunt's Unoutfitting Podcast, the only podcast brought to you by Phil's Fall Protection Safety Harnesses. There's a good chance. An accident brought you into this world. Don't let one take you out. All right, thanks, phil. All right. So this week on the podcast.
Speaker 1:In life there are some things that you will always remember the first time doing, no matter how many times you have done that thing since the biggest example for most of us would be losing your virginity. Now, for us guys and gals as hunters, I would say most all of us remember our first harvest. For me it was a rough grouse or a partridge, depending on which name you prefer. I'll always remember the feeling of first taking a life, then the feeling of success. Then when we ate it that night for supper, I remember thinking it was cool going out and getting one and then providing a meal, but actually a snack for my family. For us hunters, we then remember other firsts as we grow in our hunting journey. First, small game harvest. First big game harvest, first buck, First big buck. Sometimes we will challenge ourselves. Maybe instead of first animal on the tag that you have that you see you shoot, now you hunt for a trophy one.
Speaker 1:I do know that some people just hunt for the meat and that's great, or some aren't able to get enough time to hunt to be passing on a game. I also know some of you listeners may have gotten your first harvest and it was a huge moose or elk for the first one. But in general most of us kind of progress along in our hunting journey, along in our hunting journey. Our guest today has done just that. He has been hunting most of his life when time allows. This year he decided to try to challenge himself to not only harvest a mature black bear but to also get his first bow kill under his belt. He is a longtime friend of mine. We hope you enjoy. Now let's get to it. Lane, so happy to have you here. I'm all jacked up on mountain dew. Um, this is cool. So when this episode comes out, it's either going to be episode, I think, 21 or 22. Wow, you were here for the very first. One popped all our chairs at the same time.
Speaker 1:First podcast super pumped up and I didn't you know, I was really a lot newer to it then and I I didn't do introductions. I just kind of like this is lane Lane, come on on. So I just wrote a quick one out for you and if I missed anything I want you to just jump in there and you just kind of tell me what's going on. So for Lane, he's a long-legged, crooked but now repaired nose from his accident as a logger in the woods. When he's not watching potholes at his job as a city worker, you'll catch him watching deer, mostly on the TV screen, but on occasion from the stand. This week, though, it's all about his first archery harvest on a slob of a bear. Lane, welcome.
Speaker 1:Thank you, and that was pretty well spot on yes, I just kind of kept it small and precise. So, lane, the last time you were here it was also another bear story. It was you jumped in on someone else's bear story. Yep, this time, though, it's all about yours and it's your first bow kill, first ever bow kill well, I don't think it's all about mine it's what it's not all about my bear it was a group effort to get this bear effort.
Speaker 2:You're the one that shot it I was the one that shot it.
Speaker 1:It's like before we get right into the bear story. There's a lot of other things I'd like to get into. How's your 401k?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:So you guys, you, you baited with a fellow hunter friend of yours, brody, and you guys, Brody, came up with the snout sucker.
Speaker 2:Yes, he did.
Speaker 1:So, from the cock suckers that brought you snout suckers, tell me more, tell me about it. Lane no suckers. Tell me more, tell me about it, lane.
Speaker 2:I don't know a whole lot about it, but he did some research. We first started. We figured we'd start baiting together because we both got full-time jobs, newborns at home.
Speaker 1:That's great you weren't a father.
Speaker 2:Last time you were on were you I was not, but I am now, you seem more mature.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you. We're just so busy with working and helping out with the fathering being a father, we don't we figured we didn't have a lot of time to bait and instead of struggling to keep our own separate baits stocked up, we figured, well, we're only gonna handful of sits and we might as well share the same bait. And and he got looking in, doing some research, research and he figured out these snout suckers just to have on site.
Speaker 1:He came up with the name.
Speaker 2:He came up with the name. I have zero part other than hanging out when he was making them and using them on my bait.
Speaker 1:So what is the premise of it?
Speaker 2:It's an oversized hard candy.
Speaker 1:That you hang up from a tree. You hang up from a tree and the berries come in In a tin coffee can.
Speaker 2:It's not made for a primary bait, it's for when in between when the bait's empty they can keep coming in. We put two, we put a cherry flavor and I don't know what our other one was. They were hitting them non-stop.
Speaker 1:So they worked.
Speaker 2:Oh, we had full coffee like the regular size tin coffee cans and when he took the bait down they were both completely gone.
Speaker 1:Lick clean, lick clean and that's just hung up from a tree by a cable or screwed in with an eye hook. No-transcript Screwed in with an eye hook.
Speaker 2:Eye hooks and a cable, and they had them about four feet off the ground, just about perfect head level, so they can sit right underneath of it and put their nose up in the that's what kept them around. Yep, it saved a lot of bait too, because we were Sometimes we could only bait once a week.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:And a full barrel don't last very long when you've got 10 and 12 bears coming in, right, but it kept those bears coming in consistent until we could bait and it saved a lot of bait for us.
Speaker 1:Well, it's good.
Speaker 2:And then he's got a Facebook page. If people want to check it out, facebook and Instagram yep, snoutsuckers, snoutsuckers.
Speaker 1:All right, now that we've got that out of the way, you guys are using bait, of the way what you guys use bait. Tell me I mean, we're gonna get dive right into this. Tell me the location, what we guys looking for, because you guys I know you guys chose a different area than you've used before for baiting. So I mean, what kind of woods are we heading in here? You guys going to the swamp woods field, what's up?
Speaker 2:thick swamp thick swamp we were chasing bears that we knew nobody else was going after. We were going deep and we were being left alone. I didn't. We didn't want to have bears going from bait site to bait site right, and are you guys going like swamp you talk about? Like muskeg.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it's all moss all moss around us, so it was a little difficult baiting very but it worked proven so remember you guys had pictures. You had a lot of smaller bears at first coming in for quite a while, right, yeah, and then I think our first bear we had at our bait was April 2nd or 3rd.
Speaker 2:It was early. We only had our bait up not even a week.
Speaker 1:So in this part of what southeastern New Brunswick, canada, what? Yeah, so sometimes we still have snow. Sometimes we still have snow Sometimes we still have snow storms.
Speaker 2:in April there was still snow on the ground when we put the bait up.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, so you guys, there was okay. Not much, but in the low-lying areas and under thick cover and stuff there was still some clusters still there, yeah, so you guys started baiting early, but you guys had bears going at it right away. We had a really mild winter this year and that's because we originally weren't.
Speaker 2:we weren't going to bait till like the first part of May, because April is normally pretty slow for most bear baits because we still have a lot of snow and everything. They're just waking up and when normally when they wake up they hit greens for a couple of weeks to get their plug out. And but we figured this year with the mild winter they're going to be up on their feet early and they were.
Speaker 1:Sure shit, they were right. Yeah, so you guys. So it was a group effort. Brody would bait you, bait, yep. New fatherings, yep, on both your ends, because he had a kid too.
Speaker 2:So you guys, brody was the first one to get a bear out of there yep, and I I said right from the get-go I said that because he baited, he hunted there last year okay, so it wasn't completely new nope, nope. And I said right from the get-go I said I'll go in and film and sit with you, but I'm not hunting until you shoot a bear. This is your bait. I'm not going in and shooting a bear until you do. And luckily he got one pretty early.
Speaker 1:So you guys, all right, so it's not that new if it's established bait, so he baited there last year.
Speaker 2:Last year was his first every year.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, it's way back, yeah, so he got one.
Speaker 2:Yep, he got one while he was baiting actually.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:He was walking in to bait and the bear was on the bait and he shot it walking in.
Speaker 1:Well, that's convenient.
Speaker 2:It was like 20 yards away.
Speaker 1:Wow, and it wasn't with the bow, though. He shot his with the gun new gun.
Speaker 2:You got a brand new gun this spring and you at first, he was all. He's a full-on bow and then he got that new rifle and him and I went to the range and it was what did he get for a rifle?
Speaker 1:I remember seeing pictures of his nice gun savage, couldn't tell you what.
Speaker 2:Model 308 beautiful gun, yeah, and we took it to the range and it's shooting tacks and right from then he's like I want to shoot something with my gun with the bow.
Speaker 1:He wasn't quite shooting tacks, or he?
Speaker 2:was. He was on with the bow he was, and we tried. Actually he was close he. He tried to pull back on a bow with the bear it. It was our first sit and the bear heard him draw him back and spooked off, and then that was the only sit that he had when he was straining back. He was pulling back, let off a little bit of a fart.
Speaker 2:No, it was just looking back. We should have waited. The bear's been at the bait a ton. It wasn't a huge bear, I'm guessing about 200 pounds, and him and I both said any bear it's a modest bear Him and I said we're busy this year. Any bear over 200 pounds, we're putting arrows for it. We're not shooting anything small, but we're just a good first bow kill for.
Speaker 1:Both.
Speaker 2:Because before this year him and I either, we never had a bow kill, so we just said we wanted to get the monkey off her back. We've been trying for a couple years. We said anything 200 pounds and not we're gonna shoot.
Speaker 2:We got two tags get a bow kill under your belt, that's right yep, and the first night he he tried it was it was a respectable bear but it just spooked looking back. We should have just wait, let him get comfortable with the bait. But and then I think it was like a week later, he ended up shooting, shooting the bear that he got, and then he kind of gave me full reins and said the go ahead and boy did you take advantage of that so late.
Speaker 1:I'm excited because as a friend of yours, I know that you have had uh a lot of time in hunting and baiting bear and uh a lot of time also in the deer stand, all that with your bow, and you haven't quite been able to uh put an arrow through anything yet.
Speaker 2:And I mean you've had you've had more than enough opportunity, but a few misses right one miss one.
Speaker 1:Miss, yeah, your brother has said otherwise but one just one miss, sorry, no, sorry, no, that's right.
Speaker 2:Two, two, yeah, okay, two, at least. No, it's two misses. No, that's right.
Speaker 1:So you've had a few misses, two at least. You say to bare minimum pun intended, and you really have been trying, and boy did it pay off for you this year Did it ever. You got your first bow kill under your belt and it was a slob of a bear.
Speaker 2:I don't think I'll top him for a while.
Speaker 1:It could be a bit so. Lane, paint us the picture, walk us through this event that has changed your bow hunting career, because your bow hunting career has now started.
Speaker 2:Actually the start of the story was I pretty well gave up on bear hunting for the year. Our bait slowed right up. Had the barrel full. Just typical rod action. If you don't have any sows coming on bait, you're having no bears.
Speaker 1:Or though I've heard, if you've got no bears coming in, there's one big one kicking around Keeping everyone else wet.
Speaker 2:And I think we were 7 to 10 days with not a single bear on camera and we had tons of food there. So we figured just right, action, hopefully they'll come back. And I was ready to give up. Just busy, and it was on a Sunday actually. I said you know what I said? I got a bunch of bait at home. I'm going to go out freshen up the bait just to give it one last kick at the can. Brody said he was done for the year. I said well, can't hurt to try again. And I went in and I baited, just put a whole tub of frosting everywhere, just coated it.
Speaker 1:You could smell it 100 yards away. What were you guys? Using for bait besides the snow suckers.
Speaker 2:Beef finisher okay we buy them 50 pound bags. Yeah, and a lot of it was just scraps from home and then for grease.
Speaker 1:I'd see Brody had like a squirt gun or something he'd like that was one of his snuckers, that didn't.
Speaker 2:He didn't boil it hard enough oh, that's what it was so it didn't cure oh cause
Speaker 1:there. He didn't boil it hard enough. Oh, that's what it was. So it didn't cure. Oh, because?
Speaker 2:you have to hit a certain temperature for it to cure. Okay, and that's what it was, and I got a bunch of stuff from a guy that my dad works with. He gave us a couple beavers and a bunch of scent.
Speaker 1:You guys use mead? Eh yeah, some guys don't, you guys do.
Speaker 2:They go crazy for beavers. Oh, yeah, I know, I know, yeah, and we ratchet, strap the beavers to the tree and then shout out to Morgan for the idea. Yeah, wrap a chain link fence around them.
Speaker 3:Okay, so they can just pick at it. Pick at it, keep some there.
Speaker 2:Because if not, they just take the whole beaver and then be gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they'll take it off and sometimes, sometimes buried, I heard just to rot it down a bit more. Yeah, because they want I guess they want the bugs yep from the rotting meat more than the meat itself. It's what I've heard more protein in the bugs sometimes.
Speaker 2:So and oh yeah. So sunday I went and baited and then I woke up monday morning for work got a trail cam picture of him. He never touches a bait. He walked by at 5 in the morning. I knew what bear it was. Do you have?
Speaker 1:a history with this bear.
Speaker 2:I don't, but Brody does.
Speaker 1:Okay, can you give us a little recap?
Speaker 2:on that. Brody hunted that bear hard last year and Brody actually missed that bear.
Speaker 1:I remember seeing pictures. That's the big bear Brody had pictures of.
Speaker 2:That's the big bear brody pictures of their brody pictures and brody ended up missing it last year because it was right at last light and with it being dark and a black bear. His, his perception got a little off and he thought he wears glasses and he wears glasses and his eyesight's, yeah, a little questionable.
Speaker 1:Not, you know nothing.
Speaker 2:He thought the bear was a lot far, a little farther than it was I mean mean our baits 14 yards away 14?
Speaker 1:We're on top of them. They didn't even go for 15, eh.
Speaker 2:No, we're on top of them. I guess, so he ended up missing that bear last year. Yeah, so we had a little bit of history, but we got two bears.
Speaker 1:So there is history with them.
Speaker 2:We got two bears in there same, we called him Ranger and the other one Texas. No, just Ranger. And the other one we got, we called him Scarface, because he's got a big cut on his face and he's got a big chunk out of his hind quarter missing.
Speaker 3:Ouch.
Speaker 1:So that's how you guys came up with the name Scarface the scar on his face.
Speaker 2:And I knew that picture Monday morning him walking by. I knew it was Ranger, so then I was at work. We knew that picture monday morning him walking by. I knew it was ranger. So then I was at work we're running cell cameras and I got a picture of a sow coming in at 9 15 and rangers right behind her. Yeah, and they spent a solid hour at that barrel and then they moved off. And I'm looking at my phone at work.
Speaker 1:I'm like time to go.
Speaker 2:Okay, he's on her. This bear could be killable. And then again still at work. Pictures come through 20 after 3. They're both back at the barrel.
Speaker 1:From 9,. They were there at 9, stayed for an hour, came back at 3.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they were there for 45 minutes to an hour again, and all they were doing was licking the frosting off the barrel on the trees. They didn't give two shits about the bait, they just wanted the frosting.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I had that barrel half full of bread and chips and never touched it, just the frosting. And then I was going to sit Monday night. I said this bear's killable, I'm going in. And I told the girlfriend. I said I'm sitting every night this week after work.
Speaker 1:Just a little FYI for you.
Speaker 2:And she was 100% for it.
Speaker 1:She's like good, you can stay out there all next week and the next week. You're like awesome.
Speaker 2:That's right. No, she knows that. I told her, showed her the pictures this week. He's killable, yeah. So I was coming home from work and it started downpouring and I said, no, I'm not.
Speaker 1:You're not that hardcore.
Speaker 2:No, it was torrential downpour. Like you could barely see the road driving home. I said I'm not about about sitting in the woods for four hours.
Speaker 1:Can I see your hand for a second? No, I was going to say I don't think you made a sugar, no.
Speaker 2:And I said, well, it was supposed to be nice the rest of the week. So I'm like I'm not. No, so I'm sitting at home and it was supposed to rain all night. Sure enough, about 10 after 8, rain stops and the sun peeks through and I was sitting on the chair and I told Catherine. I said they're coming in tonight 10 minutes later. Trail cam picture 8.30,. They're both at the barrel. They were there till 8, 9.30, 10 o'clock.
Speaker 1:So you should have just braved out a little bit of wetness.
Speaker 2:Apparently and I said nope, okay, regardless of the weather. The rest of the week I'm sitting From the time I get home until dark, and what kind of worried me. They never come in that night. Okay, the rest of the night from the time they left monday night at 9 30 they weren't back in all night. So I went to work tuesday, kept checking every time I could get check my phone nothing, they weren't coming in you're working for the city probably had a lot of time to check your phone, didn't you?
Speaker 2:have a couple opportunities to yeah. Anyway, I said, well, maybe it's just because the frosting's gone and that's all they really want, and and I mean it's, it's a rut, they, they're chasing, they're, they're running. So I went in, uh, tuesday night I got there at 10 after six I think it was went in with a fresh bait, a bucket of frosting, coated the whole place in frosting, knew that's what they wanted. Good idea. And I got in there and I just happened to turn around and if you're back to our bait, looking up at our stands, brody's stand is on the right and I'm on the left.
Speaker 1:Oh, you guys weren't sharing the same.
Speaker 2:No, we had two separate stands, him and I sat in the same well together, but different tree stands.
Speaker 1:Oh, like something happened and you guys didn't. We're side by side.
Speaker 2:We're a couple trees apart. Oh, okay, and it was just the way the sun was shining through the trees. Brody's stand was really dark and blended in and mine was all lit up from the sun just the way the sun was setting through the trees. So I'm like, well, I'm going to Brody's stand and I just kept baiting and then I realized I forgot my flashlight. I'm like I'm going to go back here to the truck, I'll take the buckets and everything with me, Because I'm like my phone's definitely going to be dead by dark and I don't want to be walking out of here if they're somewhat close with a flashlight, because I like to sit until the last possible minute and I knew Brody's camera arm.
Speaker 1:So you're scared of the dark and you're scared of getting what.
Speaker 2:That's right Off to a good start and I knew Brody's camera arm on his tree stand, set up different for his. He's got a bigger camera and I had my Handycam with me because I wanted to film it, but I knew his camera arm wouldn't connect to my camera. So when I went out to get the flashlight I dropped the camera off. So I went back in, climbed up in his stand, had two thermocels running because the bugs were ferocious, terrible, especially any springtime anywhere's.
Speaker 2:Plus, you guys were in muskeg, yeah but everyone that is big into bear hunting. They said the worst the bugs, the better hunting okay so I had both of them like between my feet on the foot rest and so the. But they work. I, if anyone says they don't they yes, they haven't been in bugs I swear by them.
Speaker 1:I will not sit, even in bow season, for deer or moose hunting yeah, you need to have you need to have a thermosel, because they will chew you alive yes, because, uh, when I'd go hunting with the guy zach, he dropped me off and he'd have a thermosel going and he showed me how to use it. I wasn't paying attention. He left. I'm like, oh yeah, I'll do it. It wasn't working.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I was just getting eaten alive and I was like ah. Anyway, I ended up shooting the first bear I saw because I was like I can't take it.
Speaker 2:I can't take the and uh, anyway, I was sitting there, I could. I was sitting not expecting to see anything for a while. This is 630 mhm and I could hear a twig break over my left shoulder eh never thought anything of it. Bears normally pretty quiet. They're light on their feet. Yeah, for a big bear they're kinda eerie to watch because they're so quiet they're they don't make a sound. Yes, and you could see them.
Speaker 1:They just appear.
Speaker 2:You can see a big bear walking through the woods and they're just deadly quiet, mm-hmm. And a couple minutes went by heard another one.
Speaker 3:Huh, I want something.
Speaker 2:I mean we're out in moose country. I'm like. For all I know it's a moose. We've had moose on the trail camera before walking by the bait.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And I mean not wouldn't be uncommon. Wouldn't be surprised. And then I could hear chomping. I said there's a sow.
Speaker 1:Could you do the chomp? I cannot do it.
Speaker 2:Okay, but they just chomped their teeth and it literally just sounds like anyone smacking their teeth.
Speaker 1:That's right, no.
Speaker 2:Okay, and I said okay, they said that's them coming. That actually sounds like that. And so I looked over to my left and we're right on the edge of like a swamp, so it's all like five foot grass and I look over and I could literally see the grass parting. I said, okay, well, there's a bear coming and it's not small. Nope, and she stepped out and I said that's the sow, and right behind her like nose in her.
Speaker 2:But there was the big boy and he was coming they were coming in on a string and as soon as I knew it was them, I grabbed the bow off the hanger and I drew back Alright.
Speaker 1:I want to interrupt. I'm going to pause you. You know what I'm going to ask? How tall are you? What's your bow set up?
Speaker 2:I'm shooting an Elite Envision with a new bow to me.
Speaker 3:I bought'm shooting a Elite.
Speaker 2:Envision Okay, new bow, new bow to me, I bought it off a friend of mine, and actually him and I both got our first bow kills this year with Elites. Who was Darren Okay, he shot one earlier and then he was at me. He said you need to get a bow kill and I'm shooting. Rip TKOs, victory arrows.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, victory, yep.
Speaker 2:And with 50-grain outserts I'm shooting 100-grain Slick Trip Raptor Tricks mechanical.
Speaker 1:Mechanical Two-blade. Oh the two blades yes. Quite long when they're out.
Speaker 2:Two-inch, two-inch inch, two inches, it's got two inch cat.
Speaker 1:Yep, uh, what do you? What's your draw weight? 65 pounds nice yeah okay, all right, I don't want to interrupt too much, yep, but just you know I want to get a feel for what's, uh, what that bear's expecting to you, know, receive yep, and they were about 75 yards away, coming in.
Speaker 2:It's fairly open where we're at and you drew back then, yep, I didn't want him. I didn't want to do the same mistake Brody did. I didn't want them to bust me and he was coming in. I didn't even know if they were going to stop at the barrel If they're rotten. Same with deer they don't stop for food, they're chasing. So I'm like I might only get a split second to get this done. I can't be wasting time drawing back once I get a shot opportunity and bears are pretty skittish, so you can't really stop them. You kind of have to wait for them to naturally stop yeah, you're not gonna like that.
Speaker 2:No, because they would bears are very skittish, they would run off yeah yeah, and they. So they're 75 yards away and they're coming in right to the barrel, mind you, even with an 80% let off, bow holding for that long it felt like 15 minutes, but it was probably like 3 or 4.
Speaker 2:And they were coming in and as soon as she was about to come into the opening of the barrel, she cuts towards me. Oh no, like they're 14 yards away, like they're coming closer. And he never even skipped a beat. He kept coming straight out towards the barrel and soon as he stepped out he put that arm forward. I didn't even let him touch the barrel, I didn't stop him. He was still walking and I just tucked it. Perfect, knew I 10 ringed him and I hit the offside shoulder so I didn't pass through. But when he was running away he gave out quite a roar and I could see my knock and my fletchings flopping all around as he was running.
Speaker 2:I'm like those two blades are just annihilating him right now as he was running away and I've never shaken so bad in my life. I'm glad I was wearing a harness, because I'd probably be on the ground. Just the ultimate adrenaline dump.
Speaker 1:There's no doubt in your mind that this sucker's going down.
Speaker 2:Oh, that was the most confident I've ever been in a shot Because on a bear their vitals are back, when on a deer or a moose you like to kind of tuck the shoulder.
Speaker 1:You go center mass.
Speaker 2:But I still waited for him to put that. So I shot on his right side. I still waited for him to get his right shoulder up. Just less Margin for error.
Speaker 1:It almost looks like you're aiming for the stomach.
Speaker 2:You, if you didn't know where the vitals on a bear you'd swear you got shot them yes yeah, and just stuff happens. You're off a little bit. I just still waited for him to get that shoulder out, because they got thick shoulder blades oh yeah and I'm like if he's gonna put that out and just open that chest cavity a little bit more for me than so, be it. Anyway, I had 10 ringed him. He was quartering away a little bit because I hit the offside shoulder. That's why.
Speaker 3:I didn't pass through Very confident.
Speaker 2:I had zero doubts. I knew that bear was dead Right away. I called Brody, Noted he didn't answer.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And well, I FaceTimed him. He didn't answer. So then I FaceTimed Catherine, and she knew I was hunting. Her first thing, her first words out of her mouth were you must have shot him. You're calling me, and I could barely talk because I was shaking so bad, it's a victory call. Yep, because you know nobody's calling when they're in a tree. Stand for fun in daylight. Not no Either you shot something or you fell out of a tree? Yes, and she knows, I wear a harness, but so that wasn't an option.
Speaker 2:No, I mean it still could have been, but she knew. Yeah, you can wear a harness, harness. But if you didn't hook it, then you're still going out. When you got a bear coming in, that consistent and you call After being an hour In the street stand, it's Pretty easy.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And actually I got there's trail cam pictures I'll see if I can find it Of Me baiting. I was at I. There's a picture of me standing at the bait at 6.08, and there's one picture of him walking in at 6.43.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then the next picture is me at 6.54, with my bow in my hand, checking for blood, so it wasn't a long sit. No, it was great because the bugs were terrible. Yes, and as I was on the phone with Catherine Brody FaceTimed me back and he knew he was actually at the fire hall for a meeting with his son and he was pretty pumped. Not a lot of people that you could share a bait with and shoot a giant out of their stand and could be that excited for their buddy.
Speaker 1:So are you guys doing the same thing next year? No, oh.
Speaker 2:No, I'll have a little more free time next year. It was just.
Speaker 1:Maybe he wasn't that excited for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no he was pretty excited. He was probably just as excited for me as if he shot it. That's what you look for in a hunting partner.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:There was no jealousy. He couldn't be any more excited for me if he shot it. That's what you look for. It was great.
Speaker 1:You didn't wait long to see him go down because you knew for sure he's wrecked. I didn't go look.
Speaker 2:I went up to the bait I knew I wasn't going to get bl blood, because bears don't bleed, especially if you don't pass through. I knew, as far as I could see, the arrow was still stuck in him. So I mean, you're really not going to get blood with an arrow plugged the hole with no exit. So I just went up. I'm like, oh, maybe he's sprayed a little bit, but you bit, but you could see his paw prints in the mud where he took off. So I'm back and out and as I called a couple guys, I called my dad and I think it was dad that I called, as I was on the phone or might have been katherine that sow came back in oh so I'm standing at the barrel and I look up and she's at like 20 yards just staring at me.
Speaker 2:So I'm like well, I spooked her off. She kind of just slowly saundered off. So I called a couple more buddies and I went into the truck. Brody was in the meeting. He said he was going to be like an hour. I said that's perfect. I said never I'm going to give him time. Never do damage by leaving him a little extra. I was confident in the shot, but you just never know there's well, you know, bow kill especially.
Speaker 1:give them a bit of time.
Speaker 2:And I've heard of guys going in even perfect shots and they just went in too early and and bumped them and they can clot up and they can go and you can just never find them.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They die. You have a good shot, but they just get that last little bit of adrenaline from there they hide. They hide.
Speaker 1:Tuck in somewhere and it's so thick in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he could hide easy. So I went out home, got everything. We got my buddy Darren that I bought my bow off of. Actually he made me a sled for moose hunting. Haven't got to use it for moose hunting yet, but but it come in a big help with the bear because our bait is so thick in remote woods in there you can't get a four-wheeler even in the barrel. So I knew right from the get-go I said we're not getting a bike to this bear. No matter where he goes, we can't get a bike to him. So we're gonna have to drag him out. And I knew I was gonna get him mounted so I didn't run along and drag him without the sled to ruin the hide great because we had that on the podcast with the taxidermist about guys dragging stuff out and not realizing the damage they're doing, and I mean the sled made it 10 times easier.
Speaker 1:And it made it easier, because I'm going to ask you this now Lane, how much did your boar weigh?
Speaker 2:He weighed on the paw with guts in. He weighed 381.7 pounds.
Speaker 1:That's why the sled came in handy. That's a big boar. That is a big bear here in New Brunswick. I mean, that's on the upper end for sure, that's the second biggest bear I've ever seen in my life. For a black bear that is a solid fellow Seen in person.
Speaker 2:A buddy of mine got one that I don't think I'll ever see topped a couple years ago, his weighed 460 pounds. Yeah, that's huge In the spring. That is huge, and it was his first bear, not first bow kill, but it was his first bear. Giant Didn't even make sense how big it was.
Speaker 1:That's big, so the sled definitely was needed.
Speaker 2:Very much. Come in handy Very much, very much. Come in handy very much. And anyway, so loaded that up, said, well, we knew we had lots of time before dark, but I'd rather have a bunch of flashlights with me than be looking for them. So I had my buddy, neil, come out. He was the first one, so we just shot the shit, talked to him while we waited for everyone else to show up, and then I I had my brother and my dad. They came out. His dad's been on every recovery and kill I've ever been on, except my first bear, but we brought it over to him after and Logan came and helped. And then we met up with Brody. He was just, he had to put the kids to bed and he was going to meet us at the bear bait. And so we all went in and Brody met up with us when we get out and as soon as he got out of that truck he just sprinted towards me, gave me the biggest hug I've ever had did he give you a bear hug?
Speaker 2:he gave me a bear hug and I mean he was pumped. He was pumped. He was very happy for me, which I was kind of worried about. I'm like, eh, you kind of had history with that bear and I come in and shot it.
Speaker 1:It wasn't like when he gave the big bear hug for the first spring of the year. Like you, better watch your hands.
Speaker 2:No, he was very excited for me and so we went in and we knew we weren't going to find any blood. And I think it was about 30 yards off the bait Brody found the arrow snapped off.
Speaker 1:Oh, you guys did find it.
Speaker 2:He found the back half snapped off. So I knew I measured it up against a fresh arrow because I had my bow still with me. It was lost daylight and maybe rather have it with me than find them wounded and yeah need another one because I wanted to strictly bow, like they said that brody brought a gun just in case.
Speaker 3:But I said if he's down if he's down, don't shoot him.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I gotta. I got about. He broke off at 13 inches inside, but I had 16 17 inches penetration, which is more than enough oh yeah and so we, we just all spread out and we went probably another 20 yards and logan yelled out he's pretty sure he could see him up ahead. Mind you, this is thick woods and everything looks dark yes anyway, he got closer.
Speaker 2:He's like that's a bear. So we walked up and he was. He had his head in his back or he had his head facing away. So he's back to us when we walk up to him. So I told Logan to walk up and just he threw a stick at just in the rear end. Yeah, just in case he still had some life.
Speaker 1:Walk up, give him a little shake.
Speaker 2:I had an arrow knocked and I was ready. I was quite certain he was expired, but anyway, I walked up to him and he was gone and I I was just mind blown. I knew it was a big bear, but your first bow kill was something of that size.
Speaker 1:I couldn't. It's very.
Speaker 2:It's cool when I walked up to him and I just seen that melon head. I'm like this. This is a giant, like everyone says, but they think they have giant bears on camera and then they get up to them and they have some ground shrinkage.
Speaker 1:And only bears they're deceiving.
Speaker 2:They look big they're. They're deceiving, especially if you're not used to being around. I'm like people think, like a good, you know, there's nothing wrong with a 200 pound bear. People think they're oh, I, I gotta, he's 300 pounds. Well, when they get to him he's a lot smaller. Yeah well, I was the opposite because he just kept getting.
Speaker 2:He was he was a lot bigger and I was showing a guy at work that day, the day before actually, but pictures he used to guide americans would come up and he would guide and he's been around hundreds of bear kills and he, he was close, he saw a picture. He's like that bear's 375 I said really you think? So I didn't think he was that big and he's like no, he's 375. And so we found him and we only drug him like five yards to get better pictures and we struggled.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that sled really helped and yeah he, he was more than I ever imagined.
Speaker 1:That's your first bow kill. You got the skull, didn't you get it kind of green scored?
Speaker 2:Green scored because you can't get it officially scored until 60 days after the kill. But I got him green scored at 19 and 10 sixteenths because bears run to the near 16th in score and deer go to the near eighth.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, funny, you say that because my deer scored yeah to the near eighth. Right yeah, funny, you say that because my. Deere scored. Yeah, it was seven, eighths.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, all right, I didn't know that. Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 2:Which is giant?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so yeah, that's a big bear, Did he make? Well, I guess you won't know if he makes the record books he will for New Brunswick.
Speaker 2:He'll make Pope and Young, because Pope and Young is 18.
Speaker 1:So he's not going to shrink that much.
Speaker 2:I've talked to a lot of guys and they say the most the skull will shrink in 60 days Like 3 16ths.
Speaker 1:That's not a lot.
Speaker 2:He's not going to Shrink an inch In 10 16ths Because 18 in Pope and Young. He's not going to shrink an inch in 10-16s Because 18's Pope and Young. Right, but I was just shy of Boone and Crockett Because a Booner's 20 inches.
Speaker 1:But you've got to tell them to bear yeah, and for first bow kill. You said, starting you'd be happy with a 200-pound one.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, score doesn't. I'm not. That's all about the story, not the score. Right yeah, I don't get too wrapped up in the score because I've seen a lot of people ruined by it. Yeah, they see, they think they have a number in their head and then they get scored and it's a lot lower and it ruined it for them. So I don't get wrapped up in score that much.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I was just looking for a bear anything 200 pounds, and then you end up getting 381 just to get the bow kill out of the way.
Speaker 1:It's a little less pressure off you know that you can do it.
Speaker 2:I try to hold out for fall, for bow hunting, for deer. I try to hold out as long as possible, but when the deer are rotting, come those last couple weeks of rifle season, it's hard to take the bow, yes, but I, for a while I was. I wanted to take the bow because I wanted to get that bow kill off my back and I've had more than enough opportunity. I've passed some good, some younger you know 100 inchpointers in bow season, but I just, I don't know, I got ruined with my first deer and I'm picky.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't want to shoot something, just to say I shot it.
Speaker 1:You're not going just for the meat. You're going to eat the meat, but you're also looking for you.
Speaker 3:Got some time you know to pick out something I want especially during bow season.
Speaker 2:I want it to be a good, good, respectable deer that I'm 100% okay with missing out on the ride, because I look forward to the ride every year.
Speaker 1:That's when you get these bucks popping out of nowhere that you didn't know existed.
Speaker 2:And they get stupid.
Speaker 1:You'll see them at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Open field.
Speaker 2:Love the unknown. As much as fun it is. You know you got a deer on camera patterned coming in, but it's fun those last couple weeks. Any little snap of a twig coming in it could be this big deer. You just never know and you can never see that deer before.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:My father, for example. He's never shot a deer that he's got on trail camera.
Speaker 1:And he's shot a pile of big deer changes they change so much. But I mean this year you were going in with something extra in your quiver and that is confidence, because you know you can make a bow kill. Now you can get a 381 pound bear.
Speaker 2:Now you're feeling better for bows using with deer and i't you and I've never, with that new bow, I've never been as confident as I was coming this season.
Speaker 1:It's the bow.
Speaker 2:It was the bow that. I don't know it's all in your head.
Speaker 1:lanes that bow is?
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:You're not sponsored by them, are you? No, but with my other bow like.
Speaker 2:I was even shooting in the yard like 40 yards max. Now, with this new bow, I got it set up perfect, just for me. I got a little better arrow set up, went with a heavier arrow for distances and I'm shooting 80, 85 yards in the yard.
Speaker 1:Really yeah. Are you hitting what you're shooting at?
Speaker 2:I'm hitting in the center circle of the target.
Speaker 1:Okay, at 80 yards so I don't know if you're like I'm shooting 80 yards, like I'm not, that's my max, because on my site.
Speaker 2:I have a three pin and the bottom is adjustable oh, it is so I got the top pin set at 20 yards, because 20 in is all the same and then.
Speaker 2:Then my second pin is 30. And on my adjuster I just leave it at 40, but I got notches on the side of my sight that I can adjust it down and as far as the pin will go is 80. But I tried it at 85, and I was a little low. I'm like I'm not about to lose expensive arrows just for a piston match to see how far I can shoot an arrow. Yes, but I did it for practice for deer, because I knew bow or bear, I knew I was on top of them.
Speaker 3:I'm shooting 14 yards.
Speaker 2:But it was mostly for deer, because if you practice at 60, 70, 80, well, 30, 40 yards seems like a chip shot. Same with you. See, you hear guys doing that with rifles.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You shoot 400 or 500 yards practicing. Well, 300 yards seems pretty easy when you're confident shooting 400 or 500. Yeah, so I had that mindset going into practicing and I put a lot of time into spring shooting that new bow. It's nice.
Speaker 1:So you were feeling confident with it.
Speaker 2:I knew, if I had a bear worth shooting in front of me, that I was going to kill it.
Speaker 1:And lo and behold, here you are telling the story about it. Yes, that's good, lane, I've got to tell you thanks for coming in, thank you, I look forward to posting this podcast podcast and everyone can see your big old boar. And until next time. Hey, I see this fall. I hope so. I mean, I'll see you in between because we're friends, but on the podcast, I hope to have a story, a couple of stories, this fall. Just remember it doesn't. It's not the size of the animal, it's the story. Until next time.