- Details
- Category: Bear
- Published: Saturday, 13 July 2024 02:16
- Written by Greg
A Case of Buck Fever
Years ago when I started putting in for a bear tag here in Utah, I could not have predicted that once I finally drew a tag that I would not only have an additional grandson, but I’d also be hunting with that grandson and would be able to gift my bear tag to him.
Utah has a program where one can apply with Fish and Game to mentor a youth hunter which enables that hunter to shoot an animal using the tag of their mentor. So without hesitation I applied and received authorization to gift my tag to Daxton. We were both excited that he would now have the chance to hunt a bear for himself.
Bait site #1 loaded and covered Site #2 w/marshmallows & loaded, then torn up!
Going into this hunt we knew that his schedule would be tight due to his busy baseball schedule, but it seemed worth it. We hoped that the 35 day hunting season (May 27th – June 30th) would provide enough time to get the job done. This year Daxton is playing on two different baseball teams, with games scheduled for most every weekday as well as several Saturday’s throughout the month of June. In addition, a mandatory baseball camp is scheduled in the mornings 4 days a week throughout the entire month. So given his busy schedule, we knew our time to hunt would be severely impacted.
During this upcoming bear season we are allowed to bait for bears and planned to take full advantage of that fact. Over several decades I have trudged all over these mountains above our house and have never seen a bear while either hunting or hiking. While there are bears here and there, seeing one of these elusive animals near the city where we live is highly unlikely. One might think that being allowed to bait eliminates most of the challenge, but that certainly is not the case. Not only do the hunting regulations place constraints on what type of bait a hunter can use, they also specify a date for when bait can first be placed; for us that date being May 27th the first day of the hunting season. Furthermore there are restrictions on where bait sites can be located and those sites must be registered and approved by the Fish and Game. So not only will we need to figure out where to get bait, we’ll have to wait for the bears to discover the cache of free food once it has been placed; which in turn will cut into the amount of time left to hunt.
Daxton getting the honey burn going Honey burn smoke wafting nicely
Our quest to acquire bait began in late April. And by Memorial Day we actually had a nice stockpile of pastries and donuts, enough goodies to supply both of our registered bait sites.
Friday June 14th arrived, the first day that Daxton was available to hunt. Only 4 days prior had the first bear finally discovered and visited one of our bait sites. So after baseball camp we headed into the mountains in hopes of seeing our first bear -- but that day came to a close without a bear sighting. However, two days later when I went to check trail cameras and restock bait sites, our trail camera showed that while we sat at bait site one a bear had come into bait site two. From that point on we would concentrate on bait site two since bears began to visit there more consistently.
Awesome blonde bear in for a visit A sow with her 2 cubs
We had another near miss which happened on a Wednesday, a day where Daxton didn’t have baseball camp. Sitting from dawn until noon without any luck, we packed up and headed out in order to make his late afternoon baseball game. But the next afternoon when I came back to check cameras and restock the bait, the camera showed pictures of a bear that visited a couple of hours after we had left the previous day.
Bear tore up bait registration Claw marks where bear got marshmallow
As the days passed we noticed the trail camera activity showed that the bear stopovers weren’t predictable. When the bears did come for a visit it varied from early morning to late evening and sometimes during the night, so we just continued to hunt when schedules allowed.
Daxton's view of bait site across the ravine/canyon
Time was winding down when we finally had our fist and only bear encounter. Just three days before the end of the hunt we sat patiently. After staring weary eyed at the bait site for several hours, a dark shape suddenly caught our eye. The sun had already set but in the shaded hillside Daxton immediately identified the blob as a bear! The bear stood about 10 yards away from the bait pile, across the ravine not quite 300 yards away.
1st sight of bear stretched up hillside Bear quickly turned facing us so we waited for a shot
Without hesitation Daxton shouldered the 7 mm PRC! Immediately I turned on my phone which was connected to my spotting scope and started recording. After about a minute or so Daxton lifted his head and said he was shaking so bad that he needed to calm down. He took several deep breaths and then was back on the bear. About 30 seconds later I asked if he was getting close to shooting since the bear now stood almost broadside, quartering towards us just a little. He replied that he was close, so I stopped recording and switched to slow motion video so that if needed we could look back at the recording to clearly see the bullet impact.
It turns out that the small break and deep breaths weren’t enough. When Daxton did finally decide to shoot he apparently wasn’t calm enough, he missed. In his mind he believed that he was ready, enough to make a good shot, but a puff of dust and the bear was gone! In hind sight we should have or could have spent another 10 minutes waiting on the bear while trying to chill out. Because from the trail camera pics we had noticed that the bears usually spent 20 – 30 minutes at the site picking off strategically placed marshmallow treats from various tree branches and tearing through limb coverings in order to get to and devour the donuts.
A puff of dust -- it was gone
Who knows if waiting longer would have been a better decision because when buck fever strikes it can strike with a vengeance and last until the animal has long since departed. All in all it was a fun and exciting hunt, and quite the learning experience. Next time we draw a bear tag we’ll definitely be much better prepared.