“What are we doing here? The mosquitoes and black flies are ravenous. Yesterday afternoon they were so thick I could not see my hand when I extended my arm full-length. Why did I ever let you talk me into this?” said Bill Whitfield, my partner at the time, not only on the “Hunting the World” TV show we did together back in the early 1990s, but also with whom I partnered on several ranches we commercially hunted. The entire time he complained, he was also grinning slyly, hoping I did not recognize it as a smile. “I only saw four bears yesterday afternoon, and none were bigger than the full-body mount we looked at on the way to camp.
I did smile, nearly laughing out loud. “Bill, that particular full-body black bear weighed just shy of 500-pounds. If you saw a bear approaching half that weight and size, you should have been shooting!”
I continued, “How did the biggest bear you saw yesterday compare to the bait barrel? I really suspect you didn’t see a single bear yesterday afternoon because you likely fell asleep shortly after you were dropped off and probably didn’t wake up until you heard the ATV under your stand coming to pick you up.”
Bill didn’t respond immediately but after a few moments, “Well maybe when the bugs got so bad that I couldn’t see the bait barrel and their constant humming, I might have taken a short nap.”
“Neil Johnson with North Star Outfitting, told me when the bugs were the worst, big bears were moving.” I continued, “I’ve seen some really big black bear when the bugs were really bad.”
The next evening Bill shot a really nice bear, one that squared over six-feet and had a truly luxuriant black coat. Once he had taken his bear he turned to fishing, hoping to catch walleyes for our evening meals. I hate to admit it but my partner was a pretty good fisherman. We ate walleye each of the remaining evenings we were in camp, a welcome change from the moose we had been having three meals a day. I do like moose meat, don’t get me wrong, but it was really nice to have walleye.
Mentioning Neil, I recently ran into him at the 2024 DSC Convention and Outdoor Expo. Neil knows I really like hunting black bear. “You need to come hunt bears with me again. We’re taking some really nice bears there in my part of Alberta!”
“Si!” I responded.
Neil smiled, “You haven’t changed, have you?” I grinned and wagged my head in a negative response. “Seriously, we’re taking some really big bears and as you know there are a lot of color-phase bears in our area.” Before I could respond, he continued, “During the last few years, for some reason we have seen a huge increase in the black bear population in our area. You can’t drive a road any direction from my lodge without seeing at least one, and sometimes as many as five or six. We’re at the point where we really need to take bears to reduce the population to a reasonable number.”
“Because of the high bear population and wanting to reduce it, I’m offering special deals this coming spring on bear hunts. If an adult brings a youngster, I’ll offer a special price so that the youngster can hunt,” stated Neil. “I want to get kids out hunting, and as you know, bear hunting is great fun. With the number of bears we currently have in our area, they are bound to take a bear. If you know someone who might be interested in bringing their son(s) and/or daughter(s), tell them to visit my website and get in touch with me.”
I thought about what Neil had said. Bear hunting is indeed an adventure, one I have enjoyed numerous times throughout much of North America, including hunting bear with Neil in his native Alberta.
One of the times hunting with North Star Outfitting I had a beautiful, though still young blond bear sniff the muzzle of my gun barrel while I was sitting in a ground blind. At the time I found it amusing. I could see the curiosity in that young bear’s eye, but at the same time I knew about the sometime aggressive nature of younger bears, especially younger boars trying to prove themselves to other bears in the area. I have been charged several times by such younger boars.
That trip I had decided to either take a huge bear or go home with my tag intact, even though Alberta allows taking two bears. Neil had seen a really big, as in over 350-pounds, cinnamon-colored boar in the area where he put me to hunt. From the one trail camera photo he had of the bear, I suspected he would square seven-feet, and maybe a bit more. He was a long lanky bear with what looked like a really big skull as well. In that picture I could see his head, which showed a big crease in the middle of his forehead, indicating huge jaw muscles. In looking at bear, such a crease in his forehead is usually indicative of a mature boar.
“Larry, that bear comes in late in the evening, right at the very edge of legal shooting time,” said Neil. Among certain friends, he is known as ‘Trouble,’ but in a respectable manner. “We’ve got several bears coming to bait that are as big, but they’re black as can be. I know you’ve taken some really big black-colored bears in the past, and you’re looking for a big color-phase. Such a bear could show up at any of our baits, especially now that the boars are roaming, looking for receptive sows. But this bear has been seen at that particular bait numerous times, and there are several sows coming to bait there as well. That being the case, I think he’ll hang in the area, unless a bigger or more aggressive bear shows up.” I nodded. “I think your best bet for a big color phase is to hunt that particular bait.”
I agreed! I really did want a big color-phase bear, one that was any color other than black.
I sat on the bait every afternoon, and a couple of days all day long, getting there before first light and leaving after legal shooting time. I saw some really nice bears, including a younger light brown boar and a dark chocolate sow. I also saw a couple of black bears that would have squared around six and a half feet. One of those had a huge white-colored ‘V’ on his chest. I was tempted by that one but passed in hopes the big cinnamon would come in. Unfortunately, my hunt ended before the bear appeared.
I was at Edmonton airport about the board my plane back to Texas when I got a call from Neil. “Your bear showed up again this morning. He was on the bait at 10:15 and stayed there until after 11:00!”
I simply shook my head, “Gee thanks, Trouble! You really know how to send me home to Texas feeling good.” Neil knew I was smiling as we spoke, knowing also I would be back to hunt with him again.
Spring of ’23 was the first time I had hunted black bear in several years, something I had in the past really enjoyed and looked forward to each spring. On the hunt I realized how much I really enjoyed hunting black bear. I took a seven and a half foot squared black bear with my Mossberg Patriot Predator in 7mm PRC topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint variable, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 175 grain ELD-X. I was impressed with how the ELD-X bullet performed at close range. I knew how it did at ranges from 100 to 300 yards.
I killed my bear on the first shot at 12 steps, but he turned from broadside to length-wise immediately after I shot. My quick second shot entered his hindquarter and came to rest in his neck just behind his ear, perfectly mushroomed after traveling essentially through better than six-feet of bear. Impressive to say the least!
With the approaching spring I am again getting a bad case of “spring bear fever” and I know there really is only one sure cure…
Photo credit: Larry Weishuhn Outdoors