Ashton's First Bear Hunt

This year Ashton got to experience his first bear hunt… and he loved every second of it!

The experience started a couple years prior when Ashton started to “help” setup the bear stand in the spring. Tagging along during the heavy haul got him used to the area, familiar with the process, educated on what to expect, and curious how the bear activity works when they wake up.

Over the winter, we discussed if he wanted to sit in the stand this year during the hunt. He said he absolutely wanted to, but didn’t want to shoot the bear yet (his own goal is to shoot a caribou first). Danielle wasn’t too thrilled with the idea initially… it wasn’t about sitting in the stand, but the idea of other bears coming in while we are on the ground cleaning a killed bear made her anxious. I knew this would likely be an issue since she always makes comments about her baby growing up too fast, but that’s why I purposely lit the match far enough ahead of bear hunting season… because time makes many things easier to swallow 😊 She eventually got over her fears after hearing my many assurances and listening to Ashton’s growing excitement for May to get here.

We setup the bear stand on the last day of April. My friend Wilbur helped us get everything established this year. The route we usually take in was horrible this year! There was so much snow over the winter that the alders and trees were folded over or fallen onto much of our walking path. It was very difficult (especially for Mr. Little Legs) to traverse through everything with our 70+lb packs and the remaining snow patches that were hip deep. Regardless, we made the three treks in and out and got everything setup perfectly. We even rigged up a new way to hang the bear bell (a lard type scent ball) so a brown bear couldn’t reach it this year.

After we setup the bear stand, the tradition is to stop at Wild Man’s and get an ice cream milkshake. Ashton looks forward to this, and we were excited to dive into the creamy goodness, but unfortunately we arrived after it closed ☹ He was a little disappointed, but that was stifled by his intense fatigue from the long day. After realizing he wasn’t getting ice cream, he fell asleep before we even left the parking lot. I promised him ice cream at home the next day and I made good on that promise.

We decided to let the bait sit for three weeks before hunting it. In the past, bears didn’t really come out until May 14. Since this year had a ton of snow, I figured the end of the second week is when activity would also start, making our hunt May 20-22 perfect. SPOILER – I’m starting to rethink my expectation of bears waking up and being on the bait… for the past four years, they seem to consistently hit the bait harder than I expect before we get there.

It was the last day of Kindergarten for Ashton, and not only was that a monumental day in itself, it also marked the start of his first bear hunt (and from now on, the last day of school also means the first day of bear hunting). I picked him up from school and we went home to quickly change and head south. We grabbed some dinner at Subway on the way down (I scored on making him a new sandwich that he loved, trying to mimic a pizza taste). When we got to the bear hunt area, it was fairly late. I really needed to get to the stand to check/ refill bait, but I knew it would take about three hours to get in and out with Ashton in tow. I decided to leave Ashton in the camper with his tablet with strict instructions to not leave, do not eat or drink anything, and simply play games the entire time. I locked the camper and high tailed it to the stand. I also took a saw with me with a secondary goal to get rid of the downed trees and brush blocking the path. It was fairly easy for me to maneuver around much of the shrubbery, but everything I was stepping over, Ashton had a hard time swimming through three weeks prior.

When I got to the stand, I could immediately see that bears wreaked havoc… the bear bell was taken, one of the trail cameras was ripped off and separated from the battery, the barrel was empty, and brown bears were in the area from the dents and tears in the container. I dumped the 50 pounds of food I brought in, tidied up the area, and changed out the SD cards of the cameras before heading back. On the way back, I focused on clearing a path. Really, I need to go down there sometime and spend significant time making it an easier walk.

After an hour and a half of being away, I returned to the camper and Ashton. I prepared a snack for us and we proceeded to review the pics and video from the trail cameras. We tried to view the videos from the best camera, but unfortunately, not a single video was recorded since it seemingly was disabled by a bear before it could even take a video. Good thing I have two cameras on the barrel at all times! After viewing the pictures form the other, we were shocked to see that the day after we left from setting up the stand, bears were already on the bait! We had some big bears on the bait this year, and to my surprise, no brown bear sow with cubs. We did have a couple giant boar brown bears that found the bait though. These are the ones that tore up the barrel and were smart enough to bring the bear bell down.

I swore there was no way bears were going to get the scent ball down this year, but I didn’t account for bears knowing how to find ropes that were connected to the bell. We could see progressive pictures from the camera of the brown bear looking at the bell, contemplating how to get, find the rope that went over a branch and tied to a tree on the other side of the area, 30 yards away, bite that rope in two, look over and notice the bell dropped, and then stand to finally be able to reach and tear the bell down. So far, the bears are undefeated in our battle for them to get the bell vs me keeping it in the air.

The camera showed less activity in the past week since the scent was gone and bait was out, but bears were still coming in daily. With the rebaited barrel and added scent I put out, we thought that we would have no problem getting a bear in the next three days. Typically, we would wake up early to hunt AM bears, but it was close to 11PM by the time we stared moving toward bed, so we decided to just sleep in a little tomorrow and spend the entire day on the stand if needed. Excitedly, we laid in bed trying to sleep, knowing tomorrow would likely be epic.

We woke up around 8AM and stuffed our faces with donuts and bananas. We got our bags ready for the day, clothes arranged, packed the cart, and headed in. It took us about two hours to get to the tree stand… this will only get quicker as Ashton gets bigger too. I took every moment I could to teach him about safety, planning, hiking in bear infested woods, communicating, etc. and he absorbed it like a sponge!

We got to the stand around 11AM. During our approach, we heard something at the barrel and it spooked off into the woods Bummer, we missed our chance on that one, but that was a fun arrival present! We quickly changed, got our tree bags set, and hurried into the stand. Ashton was practicing ladder climbing before this day, so he was ready to safely scale the ladder into the seat, which he did.

Once in the stand, we reviewed safety expectations, appropriate movements, and how to act. We changed into our warm clothes and safety harnesses, getting ready for a long day of sitting. Over the next three hours, we didn’t have any bears visit the barrel. That time was spent watching movies, snoozing on and off, snacking, playing games, and carefully evaluating every sound we heard. It was difficult for Ashton to stay quiet at first. He kept forgetting to whisper, to not move suddenly, and in general not sit still. At one point, his tablet slipped off his lap and started to fall. Reactively, he dove for it. Luckily, he had his harness on and that thing stopped him in his tracks or else he would have fallen head first off the stand. Somehow, he saved his tablet from falling though, so that was his consolation prize… but we had a good talk after that event.

Shortly after, we had our first bear show up. To my surprise, I heard large snaps and branches breaking to our right. I told Ashton that black bears don’t make that much noise and that a brown bear was coming in. Brown bears don’t really care about being stealthy, but black bears are quieter than a squirrel when walking through the woods. Sure enough, a young brown bear appeared to our right. It strolled in slowly, a little apprehensive, but curious. I didn’t recognize this bear from the camera pics, so it was a somewhat welcomed visit, especially since Ashton could see one in person. Although we could, we weren’t there to hunt brown bears, we were there for black bears, our table fare. Brown bears typically aren’t welcomed at bait stands where black bears are desired, simply because they eat the food, scare off black bears, and they tear up everything. This guy dug up a few morsels of food from the ground and then made a straight line for the trail cam I just fixed from some bear trying to destroy it earlier. He then proceeded to bite at the camera and paw at the battery. I wasn’t going to let the camera get destroyed again so I had to speak up and try to spook him off. I told him to knock it off and to go away, to which he promptly listened and sprinted out of there! We then resumed our time-filling activities while we waited for a black bear to come visit.

One thing some people don’t talk about with bear stand hunting is where people go to the bathroom when they are hunting. Scent control is important and leaving human waste where you are hunting is a sure-fire way to prevent animals from coming in. Luckily, Ashton took a huge poop that morning before we headed in, but he pees more than once a day, so we had to plan for that. Each of us had a designated, Nalgene pee bottle for bathroom breaks. Inevitably, he had to pee while in the stand, so he got to try out his pee bottle. I helped him of course since I didn’t want pee everywhere, but we both couldn’t help but laugh at the situation since it was a new and silly experience.

After about the sixth hour, and in the middle of a zombie apocalypse movie (because that’s what good fathers of six-year-old boys allows them to watch) we looked up and saw a nice black bear in the clearing in front of us. All focus was now on the bear. This bear was very nervous and uncomfortable. He didn’t touch any of the bait and spent a considerable amount of time moving and smelling. I knew he could tell we were there, but wasn’t sure exactly where. He decided to circle us, smelling the air everywhere and trying to determine if it was safe to eat. He cautiously circled us for about 25 minutes, sniffing the air and disappearing for extended periods of time. For a minute there, I thought he did or may eventually just walk off into the woods, but he finally decided to commit and laid down next to the barrel to dine.

I then demonstrated to Ashton what to do when a bear is in front of you that you want to shoot (move when his head is down, no quick movements, no talking unless he is chewing, getting the rifle ready, and other tidbits). I readied the rifle and prepared for a shot, educating Ashton on what I was looking for in a good shot. Unfortunately, the bear was fairly lazy/ relaxed and simply laid down to eat, never really giving me a clear broadside shot. I sat there for a good 20 minutes waiting for an open shot from his side, but he never really gave me one between the laying sitting facing away. I could have shot him laying down, although not the best option, but there was no hurry and I wanted to show Ashton what an optimal shot was.

At one point, the bear stood from something it heard from the trees to the right of us (or maybe Ashton being loud). You could tell he was done eating and going to get out of there before whatever made that sound decided they wanted to come to the barrel. Lucky for me, he presented with a perfect broadside shot on his way out of the clearing. Before he got behind a tree, I let a bullet fly and drilled the bear. He ran off, and Ashton’s education continued. I told Ashton where I hit him, watch very carefully as long as you can to see where the bear went, and listen to pinpoint where it goes. With black bears, if you hit them with a vital shot, they don’t run too far and perish with an audible noise we call a death cry. It’s a horrible sound they make trying to breath their last breaths. Although it’s sad to hear, it also elicits an excited response at the same time because it assures you of your success, you know the bear died quickly, and you know where they died. Ashton heard his first death cry, and felt both saddened and excited at the same time.

We gathered our gear and let people know of our success since we would now be on the ground with bears for the next few hours cutting up our meat. As we made our way toward the barrel, I picked up blood splatter and let Ashton take the lead on tracking the animal. The blood trail was enormous so this was a good first animal for him to track. He didn’t have to follow the blood trail far since it only went about 40 yards before laying down and perishing. He let me take the lead on confirming it’s death. Luckily, this bear dropped in a perfect spot with no need to cut any brush or move him to a better field dressing spot. We then both bent down and prayed over the black bear, thanking it for the meat it supplied our family, the experience of the hunt, and our ability to complete such adventures.

Pictures followed to document the monumental event. We then downed our celebratory candy bars and hydrated as much as possible in preparation for a long cutting process. Once that was done, we set out the dressing items and I gave Ashton his tool, the meat cleaver. Ashton would be responsible for four things, 1) holding feet while I cut and flesh, 2) being loud to scare off bears, 3) watching for flies on the meat, and 4) learning as much as possible. As for the first job, he did amazing at holding the feet while I removed the hide and meat. He listened well so I didn’t cut myself or him, and when it got too heavy to hold, he let me know before dropping or handing it off. As for job two, he was plenty loud. He was singing silly songs about bear farts and telling other bears in the woods that we were still there and dinner time is in a couple hours. Fly duty was tough. He wasn’t fast enough to kill them, so he would let me know when one landed on the meat and I took care of it. In addition to all of this, he again was a sponge and listened to everything I said. Of course, it will take a few times for many of the things to sink in, but this set a great foundation.

We managed to clean the bear within a couple hours without any bear encounters, but the part I was truly dreading was the pack out. We had to bring in extra gear and weight for Ashton, but he couldn’t wear a pack or carry weight proportional enough to cover the amount brought in. He did wear his little back pack in, and I had the intention of stuffing it as full as possible. I put all the densest stuff we had in his pack (not the meat) until it was busting at the seams. It probably weighed close to 25 pounds or more; it was easily the most weight he has ever put on his back. On the flip side, I had the entire bear (meat, hide, and skull), along with all of the rest of our stuff. It was easily the heaviest bear pack I have ever put on my back as well.

Clumsy and top heavy, we fumbled our way out of the field. We didn’t set any records for speed, and I had to take more breaks than Ashton, but we made it! We celebrated with high fives, hugs, and more candy. I then made a promise I mistaken made three weeks prior, but knowing it was keepable this time… we could get Wild Man’s milkshakes on the way home. We were able to stop and fill our bellies with the delicious reward as we headed home, elated with triumph. The icing on the cake was Ashton thanking me for such an awesome hunt and his eagerness to do it next year!