So glad to finally get my bear back from taxidermist. Ray Fels of Extreme Taxidermy in Westlock exceeded my expectations on this guy & I'm very grateful for the awesome job he did for me. This is no ordinary bear - he is very special to me. I hunted him off the same bait from 2005-2016 & have trail cam pics of him all years except 2007 & 2015. The first pics I have of him he was a giant gorgeous bear, but very cagey - almost strictly nocturnal & he
remained that way. In 2010 he showed up one evening sit, and caught me completely off guard. I ended up getting a shot & hitting him right in the shoulder blade with about 2 inches of penetration. That was almost it for me, as I was so down on myself that I almost quit bear baiting/hunting completely. My one buddy was still planning to hunt, so we continued to bait & two weeks after I wounded him he showed back up on the bait! 2010 season ended & in 2011 he was first bear on bait, but more nocturnal than ever. I hunted every year, checking the trail cams often to see when he might be coming in, but it was always at night and so hit & miss. Some years he only showed up a couple times during the entire season. Then in 2015 he never showed at all, and I thought for sure he had died. 2016 & he was one of the first bears on bait again, but strictly nocturnal & extremely random. Around the third week of May something unbelievable happened. He showed up on trail cam one day at 2 pm! I couldn't believe it until I figured out why. He had found a sow & hooked up with her. I started sitting every night, as they were in & out of bait daily on trail cam. The second night I sat he showed up. I got to full draw on him, but he never presented me a decent shot in the whole 45 seconds he was there, and then just disappeared like a ghost. I was pretty heart broke that night, but more determined than ever. Two nights later my oldest son who was 9 at the time wanted to come & sit with me. He had sat a couple times before, usually not more than 2 hours, so I was a little nervous taking him in to sit for this bear. We got in stand at 530 pm & had a bunch of smaller bears coming in steady. At 8 pm the sow that my bear had hooked up with showed up. My adrenalin started flowing instantly, and I whispered to my boy that the big brown was likely going to show. Not 2 minutes later & I saw a flash of brown about 100 yards straight out, and sure enough it was him ambling towards us straight on. I stood, picked up my bow & clipped on my release. I thought he was going to come right to the bait barrel where the sow was standing, but when he got to about 30 yards he stopped, stood up & scanned with his nose and eyes. Unbelievable how big mature bears have that sixth sense. The wind was blowing directly from him to us, but he still new something was up. He dropped back down to all fours & turned a bit like he was going to slink off. I drew my bow, settled my pin behind his shoulder & released. The arrow blew through him & stuck in the ground, he let out a mighty roar then took off crashing through the trees. I lost sight of him at about 50 yards from where I shot him. My son was absolutely elated - I don`t know who was shaking more me or him. The shot felt good & I could see my arrow in ground, but I never heard a death moan so I wasn`t totally convinced. It was early so I told my son we would wait one hour, but 30 minutes went by & it started to pour rain. We climbed down quickly & went to the arrow. Good blood with bubbles. Got on the trail I had last seen him on & found him just past where I had lost sight of him after the shot. When we skinned him out I found the scar on his left shoulder blade where I had wounded him. His skull measures 21.5" dry. I have taken 4 black bears with my bow & this guy will almost certainly be the last for me.
Attachment 149609
Attachment 149610
Attachment 149611
Attachment 149612