Salina's Bear Hunt

Well back by popular demand, here is my story. I’m a little bummed, but read on and you will know why.

So there I was, heading up the Elliot highway towards our bait. We off loaded the four-wheeler and headed down the trail. My husband drops me off at the road at the base of the trail. I grab my gun and thermaCELL and head on down. My husband heads off to his bait about 4 or 5 miles away. I get to the stand and set things up. I sit and wait. It was about 7 pm. Around 10:30 I start to get a bit antsy. My butt was seriously falling asleep. The rain had started to pour down on me around 8:30 pm and did not let up. I was starting to get a bit cold and wet. Not to mention my butt...

So I decided to stare down at my feet and think about my honeymoon in Hawaii and how warm it was. When all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye (to my left) I see this black object moving. There he is! I got a huge smile on my face and wanted to jump up and do a little dance. I was so stoked! I watched him move towards the bait. He was really skittish. A squirrel jumped out of a tree, and he was ready to run. He went up to the barrel, and grabbed a piece of salmon and ran off. I got my gun ready and scooted myself to the edge of the chair. About 5 minutes later I see him about 60 yards away from me playing around in the brush. Then he disappeared again. About 10 minutes later he showed up again to my left. He was winding in between trees and brush, and he went right underneath the stand. All I thought was WOW, I hope he doesn’t climb up here with me…(although it would make a good hunting story). He decided to come out from underneath me, and headed back to the bait. He stuck his nose in the barrel, and pulled at the fish. I watched him for about 5 minutes before I got a shot. Finally he turned and I got a good shot. He dropped and dropped hard. I thought I had him down for good. I was caught up in the moment, and watched him. (BIG MISTAKE) I should have taken that time to reload. But did I? No! All of a sudden he jumps up and starts to run off. In a panic I reload (or assumed I did) and took another shot. However, my gun did not fire. There was no bullet in the chamber! By the time I got the bullet in the chamber he was long gone in the thick brush.

So I sat up in my tree and pondered waiting for my husband to come and get me. Finally after what seemed to be forever, I see him. I jump down and told him my story. We start to look for my bear. The rain was still pouring down on us, and it was really foggy. We decided to pack up and go home and come back the next day. Hoping for better weather. My husband was sure we would find him.

We didn’t think looking for an unknown bear in that weather was very smart...We were sure he was dead. I think it was a lung shot. But even finding any blood to track was a challenge with the rain washing it away. The next morning we woke up and my husband and a friend head back out to find him.

Later that night, my husband returns with bad news. No bear in sight. I was ready to cry. Not only was this my first bear, but you don't kill an animal and not retrieve it. It’s not right. So I gave a call to fish and game and told them my story. They said I don't have to claim it, and even if we did find it in a few days just to leave him. But still...
It’s bittersweet. I shot my first bear, and can't find him. What a way to end baiting season...

Salina is a friend of mine on MySpace. She is 25 years old and lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, with her hubby who is in the Air Force. Will soon bring you the story of their caribou hunt together where they both harvested one the same day in our great wild outdoors!