Idaho Unit 1 2022 - Someone took my bear!!!

[Dos Perros]

One time looking for a bull I believed I mortally wounded we found dead cow elk that someone had shot and lost. She was bloated and had a river of maggots flowing out of her backside. Never found the bull.

 

[fwafwow]

Thats a fair critique. We did have daylight left - Exactly the 2.5 hours you note. We made a calculated choice since we were hiking out a new route, mainly because the heavy rain and snow melt was really pushing our comfort level on some of the crossings. Hiked plenty of rough mountain miles in the dark before in the Fall, but there is definitely something about Spring in Northern ID that will firmly hand you your own ass....

Fair point on shot. If the bear was alive when another hunter came upon it I have no right to that animal and owe the other hunter a debt for finishing my job. The kicker is we hit the bear with a 7mm Rem Mag. It knocked over and twitched for 10 seconds, giving us plenty of time for a follow-up, but we were sure it was going to expire right there. It finally did backward summersaults down the hill and out of sight - shocked it wasn't piled up against the next tree... much less able to take off from there.

Anyway, it was a crappy lesson to learn. Still had a great time in some gorgeous country and will be back one day - next time with a follow up shot and a workout for my headlamp.

Long time WKR and (Legacy) BOAL watcher and rookie meme poster. I’m early in this thread but I thought a pause is appropriate to applaud the OP’s writing skills and ability to take and respond to posts without being defensive or offended/offensive in response. Well done and carry on.

 

[long hunter]

I vote for the alien.

 

[hikenhunt]

BEAR OF A LIFETIME

BOAL

The acronym doesn't have to change, one less to keep track of!

 

[Trackselk]

I think he wounded it, so it was easy to spot for another hunter, and he finished it off.
Other hunter is up on a good vantage point, hears the shot, takes a look only to see the other guys leaving.
Curious as to what they shot at, he glasses for a while, sees movement, shoots...
Or when he glassed around, he spotted the dead bear.
If he was packed in from 'up over there' (likely a way without nasty stream crossings) it isn't like he figured that the dudes that left were ever going to return (2.5 hours of light left).
Who knows, fun to speculate though.
I spend a lot of time in the back country alone, and if I'm soaked, I'm usually not hunting, and especially not if I have serious stream crossings where I'm going to get even colder. Wait, were you already wet? And how close was camp to the fords?
I think some WKR above nailed it, inexperience. You probably learned a lot about when you should shoot, versus calling it a day. We all make mistakes, then we get better. After a while it's just another bear, deer, elk... But, it's still the way of life we wouldn't trade for anything! You'll get another bear, just keep at it!