Sam Millard
WKR
This was my last bear hunting trip of the year. Idaho allows two bears a year with a Second Bear tag, but only in specified units. Jess and I hunted those areas earlier in the season, but we didn't spot any shooters. In the last few weeks we have had several frosts, with one on the 10th that was pretty long and brutal. The huckleberries are mostly shriveled up at the elevations I hunt. This basin was one I wanted to check out earlier, but plans changed. On the morning of the 22nd, I spotted 6 bears, with 3 legal shooters, including a big chocolate at 1552 yards that wouldn't come out of edge cover for a shot. I climbed up onto a side ridge to give me a different angle and shorter shot into the patch, but he was gone. Later that afternoon, with the sky threatening to shake things up some, I returned to the ridge and found an excellent position to observe the basin. As soon as I raised my binos, I spotted 3 adult black colored bears and a sow with 2 yearlings, but no chocolate. I set up for a shot and started sizing bears with the spotter. The bear furthest to the right looked the biggest and was heading for an open top ridge red with huck brush. With this being a solo shot, I was careful with the video camera in case something went wrong. Conditions were calm, with a 2-3 mph breeze drifting down from 7 o'clock. I dialed in 17.5 MOA up for the 875 yard shot and 1.0 MOA left for the wind. The shot was clean and I watched the bullet hit through the scope...just how I like it! With the bear obviously anchored in place, I took a few pics and some video, as well as a simple sketch to help me recover the bear. The recovery was uneventful and only half of the skinning/butchering was by headlamp
Two trips with a full EMR2 later, I was done with bears for the year.
[video=vimeo;106989236]https://vimeo.com/106989236[/video]
https://vimeo.com/106989236
Two trips with a full EMR2 later, I was done with bears for the year.[video=vimeo;106989236]https://vimeo.com/106989236[/video]
https://vimeo.com/106989236
