The smallest brown bear bear I ever guided for

[mark knapp]

This is a story about admittedly the smallest brown bear I ever guided for. There were two other small ones but this one may have been the smallest. Many guides wouldn't have put it in his photo album, or talk about it much but I like it. It's one of my most memorable hunts.

The hunter is a bow hunter, Skipper Dickson, (his real name). He owns the largest distributor of firearms and knives in the south-west. He wanted a brown bear with a bow, so that what we were going to do. A great hunter and a great guy.


Early on in the hunt, this bear, presented itself for a practice stalk and draw. It is a very small bear, one we did not want to kill although it was legal. I judged this one to be a three year old sow, about 7 1/2 feet square, just kicked out and never bread. This is a fall hunt, on salmon streams. Very conducive to close in stalks and this was very early in the ten day hunt. We let this one go.

After a few days, and some bad weather, and about two thirds of our hunt gone, we found this one. It was not a big bear but the set up was perfect. Skipper was happy with the bear, and the timing. My job was to make Skipper happy, (within reason). We could have looked for a bigger bear but we could also have lost the rest of the hunt to bad weather.

You can see the bear in the lower left, Skipper is in the upper right, preparing for a shot. I judged this one to be a little bigger than the first, an eight footer. I am 45 yards away with the .458 and a full range of fire. Skipper is about 30 yards away from the bear and had a full quiver of arrows but he wasn't going to have enough time to shoot them all. At his first shot, the bear went right down. As planned, I was going to let him do all the work unless the bear got up and started to go somewhere. Skipper had time for two more shots until that happened. The shots did not connect because, the bear was rolling around on the ground so much that between the time he let the arrow go and the time the arrows got to the bear, he wasn't in the same spot any more. I had once seen Skipper practice with his bow, at sixty yards he put his practice arrow through a two inch red dot into a clay bank. I was comfortable with his shooting. The bear was going to die from the first shot but what I was worried about was where he would go and what he would do before he died.

The bear soon got his wits about him and got up and started to run toward the brush directly behind him on the left side of the creek. I hit him with the .458 and ended it all.

Nothing left to do but take the pictures, and skin it.


We were all happy, at the end of the hunt, Skipper flipped me his stock catalog and told me to "Pick my tip" That's how I came to get my Winchester stainless/synthetic model 70 classic in .375 H&H.

Skipper and I are great friends, I have guided him since, (once on a black bear/northern pike float trip) and I have made several custom knives for him. A real positive experience I think.

 

[338reloader]

Did it turn out to be a 7.5 hide? Did you green score the skull? Was it a female?

 

[MacGyver]

Once again you out do yourself.

 

[pops2026]

I thank you , from many of us. Wish I could write. Numbers are my thing.

 

[SmokeRoss]

This is a story about admittedly the smallest brown bear I ever guided for. There were two other small ones but this one may have been the smallest. Many guides wouldn't have put it in his photo album, or talk about it much but I like it. It's one of my most memorable hunts.

The hunter is a bow hunter, Skipper Dickson, (his real name). He owns the largest distributor of firearms and knives in the south-west. He wanted a brown bear with a bow, so that what we were going to do. A great hunter and a great guy.

View attachment 2787044
Early on in the hunt, this bear, presented itself for a practice stalk and draw. It is a very small bear, one we did not want to kill although it was legal. I judged this one to be a three year old sow, about 7 1/2 feet square, just kicked out and never bread. This is a fall hunt, on salmon streams. Very conducive to close in stalks and this was very early in the ten day hunt. We let this one go.

After a few days, and some bad weather, and about two thirds of our hunt gone, we found this one. It was not a big bear but the set up was perfect. Skipper was happy with the bear, and the timing. My job was to make Skipper happy, (within reason). We could have looked for a bigger bear but we could also have lost the rest of the hunt to bad weather.
View attachment 2787045
You can see the bear in the lower left, Skipper is in the upper right, preparing for a shot. I judged this one to be a little bigger than the first, an eight footer. I am 45 yards away with the .458 and a full range of fire. Skipper is about 30 yards away from the bear and had a full quiver of arrows but he wasn't going to have enough time to shoot them all. At his first shot, the bear went right down. As planned, I was going to let him do all the work unless the bear got up and started to go somewhere. Skipper had time for two more shots until that happened. The shots did not connect because, the bear was rolling around on the ground so much that between the time he let the arrow go and the time the arrows got to the bear, he wasn't in the same spot any more. I had once seen Skipper practice with his bow, at sixty yards he put his practice arrow through a two inch red dot into a clay bank. I was comfortable with his shooting. The bear was going to die from the first shot but what I was worried about was where he would go and what he would do before he died.

The bear soon got his wits about him and got up and started to run toward the brush directly behind him on the left side of the creek. I hit him with the .458 and ended it all.

Nothing left to do but take the pictures, and skin it.

View attachment 2787046
We were all happy, at the end of the hunt, Skipper flipped me his stock catalog and told me to "Pick my tip" That's how I came to get my Winchester stainless/synthetic model 70 classic in .375 H&H.

Skipper and I are great friends, I have guided him since, (once on a black bear/northern pike float trip) and I have made several custom knives for him. A real positive experience I think.

That bow is old school compared to the equipment we use these days. But I am still a fan of aluminum shafts and Satellite Aero broadheads. I shoot clean through a moose. You don't see that happen often with carbon arrows. Especially when using those gimmick mechanical broadheads.

 

[mark knapp]

Did it turn out to be a 7.5 hide? Did you green score the skull? Was it a female?

In the OP I said it was an 8 footer, that's what I remember. We probably did not green score the skull, as it was not my habit to score anything that was not close to the minimum. F&G certainly did green score it. I could look it up in the records if I wanted too, or I could call Skipper and ask him if I wanted to. Do you want me to? Is it worth it. As I remember, there is a little tickling in my brain that leans toward female. The head looks more female than male. I'd say female. The records would tell us that too.

 

[mark knapp]

That bow is old school compared to the equipment we use these days. But I am still a fan of aluminum shafts and Satellite Aero broadheads. I shoot clean through a moose. You don't see that happen often with carbon arrows. Especially when using those gimmick mechanical broadheads.

Yes, old school, that was about thirty years ago. I was pretty hot back then, I guided for three brown bears in two weeks back then, all in the bigger size bracket. Thank you for telling me about modern bows and graphite arrows. I wasn't aware. I used to shoot an Easton bow and aluminum. Now I use a take down Black Widow recurve and aluminum. I don't care for those mechanical broad heads either.

Hows the fishing going?

 

[SmokeRoss]

I don't believe mechanicals should be used on anything larger than a deer and might even be doubtful for them. I see lots of videos with barley and penetration on deer. Some of that is no doubt due to the lighter weight carbon arrows and I also wonder what draw weight they have the bow set at. Mine is 80 pounds.

Yes, old school, that was about thirty years ago. I was pretty hot back then, I guided for three brown bears in two weeks back then, all in the bigger size bracket. Thank you for telling me about modern bows and graphite arrows. I wasn't aware. I used to shoot an Easton bow and aluminum. Now I use a take down Black Widow recurve and aluminum. I don't care for those mechanical broad heads either.

Hows the fishing going?

 

[SmokeRoss]

There are advantages to carbon arrows and mechanical heads. Less trajectory, faster arrow speed, flatter shooting so judging distance isn't as important. But if the draw weight is not cranked up that advantage goes away. I spray my aluminum shafts down with silicone before I got out hunting. It makes a very obvious difference. I learned with while shooting at my back yard targets. And when you hit a moose with a combination of the right broadhead, arrow, and draw weight, you can shoot pass through shots even with the arrow busting through ribs.

 

[SmokeRoss]

Did it turn out to be a 7.5 hide? Did you green score the skull? Was it a female?

I shot a sow black bear with my bow. Didn't measure the skull or the hide. Didn't care. Did make a nice pair of Mukluks from the hide and ate all the meat. Did a head mount also. She wasn't huge. Normal size. But I took a bear with my bow. I still wear the Mukluks. Quite a few times this year with the cold icy weather. Good traction on the ice. I've worn them so much in the past 40 years I have had to get them resoled.

 

[338reloader]

In the OP I said it was an 8 footer, that's what I remember. We probably did not green score the skull, as it was not my habit to score anything that was not close to the minimum. F&G certainly did green score it. I could look it up in the records if I wanted too, or I could call Skipper and ask him if I wanted to. Do you want me to? Is it worth it. As I remember, there is a little tickling in my brain that leans toward female. The head looks more female than male. I'd say female. The records would tell us that too.

I made a mistake. The 7.5 estimate came from the bear you let go. If the hunt is memorable then It would seen some particulars would also be memorable. Especially with a client that tips as well as Skipper did.

 

[mark knapp]

I re

I made a mistake. The 7.5 estimate came from the bear you let go. If the hunt is memorable then It would seen some particulars would also be memorable. Especially with a client that tips as well as Skipper did.

I remember the hunt mostly because it was Skipper. I generally don't remember sizes of hides as well as the sizes of skulls and I don't remember any of it unless the size is exceptional. Of course, as I said, I never knew the size of this skull. No reason to.

Skippers tip in his cost was, probably, not my best tip ever. In my savings, it probably was, but then again, I would probably would just gone on using my home built "Pre 64" model 70 .458 that I converted from a post 64 Model 70 7mm Mag. donor.

I have gotten two different pairs of Swarovski binoculars as tips, a Swarovski range finder, and a few $1000.00 tips. Once, in a two week season I was tipped $2,700.00 for guiding for two ten foot bears and passing up a nine and a half foot to ten foot bear for a guy.

The good old days. Now I guess guys are getting $3,000.00 tips for doing a good job.