The Bruin That Got Away

Well folks, the Fat Lady sang on the evening of June 15 – spring bear season is done. The old bruin – that giant of a black bear boar I’ve been telling you about – won the match this time around. Up here you can’t bait black bear because of all the grizzlies – which are off limits to hunting. So when hunting black bear, you are down to spot and stalk.

There’s an old burn above my place that big boar has been calling home. I spent mornings and evenings glassing, but turned up only small blackies and grizzly. The second to the last day the big boy walked down my tracks. I guess he was giving me the old claw in the air.

I measured his paw print; it’s just over 7″ wide. I will pick up the cat and mouse game with him again this fall.

I noticed a sow grizzly with a last year’s cub pulled in just a quarter mile above my house. I’ll bet she makes this her summer home. The cow elk are calved out and the grizzly are taking their share of the young elk. We’ve also had three older grizzly cubs about that apparently were kicked out by mother this spring. They must be two or three years old took and took an elk calf down just below the house. Mother taught them well, so we probably won’t have to worry about them becoming garbage bears.

Now, about those wary wolves! I was going to Cooke Sunday when I came up on a young wolf – last year’s pup – in the middle of the gravel road. He was only a mile from the homestead. He wasn’t spooked at all. He walked up the hill about 150 yards and stood on a rock to watch me. I had no camera with me. I should fire myself for that. Never leave the place without the cameras! I live in one of Wyoming’s designated a trophy wolf areas. Only five permits will be issued for a fall wolf hunt in the area this year. But a lawsuit against the delisting of the wolves has been filed, and everybody’s waiting for the outcome. So, the hunt so it might not happen.

I’ve been working on my new Pronghorn book. I’ve got about two-thirds of it done; just finished a section on how to find watering holes and antelope near them. A section on stalking antelope and the five points to cover before the stalk is also done. There’s also been progress on a section I find particularly interesting – about hunting trophy antelope after the rut. That’s the most effective time to find a trophy buck. The format of the antelope book is going to be along the same lines as my first book, Hunting High Country Mule Deer. That one just came out in paperback a few weeks ago. It’s priced at only $14.95 and I will sign the copy for you.

Well, that catches you up on my news for now. Take care, folks.