First Bear Hunt

You guys… I’m on Cloud 9… scratch that… Cloud 10.

Let me preface this by saying I have never hunted bear. We don’t have a season where I live, and we really don’t have a strong bear population.

On Friday morning, I showed up at Elite Bear Outfitters camp. A beautiful 7-hour drive from home. This camp is stunning, the drive up was breathtaking, and the secluded surroundings were right up my alley.

I finally got to meet Matt in person. He was so welcoming and took so much time helping me get my little Savage Axis 7mm-08 dialed in so I could confidently harvest a bear.

After my scope was right and my rifle was where I needed it, we went into the beautiful wood bunkie to watch the trail cameras on the big screen while Matt went over everything I needed to know to prepare me for the hunt. Again - I had zero experience!

Early afternoon hit, and I chose one of the over 20 stands available for my first sit. A beauty of a bear had showed up there that morning, so I was hoping they would make an appearance again that afternoon.

Matt drove me to my tree stand in the side-by-side, I climbed up, loaded my rifle, and got comfortable.

Hours were passing as I watched blue jays and squirrels battle one another over the bait. My head was on a slow swivel as I constantly scanned my surroundings for any sign of a bear. Nothing.

8:49 hit, and finally, from behind me, I saw a flash of black. My heart started RACING, and my entire body was shaking!! Not because I was scared or ready to shoot - but because I saw a bear “in person”.. in the wild.. for the first time ever. That’s it. I got what I came for.

I watched this beautiful bear wander around my stand, and then, in a second, she turned on a dime and took off. I thought, “Okay, so she either smelled me or there’s a bigger one on their way in.”

Sure enough.. minutes later.. this bigger, older sow comes sauntering through the woods behind me. She was RIGHT UNDER MY STAND! Again… shaking. She’s so beautiful, so powerful, and so close to me.

I watched her sniff around where the first bear was walking. The whole time, I’m thinking, “Is this a sow with cubs? I don’t see cubs. Is this one big enough to harvest? Will they even offer me the shot? Will they climb this tree to check me out?”

She walked over to the bait barrel, and that gave me a better idea of what size she was. She seemed like a decent size to harvest, but all I could do was watch. There is nothing worse than rushing a shot on an animal that either shouldn’t have been harvested or wasn’t in a good position for an ethical shot.

I checked the time… 5 minutes left before legal shooting time closed.

And then it happened. She went broadside. I raised my rifle, pointed the reticle of my scope where I thought the heart should be. From what Matt had showed me and from what I read… it was very similar to where a dog’s heart rests… and I spent years quickly finding a dog’s heart to get a heart rate when I worked assisting veterinarians.

I thought, “Girl, you need to get these shakes under control.” I took a few deep breaths. I was not shooting if I wasn’t steady. And then boom. I squeezed that trigger as the crack of my rifle echoed through the woods. I quickly reloaded just in case I needed that follow-up shot.

She jumped, ran, and then quickly stumbled and fell. She was down.

BEAR DOWN! I texted Matt (and then my husband, who was getting a play-by-play all afternoon).

I sat in the stand waiting for him to arrive. Shaking and flip-flopping between “omg I harvested my first bear” and “wow, this bear just lost her life so I can feed my family.”

Matt showed up. What was one of the first things he said? “Put your hands on her and thank her for her life.” - okay… I came to the right guy and the right place.

We looked her over and determined that she was an older sow that was no longer reproducing. That made me feel so much better.

Carefully loading her into the side-by-side, we took her off the site and got to work. Cutting, gutting, hanging.

I was looking her over. How powerful her jaw and worn-down yellow teeth were. Those claws. They could slash me open in a heartbeat. Her heart, shot. I was happy to have made that shot.

I spent the next full day at camp exploring, log flipping, and indulging in incredible conversations with Matt.

Sunday morning, bright and early, we loaded that beautiful old girl into my truck. I had a seven-hour drive home, and it was hot and sunny. I quickly stopped at the gas station just up the road to pack the cavity with ice so the meat would stay fresh.

A truck with four men drove by and slammed on the brakes. One yelled out the window, “Is that a bear???”

I thought, “This will go one of two ways… they’re either going to ream me out or understand that this is food.” They were so excited to see a bear. I made sure to explain why I was packing her with ice and really highlighted that the reason she’s in the back of my truck is because she is going to feed my family. They were so understanding and so intrigued. They took pictures and asked all about what kinds of things I would be cooking. That’s the perfect interaction.

Now she’s home. Her hide and head are on ice so I can send them off to a taxidermist to help me preserve and honour her memory.

Her fat will be rendered down for cooking, baking, and skin care.

My husband and I got to work processing her after our baby was in bed. The tender and delicious meat is packed into roasts, steaks, and ground meat, and I can’t wait to share the meals and recipes I make with her.

I am beyond grateful for the experience, knowledge, and healthy, clean meat in my freezer.

I am really not just saying this… I can’t recommend Matt and Elite Bear Outfitters enough. The ACTION, the bears, the ethics, the facilities. All top notch.

I got it all on film, so once I throw the footage together, I’ll be sure to share it. You’ll get a much better idea of what the camp and experience were like.