Hunter: Daniel D. Lamoreux
Black Bear – Northwest Wyoming – Spring Season
Method: Spot & Stalk;
License Requirements:
Resident: Bear Tag (over the counter) $37.00, Conservation Stamp $10.50; Non-Resident: Bear Tag (over the counter) $301.00,
Conservation Stamp $10.50;
Weaponry/Gear: Rifle ‚Äì Ruger M77 .270; Scope ‚Äì Tasco 4×40; Ammo ‚Äì Remington Express 150gr CORE-LOKT Sft Pt
Guide: None used. A guide is required for non-residents hunting in designated Wilderness Areas.
Agency Contact:
Wyoming Game & Fish Department
5400 Bishop Boulevard
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82006
http://gf.state.wy.us/
The Tale:
My favorite bear hunting area had been open, according to Game & Fish, since May 1st but the U.S. Forest Service had the road closed into that area since the previous fall when it snowed shut for the season. The distance between the locked gate and where I normally park to hunt this particular area is about 12 miles. Needless to say, this spot isn’t open for hunting to me until the guardians of our forests decide the public can access public land.
They finally unlocked the gate Sunday afternoon, the 21st of May, so I immediately made plans to hunt there as soon as I could schedule it. Shortly after sunrise on Saturday, the 27th, I was putting on my pack and preparing for a long day afield. This was my third spring season in this spot and I knew it well but, having been locked out since the previous fall, I had no clue what kind of activity I might find.
The day was overcast and the temperature was about 40 degrees with intermittent light rain. It was a nice break from the ‘heat wave’ we had been experiencing the last week or so when temps were in the 70s. A cold front was moving into the area and the forecast was for snow that evening. My expectations were high. Changes in weather like this often got the critters moving double-time and, thus far, the rule was holding fast. Mule deer, including a number of bucks in the early stages of velvet, and moose had been seen in good numbers already and I was just getting started.
I started climbing to a small plateau that offered me the best view of a huge avalanche chute I’d hunted in the past. I spent some time glassing the area for movement. Bears often target avalanche chutes and high-elevation meadows in early spring as they search for winterkill, rodents and freshly greening vegetation to fatten up after their winter fast.
I didn’t see any bear on the move and decided to head into the trees bordering the chute. There is a slope located here that is fully covered in pine that the bears have used in years past as a transitional highway between the avalanche chute and a primary creek.
During the previous year’s spring hunt a partner and I got close enough to a bear in this same area to smell it – though we never saw it in the thick timber. I figured to check the usual game trails and see if there was any sign of activity.
Just as I worked my way across a small opening at the base of the slope I detected movement to my right. At a distance of about 55 yards from me, and about 35 yards above me on the slope, the black bear stepped into an open slot between two big rocks and some heavy brush. It was standing on one of the trails I had intended to check.
The bear stepped fully into the small opening and stopped dead in his tracks. I was standing smack dab in the middle of a clearing of my own and the bear looked directly at me!
No time to think… I recognized he wasn’t a baby booboo… raised the .270, positioned the crosshairs and pulled the trigger.
The rifle bucked and I lost the sight picture for that single instant at ignition. On recovery, I chambered another round and watched the bear dive into the brush in the direction he was originally headed.
He was gone – just like that.
The shot felt really good but I couldn’t replay the picture in my mind. I just wasn’t positive that it hit the mark. No sound came from the timber and no movement could be detected. I knew that I needed to give the bullet time to do its thing.
I dropped my pack and grabbed a canteen from within to wet my dry throat as I watched the surrounding area for any potential countering move by my quarry. Fifteen minutes later I decided to follow-up on the shot.
I circled to the right so that I could go up the same game trail the bear was using, hoping for the best visibility under the circumstances. I slowly made my way up to the point where the bear had been standing when I fired. There was no blood, no hair, no sign of any kind that a bear had been there and certainly no indication that he’d been hit. The thick-hided buggers!
The brush was thick in that immediate area so I decided to back off about 15 yards and circle above that spot in an attempt to get a better vantage point. I certainly didn’t want to walk into any potential ambush.
Circling above, I looked down and noticed a dark patch of hair. Moving around further I discovered the bear lying against a tree. The approach was slow and deliberate… and my bear was dead as a post!
He had traveled no more than 30 yards when he piled up.
Once I was certain the bear was dead, I took a break to let my blood pressure and heart rate settle down and then I started in to the work – and four hours later I had a really nice bear coat tucked neatly into the truck!
What a rush!