CANADA: Quebec: Father/Daughter Bear Hunt Semi-live

[Slaton]

Sara and I are off again on another adventure. I was inspired by @Green Chile and his recent trip to start our own thread. I enjoyed his updated and all the helpful information he shared.

We have just left Atlanta and headed to Albany New York and will pick up a rental truck to drive into Quebec. We will be hunting from Saturday through Thursday if needed. It is about a 9 hour drive from Albany to bear camp but I have a ton of Southwest miles so our flights where free and we will get to see some different country. We are hunting outside of Val d’or with Northern Outfitters. We booked this hunt at the DSC in Atlanta in January. On this hunt the will provide baits, transportation to and from the stand, and we will provide all of our own food.

Once we land and pick up the truck the plan is to stop by Sam’s club and Walmart to get all the necessity’s. We have a hotel booked in Saint Sauveur tonight and will get up Saturday morning to make the 4-5 hour trip to camp.

Sara and I will both be hunting with our bows and it’s her first bear hunt. I have been on a few hunts for bears but never have been able to get one killed.

If you have read this far i apologize for any misspelled words or bad grammar. But will hopefully have enough service or wifi to be able to update daily.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

Good luck on the hunt. Hope you packed some fishing gear, good walleye and speckled trout fishing when you get your bear down. Should have some big bears in that area.

 

[Green Chile]

Excited to see how this unfolds. Remember patience and a bit of luck are key! And don't forget to get some Thermacell fuel. That and a head net go a LONG ways towards being able to sit still. Those older bears are smart and will sit back and watch to see if you move. Little bears put up with stuff from hunters that the big bears won't tolerate. Wish I was there!!!

 

[Slaton]

We have made it halfway to Bear camp. We are overnighting in Saint Sauveur. We have taken our time driving from Albany. Had a little hiccup renting our truck. It was posted that at the counter to let them know if traveling to Canada. We did and then the guy at the counter said they can’t let any thing bigger than a mini van go to Canada. After I showed that the contract said we could and explained that we would be in the middle of the woods and that the chances of it getting stolen where almost zero we left with a F150 with 2200 miles on it.

A stop at Sam’s club, Walmart and Canadian Tire and we had all the groceries and gear we couldn’t take on the plane with us. I had never been to a Canadian Tire but if you ever get the chance it’s worth the trip.

Once we checked into our room for the night we went to find something for dinner. Sara has had a hankering for seafood and let me tell you the Olynicks in Saint Sauveur is somewhere I would highly recommend. We split the seafood platter and it was delicious and awesome. And Sara put in some work. Probably won’t have to feed her breakfast.

We will leave early in the morning and should be in camp by noon.

 

[Green Chile]

That's a pretty incredible meal on the way to bear camp! Dad rolled out the red carpet. Fun times.

I like what you did at the car rental counter...stay calm and explain this is what I need...and you got the truck. Nicely done.

 

[Slaton]

No doubt she is spoiled. But she is the baby of the family with the older brother and sister out of the house and becoming successful in their own right, Sara is reaping the benefits. But she will be the first to admit it.

We are hunting. And have good cell service. Both of us are in ground blinds. With baits that haven’t been hunted but being hit fairly often. The guide has been saying that it was a late spring and the activity has been slow but in the previous 3 weeks they have went 24/29 with four of the guys not killing passing several waiting on a trophy. The weather is beautiful and should be for the next couple of days with some rain showing late Monday into Tuesday. 2 thermacell running in the blind and not a bug to be seen. Fingers crossed that either Sara or I get a shot tonight that way we can hunt together and video. While I would love to kill a giant I’ll be tickled with just a good one. I’m not going to be to picky.

Hopefully I’ll have more to add this evening but if not I’ll try and update tomorrow with pictures of camp.

 

[Slaton]

We have punched a tag on the first night. Will tell the story and post pictures tomorrow. We have work to do.

 

[Slaton]

Service is slow and hard to get picture to upload. I’ll keep trying to add pictures but might have to do them at the end when I get wifi.


Well we had an exciting first evening. Sara was the first to see a bear at her blind. It came in at a little after 7. She sent me pictures and video trying to decide if it was a shooter or not. The guides recommended using the barrel laying down as a gauge and if the bear was 6-8” taller it would be a good bear. After a few minutes of texting discussion she decided she wanted to take the shot. That’s when the bear grabbed a piece of bait and walked straight away.


It then hung out about 40 yards behind the bait enjoying its snack and standing to scratch its back. Eventually it returned to the barrel for another snack and laid down not offering a shot. After about 45 minutes it finally presented Sara with a good angle at 14 yards. She breaks a clean shot.

Let me say that Sara has shot a bow since she was 3 and we both compete on a national level. She has recently got to shooting score to beat her old man. She shoots a 64# Bowtech Solution SD with a 410 grain arrow with a qad exodus.

Sara said the arrow hit about 1” higher than where she was aiming but left and right was perfect. The bear lets out a roar/moan and takes off hard with the arrow hanging out. She texted the guide and the pick up the track after about 30 minutes. There is blood starting at the bait and they follow it for about 100 yards.

Meanwhile at my blind it just me and the squirrels until 8:50 with sunset being around 9:10. That when I look up and see him standing at the barrel. After the initial shock wore off I decided it was well taller than the barrel and I was going to shoot. That’s when he turns and walks away.


Sara and her guide keep looking for blood but light is staring to fade and they had found the arrow broke off just behind the insert and decided to back out for the evening as it is cool and there are 4 of us hunting out of the same truck and we are all quite a ways apart.


It is now just a few minutes past 9 with sunset being 9:10. And like a magic trick the bear is back at my bait in full view at 18 yards. There was nothing and then abracadabra he’s there again. I’m able to snap a few pictures and get my bow ready for a shot the. He lays down. After what seems like forever and really about a minute he stands and is broadside. He takes 1 step and now quartering away. I bury the pin just back of the midline want to exit the offside shoulder. I break a clean shot and the arrow disappears exactly where I was aiming. The bear takes off in a sprint down the logging road before turning into the brush where it just seconds and I hear a terrible crash and limbs breaking then silents. No death moan. I text Sara and then she calls. After a short conversation she says they are on the way and will be there in about 20 minutes. Once her and the guide are there we find an epic blood trail the bear down after a 120 yards easy track.

 

[Slaton]

It was a late night and an early morning. We were up past midnight and up at 6:30 to take pictures with my bear and go look for Sara’s. Where she was hunting is about an hour from camp. With the overnight temps in the 40’s leaving the bear overnight should be fine. After our ride we are back where she shot last night. We get to where they found last blood the night before and start our search. After about 15 minutes I find one small drop of blood about 30-40 yards from the last. We look for a little over an hour and find no other sign. We search in all directions and make circles and zig-zag around last blood and unfortunately never find any more blood or sign.


The outfitters policy allows anyone who wounds a bear the opportunity to continue hunting but if they shoot again and don’t recover their hunt is over.

So we are in the blind together. I’m on cameraman duty and hopefully can capture a better ending to the story.

The outfitter only shoots 1 bear per bait and shuts it down for the season after that. He will continue to place bait at the sights but not a frequently and will eventually stop. He believes that is the best way to keep a sight going year after year.

Looks like we are going to get a good bit of rain starting tomorrow then some cooler temperatures. Tonight would be a good one to have Sara punch her tag.

I’ll try tomorrow and get some pictures from around camp and post them soon.

 

[Slaton]

After pictures this morning we weighed my bear at 245lbs. Out of the 26 shot this season it is the second largest with 303lbs being the biggest.

We also seen 3 snakes under the porch on our cabin. We relocated them to the woods well away from our steps. I didn’t expect to see and snakes this far north.


There is a total of 13 people hunting in camp this week between 3 guides. Last night another guy shot a bear. 2 of the guys just got in today so out of the 11 hunting last night 7-8 saw bears and another bowhunter came to full draw 3 times but the bear never presented a perfect shot. Think the majority of folks are bow hunting with a few crossbows, rifles, and shotguns mixed in.

A couple more picture if they will upload

 

[davidg8480]

Congratulations on your Bear nice job.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Congrats. And good luck to Sara

 

[HankBuck]

Excited to see how this unfolds. Remember patience and a bit of luck are key! And don't forget to get some Thermacell fuel. That and a head net go a LONG ways towards being able to sit still. Those older bears are smart and will sit back and watch to see if you move. Little bears put up with stuff from hunters that the big bears won't tolerate. Wish I was there!!!

@Green Chile - Agree on the “ThermaCell”. I use to think they were a stupid gimmick —— until I tried one, they WORK Great ! In seconds the constant “humming & buzzing” from Black Flys stopped. I would Not do a Spring Bear Hunt over Bait again without a ThermaCell ——much more enjoyable.

 

[HankBuck]

After pictures this morning we weighed my bear at 245lbs. Out of the 26 shot this season it is the second largest with 303lbs being the biggest.

We also seen 3 snakes under the porch on our cabin. We relocated them to the woods well away from our steps. I didn’t expect to see and snakes this far north.


There is a total of 13 people hunting in camp this week between 3 guides. Last night another guy shot a bear. 2 of the guys just got in today so out of the 11 hunting last night 7-8 saw bears and another bowhunter came to full draw 3 times but the bear never presented a perfect shot. Think the majority of folks are bow hunting with a few crossbows, rifles, and shotguns mixed in.

A couple more picture if they will upload

@Slaton - Congratulations on your Bear and 245lbs “On a Scale” is a very good Quebec bear —- most are in the 100-150lb range and most Camps NEVER use a scale (better to Estimate the Bear at 200-300lbs then actually weigh it and find out is 135 lbs).. I’ve done 3 Bear Hunts in Quebec and only saw One bear taken that weighed over 200 lbs (out of 25 bears killed over the 3 hunts). You did Great !

 

[Slaton]

Thanks for the kind words @HankBuck We weigh him on a digital scale in the skinning shed. The second biggest that was killed so far was 165lbs.

We are back in the blind at the same spot a last night. We relocated the blind about 90 degrees from where it was because last night we had one come in right behind us and take off. It had to be within 10 feet but we never saw it because we keep most of the windows closed up to keep us hid better.

It is still raining pretty good and has been for the last 6 hours or so. The radar shows it stopping about 5:30. That should get the bears on their feet. Fingers crossed Sara gets a shot this evening

Last night there was 3 more bears killed so that brings the total to 5 for the week. If anything happens I’ll try and check back in. If not we will be back tomorrow for day 4.

 

[HankBuck]

Thanks for the kind words @HankBuck We weigh him on a digital scale in the skinning shed. The second biggest that was killed so far was 165lbs.

We are back in the blind at the same spot a last night. We relocated the blind about 90 degrees from where it was because last night we had one come in right behind us and take off. It had to be within 10 feet but we never saw it because we keep most of the windows closed up to keep us hid better.

It is still raining pretty good and has been for the last 6 hours or so. The radar shows it stopping about 5:30. That should get the bears on their feet. Fingers crossed Sara gets a shot this evening

Last night there was 3 more bears killed so that brings the total to 5 for the week. If anything happens I’ll try and check back in. If not we will be back tomorrow for day 4.

@Slaton - I don't think rain stops Bears from feeding or moving and have taken several during straight down rain (but Not in high wind)…..Good Hunting to you

 

[Finprof]

@Green Chile - I would Not do a Spring Bear Hunt over Bait again without a ThermaCell ——much more enjoyable.

I would nominate the inventor of the Thermacell for a Nobel prize.

 

[ACE (in CT)]

I have always found that very shortly after the rain stops, the bears come in.
Congrats on your Bear, Good Luck to Sara!

 

[Slaton]

Well we are all tagged out in Quebec.

The rain stopped last night about 6:45 and the sun popped out about 7. We started seeing squirrels, birds and chipmunks. It was not until 8:38 that a black head popped up right behind the barrel. We get both of the cameras rolling as it cautiously circles and finally commit to coming in. I’m on the left side of the blind so my angle is a little different than Sara’s. The bear starts to feed and I have a perfect shot but Sara being on the right side has 1 limb blocking the vitals. The bear continues to feed laying down. After about 10 minutes it grabs a big piece and walks away from the bait but on 10’ or so and enjoys its snack. We whisper about swapping seats but don’t want to make any noise so Sara decides to just sit in my lap. So the bear comes back now Sara has the perfect angle. The bear is laying down but after a while finally stand up. Sara comes to full draw but since she is in my lap I can’t see. I have to shift the camera over and when it’s in frame I tell her I’m on it. She settles the pin and releases the a perfect shot. The bear is hit hard and takes off on a sprint. Then silent in the woods but there might have been a party in the ground blind.


It’s now a little after 9 and we had watched the bear for 20 minutes before she gets the shot. We reviewed the video more than 10 times and it looked good but there is always nervousness until you lay hands on an animal. There was no death moan. Our guide rounded up the other hunters and finally gets to us. We start finding a little bit of blood but not spectacular. The rain has everything wet and is watering down the blood we are seeing. After about 40 yards we find the arrow and it looks is covered with blood. We continue to follow blood and about 75 yards from the barrel there it is.

It ends up being a 135lb sow with a big white V on its chest.

 

[davidg8480]

Congratulations to Sarah