Montana Big Game Series - Black Bear

[Jay Edward (deceased)]

I used to hunt these game animals regularly once...and I've taken a few. I wanted the meat (because I found out that it tasted good), the claws (for necklaces and trade), the hide (for trade), the lower jaw for knife handles and the fat for patch lubricant and cooking.

That 'patch lubricant' was a big deal with me at one time and I still prefer it but haven't hunted bear in some time. I still get the tag each year and look forward to getting the bear that destroys my fruit trees...however, there is apparently a 'leak' at the store where I get my tags because the bear always disapears and all I ever hear is giggles from the woods behind my place.

I never found Black Bear particularly hard to kill. I've killed them with a number of different cartridges and even took one with a .22 LR pistol. I've been stared down a couple of times by sows with cubs and scared any number of them just to watch them try to get traction.

The prettiest I ever shot was a yellow color shading down to dark brown 'boots' on his legs. That one went to a taxidermist who really wanted it for himself.

[OregonBoy]

Jay, tell me more about this bear with a .22...sounds like an interesting story...

[Jay Edward (deceased)]

Jay, tell me more about this bear with a .22...sounds like an interesting story...

[/size]
 
OK...but I emphatically do not recommend this to anyone!
 
It was back in the days that I really made a passion out of hunting. I would start off with 'early season' hunting in the 'Big Hole'. Then I would hunt in Eastern Montana for Antelope, Pheasant, Hungarians and sometimes Mule Deer. I would then devote a couple of weeks to hunting in The Beaverhead and finish off (if I hadn't gotten Deer or Elk) West of the Flathead Valley near the Thompson Lakes.
 
Preparation would involve setting up camps (not spike camps) where I could pack in during the regular season. I would make stoves out of 30 gallon barrels...pickup Coleman stoves, dishes, silverware, lanterns and such at yard sales...pack everything in during the summer, cut poles for the tent (s) and then bury everything untill returning in the Fall. I still have camps buried down in the Beaverhead and in the Bob Marshall Wilderness that I've not seen in some 20 years.
 
Well, one year I was with another hunter (we camped together but hunted separately) and we were down in The Beaverhead cutting firewood, tent poles and clearing a space for camp. We were pretty far back in having packed in a chain saw, shovel and axe. At that time you could shoot Black Bear at various times of the year.
 
On the way back to where we had left the pickup I spotted the curve of a bear's body working over a log or stump. He was just visible over the high Sage and I couldn't tell if he was a Black Bear or a Grizzly. I was overcome with this desperate need to know which.
 
I dropped my load and, getting on my hands and knees, crawled up through the Sage to get a better look. I got to where I figured I was 50 yards away and peeked up over the Sage to see what was what. Unbeknownst to me, the bear had finished up and started to wander down the mountain. When I looked over the Sage, he stood up about 15 yards away. I whipped out my (then new) Browning Challenger .22 handgun. I asked the fella I was with: "Should I shoot?". He stated something to the effect that he didn't care what I did as he was making tracks for somewheres else.
 
Just then the Black Bear dropped down on all fours and 'woofed' at me. I aimed between his eyes and pulled the trigger. He spun around, bit at his shoulder and ran back up the hill. I hightailed it around the hill and came up from the far side in case he was laying for me. Sure enough, he was laying in grass at the top of the hill watching the other side.
 
I tiptoed up behind him and shot him through the back of the head...he dropped instantly.
 
Then I got another bright idea. As the hill was fairly steep, I thought we might field dress him right where he lay and let the 'internals' just roll down the hill. Hah! Every few minutes he would slide a little and by the time I was done we'd worked our way to the bottom of the hill with much slipping, sliding and laughing.
 
Well, it was still pretty warm so I caped him at once, we packed up and headed over to Ennis where I left him off to be made into sandwich meat. While that was going on we camped and fished on Ennis Lake. While we were there a number of fishermen came by and saw the skull with the .22 hole resting on a stake, drying. They one and all expressed disbelief that I'd taken the bear with a .22 LR handgun. They said I needed a .44 mag at the least. Oh well.
 
So...we picked up the bear meat and headed to The Big Hole. Washed out! Then we packed up again and headed into The Spanish Peaks...again we came up empty (except for birds). Finally we headed back to The Flathead and home. Caught a lot of fish, took a number of birds and had the bear meat. I think I ended up heading over to Eastern Montana later for a late season Antelope & Mule Deer hunt but I cannot remember. It all sort of runs together at this late date.
 
Anyway...here's a picture of the bear hide stretched out on some plywood we always carried in the back of the pickup. You can just barely make out the Browning Challenger on my right hip.

[mtsharps]

great story Jay  thats why I love living in Montana
 
 Have a good day

[OregonBoy]

Thanks, Jay. I'm not sure I'd want to tackle a bruin with a 22LR, but it's neat to hear from someone who has.