I am a big supporter of teaching the 'why' behind hunting, especially to the youth in my Maine community. So I offered to bring a bear rug and skulls into my daughter's kindergarten class, and it was the highlight of the week for both them, and me.
I need to start by thanking my friend Staci and her husband for making this happen. They helped to get the bait site up and running. Staci was as determined as I was to get me a bear. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a hunting partner like her! The 2021 Bear Hunting Season kicks off! My limited view of the bait site Bear hunting season opened on Monday, August 30th, and trapping season opening on Wednesday, September 1st. With my trapping license and Staci and John’s help, I planned to initially hunt over bait and try trapping. The first night with the traps out, we watched as a bear tripped my trap, looked at the cable and walked away. The next afternoon, Staci and I headed out to reset the trap and sit. We adjusted...
I watched the crack in my windshield grow slightly as the heater kicked on. It was still dark and the temperature gauge read 27 degrees. I took a sip of coffee and exhaled; it was a perfect September morning to go bear hunting. I met Bill Dereszewski, owner of Hollaback Guide Service at the gas station in Princeton. We drank coffee and planned out the day as we waited for more people to join us. Bernie was the first to arrive. A local retired hunter who assisted Bill, his truck was filled with shortbreads and coffee to keep us filled as we chased bears. Bill Gillespie and his pup Tawny joined the group and finally Matt Mcdonnell and a group of hunters from New York arrived. They had been...
Some women have the type of attitude that lets you know that they can and will accomplish anything that they set their mind to. Lorri Nelson is one of those women... There is a shock factor that comes when you shoot the last animal needed for your grand slam. After years of hard work, learning to hunt each animal and a little luck, Lorri Nelson accomplished her grand slam when the cow moose dropped to the ground. “It was only four hours into the hunt,” Lorri said, “We didn’t bring the trailer or 4-wheeler because it was rattling so bad and we didn’t want to spook anything.” They had done some scouting ahead of time and were now looking for a cow moose in Zone 6. “I saw her entire body move in the...
Everything was going just fine until I realized that I had the wrong gun. I had packed everything that I would need and was getting comfortable with the idea of sitting by myself in the tree blind. It was 90 degrees. The odds of a bear coming in were really not good. Plus, when Steve dropped me off and checked the cameras, there were no pictures and the bait had not been touched. I was a little more relaxed about it but I was still weirded out about having the wrong gun. Me, my awesome Kryptek Helios top and the wrong 30-06 I'm couldn't believe that it happened. I had assumed that my gun was in my gun bag and switched it with the gun sitting right next to it. The different strap never registered when I grabbed the guns. I...
After Steve and I tweaked the bait sites and refilled the barrels and crates, we waited to see if and when the bears returned to the sites. Three days after we were there, Steve went back to check: bam! bears at both sites and no food left. Other hunters have been seeing the same thing; lots of bears (many of them good sized bears) are already hitting the bait sites hard this season. When Steve and I were up the first time, we noticed that the blackberries and raspberries were not looking good. Without a lot of fun and rain, the berries were small and still very green. The temperature has dropped a few times down to the 40s at night which could kill some of the bear's food source. There are plenty of...
Right? While I get the blog about my last hunting adventure edited and ready to go, I wanted to share with you some photos from those same sites that show a trap that Steve has put out. According to Maine law, you must check your trap every day and as a result of Steve doing this, we are getting some huge bears coming in. An argument that those who are in favor of banning our effective hunting methods like to make is how easy it is to get a bear. As you have seen, we have a lot of bears coming into the sites. And they are big bears! Bait is helping to bring them in but (spoiler alert) I have not shot a bear. Neither have Steve or Lorri. The bears are there, are coming in almost daily but unless you...
After we struck out on the first night, we planned to go out again and get us a bear. The photos that were were seeing showed incredible bears coming in all the time. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The day before I was going to drive up to meet with Steve and Lorri, I got a text from Steve: "GET MORE BULLETS." We had a behemoth bear coming in on a regular basis and when he compared it to his 420lb bear, he figured it was 500-600lbs. This bear is huge! 500-600lbs probably. Maybe an old Sow by the look of the back stomach area that could be worn out from nursing cubs? Big head, nice barrel like frame. This is an incredible, healthy Maine black bear. I was more comfortable now...
I was nervous. Ridiculously so. I was seeing the big bears that we had coming in on the cameras at each site and I knew that I had to make a damn good shot if a bear came in. I has shot three times to get my gun sighted in and knew that it was right where it needed to be - and I was comfortable making those shots. I packed all of my clothes, which were washed in anti-scent detergent and properly washed and stored with anti-scent dryer sheets. I showered with my anti-scent soap and put everything into the car. As I sat in the driver seat of the car going through my mental checklist, I realized that my gun was still inside. A quick run back inside and I was really ready to go this time. At Steve's, I prepped some bait...
