Well, we returned late Sat. nite from a week long bear hunt about 120 miles North of Winnipeg, Canada with not one out of 6 getting a bear. Mother Nature was a part of the problem and our outfitter didn't help matters either. Out of 6 hunters in our camp, only 3 of us saw a bear at all and I was the only one to shoot but my shot was high and only a flesh wound. Temps were in the low-mid 20's and the bears just did not come out. Some bait sites were hit regularly and some not at all.
Originally, we were to be the only ones in this Outfitter's camp but we found out less than a week before leaving, he overbooked with an additional 12 hunters from Sweden. They relocated us to a further camp (an additional 70 miles North) and as a result we did not see much game at all. We found out upon our return, the Swede's shot 9 bears out of 11 hunters. Sounds to me like the bait sites from our Northern camp were not started until a few days before we arrived.
This hunt was by far the most grueling I have done...Sitting in a very unfomfortable steel lock-on stand in below freezing temps for 8-10 hours at a time and being picked up well after dark. Legal shooting light ended at about 9:30 PM and we were picked up as late as midnight with a 1 1/2 hour return trip to the lodge. Since the Outfitter overbooked, we were short handed with guides and this made for a very long afternoon of hunting.
All-in-all it was a fun experience but very disappointing. I'd like to try it again sometime but definately with a different outfitter. The highlight of my trip was having 6 Timber Wolf sightings during my hunt. No one else saw 1 and I was honored with 6 sightings to within 20 yards of my stand site.
Doug Key
Originally, we were to be the only ones in this Outfitter's camp but we found out less than a week before leaving, he overbooked with an additional 12 hunters from Sweden. They relocated us to a further camp (an additional 70 miles North) and as a result we did not see much game at all. We found out upon our return, the Swede's shot 9 bears out of 11 hunters. Sounds to me like the bait sites from our Northern camp were not started until a few days before we arrived.
This hunt was by far the most grueling I have done...Sitting in a very unfomfortable steel lock-on stand in below freezing temps for 8-10 hours at a time and being picked up well after dark. Legal shooting light ended at about 9:30 PM and we were picked up as late as midnight with a 1 1/2 hour return trip to the lodge. Since the Outfitter overbooked, we were short handed with guides and this made for a very long afternoon of hunting.
All-in-all it was a fun experience but very disappointing. I'd like to try it again sometime but definately with a different outfitter. The highlight of my trip was having 6 Timber Wolf sightings during my hunt. No one else saw 1 and I was honored with 6 sightings to within 20 yards of my stand site.
Doug Key
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