I was able to accomplish something with my longbow I have been wanting to do for a really long time last Saturday morning. This adventure all started about a month ago when you can start baiting for bears in Arkansas. Samantha and I started going up there every weekend looking for what we thought would be good locations then hanging stands and the many trips to keep the bait site fresh. I can’t say enough about my wife she is pregnant and she never missed a beat staying with me the whole time, beating the heat and sleeping in a tent on the weekends that we would stay up there. So the first weekend of bear season I left with only one sighting of a bear which I thought was an accomplishment in itself. But then this weekend rolls around and it’s also the kickoff off of the deer season in Arkansas. We roll in to camp late Friday night and get our tent set up. I wake up the next morning and Mitchell Hoskins and I talk about hunting and all the excitement and soon we take off to our stand locations. I slip into my stand nice and quit and I am ready. It was deathly calm I was texting Samantha that I was in the tree when I hear a large stick break and that gets my attention. But 30 minutes rolls by and I don’t see anything. These bears are big animals but have padded feet and seem to move through the woods calmly and methodically planning every step. Which is why at about 7:00 I see black movement not even 20 yards from me. I pick my times to get my bow off the hanger when he can’t see me and start to get setup in a position for a shot. He comes into the bait but would lay down or be behind some brush not offering a good shot. At one point he takes some of the bait and walks off but I just had that feeling it wasn’t over. Sure enough he strolls right back in and after about 20 minutes of this I finally see my window. He stands up and is broadside slightly quartering to me. I pick a spot tightly tucked into his shoulder calm myself one more time get to full draw and before I know it the arrow is on its way and smacks him right where I was looking. He takes off in a mad dash breaking every twig and stick in his way it’s just a few seconds and I hear what I think is the infamous death moan of a bear, but I wasn’t 100% sure it was very fate. I immediately call Samantha and let her know. I get off the phone with her and I get a text from Mitchell Hoskins and he has some good news too. It seems like a silly thing to pray about but I took a moment and thanked God for the opportunity. He made us, this world, and these creatures we love to hunt so I thanked him for all of it. I head back to camp and Samantha and Mitchell are ready to go find this bear so we load up and take off. I had a real good idea where I heard him last but we try and work a blood trail to him. It’s small drops and hard to see in the pine needles but we keep working together and piecing it together. We get to a spot where we don’t see much blood and I’m standing there Mitchel wanders to my left and Samantha wonders to my right. After a few minutes Samantha says “uh..I have blood” but I could hear it in her voice and I said ”do you see the bear?” And sure enough I start heading towards her and there he is. And again I couldn’t have done this without the help of my wife a story we will for sure be telling my son in the near future.
Well, I didn’t get a deer this morning but got another fawn killer with the Sarrels Blueridge. First kill with this particular bow.
This one a bigger one than last years. 13 yard shot with a 30 yard recovery. 150 grain Grizzly single bevel broadhead did a number on this cat. This might be a lifesize mount. Not sure just yet.
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