Well last weds. started the bear hunting season and I set the bait out that day as I have weds off. We have had a very warm september so far this year in NH, and I kept hearing that the bears werent moving. I checked the bait last saturday and nothing had hit it. I didnt even chance hunting it that day and just added more bait and put more mollases around the bait. I was not able to get to my site on sunday as I had to work and then went to a fair in the afternoon. Monday morning I had to work 5am-1pm and as soon as I got out I went home and showered got some jerky and a drink at the store and filled the 5 gal buckets with bait and headed a hour to my site. I got to the site and too my surprise the entire thing was demolished and all the food was gone. I reset the bait area and put another 10 gallons of bait down and got into the stand around 3pm. After a few hours of nearly dosing off, at 5pm I see some movement. Its funny because I didnt hear anything (man if I could only be that quiet going through the woods). The bear starts to move to my bait and he just stands sniffing the air broadside and I decide its now or never. It was hard to tell how big he was or wasnt as I was not experienced and no one I know hunts bear. There was also nothing for any comparison(should have thought of that). Well I put him down right where he was which made me feel good as I was nervous with it being my first time with an animal bigger than a squirell. He ended up weighing in at 112 dressed so I was told he was probably 140lb to 150lb live weight. I was kinda bummed but the conservation officer said its hard sometimes for even experienced black bear hunters to tell. He also said not to feel bad and it was a good first big game animal and would help me in choosing my next.
So here he is in a 107 gallon tub that was packed with ice until i could get him to the butcher yesterday. Its the only one I have as I was so worried about the meat spoiling the night before that I just wanted to get it on ice as quikly as possible.
