Well, the lucky charms came through!! After a replaying the shot over and over, I was up at first light. It had rained in the night and I was prepared for a big grid search. Last year it took me 1.5 tense hours, creeping through the cedars to find the bear I arrowed 150 yards away. Locked and loaded I headed in, but when I got to the cedar that he rounded when I took the Texas heart shot, I spied him about 30 yards over piled up against a cedar in an old wash.

After the rituals, I got to work and was home about 6 hours later with him skinned and the meat boned out. He wasn't quite as long as I figured, squaring just 6 ft, but was definitely well fed. I obviously didn' t weigh him, but he was 68" long (nose to tail on the animal) and had a girth that would make a SUMO proud of 50". To estimate a bear's weight, plug those into this chart: http://www.customosteo.com/news_bear_weight.html

I had a blast with this guy - stalking him 5-6 times last year and looking for him at least twice as many. Hopefully he maximized his time with the ladies last year! [8D] He is a beauty - with a cinnamon red back and chocolate legs and will be admired in the spot I have reserved for him - in front of the fireplace in the new house. Here's a few pics (excuse the wads of Kleenex up my nose, but I'll don't want to smell gutpile, when I eat the sausages):