HuntingNet.com Forums - My hunting story in the Great Falls tribune

Recently I entered an outdoor writing contest for a major newspaper in my area in Northcentral montana. I wrote about an experience I had this past bow season with a black bear and an elk. I won the youth outdoor writing contest for the Great Falls Tribune and got my story printed on the front page of the Outdoors section today. If any of you are from montana you can see it, but otherwise...here it is

Thursday, September 18 found me hiking up a deep valley in the northern edge of the Rocky Mountain Front. A fresh snow had fallen the night before and a cold front was moving in. Hoping to call a rutting bull elk within bow range, I had raced off to the mountains immediately after school. I knew that elk were in the area, but I had no idea what I was in for that day.
I had hiked almost two miles up this particular drainage, and I was now standing at the edge of a sheltered meadow near the top of a heavily timbered ridge. Scanning the surrounding hillsides with my binoculars revealed two young black bears gorging themselves with some sort of berries, but no elk. I had already seen two different black bears while hiking up the drainage, and seeing all these bears reminded me of the black bear tag I had in my pack. As I was glassing, a deep bugle echoed across the valley. The bull sounded like he was on the other side of the valley, and within thirty seconds he bugled again. I frantically searched the hillside for him and suddenly spotted him coming out of the timber into an opening. He was a big six by six that would easily score over 300 Boone and Crocket points. I let out a high pitched squeal, followed by two spike bull bugles twenty seconds apart. He looked up at me and let loose with a deep, chuckling bugle.
I bugled once more before grabbing my bow and sneaking 200 yards closer to him. I kept out of his field of view and cow called with different calls while I moved around to imitate a group of cows. The bull was really fired up and he sounded like he was getting closer. I leaned up against a large pine tree, knocked an arrow, and called sparingly with my diaphragm. My heart was pounding rapidly and the anticipation of the shot was overwhelming.
I continued to call every now and then, expecting the bull to come bursting out of the timber at any moment. Suddenly, I caught movement to my left in the trees. Assuming it was the bull, I drew back and stared in awe as a huge black bear boar lumbered out of the trees only thirty yards from me. I followed his vitals with my thirty yard pin as he waddled across the meadow. Again the bull bugled above me. Now I had a decision to make, shoot the bear and risk spooking the elk or let him go and take my chances with the bull. I really wanted to get a big bull elk with my bow, but the bear was right in front of me! Reluctantly, I chose to leave the bear alone and keep after the bull. The bear walked back into the trees, but the bull’s bugle continued to get closer. The bull dropped down into the bottom and made a semicircle around me. He wouldn’t come closer than 100 yards and after a while he lost interest and disappeared back to wherever those big bulls go.
The light was fading and legal shooting light ended before I had a chance to follow the bull. I had two miles in the dark to go and it just so happened that the big boar was going in the same direction. I was curious to see where he was going, so I followed his tracks on my way out. He meandered along the stream for the first mile then veered straight left up the hill. I followed his tracks up the hill and for some reason he continued moving to the left back where we had came from. Then, startlingly, he came back onto the trail and followed my tracks! Was this bear stalking me? I didn’t want to find out, so I cut across the stream to the opposite ridge and walked quickly back to my truck. I always carry bear spray with me, but I’m glad I didn’t have to use it. Although I came home empty handed, the experience is still with me. Next time, however, I’ll be sure to take the available shot before I become the hunted.

By the way, this is a 100% true story...I'm still kicking myself for not shooting the bear.