Lions and Tigers and OH MY!

So here's my other hunting story for the week. On Monday, I was headed to my usual spot in the woods, which is right at the end of a clear cut. You walk a logging road to get to it which is pretty well grown up on both sides, so much so that you can't really see more than a few yards in front of you at any one point in time. Just as I was getting to where it opens up (which is where I hunt), I saw something large rubbing up against a sapling. My first thought was that it was a big buck rubbing its antlers, so I immediately raised my gun and looked through my scope. Much to my surprise, it was no buck. It was a bear, and no small one at that!

About the same time as I spotted him (or her), he spotted me. We then proceeded to have about a 10 second stare down (that seemed much longer). I think we were both thinking "Oh crap!" He was no more than 10 yards away, close enough that I could see his breath coming out of his nose in the cool morning air. I've seen bears enough times now that they really don't bother me much, certainly not when I have a gun, and I figured he would eventually back down and walk off. That's exactly what he did, whirling around to his right as he made his exit. When he turned, another bear jumped and ran, followed by another one still. Yes, that's right, three bears right in that one spot. And before anyone asks, no, I did not see Goldilocks - ha, ha.

Later that morning, I saw a really nice buck, not once but twice. In the afternoon, I saw him again, but he never got close enough for me to get a shot. The following day, he slipped up a little, and below is the result, a nice 8 pointer with a 17.5" spread. Not the biggest buck I've ever killed, but he ranks up there and went a long way in helping to fill my freezer with some nice, lean, protein-rich meat that I'll need when I resume running here soon. In the meantime, I'll be keeping an eye out for bears!