Brookfield, NY
Whitetail Deer
Set the last couple hours of daylight aside today to enjoy an afternoon in the deer woods. After meeting with my fur buyer / friend, it was back down to our hill in Brookfield to try and fill the one remaining DMP.
Partly sunny skies with temperatures in the 50’s made for a very comfortable late November outing. Light weight clothing, gloveless hands, and a ball cap are far from the usual attire this time of year. 2011 has truly seen an exceptionally warm fall. Many are saying we will pay for it with lake effect snow this winter…
A fairly careful still hunt had me up the hill and on stand around 3:30pm. The final hour of the day would be spent in the same location as opening day’s morning hunt. This effort was the first this season that didn’t have much preplanning or evaluation. Taking a carefree, “willy nilly” approach provided a fine sense of joyful freedom. In a way, I actually missed the less focused way of going about it…
Tucked in amongst a series of blow downs, the area was much harder to scan without any snow on the ground. A small nearby spring brook had risen a bit from the snow melt, and was playing perfect music by feeling everything in its purest form. Other than the trickling water, the woods was very, very quiet.
Over the song of the brook, the ears were dialing in on every little sound in the dry leaves. It was almost as if the mind wanted to hear approaching deer so bad that it was creating audible hallucinations. On several occasions my heart was fluttering and my hands were gripping at the gun, only to realize it wasn’t deer approaching that I had heard…
Just as the fat lady stepped up to the mic, the undeniable sound of approaching footsteps erupted about a hundred yards out in front of me. I could see a large dark figure slowly moving about. First thought (safest thought) was that it might be another hunter.
As the being turned broadside, it became obvious that it was a large animal!? It looked to be a Bear! It immediately registered that a bear season was opened up in this area a couple years back in an effort to eliminate a population from establishing itself. Never thought in a million years that I would actually see one down this way.
Being ever so careful to make sure it wasn’t a lost calf or some sort of livestock, I studied it in the scope. “Oh my god!” “It is a bear!” “A big bear!!” I lined up the crosshairs behind the bear’s shoulder and eased back the trigger. KA BWOWW! The rifle roared, and the bear immediately went into a powerful “fullback” type sprint.
It was knocking down trees as it ran. There was a concussion that could be felt through the ground and air from the massive animal's paws pounding on the earth. Just as it went over a nearby ridge out of sight, there was a loud crashing commotion. It was obvious that the bear had gone down. I was standing there in disbelief as if a lightning bolt had just passed through me.
Suddenly, there was this loud, all encompassing, deep moaning sound echoing through the woods. The bear was down! A snap judgment was made to quickly make my way to the downed bear to finish it off.
Moving quickly toward the crashing and moaning, I was making quite a bit of noise myself. Suddenly, as if the bear had heard me coming, the sound of it crashing about turned and began moving quickly toward me!! Oh my god! It was coming to confront me!!
Like a soldier in combat, I dropped to a knee and braced for the incoming danger. The life threatening situation instantly provoked a heightened state of awareness. The moment another shot presented itself, my mind was ready to dial in on the shot like a computer. Missing was not an option.
Before the bear showed itself, the woods once again grew very quiet. The hairs on the back of the neck felt the air for the slightest trace of vibration. Hands remained readied to react with mechanical type precision.
Silence remained for a few minutes, so once again it was time to press on forward. A short stalk revealed the big black mass lying motionless on the ground. Holy Shit! I had just harvested a big ole black bear!! But wait, How am I going to get it out of here? I’m almost a mile up into the woods hunting by myself.
The worried thought passed for a few minutes as I just admired the bear. God, those minutes will certainly be with me to the end. The bear’s design is so massive and powerful. It was an awe striking experience to say the least…
After admiring the bear it was onto field dressing it. Always wondered what it would be like to do one. It really wasn’t much different from a deer. Crazy thing was, there was movement a short ways away the whole time I was cleaning it out.
It sounded like something big was rustling around in the leaves approximately 80 yards away. Thinking it might be another bear, the rifle remained within grabbing distance the entire time. Speaking loudly didn’t seem to be scaring the creature off. Eventually, whatever it was moved away without issue.
Next, it was onto facing the music of getting it out of the woods. There was just no way I was going to get it back to the truck on my own. God bless the cell phone! One call to my father, and it so happens that his neighbors are hunting down the road from me and willing to help!
Within an hour of giving the guys direction, there is three flashlights heading up the hill toward me. The first guy I meet is Joe. Built like a linebacker, Joe looked like he could do some serious pulling. Soon as I saw him, the words just left my mouth. “Oh yeah, we got some big ole’ boys!”
The other two men are both good sized guys as well. I couldn’t thank them enough for coming to help. They said they were just happy to be part of the bear harvest. Josh and Ryan Cobb grew up a few houses down from me. Both are avid outdoorsmen and great people.
Together, we pulled that bear through the bush with everything we had. Finally getting to the truck provided a great sense of accomplishment. We all shook hands and admired the massive animal for awhile. Each one of us surely had a good night’s sleep.
Before heading back home, I had to stop by my parent’s house to show them the bear. Dad had a spotlight set up in the yard. Neighbors all gathered around taking pictures. There was all sorts of cameras and flashes going off as I sat there holding the bear’s head up on the back of my truck. I think I might have caught a glimpse of what it’s like to be a celebrity.
Now it’s on to getting the bear examined by the DEC, processed for the table, and prepared for the taxidermist. This hunt was literally a dream come true. Life is oh so sweet!
