Royal Outfitters Montana Elk Hunting

Deb, Adair, and I were out elk hunting last weekend on a hot windy day.  We began our evening hunt by setting up by a water hole in an area that Deb and Adair had heard a bull bugle earlier in the day while riding horse.   Deb circled around the left side of the water hole on the up hill side, and I instructed Adair to sneak below the pond on to our right, and sit about 8 yards from the pond in some bushes and we would listen for any elk.  

Adair had not left for more than a few seconds.  I turned and looked toward the pond from the cover of some small fir trees, and could not believe what I saw.  A very large, I mean VERY large black bear was sort of waddling toward the water from an aspen thicket to my left.   I figured Deb could not see the bear from her location, and then thought “holy cow, Adair is heading right for the bear and when she emerges from the brush, she will be less than ten yards from the bear. ” 

I tried to call to Adair in a loud whisper thinking she may still be able to hear me, but in the loud wind she could not.  Not knowing for sure how the bear would react to an 85# girl popping out of the brush at such close range, I decided to try to scare him off.  I figured 230lb dad might have a better shot at bluffing the bruin into running off.  I knew I had only seconds before Adair came out, so I decided to act. 

As I stepped out of the brush I grabbed a fist size rock and lofted it underhand into the water.  The bear only turned to look at the splash.  I then raised my bow over my head and took a couple of quick steps toward the bear while yelling “Hey… Hey!!!”   The bear saw me, was startled and hesitated for a second or two.  Now this is the second or two that you hear about in lots of stories.  They are the ones that “seem like minutes” or “seem like time stands still”.   I think God has blessed us with these special slow seconds to give us time to ponder the possible scenerios that could possibly come to pass.  In this situation there were many options to ponder.  Of course high on the list was: Run away….. knowing that facing a black bear would be a better option than what I would later face from Adair and her mother, I chose against the “run” option.  

My other options now depended on the bears reaction to my bluff charge and yelling.  I had calculated that this black bear while no doubt clever, would not know that the vast majority of human charges are only bluff charges.   Many of you can probably attest to the fact that although humans often charge, they very seldom attack.   In my lifetime I have only encountered one human that actually attacks more often than bluffs.  We have been happlily married now for over 19 years.   I of course knew that my charge was a bluff, because I had no intention of attacking a 500lb black bear.  

The bear on the other hand was using this special “slow” seconds to weigh his options.  He had been on a relaxing walk to the old water hole probably after gorging himself on some late season Oregon grapes, choke cherries, and perhaps a gut pile.  His belly full, and his mind wandering to possible denning sites for the winter, he begins to partake of cool refreshing stagnant pond water when BAM!!  Out of nowhere some middleaged lunatic in camo, throwing rocks and waving some sort of primative weapon over his head comes bolting from the bushes not 15 yards from him.  His first option might be: kill and eat the camo clad lunatic.  He obviously is a little on the chunky side and would top off the tank nicely before the long winters nap.  On the other hand, the camo clad lunatic seems to be a bit on the aggressive side and is charging me, and while it likely is a bluff charge (as of course most human charges are) it may not be a bluff.  This type of aggressive behavior may also be indicative of stress brought on by disease or some sort of poisoning.  The lunatic may have eaten the wrong mushrooms.  It would be awful to go into the den with an upset stomach.  Maybe a bite or two wouldn’t hurt, especially if I wash it down with stagnant pond water.

Now up until this moment (the end of the “long” seconds) the bear and Adair were oblivious to one another’s presence.  The bear and I were engaged in our battle of wits which was about to come to a head.  As the bear began to shift his weight ever so slightly, indicating to me that he was about to call my bluff, he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, then another.  Was it another lunatic?   No….this was more serious.  This one moves with the stealth and deliberate nature of a fierce predator.  Eyes sparkling with deadly intention, and powerful legs coiled and ready to spring for the kill at any second (these are the fast seconds now).  It was Adair, the mountain huntress. 

 Now, knowing that he is in mortal danger, the bear turned and lumbered off, passing by Adair at a mere 8 yards as he gains speed on his departure.  In a flash of shimmering black fur over flopping blubber, the big bear is gone.  

Adair, Deb, and I conferred, and discussed the exciting occurrence, then decided to continue with the hunt as planned.  So we continued as planned, other than the occasional glance over our shoulders to check for mr. bear.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Elk hunting.