1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Sportsman's Nation podcast network powered by 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: Interstate Batteries from your truck to your trail camera. Interstate 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:12,440 Speaker 1: Batteries as you covered. Visit your local Interstate Battery store 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: today or online at Interstate Batteries dot com. Interstate Batteries 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: outrageously dependable. My name is Clay Nucleman. I'm the host 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: of the Bear Hunting Magazine Podcast. I'll also be your 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: host into the world of hunting the icon of North 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:35,279 Speaker 1: American wilderness, the bear. We'll talk about tactics, gear, conservation. 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: Wh will also bring you into some of the wildest 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: country on the planet chasing grow. This episode of the 11 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: Bear Hunting Magazine Podcast is going to be really fun 12 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: with my good friend and expert mountain bear hunter Mos Shepherd. 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: But before we get into it, I want to ask 14 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: a favor of you, and that favor it's gonna be 15 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: doing you a favor, and that is consider subscribing to 16 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:10,040 Speaker 1: Bear Hunting Magazine. Bear Hunting Magazine is the only print 17 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: all bear hunting magazine in the world. We are the 18 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: big fish in the small pond. But our job and 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: our mission is to educate and form and recruit and 20 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: basically spread the good news bear hunting in North America 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: because it is good news because bears are thriving everywhere 22 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: there bears, they're thriving, populations are expanding, and whatever is 23 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: happening ecologically in North America has been beneficial for BlackBerry 24 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: and there's never been a better time for new people 25 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: to become bear hunters. And so that's our mission to 26 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: make bear hunting great again. So hey, check out Bear 27 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: Hunting Magazine and go to our web store www. Bear 28 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: dash hunting dot com and check out our Shopify store. 29 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: We've got all kinds of I think we've got about 30 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: tin t shirt designs, got six hat designs. We just 31 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: came out with a new make bear hunting great against 32 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: sticker who sold a lot of Check us out and 33 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: enjoy this podcast. This is designed to be the all 34 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: encompassing discussion about hunting black bear in the Eastern deciduous 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: for us. Enjoy. Welcome to the Bear Hunting Magazine podcast. 36 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: It is December of the six six. We're at the 37 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 1: We're at the global headquarters Bear Hunting Magazine. We got 38 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: the plothound here at our feet in front of the heater. 39 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: It's kind of a dreary day out there. I've got 40 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: a good friend of mine and a better hunter, Mo 41 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: Shepherd with me in the office today. Mo. You we 42 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: were just talking. You were here a couple of months ago, Yeah, 43 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: just about It's about time Archery E's Inn opened here 44 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 1: in northwest Arkansas when I stopped by these I've talked 45 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: to you a a lot since then, but that's the first 46 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: time I've been here since, in here in person. So yeah, 47 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: before I really introduced MO, I want to I want 48 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: to tell you what we're gonna talk about and and 49 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: kind of why I invited Mo in. But on this podcast, 50 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about public land bear hunting without the 51 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,519 Speaker 1: use of bait, without the use of hounds, just getting 52 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: out in the mountains in the Eastern deciduous forest and 53 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: finding bears and there's it's really a difficult hunt. Western 54 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: hunting guys are glassen, there's open terrain, there's vast amounts 55 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: of public land, and and like Western spotting, stock bear 56 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: hunting is radically different than Eastern deciduous forests spotting stalk 57 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: bear hunting, which the Eastern deciduous forest. Basically, we are 58 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: right on the edge of the Eastern deciduous forests, you go, 59 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: you go two miles west and you're into almost the 60 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: plains of flat lands of oaklaod Kansas, southern Kansas. And 61 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: then but then if you go to the east, and 62 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: we're in northwest Arkansas, let me say that the western 63 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: edge of Arkansas, you go to the east, before European settlement, 64 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: there was nothing but woods between here and the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah, 65 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I don't know how especially the northern, 66 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 1: especially the northern half of the state. Once you head across, 67 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: you know, when you get down southern part of the state, 68 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:33,679 Speaker 1: it kind of flattens out, but it stays. But presettlementment, yeah, 69 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: I mean before and then mountainous trained forest Allso, so 70 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: if we're talking like in big geographic sections, we'll define 71 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: the eastern deciduous forest from basically right where we are, 72 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, all the way 73 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: to the Gulf of Mexico, and all the way up 74 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: to the Great Lakes basically. So, I mean, this's this 75 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: big section of land, and there are bears that is 76 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: nat native bear range all across that. Now, bears aren't 77 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,320 Speaker 1: in all those states, but there are a lot of 78 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: guys bear hunting in Arkansas and Tennessee. Uh, the Virginia's 79 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. Georgia is a big spotting 80 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: stock bear state. Um. And so what we're gonna talk 81 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: about even though you and I are from Arkansas, so 82 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about Arkansas bear hunting. But I 83 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: think it will apply to anybody that's hunting bears in 84 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: big mountain country, uh, in the eastern south eastern. Yeah. 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: And it's it's a it's such a unique hunt and 86 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: it's a super difficult hunt. And we're gonna talk about that. 87 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: And You've got a ton of history. I've got some history. 88 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: But before I do that, I want I want you to, uh, well, 89 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: I'm gonna introduce you, and then I want you to interview. 90 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: I want you to tell a little bit about yourself. 91 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: But Man, I met Mo probably ten years ago, uh 92 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: a little longer now, probably longer than that. And Mo, 93 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: Mo is a mountain man, I mean Mo mos family. 94 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: Is your dad homesteaded up on out at White Rock 95 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: back at your family, my family, my standfather homes stated 96 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: that in the eighteen twenties up in the mountains of 97 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: the White Rock Mountains as we call them, you know 98 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: of those arts. So yeah, and there's mountains out there 99 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: named after your family, and uh uh, it's like the 100 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: La Shepherd. I'm thinking of Lake Shepherds. Pretty h um. 101 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: You have a lot of history in the mountains and 102 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: you have grown up hunting the mountains your whole life. 103 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: I think you told me one time that the doctor 104 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: said you walked kind of crooked because I never was 105 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: on these flat grounds. So you man, you're you're an 106 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: accomplished a deer hunter. I mean you, these mountains are 107 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: hard to hunt for deer and to kill deer, and 108 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: mad mos just every year he's killed, nice dear, And 109 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: you're an accomplished bear hunter. You were you were one 110 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: of the first guys that I ever met in Arkansas 111 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: that was on purpose killing bears on public land. Yeah, 112 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: and that's and that's that's what you'll hear me say 113 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: in the way that I said, is that there aren't 114 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: many guys on purpose that are killing bears on public 115 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: land in Arkansas. There's several bears get killed in the mountains, 116 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: and most of them are killed by accident that are 117 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: just deer hunters just out there deer hunting and and 118 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: bears come by them in their stands or whatever they 119 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: get the harvest bears, which is nice, you know, but 120 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: it's it's a tough job to go out there and 121 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: just concentrate on bears anytime during the hunt season from 122 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: late September too. Usually the season closes in recent years 123 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: into November, you know. So when I first started, they 124 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: didn't open the season until December. In the first few years, 125 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: you know, Uh, I hunted four or five years there. 126 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: I never saw bear. Found lots of sign and stuff 127 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: and and never saw bear. Was you know, it was 128 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: just because we're probably already ended up because our weather 129 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: has changed so much in the last thirty years. This 130 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: time year ago, there was snow on the ground, you know, 131 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: it never got above freezing, which we've had some cold 132 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: weather this year. But the climate has changed so much 133 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: has made bear hunting probably a little easier now than 134 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: it was back in the eighties. When I first started 135 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: in the eighties bearing so well, I kind of gave 136 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: an introduction to you. But how would you introduce yourself? Well, 137 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: I just I grew up in the mountains on a farm, 138 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: you know, and and uh, and when I when I 139 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,839 Speaker 1: was growing up as a kid in the sixties and seventies. Uh, 140 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: we didn't have a lot of deer. There was deer, 141 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: but you had to hunt hard to find a deer. 142 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: And if you took a spike buck, you've got a trophy, 143 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: you know, because they were just hard to find back then. 144 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: And uh and then uh, like I said, I was 145 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: born in in nineteen sixties, So in the early eighties 146 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,719 Speaker 1: is when they first started opening the bear season, or 147 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: I guess it's mid eighties. I think I think it was. 148 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: It might have been. I don't know. I was graduate, 149 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: I was out of high school and I went to 150 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: Votech School and was living in Ozark the time, going 151 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: to so it was that was nineteen eighty when I 152 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: saw that that's when they started the bears. And and 153 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,199 Speaker 1: uh I started hunting there when I could a little bit. 154 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: And uh just just interested me. You know. I'd read 155 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: stories about bear hunting and stuff and never done it 156 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: before I knew there was bears around, but uh and uh, 157 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: and that's what got me interested in bear hunting. Course, 158 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: I love to deer hunt. I have hunted my whole 159 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: life in the mountains. That's about only place a hunt. Uh, 160 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,439 Speaker 1: turkey hunt a lot in the mountains. I've been turkey 161 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: and since I was a teenager, and uh, you're an 162 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: accomplished turkey hunter. And and then I've been bear hunting, 163 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: like I said, since since the early eighties. And uh, 164 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,719 Speaker 1: to make yourself a good bear hunter, you gotta you 165 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: gotta pay attention when you're turkey hunting. You have to 166 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: pay attention when you're deer hunting, and look for signs 167 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: and spots and trails and old sign and and train 168 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: features and stuff. And you gotta remember that stuff when 169 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,839 Speaker 1: you because when you strike out to go bear hunting 170 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: in the mountains, you know, in in the in the remote, 171 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: rugged mountains, you can walk for days and never see 172 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: a bear track or any bear scat if you're in 173 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: the wrong places. So I wanted to stop you there. 174 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,479 Speaker 1: I want to go back. And this is an introduction 175 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: kind of two to you, but also to me. And 176 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: this is something I've talked about. You said something earlier 177 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: that you said when you were a kid, there just 178 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 1: weren't deer and to kill a spoke buck was a 179 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: big deal. And I grew up in Mina, which is 180 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: two hours south of where we are right now, very 181 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,959 Speaker 1: similar country to where you're talking about. I mean, like 182 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: big blocks of national forests, low densities of deer, and 183 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: man to kill a deer is a big deal. I mean, 184 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,439 Speaker 1: I'm I was born in seventy nine, so I'm I'm 185 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: thirty nine years old and I'm talking like a old man, 186 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: and it was a big deal to kill a deer. 187 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: And you know what, I think that has become the 188 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: best hunters that I know in Arkansas are guys that 189 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 1: grew up hunting when it was super tough and they 190 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: appreciated a deer and they really learned how to hunted deer, 191 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: and they I think even more than you learn. It's 192 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: like you just value so much taking game and being 193 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 1: in you know, just finding game that that it makes 194 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: you a better hunter. So I think sometimes the rough start, 195 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: you know, because I mean we definitely have a lot 196 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: more deer and a lot more bear than that's everything. 197 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: And so anyway, I think that's what has made a 198 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: lot of good hunters is tough country and tough hunting. 199 00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:00,800 Speaker 1: Um I wanted to I want as well to described 200 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: to kind of set the context because you you've you went, 201 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: you were there on the first Arkansas bear season. I 202 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: think that's cool. Would I would have been a year 203 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 1: old about that time. But um so, Arkansas at one 204 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,959 Speaker 1: time was was known as the bear State. We had 205 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: fifty thousand files just estimate, we had fifty thousand bears 206 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,839 Speaker 1: in the state. One bear per square mile Arkansas is 207 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: basically fifty thousand square miles. By nineteen hundred that they 208 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: estimated that there were less than fifty bears in the 209 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,439 Speaker 1: entire state. They were extra pated. They were locally extinct 210 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 1: basically in many parts of Arkansas, and it was because 211 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: of landscape level logging. I mean they were the eastern 212 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:47,559 Speaker 1: markets were so hungry for timber. I mean they took 213 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 1: out the wildlife habitat and it just wasn't a place 214 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: for animal's lip. That's why the deer were down and everything. 215 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 1: So landscape level logging. Market hunting was a big part 216 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: of it. To market hunting, which has nothing. Every time 217 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:04,679 Speaker 1: I say this always qualified. Market hunting has nothing to 218 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: do and is in no way comparable to the hunting 219 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,199 Speaker 1: that we do today. Market hunting was guys that were 220 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 1: going out and making a living killing animals, selling their hides, 221 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: selling their meat. I mean, if you'd kill the bear 222 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,679 Speaker 1: in Arkansas in the late eighteen hundreds, I mean all 223 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,320 Speaker 1: the way back from you know, from nineteen hundred back. 224 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 1: If you'd kill the bear, there was a good chance 225 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: you were gonna try to turn some of that meat 226 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: into money. I mean, you could take it into town 227 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,680 Speaker 1: and sell that animal. I mean, you keep what you 228 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:37,439 Speaker 1: wanted to keep, what you need to make you There 229 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 1: was there were guys were killing lots of bear. There 230 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: was a there was a and this is just some 231 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: interesting history about Arkansas. In the there's one tax record 232 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: of one single company in a town called oil Trough, 233 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:55,920 Speaker 1: Arkansas that in one year's time, put nine hundred bears 234 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,200 Speaker 1: through their books. And what they did. What they did 235 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: was they were they were fully utilizing the meat, the 236 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 1: hide in the oil. And it was called oil Trough 237 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: Arkansas because they rendered bear oil all the bear. And 238 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,959 Speaker 1: so I mean you think about like today, our biggest 239 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: bear harvests in Arkansas are between four, you know, three 240 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: to five hundred bears per year. So this is one company. 241 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: I mean, so how many companies were I don't know 242 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: where they're ten. There may not have been many, but 243 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: I mean they killed nine hundred bears. So basically, by 244 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: nineteen hundred there were no bears left. And then in 245 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: between nineteen fifty four. In nineteen sixty four, Arkansas Gaming 246 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: Fish Commission traded bass and wild turkey with a couple 247 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: of Canadian provinces, and I believe in Minnesota, and in 248 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: that ten year period, without public input, they brought two 249 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: fifty four bears down here and wire trucks in the 250 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: back of pickups. There's picture of this. I've seen some 251 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: of those pictures. Yeah, and so and then and they 252 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: turned those bears out over the course of ten years 253 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,560 Speaker 1: in three different places, and one of them was in 254 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: northern Franklin County. Um, it escapes me. I believe it's 255 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: Black Mountains, on Black Mountain. I know that, Okay, Well, 256 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: they and they put they put cattle troughs out, filled 257 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 1: those cattle trouss with dog food and basically just turned 258 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: these bears out by these cattle troughs. And so between 259 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen fifty four and nineteen sixty four they did 260 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 1: that two fifty four bears. They did not think that 261 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: for like ten years, they felt like the reintroduction was 262 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: unsuccessful because I mean the bears just just disappeared into 263 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: the mountains. And then ten fifteen twenty years later, in 264 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: the early seventies is when they first started showing up 265 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: just at random. People were starting to see bears across 266 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,080 Speaker 1: the roads and stuff. I know that because I as 267 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 1: a teenager. And then in seventy eight, when I graduated, 268 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: I moved to Ozark, like I said, to go to 269 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: votech and I got out the associated with a couple 270 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 1: of guys in the game and Fish, and I actually 271 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: helped them trap a couple of bears and and put 272 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,000 Speaker 1: radio collars on or not collars. I don't think they 273 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: put callers on the end because they were just trapping, 274 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: but they trapped a couple of bears and helped him 275 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: do that, and uh put tattoos in their in their 276 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: mouth and tags in their ear, and I thought that 277 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: was pretty cool. I was. I was. I got out 278 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: of vo Tech and it started working at the Forest Service, 279 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: and that's how I got associated with the couple of 280 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 1: guys from the Game and Fish that are both retired now, 281 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: but that was my first I guess that might have 282 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: been what got me really interesting in bear hunting was 283 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: to actually see the bears up close and handle them, 284 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: and that you know, they went in the wintertime and 285 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: got them out of the den and and done the 286 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: stuff with them, so well, that was that would have 287 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: been some of the first research they did on bears 288 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: back in those days. And let me give one more 289 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:07,439 Speaker 1: statistic and then and then we'll move on in In 290 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:14,160 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety they did the first official research project on 291 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: on black bears and they basically come up with a 292 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 1: population estimate of bears in Arkansas. So between from nineteen 293 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: sixty four, when that fifty four bear went out, nineteen 294 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,439 Speaker 1: sixty four to nineteen ninety would have been twenty five years, 295 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: the population increased by tenfold tutor and fifty to and 296 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: so and from that time the population it's probably double 297 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: that and more. And we've also think about this mo 298 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,680 Speaker 1: we've we've also for the last eighteen years extracted out 299 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: from the population three to five hundred bears per year year. 300 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: But we still have over five thousand bears in Arkansas. 301 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: And I think five thousand is a safe estimate myself. Yeah, yeah, 302 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: that's what anyway. As far as the northern part of 303 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 1: the state, I don't know about the Washtaws that hadn't 304 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: been down there much other than Turkey on a little bit, 305 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: But in the northern part of the state, every year 306 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: I'm out there, it seemed like there's more and more 307 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: sign of bears in the woods, more more scattered out, 308 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: more locations, more places. You know, when did you see 309 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,239 Speaker 1: your first bear? The first bear? You were born right 310 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 1: when all this was happening. Yeah, I didn't see my 311 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:39,359 Speaker 1: first bear until I think it was in the first 312 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,119 Speaker 1: actual bear I saw was in I remember when it 313 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: was now it was since nineteen seventy eight. In that 314 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: fall I moved those ark I had an old Ford 315 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 1: Bronco that my dad had helped me get to drive 316 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: before wheel drive because I need it back then going 317 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: up and down off a white rock mountain to those 318 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: ark and places. But I saw the first I ever 319 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 1: saw at uh, a little place called Stob Gap across 320 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:10,640 Speaker 1: the road in front of you. Yeah, it just run 321 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: across the road, went up over some rocks, and it 322 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,200 Speaker 1: was a small bear. After I know what I know now, 323 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 1: I figured it was probably a year and a half 324 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,520 Speaker 1: old bear that had just been weaned off of its mother, 325 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: because it might have way a hundred pounds at the most. 326 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 1: But as the first bear I saw, and then that 327 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: following year it's when I helped the gaming fish trapped 328 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: those couple of bears and and tattoo their lips and 329 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: walm and stuff. So the late seventies, when seventies when 330 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 1: I started seeing, like I said, then in eighty I 331 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: hunted the first I think that was the first year 332 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: that they did have the bear season, and that was 333 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 1: in December. Yeah, I was gonna say, I think I remember. 334 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: It was for about about seven or eight years there, 335 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:56,360 Speaker 1: from eighty to maybe eight seven eighty eight the season 336 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: that was the only season they had was in it 337 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: was like a week long sea and then early it 338 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: was like the fifth through the tenth of December or 339 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,000 Speaker 1: something like that. And uh, did you ever find any 340 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,360 Speaker 1: bear sign? I found a little bit of sign, and uh, actually, 341 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,600 Speaker 1: UH got close enough at one one time. I think 342 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,399 Speaker 1: it's like the third year I hunted him that I 343 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: got close enough that I could smell where the bear 344 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: had been. You know that they've got their own smell, 345 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: and when you especially a board, when you're close to them, 346 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: you can smell them. And the problem was he probably 347 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,640 Speaker 1: had already smelled me, and so I never saw the bear, 348 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: but there was fresh scat on the ground, you know, 349 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,439 Speaker 1: really fresh, and so I think I had spooked it 350 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: out of this area that was very exciting, and I 351 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: was tense and and uh. And I was hunting a 352 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: lot close to a lot of places where I thought 353 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: might be DN sights because what I had stadium and 354 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: found out, I figured that late ones that hadn't end up, 355 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: we're gonna be close to where they were gonna ben 356 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: and they were probably eating pretty close to their DN sights. 357 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: So I hungered around a lot of rock out croppings 358 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: or of train or I thought they might be dinning up. 359 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,680 Speaker 1: Do you remember anybody killing the bear or uh? People 360 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:11,440 Speaker 1: you knew? One guy? Uh? One guy I didn't know him, 361 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 1: but he had come up and hunted was one of 362 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: my cousins. And I had actually been in this area, 363 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 1: and my cousin had called me and asked about this spot. 364 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 1: I said, yeah, I was in there a couple of 365 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: days ago, and I'd only got to hunt like the 366 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: first two days or three days. And I said, but 367 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: indn't see anything. But I found some fresh sign. I said, 368 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: I found where they were. Uh. I said there was 369 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 1: an old pond there, and I found some tracks around 370 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: this pond. And I said, they've been breaking down these 371 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: big old polkeberry plants folks out of berries. I don't 372 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: know what other people call him, that's what I call him, 373 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: have purple berries on them, And I said, I guess 374 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: I've been eating those berries. Well, two days later, my 375 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: cousin took that guy up there one evening, four dark 376 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: and they sat by that pond. I think it was 377 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,920 Speaker 1: the last day of the season in that December, and 378 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: he killed a bear up there, that was about probably 379 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty two hundred pound bear. And I 380 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: remember I went down in there. They'd got it and 381 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 1: come out. They didn't have the stuff to get it 382 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: out of there with. Had come back and get an 383 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 1: old four wheeler or three wheeler or something other. And 384 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: I went back in there with him and and where 385 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: he'd get a field dress the bear, the intestines had 386 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 1: that purple color to him where that bear had been 387 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: eating those poke berries. So you were learning something. I 388 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: was learning something right there. So, but that was the 389 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: first bear I saw killed during during that bear season, 390 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: and about eighty three or eighty four I think, I mean, 391 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: there were very few, I mean from what I remember 392 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: from the statistics, and five three or five was a 393 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: big kill in the year, so I mean they were 394 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: really just inching into, you know, wanting to hunt and 395 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:58,160 Speaker 1: harvest some of these bears. Yeah, and and so growing 396 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 1: up in Mina, I saw my first bear in the 397 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 1: back of a pickup truck in n there's a picture 398 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 1: of me actually with my dad. Well, a guy we 399 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,760 Speaker 1: knew there, and mean a kind of a legend around 400 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: there that killed a lot of game, killed a bear, 401 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,000 Speaker 1: and everybody was like somehow my dad found out about 402 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: and he took us down there, and I remember walking 403 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: up to the back of the truck seeing this bear, 404 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: and man, it was like it was it was so 405 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: far removed for me to even think about hunting the bear. 406 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,719 Speaker 1: I mean, they were like ghosts. I'd never seen one 407 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: across the road. I didn't see one across the road 408 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: until I was in high school and I saw one 409 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,879 Speaker 1: at night across the road one time. I mean, you 410 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 1: just don't see them. That's what people don't really understand 411 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: is that, you know, a high density of deer is 412 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: probably forty fifty deer per square mile. High density of bear, 413 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: a high density of bear it's like one point three 414 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: bears per squ So you think about that rugged land 415 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: out at White Rock and think about a square mile 416 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: of ground and you know, you kind of look off 417 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:00,680 Speaker 1: one of those big vista and you think, well, I 418 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: can probably see five square miles maybe here more than that. 419 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,240 Speaker 1: I mean at White Rock you can start with see 420 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:08,960 Speaker 1: more than that. But you know, top of some ridge, 421 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: you look off down the valley and you're like, how 422 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: many square miles am I looking at? I don't know three, 423 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: and then you think there's there's two bears dead it here, 424 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: and I mean it's kind of daunting and to me. 425 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: And that's where we can start talking about some strategy 426 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: and we can interweave some stories because I want to 427 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: hear some of your success stories. I want to tell 428 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: some of mine. Um. But the one the one thing 429 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: that I know when you're hunting these bears is that 430 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: you have to be prepared to not see game. You know, 431 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,280 Speaker 1: I mean white tailed deer hunters and especially the white 432 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: tailed deer hunters that are being bred right now. And 433 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: I mean guys want to see game. I mean, guys 434 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: are hunting over food plots, hunting over wing huntover bait 435 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: in Arkansas. I got no problem in the world with that, none, 436 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:01,000 Speaker 1: but it does it does make you validated by seeing 437 00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: game and you can hunt the mountains for a week 438 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,199 Speaker 1: straight hard and not see a bear. Uh, And you 439 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:09,240 Speaker 1: gotta be okay with that. And I want to start 440 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,680 Speaker 1: off the how to section of this podcast by saying, 441 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: you have to be in a different state of mind 442 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: to hunt a bear in the mountains, because it's it's 443 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 1: not like you're gonna like sometimes a deer hunting a 444 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: success story might be like, well, I went hunting one 445 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 1: day and I saw some deer and I and so 446 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: I kind of learned what they were doing, and I 447 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 1: moved in on him, and I saw him the next 448 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:30,919 Speaker 1: day and almost got him, and saw him then and 449 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: then finally it comes together. A bear story is usually 450 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 1: gonna be like, I hiked four miles today, didn't find 451 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: any bear sign, went to another place, hike three miles, 452 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:44,879 Speaker 1: didn't find any bear sign, you know, two miles the 453 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: next day, found some sign, but it all looked like 454 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,240 Speaker 1: it was a month old, right or and and then 455 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: and this is where I was gonna go with it. 456 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: The fourth day, you walk into a hollow, you find 457 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,719 Speaker 1: hot sign, and you kill a bear. I mean, like, 458 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: and it's not that easy, but but that's the way 459 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,360 Speaker 1: my success in the mountains has been. It's it's like 460 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: you don't know if you're going into a long desert 461 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: of not being able to see bears, or you might 462 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: find hot sign and kill it that day. That but 463 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: that's the unusual thing to do, obviously. But point being 464 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: is that you can't be validated by seeing game like 465 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: if if you if you are, hey, dog, don't chew 466 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: on that. I got my plot p up over here. 467 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: Well this is a emergency here she's chewing on my camera. 468 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: Case no, no doggie there. You can't be validated, like 469 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,959 Speaker 1: it's easily easy to get discouraged hunting these mountains. And uh, 470 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: and I've I've kind of followed some guys that have 471 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: hunted the mountains, that have seen some you know, heard 472 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,439 Speaker 1: some stories and been like, man, I gotta get up 473 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,119 Speaker 1: to Arkansas and hunt and come up here for a 474 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: week and in three days their deer hunting, you know. Yeah, 475 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: And I don't. I don't blame him, but you have 476 00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,879 Speaker 1: to shift that mentality. And that's what I did. When 477 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,959 Speaker 1: I first started, I set out and I believe it 478 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 1: was well twelve or eleven, I made a goal to 479 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,640 Speaker 1: kill a bear in the National Forest, you know, without bait, 480 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: without a hounds, just to kill one of the National Forest, 481 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: and I I was amazed at how far I could 482 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 1: walk in these mountains and not see game and not 483 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,800 Speaker 1: see fresh signs. And that the first time I mean 484 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 1: you hunted together. Was that not in two thousand twelve? 485 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: It probably it was probably during that time. I was 486 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:30,480 Speaker 1: thinking it was. That was a year that when you 487 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: hunted together. You know, I told you of a spot 488 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: I knew where there was some bear. Yeah, you actually 489 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,439 Speaker 1: saw a bear that day I hunted together because I 490 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: probably told you, well, I had been I had been 491 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 1: hunting down at Mina and uh and in and you said, uh, 492 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: you said, hey, I found some but you found a 493 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,080 Speaker 1: pond had sign on it, you said, coming, and a 494 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: lot of acorns there. There was mass there on that 495 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 1: same ridge there out of that haul up on a 496 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:59,400 Speaker 1: little ridge there. And we went in there at daylight 497 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,639 Speaker 1: basically light, sat there all day long, and and that 498 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:07,399 Speaker 1: bear came in at three o'clock. It was a sounding yearland, 499 00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: wasn't it? If that? If that it was a big, 500 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,240 Speaker 1: big old sal I mean, when I saw her coming, 501 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: I was like, here we go, this is this is 502 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:20,199 Speaker 1: gonna happen. I was in a climbing tree stand and 503 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 1: I was up above you watching the food supply the 504 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:27,399 Speaker 1: mass car. The pond had, I mean a lot of 505 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 1: bear tracks around it. But boy, you I now know 506 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 1: that you can sit over water for a long time 507 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: and never But but boy, that day at worked and 508 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: they came in at three o'clock and that that it 509 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 1: was a I don't know how big the cup was. 510 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: It was a it was a good size cup. But 511 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: still I wouldn't go to shoot her. She came in 512 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: and she went right to that pond, smelled where I 513 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: had walked, and she just they didn't run off. I mean, 514 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,120 Speaker 1: it's not like a deer that stomps and snorts and 515 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 1: pounds off. She just came into that pond. And I 516 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: had walked the edge of that pond before I got there. 517 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: We we had looking for sign. Boy, she smelled it 518 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 1: and just turned and they just disappeared. You know, I 519 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: could have killed her, though, But that was that was cool. 520 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 1: But tell me some about just your maybe maybe your 521 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: first bear in the mountains, just some of your success 522 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: and kind of what you did. You know, the first 523 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,200 Speaker 1: one I killed, Uh, it was the think the second 524 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: year that they combined some of our November deer season 525 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: and bear season had got away from the had got 526 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 1: away from the the December bear hunt that they had 527 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: had since it started nineteen eighty. And I believe it 528 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: was a second year. And so I found some bear sign. 529 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: What time? What time? I mean when was this was 530 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 1: in late eighties or something? It was in I believe 531 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 1: it was in that teen ninety Okay, I believe it 532 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:08,960 Speaker 1: was when I killed my first bear. You know what, 533 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,320 Speaker 1: that's probably why the guy I remember the year that 534 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 1: I saw that first bear, of mind, it was in 535 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety. You may be because they changed they changed 536 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 1: the regulation because he killed it in October. Yes, I 537 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:22,680 Speaker 1: was wearing a short, short sleeve shirt picture. Yeah, they 538 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,360 Speaker 1: made it. They made it were you could kill a 539 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: bear during the October muzzloader hunt, where you could kill 540 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: a bear the first week I think it was of 541 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: the November rifle deer hunt, and they made where you 542 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 1: could kill a bear. Then in anyway, Uh, that year, 543 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:40,840 Speaker 1: I had already killed a buck deer with my muzzleloader, 544 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: and so I decided when and I actually saw I 545 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:50,160 Speaker 1: saw a bear. Two bears during that same year. I 546 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: killed my first one, but it was a it was 547 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,320 Speaker 1: a big sow with a yearly cub. You know, it 548 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,320 Speaker 1: probably eight pound up. But I remember the south bear 549 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: was coal black, and the and the yearling cub at 550 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: whist her with her was cinnamon. And they come right 551 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:10,080 Speaker 1: around by me. I was setting there deer hunting and 552 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: they can't and I wasn't even bear hunting that day, 553 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,400 Speaker 1: but they come around by me and uh and come 554 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 1: pretty close. They never smept me anything, and uh and 555 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: that this may and I decided not to shoot because 556 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: it was a sal and and still had her cub 557 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,280 Speaker 1: with her, and but I went back in that same 558 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: area and uh, and wound up killing that first bear 559 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: in November, you know, about the third or fourth day 560 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: I hunted in there, and I was just I wasn't 561 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 1: hunting in a tree stand. I was ground hunting, but 562 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: I would just try to see where they were feeding. 563 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 1: They were there was and what they were feeding on 564 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,480 Speaker 1: that year was hickory nuts. There was no arland, not 565 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,320 Speaker 1: hardly any massive acorns anything. But there was just a 566 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 1: ton of hickory nuts that year. And and that bear 567 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: I kill when when I feel dressed the bear out, 568 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 1: it's stomach content, the whole hole and everything. They just 569 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: just chump it up and then their body digest. I 570 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: guess the goody out of the hulls. But anyway, it 571 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: was full of hickory nuts. And I've got that picture 572 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,280 Speaker 1: where I killed the baron and I'm sitting beside it. 573 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 1: There's a humongous, big old hickory tree that three or 574 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: four guys couldn't reach around, and and that bear. I 575 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,160 Speaker 1: sat and watched that that morning at daylight, and about 576 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,080 Speaker 1: nine o'clock that bear come up the hollow and come 577 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,080 Speaker 1: right under those trees to feed on, and I shot 578 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: it and killed It'll be so that would have been 579 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,320 Speaker 1: in the early I was in in nineteen nine. I'm 580 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: pretty sure that was the first bear I killed. So 581 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: now you killed, tell me about the big one. You 582 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: killed the biggest bear I killed? Uh? To date? Uh? 583 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,160 Speaker 1: I killed APPROXIMATEY. I guess it's about ten years ago. 584 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:54,960 Speaker 1: I'd have to look to see exactly what year it was, 585 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: but I think it was around ten year ago. I 586 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 1: killed it nine or ten years ago. And you could 587 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 1: bait bears. It may not be that long ago or something. Well, No, 588 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: I didn't know you at the time you killed. Yeah, 589 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: it was a couple of years before that. It was 590 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:11,240 Speaker 1: about two thousand nine, so nine or ten years ago. 591 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: It might have been two thousand ten, but anyway they 592 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:21,040 Speaker 1: were there was they had allowed us start baiting bears 593 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,320 Speaker 1: in and I had killed a couple of bears over 594 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 1: bait with my bow in previous two or three years. 595 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 1: In fact, I killed a nice bear of the year 596 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,760 Speaker 1: before over bait, and uh on my own property up 597 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: in the White Rock Mountains, and that year had a 598 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:46,800 Speaker 1: great big bear coming to bait in the but all 599 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: the other night never had any daytime pictures, every anything. 600 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,360 Speaker 1: And Uh, a good friend of mine at the time, 601 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: came up and killed a nice bear with his bow, 602 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 1: and then I told him, I said, I want to 603 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 1: find this bear somewhere. I said, he's gotta be eating 604 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:04,200 Speaker 1: up somewhere out in these mountains here, so I it 605 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: was for muzzleload or anything upen. It's during archer season. 606 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: I started covering some ground with my bow, and finally 607 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: one day I found several piles of scat along in 608 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 1: the edge of an old clear cut. I thought, this 609 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,759 Speaker 1: bear is feeding on something, and he's either you know, 610 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:22,319 Speaker 1: leaving his sign coming or going. So I spread my 611 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 1: serge and finally I found a little ridge back probably 612 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,600 Speaker 1: across one or two hollows little hollows from that clear 613 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:33,440 Speaker 1: cut that had a bunch of red oak agrns on it, 614 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:36,280 Speaker 1: and that was there was akings in that scat I found. 615 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:38,480 Speaker 1: So I got back in and put me up a 616 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:40,160 Speaker 1: tree s down there, and I hunted it three days 617 00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:43,319 Speaker 1: with my bow. I never saw a bear, never saw 618 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 1: a deer. Three days I hunted and didn't see anything, 619 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:49,440 Speaker 1: and then I couldn't hunt for a few days. Black 620 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:52,800 Speaker 1: padded season was to open the first day of black Padder. 621 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: I climbed the same tree with my black powder gun, 622 00:34:56,160 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: sat there all day, didn't see a thing. I told myself, 623 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 1: I like, sais Barr just ain't using here anymore. I 624 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:04,600 Speaker 1: woke up the next morning, I said, I'm gonna go 625 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: hunt that stand one more time. I remember that, telling 626 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,440 Speaker 1: myself that that's where a lot of people would have quit, probably, 627 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:14,600 Speaker 1: And I went back climbed that tree, and right at daylight, 628 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: I heard sticks popping and stuff, and I looked up 629 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,400 Speaker 1: behind me. It wasn't where I was watching I was expecting, 630 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: because all the signs in there pier on the hillside 631 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:26,719 Speaker 1: behind me. I turned into my stand and I could 632 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: see movement, but I couldn't tell what it was. And 633 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 1: finally I've seen it come through and I thought that's bear. 634 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:34,200 Speaker 1: And it come through another I thought that's pretty big bear. 635 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,799 Speaker 1: That may be the baron after I don't know, you know, 636 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: And so I got turned in my stand and finally 637 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,680 Speaker 1: it came through a little opening and I got my 638 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 1: old muzzle loader up and I shot bear took off 639 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,719 Speaker 1: at a while run. I didn't know where that hit 640 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,800 Speaker 1: or not. And then about probably thirty forty seconds after 641 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:54,799 Speaker 1: it got out of hearing from running breaking through the 642 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 1: stick stuff, I was pretty sure I heard what anybody 643 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,120 Speaker 1: this bear hunters will know what I'm saying. They it 644 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,520 Speaker 1: They most of the time they'll give a death moan, 645 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:07,239 Speaker 1: and I thought I heard it well. I waited about 646 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:09,000 Speaker 1: iro and I climbed down. I went up to where 647 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:11,000 Speaker 1: the bear was standing. I found where it took off, 648 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: kicked the leaves and started down over the hillside. No blood, 649 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,279 Speaker 1: no sign, no nothing. I followed it about seventi five 650 00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:19,239 Speaker 1: yards and it was heading into that clear cut that 651 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 1: I was telling you about. I had found the sign 652 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:27,439 Speaker 1: by and uh I got to there, still hadn't found 653 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:29,880 Speaker 1: no blood, ornything like that gum. I guess I missed 654 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 1: that stupid bear. I guess I just didn't have my 655 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:36,560 Speaker 1: sights on it good enough. And so I just started 656 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,080 Speaker 1: back towards my stand to retrieve my stuff. I left 657 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 1: my little backpack stuff up there. I went about fifty 658 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:45,800 Speaker 1: yard and I got the reef picture, and that that 659 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,200 Speaker 1: shot in my mind. I said, I did not miss 660 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:52,560 Speaker 1: that bear. I hit that bear. I know my sight 661 00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:55,120 Speaker 1: was on it when I squeezed the trigger. I went 662 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:56,879 Speaker 1: back to where I found it was running over the hill, 663 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,799 Speaker 1: went in the clear cut, and then it got real thick. 664 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:01,799 Speaker 1: If anybody's been around clear cuts, I know how they 665 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:06,680 Speaker 1: grew up with raspberry vines, BlackBerry vines, briars, devil walking, 666 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:09,920 Speaker 1: stick bushes, anything. It's pokes and cuts and scratches. As 667 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 1: he's there. Well, that thing he went right into that stuff. 668 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: So I thought, well, I'm gonna follow a little bit farther, 669 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,120 Speaker 1: and I went probably thirty yards into that thick mess. 670 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:24,799 Speaker 1: And finally I just still hadn't found anything. And my 671 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:28,640 Speaker 1: problem was I was looking on the ground. The bear 672 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,840 Speaker 1: was big enough that and these the bears have so 673 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:36,760 Speaker 1: much fur. I'd hit him the bear, but my muzzling, 674 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:38,320 Speaker 1: but it hadn't came out the other side. There was 675 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,800 Speaker 1: an exit wound, so the only wound was the entry wound. 676 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,239 Speaker 1: And I pushed some old briars and stuff out of 677 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 1: the way, maybe some little devil walkers, just to get 678 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 1: through there. I looked at my hand. I had blood. 679 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,200 Speaker 1: I thought, dad, gum, I've cut my hand on these 680 00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:54,720 Speaker 1: things here. And then I looked and I wasn't bleeding. 681 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,320 Speaker 1: And then it hit me, that's blood from the bear. 682 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:01,920 Speaker 1: And I was close to him that I didn't know 683 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:03,600 Speaker 1: at the time. I looked and I could see something 684 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,719 Speaker 1: dark laying out in front of me twenty or thirty yards. 685 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,759 Speaker 1: I thought, well, that ain't that bear. That's a big 686 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 1: old log. It's too big, big bear anyway, and it 687 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:14,480 Speaker 1: was so thicker I couldn't get through to where he's at. 688 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 1: So I circled around that thicket and come to the 689 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,160 Speaker 1: back side of it, and I was probably twenty three 690 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,799 Speaker 1: yards from wore it. I thought was a log. And 691 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:23,680 Speaker 1: I never found him more blood on bushes or anything. 692 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:24,799 Speaker 1: And I thought, I'm gonna go up to the sea. 693 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:26,839 Speaker 1: What that is laying there? And I got up when 694 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:28,319 Speaker 1: I got close a little close to it in the thicket, 695 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:29,960 Speaker 1: I realized it was a bear, and I realized it 696 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,080 Speaker 1: was a big bear, And, like I said, my biggest 697 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: bear to date. He squared out at seven ft and 698 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,239 Speaker 1: we tried weighing on the only scales I had that 699 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,040 Speaker 1: we took down in there and hoisted up on a 700 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,960 Speaker 1: come along and hoisted up, but the scales only went 701 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:46,759 Speaker 1: to four or forty, and he bought them the scales out, 702 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 1: So I know the bear was somewhere and he's heading 703 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 1: front feet. Wasn't him off the ground when he bought 704 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:52,919 Speaker 1: him the scale out? So I know he was over 705 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:57,560 Speaker 1: five hundred pound bears And UH have finally measured his 706 00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,719 Speaker 1: skull a couple of years after after or if I 707 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:03,280 Speaker 1: got he might didn't know much about scoring bears or anything, 708 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:07,440 Speaker 1: but he measured nineteen and seven eights whatever that be 709 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: on the bear score. So dandy, dandy bear. And that's 710 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:15,920 Speaker 1: a big deal to kill a big I mean, a 711 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:19,880 Speaker 1: big adult male like that in the mountains. Yeah, but no, 712 00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:23,360 Speaker 1: you know, just to go out and find one that's 713 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 1: that's tough to do. Like I said that, the only 714 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:28,400 Speaker 1: other good big one that I killed hunt like that 715 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,120 Speaker 1: was another one kind of same scenario, and it was 716 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,399 Speaker 1: a large barrier. It was. It was I was able 717 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,799 Speaker 1: to get a four wheeler close to it, and we 718 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:39,480 Speaker 1: was able to load up and we hauled it out. 719 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,319 Speaker 1: And Fielder has hit weigh three hundred and twenty five 720 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 1: pounds is probably high three hundreds and it was a 721 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:51,200 Speaker 1: big bear, you know. But well, let me let me 722 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:54,440 Speaker 1: tell my story about the big bear that's right behind you. 723 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 1: I've got a full body the only full body mountain 724 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,480 Speaker 1: bear that I have is a big color raised bear 725 00:40:00,640 --> 00:40:03,480 Speaker 1: that I killed down in the wash Toss and uh, 726 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:09,760 Speaker 1: and Mo remembers it because we were competing. We were competing. 727 00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:14,680 Speaker 1: I was hunting up period. You were hunting in remember, yeah, yeah, yeah, 728 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:20,800 Speaker 1: So it was last day, wasn't it. The very last 729 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,680 Speaker 1: is actually the first year that I had this business, 730 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:28,960 Speaker 1: had bear Hunting magazine. And this this the story I 731 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:33,520 Speaker 1: told earlier, kind of reflects this story, is that that 732 00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,720 Speaker 1: may have been one of the first years. I really 733 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,240 Speaker 1: was just dead set, I mean even more than deer hunting. 734 00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 1: I was like, I'm gonna kill a bear in the 735 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:43,279 Speaker 1: National Forest. You told me that, and I I was 736 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,279 Speaker 1: had just been pounding the mountains and uh, and I 737 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 1: don't think I had hunted four or five days in 738 00:40:48,719 --> 00:40:51,680 Speaker 1: a row. But it was like I had hunted four 739 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:56,880 Speaker 1: or five days cumulatively over the last you know, ten days, 740 00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:59,439 Speaker 1: let's just say that. And I had been to two 741 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:03,560 Speaker 1: different places and I had actually seen some bear. Yeah, 742 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:07,440 Speaker 1: I had. You know, by by late November, the leads 743 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:11,359 Speaker 1: off the trees. The rifle deer season has been going 744 00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: for three weeks, so you know, there's people in the woods. 745 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,640 Speaker 1: But by late November a lot of people are done, 746 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:22,880 Speaker 1: so the woods seemed kind of like a desert. And uh, 747 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:27,080 Speaker 1: basically I'll just sum up my story to get to 748 00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:31,040 Speaker 1: the actual hunt, is that in four days of hard walking, 749 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:33,799 Speaker 1: I mean I was just walking looking for signs, looking 750 00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:35,759 Speaker 1: for fresh signs. What I was doing. I think I 751 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:38,760 Speaker 1: set in the saddle one day that had a little 752 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:43,240 Speaker 1: bit of water in it and actually saw a young bear. Um. 753 00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:47,960 Speaker 1: And then the next day I h not the next day. 754 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,840 Speaker 1: At some point during that time, I jumped a sound 755 00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:53,359 Speaker 1: a cub, but had no opportunity to kill a bear, 756 00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 1: and actually felt like I had had a massive wind 757 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:02,880 Speaker 1: and having two bearing counters, you know. Um. Then November 758 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,280 Speaker 1: thirties was the last day of the Arkansas bear season. 759 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:08,239 Speaker 1: It was Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was a Saturday, 760 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,759 Speaker 1: I remember that, and had my son with me. He 761 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:12,719 Speaker 1: was staying with my mom and dad. And anyway, I 762 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:15,200 Speaker 1: decided to go to a totally different area that I 763 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: hadn't been to in several years, hadn't been in there 764 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:22,840 Speaker 1: in years actually, and UH left the truck at daylight 765 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:26,120 Speaker 1: with full intentions of not being back to the truck 766 00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:29,480 Speaker 1: until dark. You know, carried just a small pack with 767 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:32,239 Speaker 1: just bottle of water, and I was doing the same 768 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:37,200 Speaker 1: thing that day, a little bit of food. I left 769 00:42:37,200 --> 00:42:40,240 Speaker 1: out of the the truck when you could see to walk 770 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:43,520 Speaker 1: and pulled up on this little ridge. And the first 771 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:44,920 Speaker 1: thing I noticed when I got on the ridge was 772 00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:47,759 Speaker 1: there was white oak acorns that were still good. You know, 773 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,160 Speaker 1: they hadn't rotted yet for whatever reason at that point 774 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,560 Speaker 1: in time. And I just thought, that's good white oak acorns. 775 00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:56,240 Speaker 1: I kept walking up this ridge and all of a sudden, 776 00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:00,319 Speaker 1: I bust a flock of gobbler turkeys. I see here, 777 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,239 Speaker 1: and and you know, going up the ridges, there's seven 778 00:43:05,280 --> 00:43:07,200 Speaker 1: or eight gabbler turkeys, and I go, oh, that's cool. 779 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:11,040 Speaker 1: I kind of just walk on through those turkeys and 780 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:16,080 Speaker 1: I bust a dough in a yearling, which in the mountains, 781 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 1: to see game is a big deal. I'm telling you, 782 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:20,839 Speaker 1: in the four days of walking that I had done, 783 00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:23,239 Speaker 1: I had not seen a single deer, turkey, I saw 784 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,879 Speaker 1: to bear. Um, you know, I had the bear encounters 785 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:28,520 Speaker 1: in all the and all that time, but I mean 786 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:30,799 Speaker 1: I had not You just don't see games. So I 787 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,120 Speaker 1: was like turkeys deer and it was it was. It 788 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:38,560 Speaker 1: was almost like a divine moment, because no sooner than 789 00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:43,520 Speaker 1: those deer bounded off, I saw a fresh pile of 790 00:43:43,719 --> 00:43:47,319 Speaker 1: bear scat on the ground. I mean, almost like smoking hot. 791 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,640 Speaker 1: I don't know who it really was, but it was fresh. 792 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:53,840 Speaker 1: I mean, there was no question. And I remember just saying, 793 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,480 Speaker 1: this is what I'm after, this is what I've been 794 00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:00,640 Speaker 1: looking for. There's a bear gotta be close and and 795 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:04,960 Speaker 1: I didn't know the area. Yeah, now I gotta find him. 796 00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:08,880 Speaker 1: I knew I knew the immediate area fairly well. I 797 00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:11,360 Speaker 1: knew that this ridge went up and tied into this 798 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:14,440 Speaker 1: main mountain and there was a pretty nice saddle about 799 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,239 Speaker 1: three or four d yards from where this bear sign. 800 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:22,040 Speaker 1: I found this single pile of bear scat, and uh, 801 00:44:22,160 --> 00:44:23,840 Speaker 1: and I said, well, I'm gonna go sit in that 802 00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:26,880 Speaker 1: saddle all day. That was my plan. Went up to 803 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 1: the saddle, set in the saddle. I planned on walking 804 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:33,720 Speaker 1: that whole day, so I didn't wear a lot of clothes. 805 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:36,480 Speaker 1: And I sat there for two hours and got cold. 806 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:40,720 Speaker 1: Wind was blowing the whole time out of the west. 807 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:44,400 Speaker 1: Wind was well, no, no, no no, I was in the saddle. 808 00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:46,880 Speaker 1: The wind was swirling the whole time I'm in this saddle. 809 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:50,560 Speaker 1: I'm thinking this bears probably already smelled me and knows 810 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,319 Speaker 1: I'm here, and this hunt's dead, and I'm just gonna 811 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,799 Speaker 1: sit here all day. And but I was like, that's 812 00:44:55,840 --> 00:44:59,920 Speaker 1: what you gotta do. At about ten o'clock in the morning, 813 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:03,960 Speaker 1: two things happened. I got cold, and the wind started 814 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:07,360 Speaker 1: blowing steady out of the west. It just started hitting me, 815 00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 1: and I noticed it was steady, and I thought, man, 816 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:13,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna get up and just kind of walk off 817 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:16,560 Speaker 1: down this ridge. The only reason I chose that direction 818 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:20,240 Speaker 1: was because the wind would win and I had actually 819 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:23,920 Speaker 1: never been off the side of this ridge. I so 820 00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:26,440 Speaker 1: I dive offside the ridge and let me tell you 821 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:29,760 Speaker 1: to what I'm carrying. I'm carrying a muzzleloader. At that time, 822 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:32,799 Speaker 1: I actually didn't even have a good dear rifle. I mean, 823 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,040 Speaker 1: I was primarily focusing on bow hunting, and I did 824 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:40,120 Speaker 1: not own a a good dear rifle. Had a good muzzloader, 825 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,920 Speaker 1: so his rifle season, but I'm carrying a muzzloader. I 826 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,080 Speaker 1: walk off the side of this ridge and I'm just 827 00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:47,080 Speaker 1: kind of stalking into the wind, just looking, and I 828 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:50,799 Speaker 1: come across a big rock outcropping and I go, man, 829 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:53,600 Speaker 1: that's pretty I walk up on this rock outcropping and 830 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:55,880 Speaker 1: decided to go stand up on top of it and 831 00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:58,319 Speaker 1: take some pictures. Had my camera with me. You know, 832 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,640 Speaker 1: I'm writing articles and stuff for the magazine, so it's like, 833 00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:03,880 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take some pictures of this. And I'm up 834 00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:09,000 Speaker 1: there taking pictures on top of this rock, and uh, 835 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:12,120 Speaker 1: you can see good off down through this this. I 836 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:15,120 Speaker 1: mean you can pretty see probably seventy yards. And I 837 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: see a flash of black and it was it looked 838 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:23,040 Speaker 1: like bare ears. And I saw a bear laying on 839 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,200 Speaker 1: a rock, lift its head up, turn and lay its 840 00:46:26,239 --> 00:46:29,319 Speaker 1: head down. I mean, it's amazing the human eye what 841 00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:31,719 Speaker 1: you can see, because you would never think that you 842 00:46:31,719 --> 00:46:33,799 Speaker 1: could have seen that, but it was just it was 843 00:46:33,880 --> 00:46:36,520 Speaker 1: like a flashing neon. Signed you know what it's like, 844 00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:40,359 Speaker 1: you know. And I see this bear pick its head 845 00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:43,320 Speaker 1: up and see two big old mickey mouse ears, and 846 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,320 Speaker 1: I see it lay its head down, and I remember 847 00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:51,000 Speaker 1: the feeling. I just said, holy cow, this is it. 848 00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:53,920 Speaker 1: This is what I've been after. I don't care if 849 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:57,400 Speaker 1: it's big, I don't care if it's small. This is 850 00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:00,440 Speaker 1: my opportunity. And when was hitting me right the face. 851 00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:03,760 Speaker 1: And it was a unique place to stalk a bear 852 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:08,960 Speaker 1: because there were these boulders. You've seen pictures that well, yeah, 853 00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:12,520 Speaker 1: that picture in my office. Right behind my bear, there's 854 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:15,839 Speaker 1: a huge boulders. And so I couldn't shoot the bear 855 00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:17,360 Speaker 1: from where I was at, I couldn't. I could hardly 856 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:19,839 Speaker 1: see the bear. The bear was laying flat. I could 857 00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:22,080 Speaker 1: just see like the tops of his ears and his head. 858 00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:26,680 Speaker 1: And I was able to step on rocks and never 859 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:30,440 Speaker 1: touch the leaves. And I would stalk like ten yards 860 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:32,960 Speaker 1: closer and look through the scope. And you know, I 861 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:34,680 Speaker 1: didn't want to get any closer than I needed to, 862 00:47:35,239 --> 00:47:36,880 Speaker 1: but I had to see the bear. I had to 863 00:47:36,880 --> 00:47:39,719 Speaker 1: see his vitals. I had to not have bro even 864 00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:42,239 Speaker 1: though you could see good, it wasn't open woods just 865 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:44,920 Speaker 1: there were no leaves so you can see. And so 866 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:47,759 Speaker 1: I I walk, walk, walk, you know, I get to 867 00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:50,399 Speaker 1: the bear. Was let me to start off. The bear 868 00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:54,000 Speaker 1: was sixty yards away originally, so I walked to fifty 869 00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:56,680 Speaker 1: yards and pull up the gun, like, well, I can 870 00:47:56,719 --> 00:47:58,279 Speaker 1: see him a little bit better, but not good enough 871 00:47:58,280 --> 00:48:00,560 Speaker 1: for a shot. So I stalked to four the yards. 872 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:02,880 Speaker 1: And this whole time, I mean, I'm just kind of 873 00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:05,239 Speaker 1: in the wide open. I'm thinking, at any moment, this 874 00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:07,440 Speaker 1: bear is gonna throw his head up, see me wearing 875 00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:10,640 Speaker 1: Hunter's orange and stuff, and we're gonna have a rodeo 876 00:48:10,719 --> 00:48:12,560 Speaker 1: on our hands as it's running off, and I'm trying 877 00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:14,560 Speaker 1: to shoot it with a one shot muzzloader, you know. 878 00:48:15,600 --> 00:48:17,320 Speaker 1: And so this whole time, I mean, I'm just on 879 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:19,719 Speaker 1: a red alert. This is my opportunity that I've been 880 00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:22,719 Speaker 1: waiting for. I go to thirty yards and I mean, 881 00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,719 Speaker 1: I'm just writing the spars hip pocket, but he's laid 882 00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:29,200 Speaker 1: out flat and you just can't see him, and I 883 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:31,799 Speaker 1: still can't get a good shot. And so I walk 884 00:48:31,920 --> 00:48:35,239 Speaker 1: up to twenty yards of this bear and I just 885 00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:38,000 Speaker 1: I'm like, well, there's no sense in getting closer, and 886 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:42,400 Speaker 1: I sit down and get the gun propped up on 887 00:48:42,520 --> 00:48:45,759 Speaker 1: my knee, and I mean, I'm just waiting and I 888 00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:48,520 Speaker 1: don't know if I should whistle at the bear to 889 00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:50,360 Speaker 1: get to stand up. I don't know if I should 890 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:53,040 Speaker 1: just wait for it to wake up, trying to decide 891 00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:54,799 Speaker 1: what to do. While I was sitting there, the bear 892 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,600 Speaker 1: rolled over. I remember seeing its legs go straight up 893 00:48:57,600 --> 00:49:01,480 Speaker 1: in there just like this mode and roll off. And 894 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:06,640 Speaker 1: at this point, I feel like this is a two 895 00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:10,640 Speaker 1: pounds black bear. When I say black bear, I'm not 896 00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:13,440 Speaker 1: talking about species. I'm talking about the colors fur. I 897 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:16,479 Speaker 1: felt like it was a two hundred pound black colored bear, 898 00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:20,480 Speaker 1: just average bear. I'm twenty yards from it. I shouldn't 899 00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:22,560 Speaker 1: really be able to tell what it is. I just 900 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:25,280 Speaker 1: know it's big enough that I'm gonna shoot it. Well, 901 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:27,360 Speaker 1: I'm just sitting there, sitting there, sitting there, and I know, 902 00:49:27,480 --> 00:49:29,759 Speaker 1: and the wind is still just solid coming right hit 903 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,000 Speaker 1: me right in the face. I'm trying to decide if 904 00:49:32,400 --> 00:49:35,440 Speaker 1: what I should do. And the bear has his head 905 00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:38,959 Speaker 1: laid over the top of a rock and I could 906 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:44,319 Speaker 1: see the whole top of his head, and I just go, man, 907 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:47,360 Speaker 1: I can drive tax with a smuggle lotter. I'm just 908 00:49:47,400 --> 00:49:48,919 Speaker 1: gonna shoot him right on the top of the head. 909 00:49:49,840 --> 00:49:51,920 Speaker 1: And uh, I mean, I can see his whole body. 910 00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:54,839 Speaker 1: He's just sunbathing on top of this big flat rock. 911 00:49:55,680 --> 00:49:58,080 Speaker 1: And man, I just put the crosshairs right on the 912 00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:02,280 Speaker 1: top of his head and wo and bear never flinched. 913 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:06,480 Speaker 1: I walked up to this bear, and I'm in shock. 914 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,520 Speaker 1: How big it is. It's a color phase bear. He's 915 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:14,080 Speaker 1: not black, he's he's dark chocolate brown and just like 916 00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:17,880 Speaker 1: your bear. We couldn't weigh it, but I'm confident the 917 00:50:17,920 --> 00:50:21,959 Speaker 1: bear was over five hundred pounds. The the that mount 918 00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:24,920 Speaker 1: in my mount looks so much alike as far as 919 00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:29,400 Speaker 1: the pole size, the head on him, the shoulders, the hips, everything, 920 00:50:29,719 --> 00:50:33,040 Speaker 1: I'd say they're nearly identical. Inside. Well, I know that 921 00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:36,120 Speaker 1: I had killed the four thirty pound bear in Ontario 922 00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:39,880 Speaker 1: two months before that. I walked up on that bear, 923 00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:42,400 Speaker 1: and that's a big bear. And when I walked up 924 00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:46,600 Speaker 1: with this bear, I thought, I actually said, this bear 925 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:49,640 Speaker 1: weighs a hundred pounds more than one. But he probably didn't. 926 00:50:49,680 --> 00:50:51,480 Speaker 1: He probably didn't weigh a hunter pounds more, but he 927 00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:54,359 Speaker 1: was more in anyway, I was in shock, and man, 928 00:50:54,560 --> 00:50:57,759 Speaker 1: that was that was really an iconic moment for me 929 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,320 Speaker 1: because I set out to kill bear. The nash before 930 00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,120 Speaker 1: us was the first one that I had ever killed, 931 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:06,000 Speaker 1: and it was just such a difficult hunt, killing the 932 00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:09,440 Speaker 1: last day of the season, and you know, there's so 933 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,319 Speaker 1: much more to hunting than just killing an animal and 934 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:15,840 Speaker 1: using its meat and hide. To me, it was almost 935 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:19,120 Speaker 1: symbolic of you know, it was the first year that 936 00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:22,640 Speaker 1: I had bear Hunting magazine, and I mean, I really 937 00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:26,440 Speaker 1: felt like that God was helping me. I really did, mo. 938 00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:28,719 Speaker 1: I mean when I walked up with that bear, thinking 939 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:30,919 Speaker 1: it was a tuner pound bear, I was just like 940 00:51:31,360 --> 00:51:34,719 Speaker 1: in shock. This somebody's helping me. If you if you 941 00:51:34,719 --> 00:51:37,280 Speaker 1: remember back those days, I'm going to butt into your story. 942 00:51:37,320 --> 00:51:39,960 Speaker 1: But those four or five or six days you hunted 943 00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:41,959 Speaker 1: over that ten or twelve days, Fan, I've done about 944 00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:43,600 Speaker 1: the same thing up here in the mountains. Because we 945 00:51:43,480 --> 00:51:46,520 Speaker 1: were talking back and forth between hunts, and you said, well, 946 00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:49,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to this last shot downer back down where 947 00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:50,839 Speaker 1: I'm going, And I said, well, I'm gonna go where 948 00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:53,520 Speaker 1: I've been going because I had found some fairly fresh 949 00:51:53,600 --> 00:51:57,320 Speaker 1: sign scat and stuff, but I hadn't saw a bear yet. 950 00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:00,920 Speaker 1: And uh, and I remember I hunted that whole day. 951 00:52:00,960 --> 00:52:03,279 Speaker 1: And that night you you got a hold of me 952 00:52:03,320 --> 00:52:06,239 Speaker 1: after you got the bear hauled out and everything, and said, hey, 953 00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:08,759 Speaker 1: I killed a huge bear day. And I'm like, you're 954 00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:15,439 Speaker 1: lying to me. Uh yeah, Yeah, that was a cool 955 00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:19,400 Speaker 1: That was a cool hunt. And yeah, and and and 956 00:52:19,520 --> 00:52:22,120 Speaker 1: we were comparing notes, and I was learning stuff from 957 00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:25,200 Speaker 1: you about how to hunt those bears back. And I mean, 958 00:52:26,239 --> 00:52:30,480 Speaker 1: there's a they're just it's tough to hunt them. Well, 959 00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:32,040 Speaker 1: like and like when you said a minute ago, and 960 00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:34,480 Speaker 1: we were talking about it on those hunts we were 961 00:52:34,480 --> 00:52:36,560 Speaker 1: going on that year you killed this one that we're 962 00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:40,879 Speaker 1: talking about. Uh, As I said, you, it ain't gonna 963 00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:42,320 Speaker 1: do you no good to hunt whether or not you 964 00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:45,120 Speaker 1: gotta you gotta just keep covering ground till you find 965 00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:48,560 Speaker 1: fresh sign and then concentrate on setting, looking, watching whatever. 966 00:52:48,880 --> 00:52:51,480 Speaker 1: Because you sat there for a week on old sign 967 00:52:51,520 --> 00:52:53,120 Speaker 1: and never see that bargers that bearing will come back 968 00:52:53,120 --> 00:52:56,160 Speaker 1: through there more than likely. Well, and that's a good 969 00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:58,439 Speaker 1: that's a good point for us to actually start start 970 00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:02,400 Speaker 1: talking about the nuts and bolts of hunting the big forest. 971 00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:06,920 Speaker 1: And and what you just said is what I tell 972 00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:09,880 Speaker 1: people right off. If I'm trying to give them. The 973 00:53:09,880 --> 00:53:14,239 Speaker 1: short version of hunting bear in the big woods is 974 00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:17,239 Speaker 1: you've got to cover ground until you find fresh signs 975 00:53:17,239 --> 00:53:22,399 Speaker 1: sign hunt them like deer, and because bear the war. 976 00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:26,080 Speaker 1: The way that bears use their range is that they 977 00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:27,919 Speaker 1: use it just like they use a bait site. They'll 978 00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:29,840 Speaker 1: come into a bait site and they'll key in on 979 00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:33,280 Speaker 1: a food source for an extended period of time, sometimes 980 00:53:33,280 --> 00:53:36,320 Speaker 1: not a real long time, ten twelve days or something, 981 00:53:36,600 --> 00:53:39,640 Speaker 1: I mean, or or they'll they'll they'll utilize of food 982 00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:44,120 Speaker 1: source until the resources exhausted another bears run them out 983 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:48,120 Speaker 1: of there, or humans have run them out of They 984 00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:50,520 Speaker 1: feel for the deer hunters or whatever they are. And 985 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:56,120 Speaker 1: so what I think happens is these bears there they'll 986 00:53:56,160 --> 00:53:59,960 Speaker 1: find a ridge like a red oak ridge, white oak ridge, 987 00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:02,640 Speaker 1: and they'll just use it until they got a reason 988 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:06,760 Speaker 1: to leave. And there they'll use a relatively small area 989 00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:10,560 Speaker 1: and in the fall, and we're talking about fall hunting here. 990 00:54:10,560 --> 00:54:13,839 Speaker 1: We hadn't said that, but all Eastern decisions for us 991 00:54:13,840 --> 00:54:18,760 Speaker 1: is fall hunting. No, there's no spring hunts. Um the 992 00:54:18,800 --> 00:54:22,759 Speaker 1: bears ranges get smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller 993 00:54:22,840 --> 00:54:26,720 Speaker 1: the closer they get to dinning period, and so there 994 00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:29,160 Speaker 1: there being a lot more selective about where they're feeding 995 00:54:29,200 --> 00:54:33,839 Speaker 1: and they're using these smaller areas. But I mean, so 996 00:54:33,880 --> 00:54:36,640 Speaker 1: what you said is right. You gotta just scout and 997 00:54:36,680 --> 00:54:43,799 Speaker 1: find a sign, find where they're at. What would you say, Okay, 998 00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:46,680 Speaker 1: walk me through mo You said earlier that there's a 999 00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:49,640 Speaker 1: big difference between hunting early season and late season. Kind 1000 00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:52,520 Speaker 1: of you kind of walk me through the progression of 1001 00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:56,319 Speaker 1: the fall with a bear here. Yeah, if you're hunting 1002 00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:59,840 Speaker 1: early season, which our season opens with archery, you know, 1003 00:55:00,040 --> 00:55:02,560 Speaker 1: the end of September, the last usually sometime and during 1004 00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:07,640 Speaker 1: the last week of September, uh food supplies is totally 1005 00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:11,680 Speaker 1: different than the mast is still up in the trees. 1006 00:55:12,880 --> 00:55:15,560 Speaker 1: Hircrenuts are still up on the trees. There's more hickernuts 1007 00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:20,040 Speaker 1: on the ground than there are uh acrons because some 1008 00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:22,320 Speaker 1: of them fall off, Squirrels knock them off, and bears 1009 00:55:22,400 --> 00:55:25,279 Speaker 1: leap those some And so that's one thing you gotta 1010 00:55:25,320 --> 00:55:28,000 Speaker 1: keep in mind if you're hunting. But what I have 1011 00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,799 Speaker 1: found over the hears is if if there's not much 1012 00:55:31,840 --> 00:55:34,360 Speaker 1: else to eat, and then all this is up in 1013 00:55:34,400 --> 00:55:38,160 Speaker 1: the trees is acrens, those bears will climb those trees 1014 00:55:38,719 --> 00:55:41,000 Speaker 1: and eat the acrens out of the trees. They'll be 1015 00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:43,759 Speaker 1: in limbs over to them and just strip them off 1016 00:55:43,800 --> 00:55:45,320 Speaker 1: and eat them right setting up in the trees. I 1017 00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:48,279 Speaker 1: found the sign of that several times when I've been 1018 00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:51,080 Speaker 1: out early bear hunting, find where they've clawed the trees, 1019 00:55:51,160 --> 00:55:53,040 Speaker 1: climbing up in them. And then you look up in 1020 00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:55,560 Speaker 1: the trees and you'll you don't even find some branches 1021 00:55:55,760 --> 00:55:57,839 Speaker 1: that they break plumb off, like off white out crazy. 1022 00:55:57,840 --> 00:56:00,520 Speaker 1: They'll break break branches off the size of room handles, 1023 00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:02,560 Speaker 1: eat th akers often just drop them down on the 1024 00:56:02,560 --> 00:56:04,520 Speaker 1: ground out of the trees, and you'll find that sign 1025 00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:07,440 Speaker 1: if you find a place like that and there's more 1026 00:56:07,440 --> 00:56:09,960 Speaker 1: regular that bear, those bears may not be on those trees, 1027 00:56:10,560 --> 00:56:13,880 Speaker 1: but in that area, if there's more white oak masks 1028 00:56:14,719 --> 00:56:18,200 Speaker 1: scout that are even harder, look to spread your scouting 1029 00:56:18,280 --> 00:56:20,600 Speaker 1: and you may be able to find where they're feeding 1030 00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:23,520 Speaker 1: on on some more trees that still have acrons up in. 1031 00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:25,799 Speaker 1: But they'll totally rid a tree of acrons, I mean 1032 00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:28,960 Speaker 1: they'll wipe them plumb out of a tree. And have 1033 00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:34,279 Speaker 1: you ever saw Yeah, the reason that I think we 1034 00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:36,920 Speaker 1: haven't keyed in on that more mode is just in 1035 00:56:36,960 --> 00:56:39,280 Speaker 1: the last few years we've had a season that opened 1036 00:56:39,360 --> 00:56:43,520 Speaker 1: up in September. Usually we're hunting starting in October later 1037 00:56:43,600 --> 00:56:46,799 Speaker 1: when the masses on the ground ground man, listen to this. 1038 00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:50,000 Speaker 1: I talked to a biologist in Oklahoma the other day 1039 00:56:50,239 --> 00:56:53,640 Speaker 1: to do about an interview about something a bear hunt 1040 00:56:53,719 --> 00:56:57,640 Speaker 1: over there, and uh, their season starts in September, first 1041 00:56:57,640 --> 00:57:00,839 Speaker 1: Saturday in September. In the very first thing he said 1042 00:57:00,840 --> 00:57:03,600 Speaker 1: to me was he said, you hunt these early season 1043 00:57:03,760 --> 00:57:08,920 Speaker 1: bears in Georgia like squirrels. He said, you, I mean 1044 00:57:09,080 --> 00:57:13,480 Speaker 1: literally walk and listen for and look for sign from 1045 00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:16,680 Speaker 1: them being in the trees and there so and I 1046 00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:18,840 Speaker 1: think and when he said it, I was like, yeah, 1047 00:57:18,880 --> 00:57:21,040 Speaker 1: that's what we do. I mean the bears that I killed, 1048 00:57:21,560 --> 00:57:25,360 Speaker 1: uh with my longboat, with my re curve. Man, they 1049 00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:27,720 Speaker 1: were climbing trees like crazy up on the top of 1050 00:57:27,760 --> 00:57:31,360 Speaker 1: that mountain, I mean, breaking stuff out. But he said 1051 00:57:31,360 --> 00:57:34,640 Speaker 1: it so quick it made me think, well, they're hunting 1052 00:57:34,880 --> 00:57:37,479 Speaker 1: in September. All akrons in the trees for the most 1053 00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:40,920 Speaker 1: part early September. But anyway, that's a hot tip for 1054 00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:44,560 Speaker 1: early season hunting. And another early season is what you 1055 00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:48,040 Speaker 1: were saying that the later it gets in the season, 1056 00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:55,000 Speaker 1: even if it's dry, the less the water holes are 1057 00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:57,800 Speaker 1: as good. When it's hot weather, they don't they like 1058 00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,360 Speaker 1: they gotta have water to drink, just like any animal. 1059 00:58:00,920 --> 00:58:02,800 Speaker 1: But they love to cool off in the water to 1060 00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:06,560 Speaker 1: bears do. But the later it gets, the less they use. 1061 00:58:06,720 --> 00:58:09,320 Speaker 1: So if you can find a water supply they're using, 1062 00:58:09,320 --> 00:58:12,840 Speaker 1: whether it be an old pond, a seep, you know, 1063 00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:15,400 Speaker 1: a spring out of the side of the mountain, uh, 1064 00:58:15,680 --> 00:58:21,560 Speaker 1: whatever it is, in that early if you're hunting somewhere 1065 00:58:21,600 --> 00:58:23,880 Speaker 1: where the season opens early and it's still hot weather, 1066 00:58:24,480 --> 00:58:26,960 Speaker 1: if you find a good water supply, then it pays 1067 00:58:27,000 --> 00:58:30,560 Speaker 1: to hunt it. But I think it it's most apt 1068 00:58:30,640 --> 00:58:32,840 Speaker 1: to score for you the middle of the day to 1069 00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:35,240 Speaker 1: the late afternoon. I don't. I think you kind of 1070 00:58:35,240 --> 00:58:38,480 Speaker 1: waste your time hunting in the early mornings. But I 1071 00:58:38,520 --> 00:58:42,240 Speaker 1: think that's midday, afternoon till late evening there's a good 1072 00:58:42,240 --> 00:58:45,760 Speaker 1: time to hit the water holes. But that's a great tip. 1073 00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:49,120 Speaker 1: Number two. It's water holes when it's dry, and every 1074 00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:51,520 Speaker 1: year is different. You know, I love water holes. I 1075 00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:53,360 Speaker 1: killed the bear over the water hole a couple of 1076 00:58:53,440 --> 00:58:57,000 Speaker 1: years ago, and uh, it was dry and the bears 1077 00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:59,040 Speaker 1: were using it. And it's easy to tell. Water holes 1078 00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:02,280 Speaker 1: are like awesome because you can tell the bears there 1079 00:59:02,320 --> 00:59:04,200 Speaker 1: and you can tell if he's not go to water hole, 1080 00:59:04,240 --> 00:59:06,120 Speaker 1: there's no tracks, there's not a bear there. You go 1081 00:59:06,160 --> 00:59:07,920 Speaker 1: to water hole in there art tracks, he's there. But 1082 00:59:08,040 --> 00:59:10,400 Speaker 1: like this year, but I didn't even check my water 1083 00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:13,479 Speaker 1: holes because of how much rain we had, especially down 1084 00:59:13,480 --> 00:59:16,920 Speaker 1: there where I'm hunting. I mean, water was not a 1085 00:59:16,960 --> 00:59:20,840 Speaker 1: limiting factor. We see opening opening day of our archery 1086 00:59:20,840 --> 00:59:24,680 Speaker 1: season this year here in Arkansas. The week before, I 1087 00:59:24,760 --> 00:59:27,480 Speaker 1: went to a water hole, an old pond down in 1088 00:59:28,240 --> 00:59:32,880 Speaker 1: in remote train and it was just tore up with 1089 00:59:33,520 --> 00:59:37,120 Speaker 1: sign of deer of bears using it. You know, they 1090 00:59:37,160 --> 00:59:39,440 Speaker 1: had a couple of trails coming into it, tracks around 1091 00:59:39,480 --> 00:59:43,280 Speaker 1: the pond. My plan was to hunt it opening day. Well, 1092 00:59:43,480 --> 00:59:45,760 Speaker 1: the day before opening day, it starts raining here and 1093 00:59:45,800 --> 00:59:49,560 Speaker 1: it rains two days straight, just floods everything. So that 1094 00:59:49,720 --> 00:59:52,360 Speaker 1: shop that was that was why I was banking on 1095 00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:55,800 Speaker 1: to bear hunt this year. Early in both season, I 1096 00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:58,120 Speaker 1: didn't even go because there was no need to me going, 1097 00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:01,520 Speaker 1: and I hadn't scattered anything that was I hadn't scattered 1098 01:00:01,520 --> 01:00:03,440 Speaker 1: anywhere else. A ton of food supply. I was concentrating 1099 01:00:03,440 --> 01:00:05,280 Speaker 1: on gonna hunt that water splly, so I didn't hunt 1100 01:00:05,320 --> 01:00:09,320 Speaker 1: that bear doesn't care if he drinks out of a 1101 01:00:09,360 --> 01:00:12,400 Speaker 1: pond or a creek or a mud hole, mud hole 1102 01:00:12,520 --> 01:00:17,000 Speaker 1: or sleeping. They just after water this most convenient place. 1103 01:00:17,040 --> 01:00:19,080 Speaker 1: So it's not like they're gonna go out of their 1104 01:00:19,120 --> 01:00:21,840 Speaker 1: way to go drink at a fresh creek or at 1105 01:00:21,840 --> 01:00:24,880 Speaker 1: a pond or something. But if it is dry later 1106 01:00:24,960 --> 01:00:27,880 Speaker 1: in the season, like in November, and you're hunting for bear, 1107 01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:32,280 Speaker 1: then if you find a combination of a of a 1108 01:00:33,160 --> 01:00:36,240 Speaker 1: some type of food supply and the water supplies on 1109 01:00:36,280 --> 01:00:39,840 Speaker 1: the same ridge or in the same hollow or same drainage, 1110 01:00:40,560 --> 01:00:43,560 Speaker 1: then that would make the chance of your success being 1111 01:00:43,640 --> 01:00:45,919 Speaker 1: even better. I think if you've got the two of them, 1112 01:00:45,960 --> 01:00:48,400 Speaker 1: because they eat a ton of calories, and that's that's 1113 01:00:48,440 --> 01:00:51,680 Speaker 1: the biological side of the fall. They call it hyper fejee, 1114 01:00:52,360 --> 01:00:55,760 Speaker 1: the fall feeding frenzy. They're trying to gather enough groceries 1115 01:00:55,760 --> 01:00:57,560 Speaker 1: to go to sleep for three months, and so they're 1116 01:00:57,560 --> 01:00:59,840 Speaker 1: eating a ton and just like you'r if we ate 1117 01:00:59,880 --> 01:01:02,480 Speaker 1: a a gold ribby steak, and they're more app the 1118 01:01:02,600 --> 01:01:04,520 Speaker 1: later it gets, the more apt it is you're going 1119 01:01:04,560 --> 01:01:06,960 Speaker 1: to see one in the daylight hours because bears are 1120 01:01:07,000 --> 01:01:11,120 Speaker 1: nocturnal most of the year. They like to be. But 1121 01:01:11,320 --> 01:01:16,440 Speaker 1: when that hyper thing you're talking about, then they feed 1122 01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:18,680 Speaker 1: more in the daytime because they rest on and off 1123 01:01:18,840 --> 01:01:20,560 Speaker 1: through the night a little bit as they're feeding. But 1124 01:01:20,600 --> 01:01:23,200 Speaker 1: then they're gonna feed some more during the daytime if 1125 01:01:23,200 --> 01:01:26,600 Speaker 1: they Let me tell you what I learned by having 1126 01:01:26,600 --> 01:01:29,439 Speaker 1: a truck camera over a water hole for like a year. 1127 01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:32,320 Speaker 1: I've got a truck camera up for I had it 1128 01:01:32,400 --> 01:01:35,480 Speaker 1: up for over a year in the same place. The 1129 01:01:35,560 --> 01:01:39,360 Speaker 1: one thing that I have found is that when the 1130 01:01:39,360 --> 01:01:43,120 Speaker 1: bears are using it when it's dry, is that there 1131 01:01:43,200 --> 01:01:48,880 Speaker 1: is absolutely no consistency to when they come. I mean, 1132 01:01:48,920 --> 01:01:52,960 Speaker 1: because I've got I'm not gonna say hundreds of pictures 1133 01:01:53,000 --> 01:01:57,560 Speaker 1: of bears, but well over a hundred, probably not two hundreds. 1134 01:01:58,080 --> 01:02:02,800 Speaker 1: And I began to analyze those foe those for time. Man. 1135 01:02:02,840 --> 01:02:05,520 Speaker 1: I didn't really statistically do it, but just I was like, 1136 01:02:06,120 --> 01:02:08,840 Speaker 1: you know, started logging, well, this bear was here at 1137 01:02:08,880 --> 01:02:11,320 Speaker 1: this time, this bear was here at this time, and 1138 01:02:11,440 --> 01:02:18,160 Speaker 1: I my opinion is that it is absolutely random when 1139 01:02:18,160 --> 01:02:19,920 Speaker 1: they were coming. Because I had the same thing I 1140 01:02:19,960 --> 01:02:23,280 Speaker 1: thought most you know, I thought, these bears are going 1141 01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:25,400 Speaker 1: to be coming in the heat of the day, and 1142 01:02:25,600 --> 01:02:27,520 Speaker 1: that's not what I found on my camera. I mean, 1143 01:02:27,560 --> 01:02:32,080 Speaker 1: there was it was it was I could not find 1144 01:02:32,280 --> 01:02:35,360 Speaker 1: any trend in when they showed up. The other thing 1145 01:02:35,400 --> 01:02:39,720 Speaker 1: that I couldn't find a trend in was how consistently 1146 01:02:39,760 --> 01:02:41,880 Speaker 1: they're showed up. Other than that, they never showed up 1147 01:02:41,920 --> 01:02:44,040 Speaker 1: two days in a row the same bear. I mean 1148 01:02:44,080 --> 01:02:46,840 Speaker 1: really like this pole. There they were over the course 1149 01:02:46,920 --> 01:02:50,320 Speaker 1: of let's just say one card pool, which would have 1150 01:02:50,320 --> 01:02:52,640 Speaker 1: been like three months. Like I'd go up there, you know, 1151 01:02:52,680 --> 01:02:54,760 Speaker 1: maybe every three or four months and check this camera. 1152 01:02:55,600 --> 01:02:58,680 Speaker 1: During one of those periods of time, you would see 1153 01:02:58,760 --> 01:03:01,920 Speaker 1: a bear. He'd been there, and then he may not 1154 01:03:02,040 --> 01:03:06,200 Speaker 1: show back up for another week. But two days after 1155 01:03:06,280 --> 01:03:09,520 Speaker 1: he came, there was another bear. And it was it 1156 01:03:09,640 --> 01:03:14,320 Speaker 1: was quite random. I mean in in in one day, 1157 01:03:14,440 --> 01:03:17,920 Speaker 1: for instance, I hiked all way back in there to hunt, 1158 01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:20,640 Speaker 1: and I checked the card and there had been a 1159 01:03:20,680 --> 01:03:24,280 Speaker 1: bear there that morning. And so obviously that's something to 1160 01:03:24,280 --> 01:03:26,720 Speaker 1: you get excited about, like, man, there's a bear close. 1161 01:03:27,440 --> 01:03:30,240 Speaker 1: But I actually it actually made me think there's probably 1162 01:03:30,280 --> 01:03:31,720 Speaker 1: not gonna be a bear here the rest of the 1163 01:03:32,080 --> 01:03:34,840 Speaker 1: rest of the day but already been here. Yeah, they 1164 01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:39,080 Speaker 1: just don't. It's just like it was just so random. Um, 1165 01:03:39,160 --> 01:03:42,400 Speaker 1: But at the same time, you you can't kill him 1166 01:03:42,440 --> 01:03:45,000 Speaker 1: if you're not there. And I I sat on that 1167 01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:50,120 Speaker 1: water hole for thirty hours cumulatively in seventeen and never 1168 01:03:50,160 --> 01:03:52,600 Speaker 1: saw a bear, and that that water hole has been 1169 01:03:52,680 --> 01:03:57,040 Speaker 1: actively used. I mean, it was it seemed random. It 1170 01:03:57,160 --> 01:03:59,640 Speaker 1: probably wasn't random. There were probably bears that were coming 1171 01:03:59,680 --> 01:04:03,560 Speaker 1: in that smelling me or something. But I wouldn't. I 1172 01:04:03,560 --> 01:04:05,680 Speaker 1: would hunt, and I mean I would hunt all day 1173 01:04:06,440 --> 01:04:09,560 Speaker 1: and not see a bear leave. When I come back 1174 01:04:09,560 --> 01:04:11,280 Speaker 1: in and check the camera, there will be a bear 1175 01:04:11,360 --> 01:04:13,240 Speaker 1: there the next day, at ten o'clock in the morning, 1176 01:04:13,440 --> 01:04:16,200 Speaker 1: for three o'clock in the afternoon. And it's like every 1177 01:04:16,200 --> 01:04:20,160 Speaker 1: time I hunted, they wouldn't come in. And uh so 1178 01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:23,480 Speaker 1: it was it was either I was just drawing the 1179 01:04:23,480 --> 01:04:27,880 Speaker 1: short straw or they were smelling me. But anyway, water 1180 01:04:27,920 --> 01:04:30,320 Speaker 1: hole hunting is tricky, especially in these mountains because the 1181 01:04:30,320 --> 01:04:33,160 Speaker 1: wind swirls and stuff. Well, that's one thing I will 1182 01:04:33,200 --> 01:04:37,680 Speaker 1: say about bear hunting. It's important to for deer hunting 1183 01:04:37,840 --> 01:04:41,160 Speaker 1: for your scent and stuff, but bear hunting, especially when 1184 01:04:41,200 --> 01:04:45,920 Speaker 1: you're hunting them in there habitat, not on bait. I mean, 1185 01:04:45,920 --> 01:04:48,680 Speaker 1: it's important on hunting over bait site to that you know, 1186 01:04:49,040 --> 01:04:50,840 Speaker 1: as far as your sanding, But when you're out there 1187 01:04:50,880 --> 01:04:53,960 Speaker 1: in their environment and they're not used to smelling or 1188 01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:58,080 Speaker 1: seeing anybody in that remote canyon, are up on that 1189 01:04:58,160 --> 01:05:01,240 Speaker 1: high rocky ridge like where you killed your big bear. 1190 01:05:02,040 --> 01:05:04,919 Speaker 1: If if they catch any sin of a human, I say, 1191 01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:09,080 Speaker 1: that's your hunt's over for that bear. Yeah, So you 1192 01:05:09,200 --> 01:05:11,720 Speaker 1: gotta always like you did on that day. You made 1193 01:05:11,760 --> 01:05:14,280 Speaker 1: sure the wind was in your favor and went down 1194 01:05:14,280 --> 01:05:18,439 Speaker 1: that ridge and and was able to kill that bear. Hey, 1195 01:05:18,640 --> 01:05:21,440 Speaker 1: let's talk about where to find bears, because that's a 1196 01:05:21,720 --> 01:05:24,240 Speaker 1: that's a big thing, especially for somebody that maybe you know, 1197 01:05:24,360 --> 01:05:27,400 Speaker 1: you and I grew up in these areas that were hunting, 1198 01:05:28,360 --> 01:05:33,360 Speaker 1: and it's kind of like they're just bary a areas. 1199 01:05:33,600 --> 01:05:36,480 Speaker 1: I mean like they're just places that, like everybody knows 1200 01:05:36,560 --> 01:05:39,680 Speaker 1: they're bear A lot of bear over in this area 1201 01:05:40,000 --> 01:05:43,800 Speaker 1: and maybe less in this area, and I'm telling not 1202 01:05:43,920 --> 01:05:46,040 Speaker 1: very many bears at all in another area, even though 1203 01:05:46,080 --> 01:05:49,680 Speaker 1: they look similar just looking at them about across. If 1204 01:05:49,680 --> 01:05:51,400 Speaker 1: you were just looking at a map and you just 1205 01:05:51,400 --> 01:05:53,600 Speaker 1: looked at a big, chunky national forest, you'd say, well, 1206 01:05:53,640 --> 01:05:56,640 Speaker 1: this spot would be as good as this spot, but 1207 01:05:56,840 --> 01:05:59,880 Speaker 1: they're really not so so it helps to have like 1208 01:06:00,120 --> 01:06:02,240 Speaker 1: the local knowledge. Like if you went down to I 1209 01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:03,560 Speaker 1: don't want to use any names, but I mean if 1210 01:06:03,600 --> 01:06:05,480 Speaker 1: you went down to one of these towns around here 1211 01:06:05,920 --> 01:06:09,040 Speaker 1: and said where the bear at, somebody might throw out 1212 01:06:09,040 --> 01:06:12,960 Speaker 1: the name of a drainage or a hollow or the community, 1213 01:06:13,040 --> 01:06:15,680 Speaker 1: just a little community, you know, they'd say, well, boy, 1214 01:06:15,960 --> 01:06:18,880 Speaker 1: you know such and such. It's got bears all over, 1215 01:06:19,360 --> 01:06:22,640 Speaker 1: And I mean that's where i'd start. It's like just 1216 01:06:22,960 --> 01:06:25,760 Speaker 1: where there's a good concentration bears. So even like here 1217 01:06:25,760 --> 01:06:28,320 Speaker 1: in the Ozarks, a lot of bears here, but there's 1218 01:06:28,320 --> 01:06:32,480 Speaker 1: certain there's just certain places that there's more, it seems like, 1219 01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:37,440 Speaker 1: but um, and then just having a little bit more 1220 01:06:37,520 --> 01:06:41,240 Speaker 1: knowledge there it helps. But in general, describe where you 1221 01:06:41,280 --> 01:06:46,480 Speaker 1: would start looking for a bear in in the in 1222 01:06:46,560 --> 01:06:51,040 Speaker 1: the hardwood mountains, the hardwood forest of these mountains here 1223 01:06:51,040 --> 01:06:56,960 Speaker 1: in northwest Arkansas. I think two things when I'm looking 1224 01:06:56,960 --> 01:07:01,360 Speaker 1: for bear. I look for actually three things. I look 1225 01:07:01,440 --> 01:07:08,840 Speaker 1: for remoteness farther away from dwellings, homesteads, you know, farms, 1226 01:07:10,120 --> 01:07:12,760 Speaker 1: because farms, you have dogs, and that's something bears hate 1227 01:07:12,840 --> 01:07:21,000 Speaker 1: his dogs. I think of roughness, rugged terrain, and that 1228 01:07:21,120 --> 01:07:24,720 Speaker 1: kind of comes inside with being away from dwellings and people. 1229 01:07:25,800 --> 01:07:29,320 Speaker 1: Another thing that I don't know why they do, but 1230 01:07:30,120 --> 01:07:34,840 Speaker 1: over the years I found more bear sign around old 1231 01:07:34,880 --> 01:07:38,520 Speaker 1: cutovers or old clear cuts that have grown up, not 1232 01:07:38,720 --> 01:07:42,360 Speaker 1: fresh clear cuts. Old clear cuts it's several years old, 1233 01:07:42,360 --> 01:07:45,560 Speaker 1: that grow up to where you just can't see very 1234 01:07:45,600 --> 01:07:50,600 Speaker 1: far anywhere in them. And those three things, either one 1235 01:07:50,640 --> 01:07:52,880 Speaker 1: of them will work for bears. But if you find 1236 01:07:52,920 --> 01:07:56,120 Speaker 1: those three components and put it together in a drainage, 1237 01:07:56,120 --> 01:07:59,160 Speaker 1: you're on a ridge or or on the side of 1238 01:07:59,160 --> 01:08:01,120 Speaker 1: a mountain, down on two or three benches of the 1239 01:08:01,160 --> 01:08:03,200 Speaker 1: side of a mountain, on a big high mountain that's 1240 01:08:03,280 --> 01:08:04,760 Speaker 1: you know, a long way from the creek to the 1241 01:08:04,800 --> 01:08:08,480 Speaker 1: top of it. If you find those three elements, then 1242 01:08:08,560 --> 01:08:11,120 Speaker 1: that's a good place to start your looking like I 1243 01:08:11,160 --> 01:08:13,640 Speaker 1: mean clay we're talking about, to cover some ground and 1244 01:08:13,680 --> 01:08:18,000 Speaker 1: try to find some fresh sign hunt. Yeah, that's that's 1245 01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:21,600 Speaker 1: where I would concentrate. I think that's the best description. 1246 01:08:22,600 --> 01:08:24,439 Speaker 1: A good description of what I would say is just 1247 01:08:24,600 --> 01:08:26,960 Speaker 1: you just got to get away from people. I mean, 1248 01:08:27,000 --> 01:08:31,360 Speaker 1: these bears. Bears are reclusive animals. They don't want to 1249 01:08:31,400 --> 01:08:35,839 Speaker 1: be seen. They're not tolerant of humans, especially in wild 1250 01:08:35,880 --> 01:08:38,880 Speaker 1: places like this. Now barrel walk up in your yard 1251 01:08:38,920 --> 01:08:42,040 Speaker 1: and eat your chicken feed in the summertime. But that's 1252 01:08:42,080 --> 01:08:45,240 Speaker 1: a different whole different ball games toole, different ball game. 1253 01:08:45,680 --> 01:08:47,880 Speaker 1: When you're out there hunting them, they want to be 1254 01:08:47,960 --> 01:08:50,800 Speaker 1: away from roads, they want to be away from everything, 1255 01:08:50,920 --> 01:08:53,080 Speaker 1: and so I mean, just the more remote you can get, 1256 01:08:53,120 --> 01:08:57,880 Speaker 1: the better. That's that's that's my analysis. At the same time, 1257 01:08:57,920 --> 01:08:59,800 Speaker 1: a bear is gonna be where you find him. So 1258 01:08:59,840 --> 01:09:04,160 Speaker 1: if you find bear signe the road or something, I mean, yeah, 1259 01:09:04,479 --> 01:09:08,400 Speaker 1: I mean you they they use a vast swath of terrain. 1260 01:09:09,080 --> 01:09:11,760 Speaker 1: Um if there's no acrons, if there's no mask, if 1261 01:09:11,800 --> 01:09:15,000 Speaker 1: there's no hickor nuts in this remote canyon down here, 1262 01:09:15,000 --> 01:09:17,479 Speaker 1: but there's bears in that canyon. And for some reason, 1263 01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:20,439 Speaker 1: this one year mask hits up on top the ridges, 1264 01:09:20,520 --> 01:09:22,599 Speaker 1: right on tops the ridges where the fields and stuff 1265 01:09:22,600 --> 01:09:25,519 Speaker 1: from farmers break down into the hardwoods. That's where you 1266 01:09:25,560 --> 01:09:27,200 Speaker 1: need to hunt them because they're gonna be feeding on 1267 01:09:27,240 --> 01:09:29,400 Speaker 1: that stuff up there, even though it's closer to the deal, 1268 01:09:29,840 --> 01:09:32,160 Speaker 1: but they're at that place because in below there's where 1269 01:09:32,200 --> 01:09:34,639 Speaker 1: they normally stay, in the remote, rugged terrain, where there's 1270 01:09:34,640 --> 01:09:38,360 Speaker 1: clear cuts and stuff like that. Well, you know, a 1271 01:09:38,400 --> 01:09:41,559 Speaker 1: buddy of mine that's a good mountain hunter told me, 1272 01:09:42,160 --> 01:09:44,679 Speaker 1: and he doesn't really target bears, but he pays attention 1273 01:09:44,680 --> 01:09:48,280 Speaker 1: to bears when he's deer hunting the mountains. And he 1274 01:09:48,360 --> 01:09:51,000 Speaker 1: told the story to me one time, and he connected 1275 01:09:51,000 --> 01:09:53,479 Speaker 1: the dots for me. But he he said, he had 1276 01:09:53,479 --> 01:09:56,200 Speaker 1: been deer hunting all day, hunting these kind of pretty 1277 01:09:56,280 --> 01:09:59,160 Speaker 1: ridges and you know, kind of places that you want 1278 01:09:59,200 --> 01:10:01,560 Speaker 1: to sit because can see a long ways and you 1279 01:10:01,680 --> 01:10:05,000 Speaker 1: just it feels good to sit there. And he he 1280 01:10:05,120 --> 01:10:09,240 Speaker 1: said to me, said, Clay, that's really not where the 1281 01:10:09,280 --> 01:10:12,320 Speaker 1: game and bear really want to be. They want to 1282 01:10:12,360 --> 01:10:15,280 Speaker 1: be down off in the rough, nasty stuff that nobody 1283 01:10:15,320 --> 01:10:17,920 Speaker 1: wants to go in. And he and and and the 1284 01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:21,639 Speaker 1: reason this conversation happens because he had he was going 1285 01:10:21,680 --> 01:10:24,080 Speaker 1: on a big walk about in the mountains. He had 1286 01:10:24,120 --> 01:10:26,519 Speaker 1: somebody drop him off and he was walking down somewhere 1287 01:10:26,560 --> 01:10:29,200 Speaker 1: else and being picked up and he had to cross 1288 01:10:29,240 --> 01:10:31,880 Speaker 1: this little canyon and the only game he saw the 1289 01:10:31,920 --> 01:10:34,200 Speaker 1: whole day was he when he dove off into this 1290 01:10:34,479 --> 01:10:37,960 Speaker 1: nasty little canyon that you couldn't really see, and he 1291 01:10:38,040 --> 01:10:41,400 Speaker 1: jumped a bear and uh and the bear ran up 1292 01:10:41,439 --> 01:10:46,360 Speaker 1: out of that and and and basically you know, I 1293 01:10:46,400 --> 01:10:48,400 Speaker 1: didn't make a doctrine out of it. But I mean 1294 01:10:48,520 --> 01:10:51,559 Speaker 1: it's true the places that you kind of want to hunt, 1295 01:10:51,600 --> 01:10:53,160 Speaker 1: like when I'm in the mountains, I want to sit 1296 01:10:53,280 --> 01:10:54,920 Speaker 1: like on the top of a ridge, we can see 1297 01:10:54,920 --> 01:10:57,360 Speaker 1: a long ways and stuff. The only reason the bear 1298 01:10:57,439 --> 01:10:59,559 Speaker 1: is gonna be there is if there's food there. So 1299 01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:02,479 Speaker 1: if there's no food there, there's no bear sign there, 1300 01:11:02,880 --> 01:11:07,000 Speaker 1: he's not gonna be there. Um. I mean, but bears, 1301 01:11:07,280 --> 01:11:09,960 Speaker 1: I mean, the bears that I have taken have been 1302 01:11:10,479 --> 01:11:12,800 Speaker 1: some of them have been in open places, but it's 1303 01:11:12,840 --> 01:11:15,200 Speaker 1: because there is food there. I mean when I say 1304 01:11:15,240 --> 01:11:17,479 Speaker 1: open places, I mean just like big and pretty woods. 1305 01:11:18,200 --> 01:11:23,160 Speaker 1: But but they're bedding, usually kind of in canyons. And 1306 01:11:23,600 --> 01:11:26,760 Speaker 1: I told you the big bear I killed all of 1307 01:11:26,840 --> 01:11:28,960 Speaker 1: his cat sign I found there. I didn't find any 1308 01:11:29,040 --> 01:11:32,160 Speaker 1: on that acorn ridge where the red oaks aken were 1309 01:11:32,280 --> 01:11:35,599 Speaker 1: but two little holes over from me before that caracut start, 1310 01:11:35,640 --> 01:11:38,320 Speaker 1: I found several piles of scat that had been made 1311 01:11:38,360 --> 01:11:41,439 Speaker 1: for several days on and off. You know, it was old, 1312 01:11:41,439 --> 01:11:46,000 Speaker 1: old and fairly old and little newer than fresh. And 1313 01:11:46,000 --> 01:11:49,960 Speaker 1: and he was a big and old bear. And and 1314 01:11:50,080 --> 01:11:52,360 Speaker 1: if I had hunted that food supply, probably would never 1315 01:11:52,360 --> 01:11:54,720 Speaker 1: got a shot at him, unless it was later in 1316 01:11:54,720 --> 01:11:56,760 Speaker 1: the year, because I think he was feeding all night 1317 01:11:56,800 --> 01:11:58,519 Speaker 1: and then laying up all day. And that will grown 1318 01:11:58,560 --> 01:12:01,200 Speaker 1: up caircut because his his fur. I picked a bunch 1319 01:12:01,240 --> 01:12:03,280 Speaker 1: of that had a bunch of those old birds and 1320 01:12:03,320 --> 01:12:06,320 Speaker 1: stuff in it that you see it coming in those 1321 01:12:06,360 --> 01:12:07,800 Speaker 1: clear cuts. I don't even know what they are, but 1322 01:12:07,840 --> 01:12:10,639 Speaker 1: it's just like the log old cockleberg cockle berg looking things. 1323 01:12:10,680 --> 01:12:13,000 Speaker 1: They were all matted up in his hair, on his 1324 01:12:13,160 --> 01:12:17,760 Speaker 1: four legs and under his bellying down through there he was. 1325 01:12:17,880 --> 01:12:21,240 Speaker 1: He was living in that thick stuff. Well, you know 1326 01:12:22,040 --> 01:12:24,920 Speaker 1: the there's really no secrets. You just need to get 1327 01:12:24,920 --> 01:12:27,880 Speaker 1: away from people. You need to You're not gonna hunt 1328 01:12:27,880 --> 01:12:29,560 Speaker 1: a bear where he's not, Just like you told me. 1329 01:12:29,600 --> 01:12:31,800 Speaker 1: You gotta honey where he is, and wherever he's at, 1330 01:12:31,840 --> 01:12:34,679 Speaker 1: he's gonna leave sign, you know there. Let's talk about 1331 01:12:34,720 --> 01:12:37,200 Speaker 1: sign for a minute. To me, the sign I'm looking 1332 01:12:37,240 --> 01:12:41,000 Speaker 1: for is fresh scat. Fresh, I mean like bear scat 1333 01:12:41,120 --> 01:12:43,799 Speaker 1: dries out pretty quick. And when you're out in the woods. 1334 01:12:43,800 --> 01:12:46,439 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, use some woodsmanship, and you can 1335 01:12:46,520 --> 01:12:50,599 Speaker 1: kind of decipher how old some scat is. It's easy 1336 01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:54,280 Speaker 1: to tell one two and three day old scat from 1337 01:12:54,360 --> 01:12:56,439 Speaker 1: two and three week old scat on bear for sure, 1338 01:12:56,760 --> 01:13:00,400 Speaker 1: because it's it's bigger, moist, and it looks it looks 1339 01:13:00,439 --> 01:13:05,639 Speaker 1: totally different. So yeah, so scat uh trails, I mean, 1340 01:13:05,800 --> 01:13:08,800 Speaker 1: bear trails are really distinct, especially in places where the 1341 01:13:08,840 --> 01:13:12,439 Speaker 1: bears are necked down. I mean, if it's just open woods, 1342 01:13:12,479 --> 01:13:14,320 Speaker 1: there's not gonna be a bear trail. But like if 1343 01:13:14,360 --> 01:13:16,320 Speaker 1: they're coming around the head of a hollow or like 1344 01:13:16,360 --> 01:13:19,120 Speaker 1: there's a place where they're pinched down for some reason, 1345 01:13:19,200 --> 01:13:22,360 Speaker 1: it'll look totally different from a deer trail. Describe it. 1346 01:13:22,960 --> 01:13:27,120 Speaker 1: The bear trails will be you won't see slide places. 1347 01:13:27,160 --> 01:13:29,400 Speaker 1: And something bears don't do is they don't break stuff 1348 01:13:29,400 --> 01:13:31,920 Speaker 1: when they walk. They walk over stuff all the time. 1349 01:13:32,840 --> 01:13:35,400 Speaker 1: And and where they step over stuff like there's a 1350 01:13:35,439 --> 01:13:39,360 Speaker 1: log or down a little bush or something other. And 1351 01:13:39,560 --> 01:13:41,599 Speaker 1: and like the head of a little hollow where they're 1352 01:13:41,600 --> 01:13:44,360 Speaker 1: going around a bench or whatever, where they step over stuff, 1353 01:13:44,920 --> 01:13:48,160 Speaker 1: it'll just be matted out flat. Where they walk over stuff, 1354 01:13:48,360 --> 01:13:50,240 Speaker 1: you can tell it instantly when you see it. I 1355 01:13:50,280 --> 01:13:52,760 Speaker 1: know you've seen that before. It Let's be a the 1356 01:13:52,840 --> 01:13:54,880 Speaker 1: las a lot be flat. Is be like you stood 1357 01:13:54,880 --> 01:13:56,800 Speaker 1: there and stomped around in the circle for ten minutes 1358 01:13:56,800 --> 01:13:59,639 Speaker 1: where those bears. I think we're used to seeing deer trails, 1359 01:13:59,640 --> 01:14:01,720 Speaker 1: which are made by inch and a half wide two 1360 01:14:01,760 --> 01:14:04,559 Speaker 1: inch wide hoof, hard hoof, and so that you know 1361 01:14:04,600 --> 01:14:08,120 Speaker 1: deer trails are these narrow things. A bear trail is 1362 01:14:08,160 --> 01:14:11,800 Speaker 1: either gonna be if it's used very, very heavily, it'll 1363 01:14:11,840 --> 01:14:14,800 Speaker 1: be padded out almost like a I mean like a 1364 01:14:14,880 --> 01:14:17,360 Speaker 1: hiking trail. Nearly it'll almost looked like a hiking trail. 1365 01:14:18,080 --> 01:14:22,280 Speaker 1: But you also see lesser bear trails where the bears 1366 01:14:22,280 --> 01:14:24,799 Speaker 1: are putting their feet in the same spot in the leaves. 1367 01:14:24,960 --> 01:14:26,840 Speaker 1: I told you about that the the day. Remember when 1368 01:14:26,840 --> 01:14:28,559 Speaker 1: we were discussing where I was bear hunting the other 1369 01:14:28,640 --> 01:14:31,679 Speaker 1: day and I smelt the bear uh huh and found 1370 01:14:31,680 --> 01:14:34,600 Speaker 1: a pretty fresh pile of cat. Remember I told you, 1371 01:14:34,640 --> 01:14:37,040 Speaker 1: I said, this has been a big bear, he's traveled 1372 01:14:37,040 --> 01:14:38,479 Speaker 1: this coming up here eating. And I had found some 1373 01:14:38,520 --> 01:14:41,360 Speaker 1: white oak acorns. Well I know they weren't white oak, 1374 01:14:41,400 --> 01:14:44,080 Speaker 1: they were a spotted oak, spotted oapen black oak acorns. 1375 01:14:44,640 --> 01:14:46,479 Speaker 1: We were on the mind it's white oak. But anyway 1376 01:14:46,960 --> 01:14:48,960 Speaker 1: to shorten the story up, I remember talking to you 1377 01:14:49,000 --> 01:14:51,040 Speaker 1: that night and I said, I found a where a 1378 01:14:51,080 --> 01:14:53,479 Speaker 1: bear has walked up and down this hill over these 1379 01:14:53,560 --> 01:14:56,200 Speaker 1: rocks come up on this flat bench eating and I said, 1380 01:14:56,439 --> 01:14:58,639 Speaker 1: he's walked it several times. But I said I can't stop. 1381 01:14:58,840 --> 01:15:00,920 Speaker 1: And I said, I stopped my feeding these leaves and 1382 01:15:00,920 --> 01:15:03,320 Speaker 1: can't make his deep impressions. That's what's in the leaves 1383 01:15:03,400 --> 01:15:05,400 Speaker 1: right now from where that bear has been walking the 1384 01:15:05,439 --> 01:15:08,719 Speaker 1: same path up. There's certain places where they'll they'll put 1385 01:15:08,760 --> 01:15:12,280 Speaker 1: their feet in the same place, and so you'll see, 1386 01:15:12,320 --> 01:15:15,960 Speaker 1: like up where I hunt mode, you'll see just randomly 1387 01:15:16,120 --> 01:15:19,200 Speaker 1: they'll be like a ten foot section that there will 1388 01:15:19,240 --> 01:15:23,040 Speaker 1: be seven or eight intentions. So that I found the 1389 01:15:23,000 --> 01:15:25,960 Speaker 1: other day was probably forty or fifty ft across this 1390 01:15:26,000 --> 01:15:27,680 Speaker 1: bench to where it got onto some rocks, and it 1391 01:15:27,680 --> 01:15:30,200 Speaker 1: looked like they walked across these rocks from there, because 1392 01:15:30,240 --> 01:15:32,360 Speaker 1: I never found a more sign of their tracks or anything. 1393 01:15:32,400 --> 01:15:34,559 Speaker 1: But that's where I smelled the bear that day. He 1394 01:15:34,600 --> 01:15:37,719 Speaker 1: had been there that morning earlier during the night. Yeah, 1395 01:15:38,200 --> 01:15:41,800 Speaker 1: so talking about signed to so so tracks trade well. 1396 01:15:41,880 --> 01:15:45,120 Speaker 1: Obviously tracks which in these woods you're not gonna see 1397 01:15:45,120 --> 01:15:47,639 Speaker 1: any tracks. Let's it's crossing the road or something roads 1398 01:15:47,760 --> 01:15:51,559 Speaker 1: or wet seep or around a pond, or or wet 1399 01:15:51,640 --> 01:15:53,960 Speaker 1: sandy hollow that one crosses, like we was talking about 1400 01:15:53,960 --> 01:15:55,559 Speaker 1: in the head of a hollow. Someone just don't see 1401 01:15:55,560 --> 01:15:57,840 Speaker 1: a lot of you just don't see a lot of tracks. 1402 01:15:57,880 --> 01:16:04,360 Speaker 1: But you'll see rolled logs and old rocks. That's the 1403 01:16:04,400 --> 01:16:06,880 Speaker 1: best way to describe would be all these rocks that 1404 01:16:06,920 --> 01:16:09,599 Speaker 1: have been sitting there for a thousand years and not move, 1405 01:16:09,720 --> 01:16:13,320 Speaker 1: they're gonna have liking and they're gonna have this consistent appearance. 1406 01:16:13,360 --> 01:16:15,640 Speaker 1: When you look across the mountain when you see a 1407 01:16:15,760 --> 01:16:19,439 Speaker 1: rock that looks like it's glowing knee on it's brown, 1408 01:16:19,479 --> 01:16:21,080 Speaker 1: and all the ones around it have white like and 1409 01:16:21,479 --> 01:16:25,080 Speaker 1: go down and look because more likely embarrass and and 1410 01:16:25,080 --> 01:16:28,360 Speaker 1: and you can see a rock that's been rolled for 1411 01:16:28,920 --> 01:16:31,960 Speaker 1: probably a year after its roll I mean, like a 1412 01:16:32,080 --> 01:16:34,000 Speaker 1: rock us like half in the ground. Yeah, it just 1413 01:16:34,000 --> 01:16:36,519 Speaker 1: takes them a long time to start forming moss or 1414 01:16:36,600 --> 01:16:38,880 Speaker 1: lacking on them and so so. And there's nothing in 1415 01:16:38,920 --> 01:16:42,360 Speaker 1: the woods that rolls rocks like that. Tiles don't do it. Dear, 1416 01:16:42,439 --> 01:16:43,960 Speaker 1: don't do it. I mean, you see a rock as 1417 01:16:43,960 --> 01:16:46,080 Speaker 1: big as a bowling ball or as big as a 1418 01:16:46,080 --> 01:16:48,160 Speaker 1: beach ball that's been flipped over A bear? Did it? 1419 01:16:48,680 --> 01:16:54,439 Speaker 1: You know? Uh? So uh rolled rocks something else signed. 1420 01:16:56,000 --> 01:16:58,880 Speaker 1: I don't know why they do it, but I've usually 1421 01:16:58,920 --> 01:17:02,080 Speaker 1: found it after because for several years I didn't realize 1422 01:17:02,080 --> 01:17:05,559 Speaker 1: it till the last few years especially, it seems like 1423 01:17:06,360 --> 01:17:08,200 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's just because they're males, but 1424 01:17:08,360 --> 01:17:10,160 Speaker 1: I don't see it early in the season, but late 1425 01:17:10,200 --> 01:17:12,160 Speaker 1: season like now, when usually most of the only bears 1426 01:17:12,240 --> 01:17:16,200 Speaker 1: left out are males. You find a place where you 1427 01:17:16,320 --> 01:17:19,400 Speaker 1: see some trails, or you see so a few tracks 1428 01:17:19,479 --> 01:17:26,120 Speaker 1: padded in continuous places. Is I saw it the other 1429 01:17:26,200 --> 01:17:29,120 Speaker 1: day when I smelt that bear. There were several little 1430 01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:32,599 Speaker 1: bushes like from a little over bigger pencil sized about 1431 01:17:32,640 --> 01:17:35,599 Speaker 1: the size of broom handle, maybe maybe not harder that big, 1432 01:17:36,560 --> 01:17:38,960 Speaker 1: just about the hype of a bear's head when he's 1433 01:17:38,960 --> 01:17:42,160 Speaker 1: walking that us be snapped off and broke over. I 1434 01:17:42,200 --> 01:17:44,160 Speaker 1: think they get them in their mouth and let's just 1435 01:17:44,800 --> 01:17:47,200 Speaker 1: buy them in two. I don't know why have you 1436 01:17:47,200 --> 01:17:50,120 Speaker 1: ever noticed that. I can't say that i've seen that. 1437 01:17:50,600 --> 01:17:54,360 Speaker 1: I've seen. I've seen it in the last few years, 1438 01:17:54,400 --> 01:17:56,360 Speaker 1: and and nothing, I mean no, no, nobody's been in there. 1439 01:17:56,360 --> 01:17:57,840 Speaker 1: Because I was in a remote place of to day, 1440 01:17:57,920 --> 01:18:00,439 Speaker 1: nobody had been in there. And this is and done. 1441 01:18:01,040 --> 01:18:02,680 Speaker 1: You can tell them last three or four days, they 1442 01:18:02,680 --> 01:18:05,960 Speaker 1: were several along those padded places. I told you those 1443 01:18:06,000 --> 01:18:09,880 Speaker 1: bushes were just snapped off, snapped off. Yea. What about 1444 01:18:09,960 --> 01:18:14,880 Speaker 1: yellow jacket nests? The man I see, I saw those 1445 01:18:14,960 --> 01:18:18,000 Speaker 1: when I was in the mountains last week. Uh thet 1446 01:18:18,400 --> 01:18:23,559 Speaker 1: them out in October, nest in the ground. And uh, 1447 01:18:23,600 --> 01:18:27,080 Speaker 1: I bet walking up the mountain back in September when 1448 01:18:27,160 --> 01:18:29,920 Speaker 1: we were back there a lot, I bet I saw 1449 01:18:30,400 --> 01:18:34,160 Speaker 1: five or six different yellow jacket nests dug out just 1450 01:18:34,280 --> 01:18:36,880 Speaker 1: on one ascent up the mountain that I was hunting. 1451 01:18:37,240 --> 01:18:41,320 Speaker 1: So they'll eat those like crazy. I think sometimes a 1452 01:18:41,360 --> 01:18:44,720 Speaker 1: few other varmints will eat them, probably, so you know, 1453 01:18:45,240 --> 01:18:46,800 Speaker 1: But one thing you can tell, if a bear has 1454 01:18:46,800 --> 01:18:50,280 Speaker 1: done it, he'll really be dug out. If a cowd 1455 01:18:50,600 --> 01:18:52,160 Speaker 1: or a fox or something of the dicks in there, 1456 01:18:52,240 --> 01:18:53,680 Speaker 1: you could just be a little hole dug in there 1457 01:18:53,680 --> 01:18:55,720 Speaker 1: and there'll be a few things dug out there. I 1458 01:18:55,800 --> 01:18:57,760 Speaker 1: found the ones that I found that bears that dug out. 1459 01:18:57,760 --> 01:18:59,519 Speaker 1: They pull rocks and everything up out of where they 1460 01:18:59,560 --> 01:19:02,599 Speaker 1: dig him out. Mean they've just followed them out. They 1461 01:19:02,600 --> 01:19:05,680 Speaker 1: get the whole kidneys as far as signed to. I 1462 01:19:05,720 --> 01:19:08,800 Speaker 1: mean in the early season you will see sign of 1463 01:19:08,840 --> 01:19:11,439 Speaker 1: them coming up and down trees. Are you looking for that? 1464 01:19:11,560 --> 01:19:13,800 Speaker 1: Can you what other? What other sign? Can you think 1465 01:19:13,800 --> 01:19:16,719 Speaker 1: of any other sign? We talked about trails, tracks, scat 1466 01:19:17,240 --> 01:19:21,360 Speaker 1: rolled rocks, them digging yellow jacket nests out. I mean 1467 01:19:21,439 --> 01:19:24,800 Speaker 1: you mentioned, you mentioned you did mention like logs and 1468 01:19:24,840 --> 01:19:30,679 Speaker 1: old stumps, didn't you. Yeah, a love mode. The bears 1469 01:19:30,760 --> 01:19:33,280 Speaker 1: died in Arkansas. And this is from sign the studies 1470 01:19:33,320 --> 01:19:35,960 Speaker 1: they did back in the nineties. Eighty five percent plant 1471 01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:41,519 Speaker 1: matter percent animal matter, and of that fifteen percent, eight 1472 01:19:41,720 --> 01:19:48,320 Speaker 1: percent of that was insects, not not not just insects. Ants. Okay, 1473 01:19:48,360 --> 01:19:52,760 Speaker 1: So eighty five percent plant matter percent animal matter for 1474 01:19:52,800 --> 01:19:57,519 Speaker 1: these bears in Arkansas, and of that fifteen percent percent 1475 01:19:57,880 --> 01:20:01,320 Speaker 1: was ants. So I mean they're there rolling them and 1476 01:20:01,640 --> 01:20:05,559 Speaker 1: think about walking up here in rolling every rock's got 1477 01:20:05,560 --> 01:20:08,639 Speaker 1: ants under an Old logs have ants in them. Yeah, 1478 01:20:08,760 --> 01:20:11,160 Speaker 1: old stumps have ants in them. They just lick them 1479 01:20:11,240 --> 01:20:14,559 Speaker 1: up because I found a lot of old rotted stumps 1480 01:20:14,560 --> 01:20:16,679 Speaker 1: where a tree has broke off and fail or whether 1481 01:20:16,720 --> 01:20:19,280 Speaker 1: it's send them where they've cut timber years ago. Uh, 1482 01:20:19,320 --> 01:20:21,360 Speaker 1: they'll really tear them out of the ground or split 1483 01:20:21,400 --> 01:20:23,519 Speaker 1: them open. And I guess that's what they're getting out 1484 01:20:23,520 --> 01:20:26,640 Speaker 1: of mainly is antsy. And you know, and by the 1485 01:20:26,640 --> 01:20:29,200 Speaker 1: time the frost comes and you're hunting later in the fall, 1486 01:20:29,760 --> 01:20:32,479 Speaker 1: that kind of sign is less valuable. I mean when 1487 01:20:32,560 --> 01:20:35,040 Speaker 1: we're really hunting these bears and this early season, yeah, 1488 01:20:35,120 --> 01:20:37,559 Speaker 1: you could catch them grubbing and rolling rocks and find 1489 01:20:37,560 --> 01:20:40,080 Speaker 1: some fresh sign like the yellow jacket nest for sure 1490 01:20:40,160 --> 01:20:43,280 Speaker 1: early in the season. By the time late season, you're 1491 01:20:43,280 --> 01:20:46,080 Speaker 1: not that stuff in and they're not doing it. But 1492 01:20:46,479 --> 01:20:48,880 Speaker 1: I mean, the main thing they're kiinging on here is 1493 01:20:48,920 --> 01:20:52,240 Speaker 1: acorns and hickory nuts and beech nuts. Let's do one 1494 01:20:52,280 --> 01:20:54,920 Speaker 1: more segment and then we'll be done. Mo what these 1495 01:20:54,920 --> 01:20:58,599 Speaker 1: bears are eating, Okay, because we're telling everybody to find 1496 01:20:58,600 --> 01:21:03,360 Speaker 1: the food source, and you know, there's there's multiple species 1497 01:21:03,400 --> 01:21:07,800 Speaker 1: of oaks in Arkansas, um and in a bear, we 1498 01:21:07,880 --> 01:21:11,120 Speaker 1: eat any of them. Bear's favorite food source is gonna 1499 01:21:11,160 --> 01:21:15,400 Speaker 1: be what in my opinion, it's the white oak acorns. 1500 01:21:15,400 --> 01:21:16,960 Speaker 1: When they can find. I know you're gonna say that's 1501 01:21:16,960 --> 01:21:22,280 Speaker 1: why I teach. The reason is because they're white. Oaks 1502 01:21:22,280 --> 01:21:27,400 Speaker 1: are larger acron in general than all the other acron 1503 01:21:27,400 --> 01:21:30,679 Speaker 1: species other than red oaks are. But usually you don't 1504 01:21:30,720 --> 01:21:37,240 Speaker 1: nearly have a bigger mask uh supply or production of 1505 01:21:37,640 --> 01:21:41,680 Speaker 1: the red oak. There's more of them than anything. Yes, 1506 01:21:42,280 --> 01:21:45,200 Speaker 1: and i've you know they have less tannic acid in them. Yes, 1507 01:21:45,240 --> 01:21:47,760 Speaker 1: the shell is red oak. The red oaks and stuff 1508 01:21:47,800 --> 01:21:49,240 Speaker 1: have more of that acid and stuff in them the 1509 01:21:49,360 --> 01:21:52,360 Speaker 1: way more better. So I guess they're just they're just 1510 01:21:52,439 --> 01:21:55,800 Speaker 1: better for one thing, the key. But one thing I 1511 01:21:55,840 --> 01:21:58,439 Speaker 1: have seen, and we've discussed this earlier, the only the 1512 01:21:58,439 --> 01:22:00,720 Speaker 1: only time I've seen where bears kind trees late, and 1513 01:22:00,760 --> 01:22:02,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna I want to tell this so people don't know, 1514 01:22:04,080 --> 01:22:08,080 Speaker 1: is the last acron to come off the trees in 1515 01:22:08,120 --> 01:22:15,479 Speaker 1: this northwest Arkansas is postalk acorns, the small postalk acrens. 1516 01:22:17,120 --> 01:22:19,960 Speaker 1: I have seen bears up in the trees eating postal 1517 01:22:20,000 --> 01:22:26,439 Speaker 1: acorns during November rifle deer season, probably because those acrons 1518 01:22:26,479 --> 01:22:28,120 Speaker 1: are still up in the trees. The only time they 1519 01:22:28,120 --> 01:22:30,240 Speaker 1: do it, though, is if the postalks are about the 1520 01:22:30,240 --> 01:22:33,000 Speaker 1: only acrons that head, there's nothing left. They'll climb the 1521 01:22:33,040 --> 01:22:35,880 Speaker 1: trees and eat the little postal acorns off the trees. 1522 01:22:35,960 --> 01:22:40,519 Speaker 1: And the first time I found that was about fifteen sixteen, 1523 01:22:40,760 --> 01:22:44,599 Speaker 1: seventeen year ago. I was walking around a bench on 1524 01:22:44,640 --> 01:22:48,080 Speaker 1: a little ridge. It had postal achorns, and I was 1525 01:22:48,120 --> 01:22:51,160 Speaker 1: in there looking for dear, dear, the bear quota Darry 1526 01:22:51,200 --> 01:22:55,040 Speaker 1: been met. Couldn't bear hunt or anything. Then and I 1527 01:22:55,160 --> 01:22:57,160 Speaker 1: come by a tree. I don't think I've ever told 1528 01:22:57,160 --> 01:22:59,400 Speaker 1: you this story. I came by a tree and there's 1529 01:22:59,439 --> 01:23:01,360 Speaker 1: some limbs on the ground. Why are these limbs on 1530 01:23:01,360 --> 01:23:03,559 Speaker 1: the other postal limbs? Did the wind blow bad? Here? 1531 01:23:03,600 --> 01:23:06,240 Speaker 1: I'm telling myself, Well, I get on over to another 1532 01:23:06,280 --> 01:23:08,880 Speaker 1: there's a big poster tree and nearly all the barks 1533 01:23:08,920 --> 01:23:13,360 Speaker 1: going off of it. Then it goes bam. I thought 1534 01:23:13,479 --> 01:23:18,880 Speaker 1: his bears eating his postal cachorns. I don't go three 1535 01:23:19,280 --> 01:23:22,400 Speaker 1: yards around this edge of this ridge, going out towards 1536 01:23:22,400 --> 01:23:23,800 Speaker 1: the end of it. See if there's any buck sign 1537 01:23:23,840 --> 01:23:26,720 Speaker 1: out on the end this little point out there. And 1538 01:23:26,800 --> 01:23:30,559 Speaker 1: I hear the offless commotion, I hear stuff falling. I've 1539 01:23:30,600 --> 01:23:32,360 Speaker 1: already come back. I turn down in about a two 1540 01:23:32,680 --> 01:23:35,400 Speaker 1: pound bearris coming backwards down the tree. I just walked 1541 01:23:35,479 --> 01:23:40,280 Speaker 1: under in a big postalk tree. He comes shimmying down 1542 01:23:40,280 --> 01:23:44,200 Speaker 1: that tree and blows at me like that and it 1543 01:23:44,320 --> 01:23:47,840 Speaker 1: takes off running around the beach. Other Yeah, I mean 1544 01:23:47,880 --> 01:23:50,759 Speaker 1: just I mean he was just sailing that it backwards. 1545 01:23:50,800 --> 01:23:53,640 Speaker 1: Just and but I don't think i'd ever tell you 1546 01:23:53,640 --> 01:23:57,600 Speaker 1: that story. But uh, but that that it makes me 1547 01:23:57,640 --> 01:23:59,680 Speaker 1: think of stuff, old stuff that's happening. And it was 1548 01:24:00,000 --> 01:24:02,800 Speaker 1: on it's a nice bear. If it's been bears season. 1549 01:24:02,800 --> 01:24:04,160 Speaker 1: If i'd been bear hunt and I could have killed 1550 01:24:04,160 --> 01:24:06,360 Speaker 1: that bear, you know, I mean I had to shot 1551 01:24:06,439 --> 01:24:07,880 Speaker 1: him on the move, but I was close. I was 1552 01:24:07,920 --> 01:24:09,400 Speaker 1: twenty yards And when you come out of the tree. 1553 01:24:09,439 --> 01:24:12,479 Speaker 1: You know what, when you say post oaks late season, 1554 01:24:12,960 --> 01:24:15,960 Speaker 1: I am envisioning and I wouldn't have thought of unless 1555 01:24:16,000 --> 01:24:18,439 Speaker 1: you said it. But I have seen bears, evidence of 1556 01:24:18,520 --> 01:24:20,880 Speaker 1: bears climbing trees in the late season on a post oak, 1557 01:24:22,760 --> 01:24:24,680 Speaker 1: and that's what they're doing it for, because if there's 1558 01:24:25,360 --> 01:24:29,080 Speaker 1: those acorns usually don't fall off till around Thanksgiving. Post oks. 1559 01:24:29,080 --> 01:24:31,080 Speaker 1: I've seen them many times still on the trees, fulling 1560 01:24:31,120 --> 01:24:36,360 Speaker 1: the trees around Thanksgiving. Well, white oaks is their favorite. 1561 01:24:36,640 --> 01:24:39,840 Speaker 1: And then whatever, and white oak acrenes don't last very long. 1562 01:24:39,840 --> 01:24:42,400 Speaker 1: White oaka acren is rot pretty quick and they get 1563 01:24:42,439 --> 01:24:45,439 Speaker 1: eaten up, but pretty quick. And the red oaks seemed 1564 01:24:45,479 --> 01:24:48,280 Speaker 1: to fall not necessarily later, but they'll seem to hold 1565 01:24:48,320 --> 01:24:50,800 Speaker 1: and not spoil the spoil as much. Yes, and then 1566 01:24:50,840 --> 01:24:53,840 Speaker 1: the post oaks are holding on. Uh, hickory nuts are 1567 01:24:53,840 --> 01:24:56,519 Speaker 1: falling early. Yeah. But but let me tell you this, 1568 01:24:56,760 --> 01:24:59,679 Speaker 1: because I've seen several bears, bears doing it. I've killed 1569 01:24:59,680 --> 01:25:03,400 Speaker 1: a couple bears over them when there's no mass crop 1570 01:25:03,520 --> 01:25:06,080 Speaker 1: for acrons. Why it happens, I don't know, But usually 1571 01:25:06,080 --> 01:25:08,840 Speaker 1: on years where there's no I'm saying, no mask, no 1572 01:25:08,960 --> 01:25:11,560 Speaker 1: acron mask. In the mountains where I've always hunted, it 1573 01:25:11,680 --> 01:25:15,720 Speaker 1: seemed like hickor nuts really hit for some reason. If 1574 01:25:15,760 --> 01:25:17,840 Speaker 1: there's no acre, there's no acrons, there'll be a lot 1575 01:25:17,880 --> 01:25:22,240 Speaker 1: of hickory nuts. Huh. And and I've seen bears really 1576 01:25:22,280 --> 01:25:24,720 Speaker 1: gorge yourself on hickory nuts. I've found their scat just 1577 01:25:24,800 --> 01:25:27,639 Speaker 1: full of those hard pieces of hull that they've already 1578 01:25:27,640 --> 01:25:29,479 Speaker 1: passed through them and got all the goody out of them. 1579 01:25:29,479 --> 01:25:32,120 Speaker 1: And it's past black gum. Have you ever seen them 1580 01:25:32,120 --> 01:25:35,880 Speaker 1: meeting black guns. I've never seen them, but I figured 1581 01:25:35,920 --> 01:25:38,640 Speaker 1: they do because and of course black gun would look 1582 01:25:38,680 --> 01:25:40,920 Speaker 1: pretty much just like any other berries, whether they be 1583 01:25:41,720 --> 01:25:46,600 Speaker 1: uh elder berries or or And that's where I was 1584 01:25:46,640 --> 01:25:49,000 Speaker 1: gonna go with fall food source, especially on years when 1585 01:25:49,000 --> 01:25:51,560 Speaker 1: there's no acrons, is those black gum. When I was 1586 01:25:51,640 --> 01:25:54,400 Speaker 1: hunting last week, I saw a tree that still had 1587 01:25:54,439 --> 01:25:58,680 Speaker 1: black gum. Black gum looks like a raisin's. It's a 1588 01:25:58,720 --> 01:26:02,280 Speaker 1: little purple berry in the fall. And when they hit, 1589 01:26:02,320 --> 01:26:03,840 Speaker 1: there's a lot of them. It's kind of like the 1590 01:26:03,880 --> 01:26:06,240 Speaker 1: hickory nuts. And it seemed like they hit a lot 1591 01:26:06,240 --> 01:26:07,760 Speaker 1: of times. We didn't have a lot of masks this 1592 01:26:07,840 --> 01:26:09,800 Speaker 1: year as far as acre and is up in this area, 1593 01:26:10,120 --> 01:26:11,920 Speaker 1: and uh, but it was an odd year. They were 1594 01:26:11,960 --> 01:26:13,880 Speaker 1: still mask there was. Like I said, what I found 1595 01:26:13,880 --> 01:26:17,280 Speaker 1: mostly this year was spotted oak and black oak acorns. 1596 01:26:17,880 --> 01:26:19,880 Speaker 1: And but when there's a when there's no mask on 1597 01:26:20,000 --> 01:26:21,519 Speaker 1: acorns for some reason, I don't know if it's a 1598 01:26:21,520 --> 01:26:24,639 Speaker 1: good lord, does it for the wildlife or what? When 1599 01:26:24,920 --> 01:26:27,880 Speaker 1: when there don't seem be any acre crop, they'll be 1600 01:26:28,120 --> 01:26:30,840 Speaker 1: black gunberries, or there'll be a lot of hickory nuts. 1601 01:26:32,040 --> 01:26:34,240 Speaker 1: What about beech nuts, any of the places you hunt 1602 01:26:34,240 --> 01:26:38,759 Speaker 1: have beech nuts. Yes, there is, Uh, there's some, there's 1603 01:26:38,840 --> 01:26:42,760 Speaker 1: there's there's not any in the immediate area where I 1604 01:26:42,840 --> 01:26:47,439 Speaker 1: normally hunt. But farther, the little farther east I go. Uh, 1605 01:26:47,439 --> 01:26:50,240 Speaker 1: it seems like east. Farther east you get more beech nuts. 1606 01:26:50,560 --> 01:26:54,080 Speaker 1: You know, which I'll just I'll just give a little 1607 01:26:54,120 --> 01:26:58,840 Speaker 1: community of which it's not a little place called Old ark, Arkansas. 1608 01:26:59,800 --> 01:27:02,040 Speaker 1: You get into over that area, you get a lot 1609 01:27:02,040 --> 01:27:06,080 Speaker 1: more beech nuts. Especially my spill on beech nuts. I 1610 01:27:06,160 --> 01:27:08,559 Speaker 1: love beech nuts, I said, have you ever heard me 1611 01:27:08,560 --> 01:27:12,200 Speaker 1: get my spill on beech nuts? No scientific spill. I 1612 01:27:12,280 --> 01:27:15,639 Speaker 1: learned this in college. Beech Nuts in this region are 1613 01:27:15,680 --> 01:27:20,280 Speaker 1: called a post climactic forest. Okay, if you find a 1614 01:27:20,360 --> 01:27:23,240 Speaker 1: beach forest, and if you'll notice all our beach grow 1615 01:27:23,280 --> 01:27:25,880 Speaker 1: on the north side of ridges or down in these hollows, 1616 01:27:26,000 --> 01:27:29,439 Speaker 1: it's mainly down in hollow to the creek and lower Pass. 1617 01:27:29,439 --> 01:27:32,160 Speaker 1: And this is why it is. It is because when 1618 01:27:32,200 --> 01:27:36,000 Speaker 1: the glacier ten thousand years ago, and prior to that, 1619 01:27:36,400 --> 01:27:39,519 Speaker 1: when the glaciers had moved down to kind of like 1620 01:27:39,960 --> 01:27:42,800 Speaker 1: the glaciers never got to northwest Arkansas. Glaciers stopped like 1621 01:27:42,920 --> 01:27:45,799 Speaker 1: up around the Great Lakes and stuff. But the climate 1622 01:27:45,880 --> 01:27:48,640 Speaker 1: was a lot cold, older, and the climax forest of 1623 01:27:48,760 --> 01:27:52,840 Speaker 1: Arkansas would have been like uh uh. It would have 1624 01:27:52,880 --> 01:27:58,000 Speaker 1: been coniferous trees like spruce trees, and the hardwoods were 1625 01:27:58,000 --> 01:28:02,040 Speaker 1: beach trees. So beaches do signed for cold weather. As 1626 01:28:02,080 --> 01:28:06,160 Speaker 1: the glaciers retreated and as everything got warmer, there were 1627 01:28:06,200 --> 01:28:12,040 Speaker 1: these hubs in certain places where this this for this, 1628 01:28:12,040 --> 01:28:15,360 Speaker 1: this tree that was formerly the climactic tree, now the 1629 01:28:15,360 --> 01:28:18,800 Speaker 1: climax tree for this region is going to be ok 1630 01:28:18,880 --> 01:28:22,040 Speaker 1: hickory pine. Like if you just turned loose, if you 1631 01:28:22,080 --> 01:28:24,360 Speaker 1: cut these woods down right here by my office and 1632 01:28:24,439 --> 01:28:26,320 Speaker 1: just turn them loose, a hundred years, you're gonna have 1633 01:28:26,320 --> 01:28:29,360 Speaker 1: oak and hickory mainly here, but you'd have pine in 1634 01:28:29,400 --> 01:28:32,160 Speaker 1: some places. Back then you to cut it down and 1635 01:28:32,200 --> 01:28:33,800 Speaker 1: need to turn it loose, and you would have had 1636 01:28:34,280 --> 01:28:37,679 Speaker 1: beach and spruce. Well, when when the glaciers are treated 1637 01:28:38,160 --> 01:28:41,800 Speaker 1: and the place warmed up, there's pockets where it's those 1638 01:28:41,840 --> 01:28:45,120 Speaker 1: beech trees still exists. We called the post climactic forest. 1639 01:28:45,200 --> 01:28:47,720 Speaker 1: Every time I go into a beech forest, I mean 1640 01:28:47,760 --> 01:28:49,920 Speaker 1: it's like you're walking in like an action and you 1641 01:28:50,000 --> 01:28:55,000 Speaker 1: are actually like the northeast side of the ridges, the 1642 01:28:55,080 --> 01:28:59,799 Speaker 1: messic Messic valleys north facing moist north and east, especially 1643 01:28:59,880 --> 01:29:02,920 Speaker 1: north and east is the most most side of any 1644 01:29:03,000 --> 01:29:06,760 Speaker 1: hill because it has no evening sun and the U 1645 01:29:07,160 --> 01:29:09,479 Speaker 1: and then the when the sun gets low on the 1646 01:29:09,760 --> 01:29:11,720 Speaker 1: you know, in the short times of the year like now, 1647 01:29:12,080 --> 01:29:13,800 Speaker 1: it never gets over there. In a lot of places, 1648 01:29:13,840 --> 01:29:17,360 Speaker 1: sun never hits on some northeast sides of the hills. Well. 1649 01:29:17,520 --> 01:29:20,800 Speaker 1: But these these beach trees produced masks. A little bitty 1650 01:29:20,800 --> 01:29:22,840 Speaker 1: beech nut. I didn't see a beach nut until I 1651 01:29:22,880 --> 01:29:25,880 Speaker 1: was an adult. But they're they're about as big as 1652 01:29:26,000 --> 01:29:28,880 Speaker 1: uh as big as a piece. Dad, give me some eat. 1653 01:29:28,920 --> 01:29:31,560 Speaker 1: When I was just the boy growing up, Yeah, I 1654 01:29:31,680 --> 01:29:33,040 Speaker 1: was with him. He brought him in with him. He 1655 01:29:33,040 --> 01:29:35,400 Speaker 1: had been hunting somewhere. He brought him to the house. 1656 01:29:35,439 --> 01:29:38,120 Speaker 1: He picks them up, Um, and we ate him there. 1657 01:29:38,160 --> 01:29:40,400 Speaker 1: I remember that the first game. The game loves him 1658 01:29:40,920 --> 01:29:43,799 Speaker 1: and when they make they make good. And I hunted 1659 01:29:43,840 --> 01:29:46,960 Speaker 1: beech nuts for bear a couple of years ago, and 1660 01:29:47,160 --> 01:29:51,040 Speaker 1: um never really got on any real hot sign. But 1661 01:29:51,479 --> 01:29:54,920 Speaker 1: a buddy of mine, his dad and another guy had 1662 01:29:55,000 --> 01:29:58,920 Speaker 1: killed bears on beech nuts. It's funny how your mind 1663 01:29:58,960 --> 01:30:02,240 Speaker 1: does shake most his finger. It's funny how your mind works. 1664 01:30:02,920 --> 01:30:07,200 Speaker 1: About five year ago, you remember me calling you and 1665 01:30:07,240 --> 01:30:09,720 Speaker 1: tell you I shot at a big bear and missed it. 1666 01:30:09,760 --> 01:30:14,320 Speaker 1: In November, I was hunting beach nutsin Yes, I remember 1667 01:30:14,320 --> 01:30:17,519 Speaker 1: you down. I was down low and and I went 1668 01:30:18,360 --> 01:30:24,320 Speaker 1: down in there and found Actually the day before, yes, 1669 01:30:24,640 --> 01:30:28,080 Speaker 1: the day before I missed that one. I was looking 1670 01:30:28,120 --> 01:30:32,040 Speaker 1: for bear sign and walking a little bench in a rough, 1671 01:30:32,200 --> 01:30:34,599 Speaker 1: rugged terrain in below with the edge of an old 1672 01:30:34,600 --> 01:30:36,920 Speaker 1: clear cut in the bottom of a holla, and I've 1673 01:30:36,960 --> 01:30:39,320 Speaker 1: seen something moving. I looked and there's this bear just 1674 01:30:39,640 --> 01:30:42,000 Speaker 1: on all fourth looking at me. I thought, here it is. 1675 01:30:42,040 --> 01:30:44,639 Speaker 1: It's a good sized barry and a size Just ease around, 1676 01:30:45,439 --> 01:30:47,120 Speaker 1: get my gun up. I think IVEN had it on 1677 01:30:47,160 --> 01:30:49,240 Speaker 1: my shoulder carrying it because I was doing a lot 1678 01:30:49,280 --> 01:30:52,960 Speaker 1: of walking, and just I told himself, okay, that's a 1679 01:30:52,960 --> 01:30:55,280 Speaker 1: good size Barry's probably three hunter pound bear. I'm gonna 1680 01:30:55,320 --> 01:30:57,360 Speaker 1: kill it. But it was looking at me, so I 1681 01:30:57,439 --> 01:30:59,880 Speaker 1: was moving real slow, and about that time I've seen 1682 01:31:00,040 --> 01:31:02,040 Speaker 1: up moved and there was a yearling cub with it. 1683 01:31:02,120 --> 01:31:03,880 Speaker 1: So it was a big sow and the yearling cub. 1684 01:31:04,880 --> 01:31:06,760 Speaker 1: I still got my gun off in case something was 1685 01:31:06,800 --> 01:31:08,920 Speaker 1: that happened. Didn't know what it would happen. But I 1686 01:31:09,000 --> 01:31:13,240 Speaker 1: watched those bears, and she took her cub then, and 1687 01:31:13,280 --> 01:31:14,759 Speaker 1: like I said, with a little cub it was probably 1688 01:31:14,760 --> 01:31:18,080 Speaker 1: sixty or seventy pounds, maybe eighty pounds. They turned and 1689 01:31:18,080 --> 01:31:21,280 Speaker 1: went on around the hill. Well, when they got outside, 1690 01:31:21,320 --> 01:31:23,880 Speaker 1: I went on around that direction farther and got the 1691 01:31:23,960 --> 01:31:27,479 Speaker 1: finding beech nut on them little old benches, and then 1692 01:31:27,520 --> 01:31:31,799 Speaker 1: I found some piles of cat. And the next morning 1693 01:31:31,800 --> 01:31:34,000 Speaker 1: I couldn't hunt, but I told himself, I'm gonna come 1694 01:31:34,040 --> 01:31:35,920 Speaker 1: back in here and go farther up in there a 1695 01:31:35,920 --> 01:31:37,600 Speaker 1: little farther and set and watched the dark while I 1696 01:31:37,640 --> 01:31:39,639 Speaker 1: went that evening. And as the story was, I told 1697 01:31:39,640 --> 01:31:43,000 Speaker 1: you then about dark a big bear come out, and 1698 01:31:43,040 --> 01:31:46,559 Speaker 1: he was a large bear, and I finally he finally 1699 01:31:46,600 --> 01:31:48,000 Speaker 1: came through open or had a shot, but it was 1700 01:31:48,000 --> 01:31:50,240 Speaker 1: about a hundred yard shot shooting down the mountain. I 1701 01:31:50,280 --> 01:31:52,000 Speaker 1: may hit a bush, may hit something. I don't know, 1702 01:31:52,520 --> 01:31:54,519 Speaker 1: but I didn't get the bear. I missed it. I 1703 01:31:54,560 --> 01:31:57,439 Speaker 1: thought it where it ran, it ran plum he they 1704 01:31:57,439 --> 01:31:59,240 Speaker 1: were in there eating and the heat come right around 1705 01:31:59,240 --> 01:32:01,599 Speaker 1: that same It was the same level that I saw 1706 01:32:01,640 --> 01:32:04,000 Speaker 1: the sow and that other, but it was a big 1707 01:32:04,040 --> 01:32:06,720 Speaker 1: bear by itself, and I missed it. Went back the 1708 01:32:06,720 --> 01:32:08,920 Speaker 1: next day and looked again, making sure, and never found 1709 01:32:08,960 --> 01:32:11,240 Speaker 1: any sign of a head or anything, because I was 1710 01:32:11,280 --> 01:32:13,640 Speaker 1: able to follow it no problem. From that story is 1711 01:32:13,960 --> 01:32:17,040 Speaker 1: another good tip as we're closing down here. I find 1712 01:32:17,080 --> 01:32:19,600 Speaker 1: the game to be concentrated in the late winter a 1713 01:32:19,640 --> 01:32:23,120 Speaker 1: lot of times, um. But just like you said, you saw, 1714 01:32:23,560 --> 01:32:26,360 Speaker 1: I saw three bears there and and and that was 1715 01:32:26,400 --> 01:32:27,680 Speaker 1: in the middle of the day when I saw the 1716 01:32:27,720 --> 01:32:30,880 Speaker 1: sound the yearland, and then the following the next day 1717 01:32:30,920 --> 01:32:32,760 Speaker 1: that eating and that big bear coming in the same 1718 01:32:32,840 --> 01:32:35,840 Speaker 1: When when food sources everywhere, the bears are spread out, 1719 01:32:35,920 --> 01:32:38,120 Speaker 1: bears don't necessarily want to be all corner gating up 1720 01:32:38,120 --> 01:32:41,120 Speaker 1: eating on the same food source. But by late November 1721 01:32:41,720 --> 01:32:44,800 Speaker 1: food sources less, and if they're still awake and still 1722 01:32:44,840 --> 01:32:47,680 Speaker 1: moving around, you might find a concentration of game. And 1723 01:32:47,720 --> 01:32:49,679 Speaker 1: I go back to my big bear that I killed, 1724 01:32:50,760 --> 01:32:54,920 Speaker 1: when there was turkeys, deer, and bear all in the 1725 01:32:54,960 --> 01:32:58,599 Speaker 1: same areas, and I promise you all around that there 1726 01:32:58,680 --> 01:33:01,280 Speaker 1: was no game at all. They were are concentrated where 1727 01:33:01,280 --> 01:33:03,719 Speaker 1: the because those acrons they were there were good acrons 1728 01:33:03,760 --> 01:33:05,960 Speaker 1: there and they were concentrated. And that is a trend 1729 01:33:06,000 --> 01:33:08,400 Speaker 1: that I've found, especially in the late winter, is if 1730 01:33:08,400 --> 01:33:11,439 Speaker 1: you find deer and turkeys, you're probably gonna find bear. 1731 01:33:11,520 --> 01:33:13,160 Speaker 1: I mean, if you're in a good bear area, if 1732 01:33:13,160 --> 01:33:14,760 Speaker 1: you're in an area that they like to be, and 1733 01:33:14,800 --> 01:33:16,960 Speaker 1: they won't I don't think like I s Taniera, I 1734 01:33:17,000 --> 01:33:19,439 Speaker 1: don't think they roam a long ways when it's later 1735 01:33:19,439 --> 01:33:21,320 Speaker 1: in the season. But if there's no mask and the 1736 01:33:21,360 --> 01:33:24,840 Speaker 1: bottom that holler around some old rock out crobons every 1737 01:33:24,880 --> 01:33:26,519 Speaker 1: want to, then then they'll go to the top of 1738 01:33:26,520 --> 01:33:28,400 Speaker 1: that ridge where those acrons are and then go back 1739 01:33:28,400 --> 01:33:31,040 Speaker 1: down there, you know, work their way back and forth. 1740 01:33:31,080 --> 01:33:35,240 Speaker 1: So well, can you think of any other I kind 1741 01:33:35,240 --> 01:33:38,400 Speaker 1: of wanted this podcast to be like a podcast somebody 1742 01:33:38,439 --> 01:33:41,080 Speaker 1: could listen to to get a pretty broad scope of 1743 01:33:41,640 --> 01:33:45,800 Speaker 1: hunting bears in the in the big woods. Um, we've 1744 01:33:45,840 --> 01:33:49,840 Speaker 1: covered kind of when to hunt them, you know, really, Okay, 1745 01:33:49,920 --> 01:33:51,840 Speaker 1: let me let me just say this. I think the 1746 01:33:51,840 --> 01:33:54,479 Speaker 1: best time to kill him this early season. I do. 1747 01:33:54,840 --> 01:33:56,479 Speaker 1: I spend a lot of time in hunting them in 1748 01:33:56,520 --> 01:33:59,640 Speaker 1: November because I've done all my deer hunting and a 1749 01:33:59,760 --> 01:34:02,439 Speaker 1: lot of times I just enjoy it, it's cooler, it's 1750 01:34:02,640 --> 01:34:05,320 Speaker 1: you can see good. But I'll tell you what I 1751 01:34:05,360 --> 01:34:07,679 Speaker 1: hate to give away my biggest secret, But I think 1752 01:34:07,720 --> 01:34:10,960 Speaker 1: my biggest secret is starting to be hunt them early 1753 01:34:11,160 --> 01:34:14,160 Speaker 1: because they're just more active in the earthiest then they 1754 01:34:14,320 --> 01:34:16,360 Speaker 1: they're just they're moving around more, they're feeding more, they're 1755 01:34:16,360 --> 01:34:20,920 Speaker 1: making more sign their their climbing trees. So that early 1756 01:34:20,960 --> 01:34:24,160 Speaker 1: season is pretty good. But we're also excited about deer hunting. 1757 01:34:24,160 --> 01:34:25,920 Speaker 1: It's hard to go out and bear hunt and it's 1758 01:34:26,040 --> 01:34:30,599 Speaker 1: eighty five degrees here, so it's it. There's pros and cons. 1759 01:34:31,000 --> 01:34:34,080 Speaker 1: And here in this area too, you're usually limited to 1760 01:34:34,360 --> 01:34:38,400 Speaker 1: really short hunt because we have in areas there where 1761 01:34:38,439 --> 01:34:42,160 Speaker 1: they have the bear quotas right here in in in Arkansas, 1762 01:34:42,920 --> 01:34:44,960 Speaker 1: like this year, three days is all the season was 1763 01:34:45,000 --> 01:34:49,439 Speaker 1: open for our trey. That's so in my opinion, to 1764 01:34:49,520 --> 01:34:52,160 Speaker 1: hunt on public land, yeah, if you can find a 1765 01:34:52,160 --> 01:34:54,720 Speaker 1: good food supply or food supply and water supply early 1766 01:34:54,800 --> 01:34:57,639 Speaker 1: season when it's harder, find where they're climbing trees, where 1767 01:34:57,640 --> 01:35:00,080 Speaker 1: the mass hasn't fell off yet, then you have a 1768 01:35:00,080 --> 01:35:03,479 Speaker 1: good chance of scoring. But my opinion, the best time 1769 01:35:03,479 --> 01:35:06,400 Speaker 1: to score in our up here, if you're hunting on 1770 01:35:06,439 --> 01:35:10,400 Speaker 1: public land would probably be that October muzzleloader hunt. Yes, 1771 01:35:11,120 --> 01:35:16,679 Speaker 1: because because it's it's a little farther along. Usually usually 1772 01:35:16,720 --> 01:35:18,600 Speaker 1: this year the quota got met pretty quick on it, 1773 01:35:18,680 --> 01:35:21,439 Speaker 1: but usually it doesn't. It's quick on. By that time 1774 01:35:21,479 --> 01:35:25,280 Speaker 1: bears are, they're concentrated up more into their fall ranges. 1775 01:35:25,320 --> 01:35:29,559 Speaker 1: They're gonna for sure be on hard masks, and boy, 1776 01:35:29,560 --> 01:35:31,400 Speaker 1: if you find some sign, you can probably kill them, 1777 01:35:31,439 --> 01:35:33,280 Speaker 1: just like you do with your big bear. Yes, find 1778 01:35:33,479 --> 01:35:36,080 Speaker 1: you found a ridge and had bear signed, Just get 1779 01:35:36,120 --> 01:35:38,040 Speaker 1: in there and hunt it with the right wind and 1780 01:35:38,080 --> 01:35:40,639 Speaker 1: just stay stay, stay after, stay after it. And man, 1781 01:35:40,760 --> 01:35:43,400 Speaker 1: if there's one thing that I could say from a 1782 01:35:43,439 --> 01:35:47,080 Speaker 1: strategy or even mental standpoint, is you just gotta be 1783 01:35:47,160 --> 01:35:49,439 Speaker 1: willing to sit and not see a bear. Can't be 1784 01:35:49,560 --> 01:35:52,000 Speaker 1: validated by not seeing it, by seeing game. Now, just 1785 01:35:52,040 --> 01:35:54,320 Speaker 1: like you, you hunted four or five days, didn't see 1786 01:35:54,320 --> 01:35:56,280 Speaker 1: a bear, but finally came back in there, and I said, 1787 01:35:56,320 --> 01:35:58,200 Speaker 1: I started not even go that last day I hunted. 1788 01:35:58,479 --> 01:36:01,200 Speaker 1: That's always when when you don't want it. And I thought, well, 1789 01:36:01,240 --> 01:36:03,120 Speaker 1: I'm I'm I'm gonna go back. I'm gonna hunt it 1790 01:36:03,200 --> 01:36:05,920 Speaker 1: one more time, you know, And well, I'll tell you 1791 01:36:05,920 --> 01:36:08,400 Speaker 1: what That's what makes a good hunter, mo is somebody 1792 01:36:08,439 --> 01:36:10,880 Speaker 1: that's willing to go back that one more time. Really, 1793 01:36:11,200 --> 01:36:14,120 Speaker 1: I mean, just I think of all the hunts. I mean, 1794 01:36:14,360 --> 01:36:17,880 Speaker 1: it just not not just buried there. It's the same 1795 01:36:17,920 --> 01:36:20,439 Speaker 1: way a deer hunting in the big mountains. You know, 1796 01:36:21,040 --> 01:36:23,120 Speaker 1: like you said whether you're hunting bared deer earlier in 1797 01:36:23,160 --> 01:36:26,160 Speaker 1: this podcast, you said, whether you're hunting bared deer, you know, 1798 01:36:26,600 --> 01:36:30,639 Speaker 1: you gotta when you're huting this rugged train, especially bear though, 1799 01:36:31,120 --> 01:36:34,200 Speaker 1: you gotta expect not to see anything for several several 1800 01:36:34,240 --> 01:36:36,719 Speaker 1: hunts or several trips. Or you might go the first 1801 01:36:36,760 --> 01:36:39,599 Speaker 1: time and get right in on sign and and kill 1802 01:36:39,640 --> 01:36:42,479 Speaker 1: your bear or whatever. But that you've got to be 1803 01:36:42,520 --> 01:36:47,240 Speaker 1: prepared to well. And I think you what I've done 1804 01:36:47,400 --> 01:36:49,800 Speaker 1: is I've learned to hunt while I scout. I mean, 1805 01:36:49,880 --> 01:36:51,800 Speaker 1: and I think we all do that. But it's not 1806 01:36:51,880 --> 01:36:54,600 Speaker 1: like I wrote a little story the other day and 1807 01:36:54,680 --> 01:36:58,760 Speaker 1: I said, I don't I don't scout before season much. 1808 01:36:59,640 --> 01:37:02,479 Speaker 1: I mean because bear sign that's made two weeks before 1809 01:37:02,520 --> 01:37:06,840 Speaker 1: seasons start is of less value to me. I mean, 1810 01:37:07,080 --> 01:37:09,240 Speaker 1: bears may not be there by the time season starts. 1811 01:37:09,439 --> 01:37:12,120 Speaker 1: What I do is because I think some people are like, man, 1812 01:37:12,120 --> 01:37:14,160 Speaker 1: it's the first day season. I hadn't even scouted. What's 1813 01:37:14,160 --> 01:37:18,240 Speaker 1: the point going go anywhere? Hunt? You know, slip hunt, 1814 01:37:18,360 --> 01:37:22,439 Speaker 1: still hunt, moved through the timber, slow scout, watch, look 1815 01:37:22,720 --> 01:37:24,960 Speaker 1: the wind in your favor if you can. And so 1816 01:37:24,960 --> 01:37:28,400 Speaker 1: so you're scouting and you're hunting, and you're covering ground 1817 01:37:29,000 --> 01:37:30,920 Speaker 1: and uh and yeah, if you're if you're going through ground, 1818 01:37:30,960 --> 01:37:32,439 Speaker 1: you don't think it's gonna being a good move through 1819 01:37:32,479 --> 01:37:35,200 Speaker 1: it fast when you start finding sign or you know, 1820 01:37:35,360 --> 01:37:39,200 Speaker 1: slow down and and and and walking or maybe even 1821 01:37:39,240 --> 01:37:41,080 Speaker 1: just sitting a spot for two or three hours. That's 1822 01:37:41,160 --> 01:37:42,799 Speaker 1: what I do a lot of times in the mountains, 1823 01:37:42,840 --> 01:37:46,559 Speaker 1: just move through and maybe I'm just kind of still hunting, 1824 01:37:47,120 --> 01:37:50,000 Speaker 1: and then you find some fresh sign or something that's 1825 01:37:50,000 --> 01:37:52,280 Speaker 1: fun to watch, and they sit there for two hours 1826 01:37:52,439 --> 01:37:56,240 Speaker 1: and then get up and move again. You know. But well, hey, mo, 1827 01:37:56,640 --> 01:37:59,799 Speaker 1: awesome man, thank you, thanks for coming to the global 1828 01:38:00,000 --> 01:38:06,200 Speaker 1: head quarters of Bear Hunting Magazine. That's right, I enjoyed it. Well, uh, 1829 01:38:06,280 --> 01:38:08,639 Speaker 1: we'll do this again. We'll have to will for sure 1830 01:38:08,760 --> 01:38:13,080 Speaker 1: talk more about bear hunting and and uh, but this 1831 01:38:13,080 --> 01:38:14,679 Speaker 1: would be a good start for some of the guys. 1832 01:38:14,880 --> 01:38:16,920 Speaker 1: I get a lot I get more questions about hunting 1833 01:38:16,960 --> 01:38:20,439 Speaker 1: public land in Arkansas than anything, and I tell everybody 1834 01:38:20,479 --> 01:38:24,040 Speaker 1: the same thing, don't come, it's not worth it. Yeah, yeah, 1835 01:38:24,040 --> 01:38:25,400 Speaker 1: if you don't want to keep going of my hair 1836 01:38:25,560 --> 01:38:28,280 Speaker 1: crowding this out. But this year, this year, I've hunted 1837 01:38:28,320 --> 01:38:30,519 Speaker 1: bears a lot, and I've killed several bears. I know 1838 01:38:30,600 --> 01:38:34,240 Speaker 1: for a fact. This year I went one day muzzleloader 1839 01:38:34,240 --> 01:38:36,719 Speaker 1: while it was open, and I think I hunted five 1840 01:38:36,840 --> 01:38:39,920 Speaker 1: days when it was open with rifle season this year 1841 01:38:40,000 --> 01:38:42,920 Speaker 1: bear hunting, and I hunted hard. Those days. Covered a 1842 01:38:42,920 --> 01:38:46,400 Speaker 1: lot of train done, a lot of stuff, came close 1843 01:38:46,479 --> 01:38:48,080 Speaker 1: to the bear the one day I was talking about 1844 01:38:48,120 --> 01:38:50,160 Speaker 1: earlier where I found smelled the bear and saw the 1845 01:38:50,200 --> 01:38:53,600 Speaker 1: fresh scat, but I didn't see a bear. But I 1846 01:38:53,680 --> 01:38:55,760 Speaker 1: enjoyed it. I had a great time, and you learned 1847 01:38:55,800 --> 01:38:57,920 Speaker 1: a lot. I learned a lot. And see, here's the 1848 01:38:57,960 --> 01:39:00,000 Speaker 1: thing is that you will invest that same amount of 1849 01:39:00,280 --> 01:39:04,360 Speaker 1: energy next year probably and probably kill one. I mean 1850 01:39:04,680 --> 01:39:09,400 Speaker 1: you you can't really do the the math on like, well, 1851 01:39:09,439 --> 01:39:12,080 Speaker 1: I invested all this energy and didn't kill a bear. Well, 1852 01:39:12,320 --> 01:39:13,800 Speaker 1: you're probably gonna have to do that quite a bit 1853 01:39:13,840 --> 01:39:15,640 Speaker 1: before you kill one, you know what I mean? Just 1854 01:39:15,760 --> 01:39:18,000 Speaker 1: like I want to tell you something my dad told 1855 01:39:18,000 --> 01:39:20,160 Speaker 1: me years ago when I first started hunting, not the 1856 01:39:20,240 --> 01:39:23,719 Speaker 1: best bear, but deer, hunting everything. And it's always stuck 1857 01:39:23,760 --> 01:39:27,800 Speaker 1: with me, he said. He said, when you hunt, he said, 1858 01:39:27,800 --> 01:39:29,960 Speaker 1: thank of it this way. If you're going after a 1859 01:39:30,000 --> 01:39:33,240 Speaker 1: deer or whatever, you hunt one day, and if you 1860 01:39:33,320 --> 01:39:34,880 Speaker 1: hunt hard and you'ren get a place and you don't 1861 01:39:34,920 --> 01:39:37,800 Speaker 1: see that, see anything, you go back next day, your 1862 01:39:37,800 --> 01:39:40,479 Speaker 1: odds get better. Every day you're out there, your odds 1863 01:39:40,479 --> 01:39:44,519 Speaker 1: get better. Yep, he said. You know, as every day 1864 01:39:44,560 --> 01:39:46,760 Speaker 1: you spend, because you spend the time, you're eventually gonna 1865 01:39:46,760 --> 01:39:48,160 Speaker 1: get a chance. Whether you get or not, but you're 1866 01:39:48,160 --> 01:39:50,240 Speaker 1: gonna see that animal you're after, whether it's a bear, deer, 1867 01:39:50,320 --> 01:39:52,559 Speaker 1: or whatever. He said, Your odds will get better every 1868 01:39:52,640 --> 01:39:56,080 Speaker 1: day you're out there, and that's always stuck with me. Yep. 1869 01:39:56,280 --> 01:39:59,960 Speaker 1: That's good. Well, Hey, thanks for listening to the Bear 1870 01:40:00,000 --> 01:40:04,280 Speaker 1: Honey Magazine podcasts. I wanna ask you a favor, and 1871 01:40:04,360 --> 01:40:08,479 Speaker 1: that is subscribe to Bear Honey Magazine. Uh. We've got 1872 01:40:08,560 --> 01:40:12,120 Speaker 1: uh we're Barony Magazines, the only print Bear Honey Magazine 1873 01:40:12,120 --> 01:40:17,200 Speaker 1: in the world. We've got over sixty Bear outfitters that 1874 01:40:17,240 --> 01:40:19,240 Speaker 1: are in our magazine from all over the country, all 1875 01:40:19,240 --> 01:40:23,760 Speaker 1: over Canada. We've got awesome columns, awesome content. We're just 1876 01:40:23,840 --> 01:40:27,040 Speaker 1: about to go to print with the January February twenty 1877 01:40:27,120 --> 01:40:29,400 Speaker 1: nineteen issue. Is gonna be a good issue. Also, check 1878 01:40:29,400 --> 01:40:32,960 Speaker 1: out our YouTube channel. We've had over seven million views 1879 01:40:33,040 --> 01:40:35,559 Speaker 1: on our YouTube channel in the last year. We're in 1880 01:40:35,600 --> 01:40:38,720 Speaker 1: our Bare Horizon series. So our Bare Horizon series is 1881 01:40:38,760 --> 01:40:43,240 Speaker 1: our kind of cinematic short film style videos. Were on 1882 01:40:43,320 --> 01:40:45,240 Speaker 1: episode six and I think we've got about ten or 1883 01:40:45,240 --> 01:40:47,960 Speaker 1: twelve episodes. So check out the Bear Honey Magazine YouTube channel. 1884 01:40:48,280 --> 01:40:52,800 Speaker 1: And keep the wild places wild, right, that's right, Keep 1885 01:40:52,840 --> 01:40:55,920 Speaker 1: them wild and enjoy them all right. Thanks