and a strong cup of coffee

I watched the crack in my windshield grow slightly as the heater kicked on.  It was still dark and the temperature gauge read 27 degrees.  I took a sip of coffee and exhaled; it was a perfect September morning to go bear hunting. I met Bill Dereszewski, owner of Hollaback Guide Service at the gas station in Princeton.  We drank coffee and planned out the day as we waited for more people to join us.  Bernie was the first to arrive.  A local retired hunter who assisted Bill, his truck was filled with shortbreads and coffee to keep us filled as we chased bears.  Bill Gillespie and his pup Tawny joined the group and finally Matt Mcdonnell and a group of hunters from New York arrived.  They had been checking trail cameras photos sent to their phones to see which bait site had the most recent activity.  The caravan of trucks headed to the chosen bait site with Bill and I the lead.  I was amazed by the technology that each truck had; large ...

Some women have the type of attitude that lets you know that they can and will accomplish anything that they set their mind to.  Lorri Nelson is one of those women... There is a shock factor that comes when you shoot the last animal needed for your grand slam.  After years of hard work, learning to hunt each animal and a little luck, Lorri Nelson  accomplished her grand slam when the cow moose dropped to the ground.  “It was only four hours into the hunt,” Lorri said, “We didn’t bring the trailer or 4-wheeler  because it was rattling so bad and we didn’t want to spook anything.” They had done some  scouting ahead of time and were now looking for a cow moose in Zone 6. “I saw her entire body  move in the woods as we drove past a strip of woods. But I couldn’t tell if it was a bull or cow,”  Lorri continued, “Charlie and I got out and started zig zagging back to see if we could tell for  sure if it was a cow. He confirmed that it was a cow a...

Everything was going just fine until I realized that I had the wrong gun. I had packed everything that I would need and was getting comfortable with the idea of sitting by myself in the tree blind. It was 90 degrees.  The odds of a bear coming in were really not good. Plus, when Steve dropped me off and checked the cameras, there were no pictures and the bait had not been touched.  I was a little more relaxed about it but I was still weirded out about having the wrong gun. Me, my awesome Kryptek Helios top and the wrong 30-06 I'm couldn't believe that it happened. I had assumed that my gun was in my gun bag and switched it with the gun sitting right next to it. The different strap never registered when I grabbed the guns. I didn't think anything of it again until I took the gun out of the case and noticed that the shock pad was sticker than normal.  I assumed that it was due to the heat.  When I reached up to automatically slide the safety back, t...

After Steve and I tweaked the bait sites and refilled the barrels and crates, we waited to see if and when the bears returned to the sites.  Three days after we were there, Steve went back to check: bam! bears at both sites and no food left. Other hunters have been seeing the same thing; lots of bears (many of them good sized bears) are already hitting the bait sites hard this season.  When Steve and I were up the first time, we noticed that the blackberries and raspberries were not looking good.  Without a lot of fun and rain, the berries were small and still very green.  The temperature has dropped a few times down to the 40s at night which could kill some of the bear's food source.  There are plenty of apples, which we know the bears are eating but those will only be around for so long before they are gone. This unstable natural food supply means that the bears will need to come to the bait to get those missing calories before they den up. I hope that I...

Right? While I get the blog about my last hunting adventure edited and ready to go, I wanted to share with you some photos from those same sites that show a trap that Steve has put out.  According to Maine law, you must check your trap every day and as a result of Steve doing this, we are getting some huge bears coming in. An argument that those who are in favor of banning our effective hunting methods like to make is how easy it is to get a bear.  As you have seen, we have a lot of bears coming into the sites.  And they are big bears!  Bait is helping to bring them in but (spoiler alert) I have not shot a bear.  Neither have Steve or Lorri.  The bears are there, are coming in almost daily but unless you are there at the right place and right time, no bear for you! Here are some great photos that PROVE that just because you put a trap out, it does not guarantee you a bear.  The trap is clearly seen on the ground in that perfect circle. Bear jus...

After we struck out on the first night, we planned to go out again and get us a bear.  The photos that were were seeing showed incredible bears coming in all the time.  It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. The day before I was going to drive up to meet with Steve and Lorri, I got a text from Steve: "GET MORE BULLETS."  We had a behemoth bear coming in on a regular basis and when he compared it to his 420lb bear, he figured it was 500-600lbs. This bear is huge! 500-600lbs probably. Maybe an old Sow by the look of the back stomach area that could be worn out from nursing cubs? Big head, nice barrel like frame.  This is an incredible, healthy Maine black bear. I was more comfortable now since I knew where we would be, what the light was like and where I'd be sitting.  This time, I would be sitting with Lorri and Steve would go to site 2. It was a beautiful day with sun, a light breeze and 68 degrees.  Cool and ideal f...

I was nervous. Ridiculously so.  I was seeing the big bears that we had coming in on the cameras at each site and I knew that I had to make a damn good shot if a bear came in. I has shot three times to get my gun sighted in and knew that it was right where it needed to be - and I was comfortable making those shots. I packed all of my clothes, which were washed in anti-scent detergent and properly washed and stored with anti-scent dryer sheets. I showered with my anti-scent soap and put everything into the car.  As I sat in the driver seat of the car going through my mental checklist, I realized that my gun was still inside.  A quick run back inside and I was really ready to go this time. At Steve's, I prepped some bait for the day.  I was a pro at this point . It was hot - 86 degrees and no breeze but regardless of all of this, it was opening day of bear season!  We had lunch, put everything in the back of the truck and were off to bait sites in the wood...

BIG BEAR!  No one is scaring him off of that bait That is a normal sized milk crate! 300-400lb bear looking at you! My preferred bear: one that comes out during the daylight My shooter.  He came out at 6pm.  I would gladly shoot him and be happy.

Lance and Lorri putting some bait into an empty bucket The good smelling bait... mmm strawberry I was sure that beaver was the grossest smell ever, but I was so wrong. It is easily rotten lobster bodies - the kind that are put into black trash bags and left out in the sun and forgotten about.  I dont think any of us didn't gag, hold our breathe or pull our shirts up over our noses in an attempt to stop the smell from penetrating into our nostrils.  We added it to one of the beaver carcases and for the first time, I really had to question a black bear's eating preferences.  Of course, there is also the 'good' smelling bait that looks like it could be a bunch of $7 granola bars from Whole Foods dumped together and mixed with this great strawberry smelling stuff.  That, I don't mind being around. It was another day in the woods baiting with Steve.  We also had his girlfriend Lorri and their friend Lance with us. We headed yo a new-to-me spot where Steve ...

Here they come!  Site 1 and 2 now have bears coming in.  Steve said that they are very good looking bears and healthy, too.  These are from the trail camera memory chip that Steve puts into his camera.  He then takes these photos, of the camera screen, with his phone.  Don't worry - in a few weeks there will be a photo of the real thing ;)    

Steve went back out to the sites four days after we had and there were pictures at site 2.  Not the best pictures but there are bears around and coming in! We have a couple more weeks until the hunting season starts and then it runs for 14 weeks.  I'm trying to work my schedule to get out and help bait one more time before I head into the woods on the last week of August to try my hand at bear hunting. 

On left, unopened sweets.  On right, the goodies ready to be put out. I was lucky that it was only 73 degrees out!  I would have melted after we headed to the first bait site. I carried buckets filled with bait and some secret ingredients to keep the bears coming back again and again.  While I was glad to not be carrying the bucket with the cut up dead beaver, I was reminded of my position down wind of it after every few steps.  Making a bait barrel While I support bear hunting as it is now in Maine, I did not know a lot about it and felt that if I was going to support this fight, I should know what I was talking about.  So, I told Steve that I would try everything, including preparing bait buckets.  If you ever want to cut sweets out of your diet help out with preparing bait barrels.  For more than an hour, I opened packaged sweets that had the overall smell of a cheap bar. The smell wasn't what got to me, it was the fact that they c...