Jerkbait fails to cash in!!!!

[jerkbait]

Well, the bear showed up at 1/4 to 8:00 last night and I missed. With my perfect hindsight, I should have waited on the shot, but I definitely got anxious. With all the rain I could hardly see through the scope and I was in an akward position. Patiance, Patiance, Patiance. More like F#$%@^$%$%$ son of a buck. You get the drift. I am so dissapointed. I could see where the bullet hit the ground and there is no blood no hair at all. When it took off it look liked it was trotting along just fine. Just got back from looking again this morning. Walked all over looking just in case. So the million dollar question is will the bear come back? Or did I chase it to the next county. Probably down in Johnny P's baits by now. It is definitely a nice bear. Sure wish I could find the rewind button.

[remington 300]

sorry to hear that jerkbait,but thats why they call it hunting not shooting,

I'd have to say you just gave that bear an education, especially if it was a

mature boar, you probably wont see it again this season during shooting light, anyway keep at it, you never know, may get a crack at a different bear,

goodluck,

mike.

[tweedlap]

I would go out this afternoon and find three new spots and start

baiting. Don't waste your time going back to that bait. Get out

a giver he$$. You have plenty of time to locate another bear.

Good Luck.

tweed

[cherokee]

Good advice but I wouldn't be so quick to abandon your bait site. That one may come back but others surely will follow. Start a new one but keep this one going as well. You might be surprised.

[jerkbait]

I have 2 other sites I am working but nothing but coons so far. Might try sitting again this evening just in case. If anything it will be alot nicer sitting this afternoon then yesterday. Maybe I can watch some deer go through the woods.

[matchset]

ouch!

[mrklean]

sorry to hear, hpe you can find a new spot and tag out

[pulleye16]

I choked with a bow once and the bear did come back...Though I think the bear had know idea what was going on. I gun probably did scare it out, but then again, nothing harmed the bear so it's probably just as confused as what happened.

[HooknHorns]

Never know, Id just kepp an eye on that site. Maybe even move it 1/4 mile, seasons definetly not over. Better luck next time.

[tweedlap]

jerk,

If nothing has been hitting the other two sites.....make some new sets.

Don't be mopeing around. Get out and start anew. It will take your

mind off of the miss and may lead to a beauty.

Gotta Go to Know !

tweed

[Boar]

JB, Man I really dont know what to say, I am really sorry dude. Lots of season left, the main thing is to not let it, depress you to get into a bad funk of negatives. Get a sak of dog food, soak it in grease an do a scent drag, to the other sites in the area, he might settled down in a new site area, an come into those more comfetable, but keep an eye on the current one, stranger things have happened. Sorry ma, good luck. Boar

[Boar]

Remember lungdeflator took a double of the same site with a gun I think. So things can Happen, Good news is that the big ones will soon be getting the need to feed, an putting on the feed bag, they will be putting on some miles looking for a food source so be out there with fresh scent at youre sites, lots of time left. Good bud, boar

[bogwalker]

Give that site a break. Keep baiting it. Don't be so hard on yourself.

[jerkbait]

I am always hard on myself. I am going to keep the site fresh, that is for sure. I am hoping that since I didn't actually hit it I just scared it. There is no one else baiting up here so I am hoping that he will get hungry again. Also thought of starting a new one a 1/4 - 1/2 mile away from this one in the same woods. Any thoughts on that? I think what finally brought this bear in was the coons and skunks spreading everything through the woods. Kinda hoping that may happen at one of the other spots that the coons are getting into. I tell ya though, the pits were getting some good smell going until this rain knocked it done. Boar, do you do drags often or just when opening a new site? A coworker of mine talked about doing that to one of his years ago. Said he made a big X in the woods and now that is one of his best sites every year. The other down side is the honey do list isn't getting any shorter and the honey is starting to remind me. Although like a buddy told me last night, get the bear first the projects won't go anywhere. I had my 24hr whining period, now today I am looking forward again.

[HooknHorns]

I was thinking a different site close by and even give a different smell and taste. That way that bad experience he had is not remembered when visiting the new site. Just an idea.

[Boar]

I hear ya on the honey do list, I pad that with aprreciation alot in september, Yea an X can work great , but i feel that would be better before season, He's in the area some where so if ya start tramping around the woods to make a huge X ya really might push any comfort he has left out of him, so I would do a drag from your origional site to the new site, but dont abandon the origional, you hit it right with the coons an skunks laying down scent trails already so I dont think making the X is esental at this point, let the critters do the hard work, an they will continue to do this, an any bear that is on the cruse for food as mentioned before will come across the trial eventually. Good luck I'm down to every three days right now an that makes the wife happy an sometimes I sneak away evry two. Keep us posted< boar

[CANOPY SAM]

Oh well, JB. Better a clean miss then a poorly placed shot, and a lost and dieing bear. I'd bet you'll be super focused on your next opportunity.

If there's little pressure up your way from other bear hunters I wouldn't take it too hard. Keep at it, set up another site or two, and go at er' again.

My guess. That bear will be pretty nocturnal for the remainder of the season. I sure would if it were me.

But take heart. There's other bear in your area that won't be so educated. Keep at it.

[jerkbait]

Thanks guys. Still plugging away. Will be checking baits after work tonight.

[lichen fox]

About 15 years ago, I made a bad shot on a bear with my bow...hit him a little to far forward and cut up his leg pretty good...four of us tracked him until one or 2 in the morning with no luck...I kept after the bait site and had a bear back on it within a week...about 2 weeks after that I got a second chance at the same bear...he came limping in about an hour before dark, he was very causious and it took about 15 minutes before he settled down on the bait and presented me with a good shot opportunity...I made the shot and he didn't go more than 30 yards...First & only bear I've ever shot twice!!

[jerkbait]

That's what I am hoping for. How are your baits going lichen?

[lichen fox]

We just put them out over labor-day weekend and so far it's been really slow...just 2 of them have been hit after a week...We start by hanging 12 bags and normally we have half of the baits going after the first week...and all of them active by the end of the second week...We'll be checking again on Wednesday, so if it doesn't pick up we may be hanging more bags in other areas...We have confidence in the area we hunt so we're thinking that it's probably a combination of all the rain we've had since we started and whatever natural food source the bears are on in our area...There's still alot of natural food out there...we need a good frost to brown things up a bit and limit thier choices! But, I just want it to freeze between Fourtowns and Williams, as my tomatoes aren't quite ripe at home yet!

[CANOPY SAM]

Just curous LF, how was that leg wound? Was it healing well, or was it still open and infected?

I had some friends from down south shoot a bear with an arrow that they were certain was hit well. They even had the shot on tape, and could see good vital penetration. They tracked the animal for quite a ways then the trail went dry.

The next night, another of the same party shot the same bear off a different stand about a mile away. The arrow had gone clean thru the animal, just below the spine, but just above any lung or vital organs. Hard to beleive, but true.

This animal strolled into another bait site as though nothing had even happened the night before. Although, I think a silent arrow shot is a far cry from the explosion of a muzzleloader.

[lichen fox]

The scar was still open, but it was dried up and healing....I sliced him on the top (above the knee) portion of his leg almost to the bone...

[kelly-p]

"The arrow had gone clean thru the animal, just below the spine, but just above any lung or vital organs. Hard to beleive, but true."

A few years back on the last weekend of bear season we got a big boar that should have gone well over 400 pounds but seeing as it was basicly just skin and bones he only weighed in a little over 320 pounds. It looked like he had been shot with a gun early in bear season. The entrance hole was behind the left front shoulder and the exit was in front of the right shoulder. Both holes right in the middle of the bear. It should have dropped him????? Both holes were badly infected with no hair left in an 8 to 10 inch circle and green puss running out of both holes. He didn't smell very good. To make it worse the client gut shot him and we tracked him for almost 24 hours over 2 miles and it took 4 hits from a 348 with 250 grain sivertip bullets for him to finally drop. One tough bear.

[Boar]

Wow,survive at all cost I guesse, Puny humans, Hulk Bear smash! Always enjoy hearing your guy's tales of bear, You an johnny should but together a book of bear stories, it'd be a good read. Boar