B.C. Black Bear Report
May 6, 2008
Man, who ever said Black Bear hunting was easy?? Obviously they have never hunted with Abe Dougan, owner of Big Boar Outfitters in S.W. British Columbia. I thought we were headed to the coastal region of western Canada for a leisurely spot & stalk bear hunt, but oh no!!! Instead I ended up in some marshy, swampy, hole from hell that made the everglades look like Disneyland!! Why any bear with an ounce of sense in it’s head would live there was totally beyond me, but that’s where they were, and so were we! Of course, I asked Abe if had easier spots to hunt, he answered emphatically, “Yes, this is by far the hardest spot we have”, but the rest of them are not near as FUN as this place. Fun, fun’s something you are suppose to enjoy. Enjoyment went out the window about day two when we arrived at our spike camp location, perched high on a hill, at the end of a logging road, looking over bear central, otherwise know as “The Swamp From Hell”. It was then that guide & outfitter informed Nick Mundt and I, that WAY down there in the swamp was where we would hunt for our bears. Great, I couldn’t wait!!
Now, over the years I have prided myself on trying to stay in good shape, I workout 5-6 days a week, and I’ve spent the past 14 years as an amateur bodybuilder. Now however, I think it’s all starting to catch up to me. An hour ago I was on the Chiropractor’s table, getting twisted, turned, and cracked, trying to get my spine back in alignment. It felt pretty good, but I think my back has a long way to go. As a guide & outfitter throughout all of my 20’s, sometimes I would get frustrated at these guys in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, that were always lagging behind. What a bunch of sissies I use to think to myself, these guys need to man-up abit. Now I am starting to become the sissy I never could stand. The guide was constantly waiting on me, helping me carry my stuff, quite frankly it was rather pathetic!!! Anyway, I think you get my point, so back to the bear hunt!
From atop the perch, we did have a fantastic view of the valley floor below. Each afternoon we could easily locate 6-10 bears all within ¾ mile of each other, and all feeding on the luscious green grass that had just started to sprout! It was determined that Nick would go first, so on day 3, Nick, Abe and the cameraman John, headed off down into the Abyss! I don’t recall the exact time, but it was early afternoon. By 7pm, Bill, the other guide, and I, were anxiously awaiting the echoing boom of Nick’s T/C Encore, as we knew they were certainly within range of the bear. Through the spotting scope, I watched as the bear stumbled and fell, and then the report from Nick’s rifle resonated throughout the entire valley. By midnight they were back, it was a great start to the first episode of the new “Bone Collectors” TV series we were filming, that will air, starting January 2009.
Day 5, was my turn. Abe determined that the largest bear we had seen over the past few days, was of course the one at the far back end of the swamp. As a crow flies, it was probably only about 1.5 miles, but it was horribly rugged terrain. Through the swamps, over deadfalls, hacking your way in and out of the alder thickets, it just wasn’t a lot of fun! But waiting at the end, was bear paradise. Why, I am still not sure cause the only thing there was, nasty water, some green grass, and that was about it!!! For some reason though, the bears thought it was paradise, so there we were. Long about 5pm the bears started to appear. Small ones at first, and then a couple better ones, but nothing big! It was roughly 7pm, and Abe decided we should head towards the front of the swamp, as we had a long, hard trip to get out of there and darkness would be upon us within two hrs. We had gone no further than 200 yards when Abe turned around, looked back at our last sitting location and only 150 yards away was a very nice bear. We immediately stalked back to our previous location, got with about 150 yards of the bear, and Abe sized him up. I was still trying to familiarize myself with these new T/C Encore rifles, a single shot is something I was just not real comfortable with yet. They are however a big contributor, and sponsor of the show, so using their equipment was vitally important. A minute later, Abe gave me the go ahead, and two shots later, the Big Boar was on the ground. A beautiful bear, a great hunt, and good friends to share it with, made the 4 hr walk back to camp all worth while!
A few notes about the hunt! If a Big Coastal Black Bear hunt is something you might like to try, give me a call. I have been booking hunts with Abe for about 5 years now and EVERY single one of our hunters has come back completely satisfied! Hunters can take 2 bears each if desired, and bears average from 6.5 – 7.5 feet squared. His camps are great, as is the food, and his guides are absolutely top-notch. Secondly, as I mentioned I am new to the line of products from T/C, but I was very impressed with the accuracy of the Encore, and the lack of recoil from the single shot gun we had chambered in .300 Win Mag. If you are in the market for a new hunting rifle, consider giving it a try. If you have any suggestions or comments about the T/C products, please e-mail me and give me your thoughts. I will be heading to Africa in about 3 weeks, there I will try to shoot an elephant in Botswana, with the Encore chambered in .416 Rigby. I am very anxious to see how it does?? Lastly, we got this whole “Bone Collectors” thing off to a raging start. I am very excited to be working with Waddell, and the entire staff at Surf & Turn Entertainment. I will keep you posted over the next few weeks before I leave and please feel free to send in your thoughts, questions or concerns as I would love to hear from you.
Thanks and good Hunting,
Aaron Neilson
April 4, 2008
May 6, 2008
August 3, 2008