Part 1 of 3 - The Drinker - Alberta

Joe and his Hoyt were Bear'N Down in Alberta!

Hunter – Joe Rush

Cameraman – Zendal Carroll

“Crack”… Zendal and I heard the distinct sound of breaking wood… our hearts IMMEDIATELY began to race because we KNEW that soon, we’d be 13 yards from a 6 plus foot black bear with nothing between us but the mesh of our CHOICE ground blind! (Little did we know that this bear would walk up and wind check the blind at a mere 6 yards!)

Zendal spotted the movement of black through the white poplars first, but it didn’t take me long to fix my eyes where Zendal was pointing. The bear wind checked the bait as best he could but the wind was blowing directly towards the blind, which worked perfect for us. He came in skittish and we figured that either another bigger boar was in the area, or that he had some idea we were there. Once he made it to the bait, he started to relax, and Zendal and I patiently waited for the right opportunity.

In the mean time, we sized up the bear to make sure he was in fact the one we saw on the Stealth cam and to be sure it was a boar and not a sow. As the bear was feeding on the scraps of meat left for him, I watched him with my 10X42 binos… then I realized, he was up, on his feet and walking right at the blind! I set my Nikons down and picked up my bow to ready myself for a shot (there was a bear trail not 2 yards from where we were sitting, and we were worried he might walk right on by!) He stopped 6 yards shy of the blind and began to wind check the air for any signs of concern. Moments later, he turned and walked back to his supper….(not knowing it might be his last).

He sat at the bait for awhile, then walked back in front of the blind to get a drink from the waterhole in front of us. Zendal and I, realizing we weren’t here working for National Geographic, decided that we’d take the next shot that presented itself. As he turned broadside, I came to full draw. I rested my Truglo 3D Rover on his crease, asked Zendal if he was ready, and squeezed my release on his command. That Beman arrow and NAP Hellrazor flew through the air so fast that the camera hardly picked it up! Unbelievably, that arrow blazed through that boar and punched a hole in the steel drum with the ring of a gong! The bear, clueless of what had just happened turned and ran 10 feet up into the nearest poplar tree he could find. Seconds later he was out of the tree and down for good less than 10 yards from the point of impact. Zendal and I celebrated our successful hunt together and I took a moment for myself to thank God for this gift he had given us.

Make sure to come back next week to see how Zendal does in the 2nd part of this 3 part Adventure from Northern Adventure Hunts in Alberta!