Part 2 of 3 - Time to Hunt - Manitoba
Shell with her bear!
Hunter – Shelley Mehlings
Cameraman – Russ Mehlings
The 2008 Spring Bear season was going to have to be very efficient for Shell. On top of raising our 5 year old son, Luke, Shell runs a successful home based business, has taken over doing the book keeping for Adrenaline Outfitters (Joel and my outfitting business) and just recently went back to her office job on a part time basis.
Between all these obligations and duties, Luke has always been her top priority (just ask me). It makes sense then, that Luke was always invited to the bush to do bait runs to Shell’s bait in ‘the Swamp’.
Activity was quite sporadic all over Manitoba this Spring. The Swamp was no different, but finally on May 17, while the family was doing an early morning bait run, signs showed up proving a large boar had moved on. It was time to hunt.
Shell lined up babysitting, got her tag and prepped her gear for the evening sit. Russ quickly ran out and completed a bait run of his other baits and got back just in time to clean up and get to the stand.
The conditions were less than ideal. The wind was a good direction, but blowing over 25 mph for most of the evening. This definitely affected bear movement and only one small boar showed up until about 8:00 pm.
Shortly after 8:00 pm, the small boar spooked and in walked the bear Shell was after. He was a beautiful, mature, black boar who definitely owned the bait. Unfortunately, the wind kept him moving and even though he spent nearly ½ hour at the bait site, Shell never got the shot she wanted.
Reviewing the video later at home, we realized this is the bear Shell had come so close to taking 2 years earlier. He has 2 very identifiable markings on his chest. She really wanted this bear now.
It was June 6, (the 2nd to the last day of the season) before Shell’s schedule would allow her to hunt again. It is important to note here (since I am writing this) that this is the day after I (Russ) killed a giant chocolate bear. I spent most of the night on pins and needles waiting to recover my bear. I was up late, then up again at 4:00 am to head out to the recovery. I made it home in time to show the bear to Luke, get it to the taxidermist, clean up and head out with Shell. Did I forget to mention my bear was HUGE and CHOCOLATE colored!! But, enough about my bear.
We got into the stand and guess what! The wind was howling once again. We prepared ourselves for a slow evening, but the bears actually started moving early. By 9:00 pm our 4th bear showed up. We'd had one small color phase bear, an average black, and a sow visit the bait.
This fourth bear was a nice boar. Not the boar Shell had had an opportunity at earlier, but still a mature boar. Shell and I argued over the size of the bear and at the end, we realized how spoiled we are here in Manitoba. Here we are, with a mature 5 foot + boar at twenty yards, in conditions that were less than ideal, and we were arguing over fractions of an inch in skull size.
The argument over, Shell let me know she was taking the bear. I made sure the camera was set and we waited for the bear to present a clean shot. It didn’t take long and Shell’s Salena sent the Nitron on it’s way. At the shot, the bear made two quick jumps, stopped, then slowly walked a few steps and laid down. It was over within 15 yards. That little broadhead sure did a number on that bear.
We did a quick recovery – since we saw the bear go down and it was getting dark. We prepped the animal and began the long walk out in the dark. The next morning, we packed up Luke and headed to recover Shell’s bear. Luke was thrilled but agreed that Dad’s bear was bigger than Mom’s this year. What an awesome way to end our family’s season.
Hopefully, next spring will give Shell an opportunity at what we now refer to as ‘Shell’s bear’. It’s only 11 months to wait.