Dusty's First Bear - Manitoba
Dusty's first bear.
Catching Northerns.
Hunter: Dusty Perillo
Cameramen: Tony Perillo
June 21, 2009 finally arrived and I was on my way to bear camp with Adrenaline Outfitters in Northern Manitoba. I couldn’t believe it; I was actually going on my very first bear hunt with my husband. I was so excited, but had a long trip ahead of us before we got there. We arrived at Winnipeg airport and our guide Rod McGrath was on his way to pick us up. We had a 7-½ hour truck ride before we arrived at our cabin, but it went by pretty fast due to the beautiful scenery that Canada has to offer. Once we arrived at our cabin on the lake it was time to unpack, shoot the bows, and RELAX for the night. But who could relax knowing that I was going bear hunting the next morning!
Monday morning finally arrived and while Rod and Art went to check on the bait sites, Tony and I got all of our stuff ready. The drive to the stands was unbelievable. I can’t even describe it; there were various trees, creeks, rivers, falls, beautiful granite rocks, boulders, and wildlife. I saw more bald eagles than you could even imagine! Finally we arrived at our tree stand, after a 30-minute truck ride and a 3-mile four wheeler ride, and of course the weather was not cooperating with us. It was raining but I was not going to let that stop me from my bear hunt.
Once we got up in the tree and got our Hunter Safety System vests attached, it was time to put my game face on. We sat and watched and listened, but unfortunately the only thing we saw or heard were some very vocal squirrels! Bear hunting is very different from any other hunting I’ve done. You actually stay in your tree and hunt until almost 11 o’clock at night, and then when you finally get back to the cabin you eat dinner. That took some adjusting!
Tuesday morning we watched a huge storm roll in and disappear just as fast. Once the storm passed we had a few hours before we had to get ready so we decided to try to catch a few fish from the dock! I was quite excited about this too because I had never caught a Northern Pike before. I caught 3 of them in a matter of minutes and Tony only caught 1! What a trip! That evening the rain came again but we didn’t let it stop us; however, I believe it stopped the bears from moving!
Wednesday morning finally came and Rod said he was putting me in the Penthouse! However there was one stipulation, if I shoot a bear I am not allowed to get down to retrieve it! There is a very angry sow at this bait with 3 cubs and she is mean! “Ok,” I said. We went in earlier than usual so we could get set up and sit for the day. Right away I knew this was the day, we were not even in our stand for 10 minutes and a young boar arrived at the bait. He hung out for over an hour. What a great sign. I couldn’t believe it, I actually saw a bear!!!! What a rush! At around 4:30 p.m., he came back and hung out for about ½ hour, then boogied! It wasn’t until around 6:00 p.m. when Tony said, “I just saw a chocolate bear.” I thought he was just kidding, and then he said he saw it again. I didn’t believe him because I didn’t see anything, until 7:15 p.m., and there he was a chocolate bear not more than 15-yards away, but in the tree line! This chocolate bear stayed just out of sight for quite some time, all I could see were his legs and then a glimpse of him here and there. He tormented me for over an hour! I thought I was going to lose it! He circled us and walked directly under and in front of the camera stand but gave me no shot. Then out of nowhere a sow came in and distracted him. That’s just what I needed I thought. Sure enough she came into the bait and he followed.
I had been waiting for an hour and 15 minutes to get a shot and my chance finally came. I was shaking so bad I thought I was going to fall out of my tree stand. Thank goodness I had my Hunter Safety System vest on. I settled in and pulled my Hoyt bow back and released my Beman arrow. My Hellrazor went directly where I wanted it to and the chocolate bear ran 20 to 30 yards max and piled up! I just shot my very first bear and it was a chocolate bear! I couldn’t believe it; he was down and in sight! I could see him, but then all I could remember was Rod saying "Do not get out of your tree!" I just had the most amazing experience and had to look at him for 2 hours until our guide showed up. That was HARD!!! So for the next 2 hours Tony and I rejoiced in the tree and didn’t stop!!! When Rod finally arrived I was dancing in my tree stand! I told him that there was no way I could wait until tomorrow morning to recover that bear! Rod agreed but only because it was close to the 4-wheeler path! Thank god because I would not have gotten any sleep that night!
Thank you Ralph, Vicki, and Adrenaline Outfitters for making this trip possible! This trip was absolutely amazing! I shot my very first bear and it was a chocolate. Thank you to my husband for sharing this experience with me. I couldn’t have done it without you!