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2001 Fall Black Bear Bowhunt With Fred Lutger
by Robert Hoague

| Getting Ready | 1st Day's Hunt | 2nd Day's Hunt | 3rd Day's Hunt | 4th Day's Hunt |
| 5th Day's Hunt | 6th Day's Hunt | 7th Day's Hunt | 8th Day's Hunt | 9th Day's Hunt | 
| 9th Day - Continued | Last Day Fred's Bear | Last Day Continued - Mike's Bear |

9th Day Of The Hunt

Mike Ditschler was a disappointed camper this morning. As you know, yesterday he missed a bear. I told him not to worry, we had work to do that would help him settle down and shoot accurately.

First, I had him shoot from a chair. That way he would have the option of shooting sitting down if he did not have time to get on his feet. He caught on to it pretty quickly. Next, I paced off 12 yards (the distance to the logs and bait) and had him shoot from there. 

Then I zeroed in the top pin on his bowsight for that distance. He shot much tighter, both standing and sitting.

We all ate late lunch and got ready to hunt. Fred and the Duck went to the Chicken Road stand and Mike and I drove to his stand site.

I suggested we park Mike's truck uphill a couple hundred yards from where we parked yesterday. As we parked I handed Mike a Zip-loc bag.

Mike is a smoker and yesterday when he finished his 3 cigarettes he dropped the butts in the tube on his ladder stand. Also, from time to time he had to spit and so he spit on the ground. I asked him to put the cigarettes in zip-loc bag and spit in it as well. I told him I wanted him to keep the ground level scent free. He took the plastic bag and used it while he hunted.

We saw the first bear a little about 6:45, a slow moving black object in the brush ahead of us. It was very cautious and stayed in the cover of the alders and trees as it made a slow, half circle through the area in front of us.

At last it began it's move towards the bait. 

In the picture on the left you see the bear as he approaches the logs that cover the bait bucket full of of bear goodies. The bear walked around the right side of the logs and scarfed up some doughnuts that Mike had scattered there. The bear turned to a perfect broadside angle and I looked at Mike and signaled that now was the time to draw. He drew from a standing position. The bear co-operated perfectly and I watched it carefully so I could see exactly where the arrow hit the bear. Mike released.

The arrow rattled around and the bear ran for cover. I was pretty sure the shot was a miss. We waited 10 minutes and I got down and checked the arrow for blood. Nothing. It was a miss.

At the same time, both Mike and I heard a big branch crack, behind us, and uphill from our stands. Another bear was coming. Continued ...