I left Illinois on Wednesday May 15th for Idaho. I had never been through South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana or Idaho before and was struck by the beauty. From the open plains of South Dakota and Wyoming to Montana and Idaho's snow capped mountains towering into the clouds, wildlife was everywhere you looked. What an awesome adventure! So breathtaking, I almost forgot what I was going to Idaho for, a bear hunt made possible by Monte Meyer at Rocket Outdoors.

We arrived in Orofino, Idaho late Thursday afternoon. We would have been there sooner, but I could not keep myself from taking pictures and video of the incredible wildlife and scenery along the way. We spent the night in Orofino, got a good night sleep and then were up and out early the next morning so I could get my hunting license and bear tag. We then headed up to the North fork of the Clearwater River in Unit 10 where we met up with a friend of ours, Greg Savage. Greg has hunted this area for many years and has probably forgotten more about bear hunting than a lot of people will ever know. 

We set up base camp near the Clearwater River. There had been a rockslide 5 years earlier that blocked the road going up the Mountain, so we had to go on foot over the rockslide and along the mountain for about 2 1/2 miles. The water was backed up from the rockslide damming part of the river, which they call the 'lake'. It is approximately 50 ft. deep in the middle and covers the entire road. We finally arrived where the road begins again and that is where Greg had a couple of big wheel dirt bikes for us to use. He brought them in late last summer when the road was open. The roads are snowed shut on top of the mountain most of the year, so the only way in was on foot.

On Friday night we set up on the ground by one of the many waterfalls. It was 85 degrees at base camp so we dressed lightly. We got a little sweaty walking up the mountain but the further up we went the colder it got. We set up by the waterfall where the water is about 35 degrees. It was almost like sitting in a deep freeze. The later it got, the colder it got.  So, we made it an early evening and headed back to camp. 

The next day we packed extra clothes and headed out about 11:00 am. Most people don't bear hunt until late afternoon but, I only had 3 days to hunt because of a prior commitment to perform at the grand opening of a Bass Pro in Memphis, TN. I had to be there by noon on May 23. I thought I would rather sit in a treestand than sit in camp waiting. Greg took me up to the top of the mountain on the big wheel and dropped me off about 10 miles from camp.

Our stands were set up again near another raging waterfall only this time the sun was beating down pretty hard. There were still patches of snow on the side of the mountain where the stands were and I welcomed the cool breeze coming off the water. 

About four hours went by without seeing anything. I know that I dozed off at least a couple of times when suddenly I heard a noise from my Walker's Game Ear. I looked and there was a beautiful, honey blonde black bear. The bear came in so silently and combined with the noise from the waterfall I know if I did not have on my Walker's Game Ear I would not have heard the bear charging in. 

I quickly alerted my dad (who was cameraman). He did not anymore than get the camera turned on when a shot opportunity arose.  I had already ranged the area with my Bushnell Yardage Pro Rangefinder so that really helped me sight in on this bear. I like to range different objects around the stand right after I set up to get exact distances. This way, when the opportunity for a shot arises I have one less thing to worry about. Even the best of hunters get rattled in the excitement so knowing the distance to the animal is definitely a plus. 

The bear was at 23 yards when it offered me a good broadside shot. I drew my bow and squeezed off a good shot. The Carbon Express, 100 grain 3-blade Muzzy tipped arrow went all the way through the bear's heart and stuck in a log behind it. My Mathews Q-2 bow was all decked out with Sims Vibration Laboratories products and it was so quiet the bear never heard the shot. The bear expired in a matter of seconds, dropping in less than 15 yards.

The only problem was this beautiful country has some of the most rugged territory that you will ever encounter. We had to carry the bear 60 ft across a log over a raging river. We finally got the bear out to the old road and by then it was about 3:30 pm. We left the bear and some of our gear and headed down to the bridge. Greg said that if we got a bear early to go ahead and walk the 2 1/2 - 3 miles down the mountain to where the bridge used to be in the road.

Greg had a couple of other guys hunting and he was going to give them a lift up the mountain that afternoon. He said he would check the area to see if we needed a ride. If not he would pick us up at dark. So we went down to the bridge hoping to hitch a ride. We stood there for a while looking at the breathtaking rapids in the river.

I had taken my Bug Tamer suit off and left it in the backpack with the bear. This proved to be a major mistake as the black flies and mosquitoes were eating me alive.  When my Dad asked about the flashlight I realized I had also left that in my backpack too. So here we were thinking we had to stay there until dark without light. Now, that is not really a big deal, but when you consider that in these mountains, there is no moonlight or starlight. When it is dark here, it gives a whole new meaning to the word 'darkness'.  Luckily my Dad did bring along a .44 magnum handgun for protection. Standing around in total darkness in a place that not only has black bears but grizzles, cougars, wolves and who knows what else didn't exactly make me feel very secure, even with the big gun. So we decided to walk down the mountain. 

We walked the 7 miles arrived at the rockslide where the big wheels were parked just before dark. We got on the big wheels and headed back up the mountain to get our gear and my bear. By the time we got to the top of the mountain it was dark and cold. We put ourselves to the task of loading up the bear and all of our gear and headed back down the mountain.

The bad thing was that when you get to the rockslide, you are still 2 1/2 miles from camp and that could only be accessed by foot. To give you some idea of the terrain, you are walking along the side of the mountain in total darkness and in some places the trail is only 6 inches wide. One slip and you end up in the river. Not the way I wanted to end a day.

So, after an exciting and exhausting day when Greg said he and his nephew would carry my bear the rest of the way to camp, I gratefully accepted. 

We spent the night at camp and the next morning, skinned and quartered the bear. We hated to leave early but we did not want the skin and the meat to spoil in the heat. We drove to the nearby town of Orofino, about 40 to 50 miles away, and dropped my bear off at the local butcher shop to be processed. In Idaho, you don't have a check station, you have to contact a game warden to check a bear in. We met some forest rangers at a gas station and asked them if they could contact a game warden for us. They  did and the game warden met us at the butcher shop. I filled out the paperwork while the game warden pulled out a back tooth from the bear. The tooth tells a lot about the bear, such as age, habitat and diet.

I thought black bear were vegetarian for the most part but the DNR, during their research on the impact of black bears on the elk population, documented that one mother black bear had killed 19 elk calves out of a herd of 21 elk. She apparently had become very proficient at stalking and killing these elk. When a cow elk is going to calve, they will leave the heard and go off by themselves for 2-3 days. This black bear would actually watch the heard and follow the cows when they were leaving the herd to calve. In some cases, the bear not only killed the calves, but also the cow as she was calving. That is why it is important to harvest some of these bears. 

We were met with open arms hunting black bear in Idaho and that is one reason I will be going back this fall to hunt elk. I can hardly wait.

Randy
 

Randy Oitker, age 15, is an avid bowhunter and outdoor sports writer. Randy is also a professional archer who hails from Plainville, IL. He competes in the 3-D archery circuits and is a two time NABH World Champion and a three time NABH Shooter of the Year. He holds 17 national titles. Randy Oitker is sponsored by:  Mathews Solo-Cam bows, SIMS Vibration Laboratories, Walls Outdoor Wear, Bushnell Sport Optics, Muzzy Products, Walker's Game Ear, Scent-Lok, Carbon Express Arrows, Bill Jordan's  Realtree, Toxonics, Shrewd Archery Products, Rinehart 3-D Targets, Rock-It Outdoors, Cannon Country Game  calls, LaCrosse Footwear, Carter Releases, Bolle Eyewear, Outdoor  Edge Knives, SKB Bowcases, Morrell Targets, BCY Bowstrings, Tracer Products, TreeLounge, Bug Tamer, Pine Ridge Archery, Arrowspeed Radarchron, Eze- Eye Archery  Products, Duravanes, Knight  Rifles, Ithaca Guns, Harpole's Heartland lodge, Two Bears Custom Archery in Springfield,IL. and  local sponsors from Quincy,IL.:Gem City Ford and  McDonalds.

To List Of Randy Oitkers Other Columns