Yesterday I had a chance to head north to do a little scouting, visit some friends and check out some other Moose callers in action over at Bald Mountain Camps, located in Rangeley, Maine. Saw a couple pretty good callers and a couple not so good! Was a long day but a great day. It started off by me leaving the homestead a little later then usual and heading up to Berlin, NH where I scouted a new pond for an upcoming Canoe Tour. After some promising scouting I headed over to the Columbia/Colebrook area to place a couple Reconyx Trail cameras, this is where things got real interesting real fast!
I packed my gear into my backpack, put on my Muck boots, and strapped my Sig to my side and off I went onto a trail that I have hiked many times over the last several years. This time would be different! As I started my hike towards my first(soon to be camera location) I amde it about half way there and alll of a sudden a bear cub came from the woods and stepped into the trail I was on, my first thought was "oh shit" this cub was only 20 feet away tops! The little cub, no more then 30-40lbs, stood up on its rear legs and looked at me, I immediately ripped my .40 cal from its holster, just as soon as I cleared the holster, mama bear came from the woods on the opposite side of the trail, again at only 20 feet! This is not good, I said to myself, she immediately stood on her rears and looked at me! A split second goes by before she snapped her jaws at me and commensed a charge towards me, my .40 is now pointed at her head, then she stopped at around 5-6 feet in front of me and snapped her jaws a few more times while cuffing the ground in front of her with her front right paw. Then as soon as it started, she headed into the woods while sending her cub into the safety of a nearby birch tree ten feet off the trail. Talk about the hair standing up on the back of your neck, holy shit! That was the closest encounter I have ever had with a black bear, nevermind a mama bear with cub! No shots were fired!
I have told myself that if I were ever in a position like that where I came across a mama, if it got to close I would fire a shot into the trees in an attempt to scare her off but this was just too close to waste a shot into the woods! All I can say is thank god she stopped when she did because the trigger was getting squeezed!
This trip I saw 2 moose, 2 Bear and 1 dead deer on th side of the road!
Once the action was over I carefully made my way past them and placed my cameras in what I think are a couple of really good locations, now to let them set a few months and revisit them sometime in late August or early September.
Today, Sunday the 3rd of June I went and chacked my local moose cam and had another 360 pictures, still no calves but I have talked to a few people who have seen calves in the area of my camera. Just a matter of time!
Here are a few of last weeks pics
Swamp Donkey Adventures offers several Guided Hunts and Tours for you to choose from, from a relaxing day on the water to a stealthy in your face Guided Moose hunt.
Visit us at
http://www.swampdonkeyadventures.com/
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