Had a cool hunt in the Oregon Cascades a few years ago. I was following an elk track that I was sure was a bull. It was raining and I was cow calling my way through thick hemlock, alpine fir, and jack pine hoping to jump a bull from his bed and get a quick shot. I was carrying a Savage 99 in 375 WInchester. Saddlering John owns that same rifle now.

It was fairly dark in the woods that day and as I looked ahead I see light coming from a small opening coming up in the timber. It looked like a small meadow about 75 yards by 40 yards. I cow called my way to the edge of the 40' tall pines and poked my head into the open so I could scan the opening for a bull elk. As my eyes adjusted to the light I looked off to my right and see a good sized bear standing with his front feet up on a log, looking right at me from 75 yards, just inside the edge of the timber. He'd been tracking my sound coming toward him, assuming I was a cow elk of course! I had a bear tag so I put one in the front of his neck and dropped him in a pile.

I watched to make sure he wasn't getting up. As I stepped into the meadow and turned to go over there I was pondering my good fortune that I hadn't had an encounter at closer quarters, since he had heard me coming. When I got to the end of the meadow I just about tripped over an elk leg sticking out of the grass. Turns out I was a day behind the bull and the bear had beat me to him! He'd eaten half of him and buried the rest with grass and brush. He was probably sleeping it off when I came along.

They had had quite a struggle. The bear had a hole in his shoulder and another in his forehead. He was stuffed to the gills with elk meat too! He turned out to be a good bear for the Oregon Cascades, a little over 6'. A really beautiful hide and a fantastic memory of a great hunt.

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An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack

LOL