Although each harvest has been an adventure and every bear has made it into the freezer, the stories are always different. The largest bear I have taken is a larger Alberta black bear weighing in just under 600-pounds with a skull measured at 19 3/4 inches. That one was captured on camera and can be seen in an episode of Just Hunt on WILD TV, but I will tell you that I took him while I was sitting on the ground at 17 yards, I had the opportunity to shoot after watching him and a beautiful cinnamon sow for a few minutes, he jumped up, growled, ran past me and dropped behind me about 20 yards away.
I am very proud that each bear has been harvested with only one shot and I have raised a son to be the same. Mackynzie harvested his first bear when he was 12 years old. While we sat for 7.5 hours in a tree-stand waiting for the right bear to come along, Mackynzie almost ran out of patience but at the last minute when he was about to give up in mid-afternoon a nice black bear weighing in at 310 lbs. showed her face. Mackynzie took 8 minutes to pull that trigger (on my Grandfather's 30.06 Weatherby), and I filmed the entire thing. I thought for sure the battery on the camera was going to die before he took the shot but deep down I was so proud he was taking his time to do a good job. He did, the bear went down 35 yards behind the bait. That Christmas, Mackynzie had his first bear mount in his bedroom and a new Buck knife so he can clean his own bears. Mackynzie's second bear at the age of 13 was during the moose hunt in northern Ontario where we had a cinnamon black bear coming into camp and destroying the quads and making a mess of things. Mackynzie and I took the morning off the moose hunt and we stayed alert around the camp and he had the chance to harvest this beautiful female weighing in at 290 lbs. and adding to the freezer. The gentlemen in the area said they hadn't seen a bear that color in those parts of Northern Ontario in more than 35 years.
The memories you create during the bear hunt live on forever, in photos, videos, and mounts. Every harvest is a trophy to me because to me a trophy is a successful adventure. I am proud to pass that on to my son(s) and other novice hunters. I am thankful to be a part of this heritage and way of life. Without my upbringing and my parents, I would not know what I know or experience the type of lifestyle I live.