Well, it happened. Taylor finally took me hunting! Taylor has wanted me to actually experience shooting something. He invited me to go bear hunting about a week ago but seeing as if we have 4 children I thought for sure we could never make it work. I really wanted to go so I was determined to find someone to watch the kids. Our awesome and irreplaceable friends stepped up to the plate and offered to watch our kids for the weekend. All I needed now was a bear tag. We went to Walmart and got me a tag, so I was ready...nothing else holding me back! I was so excited!!!
We headed out Friday afternoon up to the Gila (Southwestern NM). After a long 3 hour drive of mostly bumpy dirt roads we arrived at our destination. We put our camo clothes on and hiked up a hill and started calling the bears in. The rabbit call that he was using was the most unnerving sound I have ever heard in my life. We sat for about 15 minutes and then the sun started to go down so we headed back to camp.
We arose at 6:30 the next morning to a freezing 12 degrees outside. We had the heater running in the trailer all night so we had no idea that it was that cold outside. We waited until about 7:30 and headed out to a water hole where Taylor had seen bears during prior deer hunting trips. It was about 3/4 of a mile hike through a canyon to the water hole. We came around a small hill and were walking towards the water hole when I turn to my left and out of the corner of my eye I spot a bear coming out of the ridge of pine trees. It took me a second to really grasp what I was seeing. Taylor was a head of me but hadn't seen the bear yet so I slap him across his arm and say, "Taylor, Taylor.....Look, there's a bear!!!!!" A couple other not so appropriate words came out but I don't have to repeat them! Taylor looks up and was completely shocked. The bear was straight across the little pond from us maybe about 200 yards. Well, what seemed like an eternity later, I raise my gun and fire a shot. Hoping that in some small chance I would hit the bear. Of course I don't hit the bear because my eyes are clinched shut and not even looking through the scope. Taylor had his gun raised and ready to shoot just in case I missed. He fired immediately after I did and hit the bear. It rolled into the water and splashed around a bit then started running back up the mountain. Taylor fired again and we watch the bear tumble around a bit and then take off. We waited a couple minutes and then hiked over to the side of the pond where the bear was. There was blood all over the ground but no bear!! We thought for sure he would have died immediately. We start tracking the blood and quickly we realize the he made it quite a ways up the mountain. We tracked his trail of blood about a mile up a very steep mountain. We went extremely slow hoping that he would have time to bleed out and die before we found him. I did not even know what to think at this point. I was sick to my stomach (probably nerves), shaking all over, and repeatedly stating, "Taylor, I am not very comfortable with this". I was scared out of my mind tracking this bear not knowing whether he was dead or injured or worse, just ticked off at us and ready to attack us at any moment! I was terrified to say the least! After 2 hours of following his blood we loose the trail. We looked around the same spot for a good 10 minutes but couldn't find the direction that the bear traveled. All of a sudden Taylor says in a calm voice, "Bear down!" The bear was lying on the ground, about 10 yards from where we were standing, under a pinon tree struggling to stay alive. His head was moving side to side and he was rolling around. Taylor raised his gun and shot him again. We waited a few minutes until we knew he was dead and then we approached him. Seeing the bear still alive and so close to us was very scary for me. I was an emotional wreck! I was shaking like crazy and SOOOOOOOOO ready to just get the heck out of there! Taylor wanted to gut it out right there but I convinced him to drag it back to the truck. I don't like the feeling of being in bear country with a dead bear. I was very uncomfortable and Taylor knew that. Taylor was such a stud! He drug that 180 pound bear down the mountain and all the way to the truck.
So, that is my bear hunting story. It was a great experience and I am glad that I got to share it with my best friend in the whole world. I will never forget the image of that bear walking towards the water. It is embedded in my mind forever!! I will leave the bear hunting to those who have a higher level of testosterone!
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