These are of a bear Ariel, my 13 year old daughter, killed on 8/21/06. These are the best of the photos, as I had some malfunction with my digital camera.

The hunt was with Tom White of Ruidoso, NM. The bear was treed in the Linclon National Forest near Ruidoso. Ariel killed the bear with one perfect high shoulder shot from her CZ 7.62 x 39 carbine. She was shooting Wolf Golden Bear 125 grain hollow point ammo. The bear was the largest the game warden had checked in 2 years.

I was very proud of her effort during this hunt. In three day she hiked over 15 miles in some difficult terrain and during some difficult weather. She was calm when her opportunity came and made a tough shot on a bear high in a tree with very little vital zone exposed. She is an exceptional young lady and I enjoyed watching her put her lessons and preparation into practice. What a great hunt!!!

Perry

Ariel,
Great job on the bear. Great job Perry on the daughter.

Jon

Congratulations to your daughter. You have every right to be one proud papa!

Did you follow many other tracks and/or tree others before getting this big guy? Do you have a guesstimate of size/weight? Full mount or rug?

Regards, Bill

Beauty & The Beast.

Nice work...by her and you. She's hooked now for sure.

Well done! That's a very nice bear.

Perry
That is a very nice bear.
Tell your daughter I said WELL DONE.
GREAT SHOT.

Do they make a double in 30 Russian Short???

Outstanding job by you and your daughter -- congratulations to you both.

tell her great job, she well be a hunter the rest of her life.

If you were like you most likely as excited as she was or more so I know I enjoy watching my daughter get her first bear. She says I was excited.

She did GOOD.

I love the color.

WHAT A BEAR!!! I live in Northern Maine where a lot of bear hunting goes on and you don't see many bears better than that!

If you could I would love to know how big it was.

My daughter is only 1 1/2 years old and I have another one on the way, so I have quite a while before I can take them on a hunt. How old is the girl??
GOOD JOB on helping her get a great bear and getting a new generation into hunting.

That is a great looking bear! She's going to have pretty high expectations going forward.

Yes indeed, congratulations to both of you.

Nice flicks with the dogs in the background - still ready to go again.

Congratulations to your daughter, what an awesome bear..

Perry, I hope that Ariel is still bubbling over with excitement and pride. Both of you did a splendid job and are to be commended highly. A great hunt report as well!

Way to go Ariel!!! Your lucky to have a great Dad getting you started like this. Nate

Thank all of you for the kind comments. Ariel enjoyed reading your posts.

The guide has been chasing bears for 43 years and estimated this bear at around 400 pounds.The boar was fat and had an huge head. Johnnie Hamilton, the outfitter and member of this forum, said the bear was as big as some mountain grizzlies and should square right at 6 feet. The bear makes my two previous bears look very small...I don't think I will allow her to put the rug in the house.

We chased three other bears and treed one of them but couldn't get to the tree before a thunder strom nearly drowned us and caused the dogs to pull off the tree. This resulted in a 5 mile round trip hike in the rain and served as her introduction to bear hunting. Another bear ran into an exclusive neighborhood on the outskirts of Ruidoso and never came out. A 7:00 am bear chase on a Sunday morning can be a bit of a rude awakening for some folks, so we caught the dogs and tried again. The third bear was treed briefly, but came down and never treed again during an over 5 mile chase and ground fight with the dogs. This race finally terminated when the bear crossed into the Mescalero Indian Reservation. That was a tough hike and she proved she can stand some adversity during the stroll back to the truck. The forth bear was the one she killed after a well deserved short chase.

Two other hunters had filled their tags the day we arrived and one other hunter killed a bear the same day Ariel did. These hunters were with other guides employed by Johnnie.

Perry

Great shooting Ariel! Your Dad must be very proud of you, and rightly so!

congrats to her on a great bear!!

well done, I think she is definitely ready for Africa old man. I will tell Colin to expect some tuff competition next year.

Now there is a Daddy's girl that has a very bright future!!

That's a good bear no matter how old you are

Now that is one big "Mato"...what a cool deal.

Way too many small "ronnie the rat" bruins get shot yearly.

This one is definately not ronnie the rat!

Big time congrats to daughter and dad!

Thx for sharing

Mark D

Outstanding job on the part of both father and daughter. You should both be proud.

PWN375: Congratulations to you and your daughter on the wonderful trophy!
Thanks for sharing the photos - they made my day!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Perry:

OUTSTANDING, my friend! That is one fine looking bear your little girl bagged. I can tell you are one proud papa - and I bet the smile is still your face!

Good people raise good kids, and this is a fine example of that fact!

........Congratulations ArielGreat bear, and taken in some of the roughest country in New Mexico! Hang that rug right next to your old man's bear!

WOW--what a bear---tell her mega congrats---chris

I dont think I ever saw a blackie that big.
Gonna be a monster rug. Give her another congrats!!

Great Bear, and earned the hard way.

Way to go