The photos below are of a recent bear hunt near Ruidosa, New Mexico I took with Don Workman, my stepfather. We were hunting with Johnnie Hamilton, owner of Eagle Outfitters, out of Model, Colorado and one of his local guides, Tom White, who is from Ruidosa. For those of you who haven't done this type of hunt you should try it. Especially if you like hunting with hounds. Bears are located by driving through likely looking country with a hound or two standing in the back of a truck attached to the top of the dog box so they are positioned above the cab of the vehicle. The dogs bark when a bear has crossed the road. Well trained dogs will not bark on the scent of any other animal and can smell a bear track that is hours old in some cases.



The hunt began August 16th and Don was the designated first shooter. His bear could not have come easier. The bear's track was struck by Tom's dog Ranger as it crossed near Ski Lift Road and was treed after a short 250 yard chase. As the group approached the tree the bear started coming down. Tom tried prodding the bear in the butt with a stick to push it back up the tree, but the bear was determined to have another run. However, before it could get to the ground Don placed a great shot with his 30-30 Marlin and followed with another insurance shot when the bear darted back up the tree a few feet. Upon skinning and quartering the bear it was obvious the second shot was not necessary as the first shot has destroyed its heart. It was a great hunt for Don for two reasons. First, he had never seen a bear before and second, as you can see from the photos he is packing a few extra pounds on his 65 year old chassis. It was a great bear and I was thrilled to be able to share the hunt with such a great guy.



The second photo is me after one of the most difficult short hunts I have done in a while. It probably would have been much easier if I would have maintained my fitness, but I haven't and paid the price. I was hunting with Tom on the 18th and we got a strike early that morning but couldn't figure out if the bear was coming toward town or going back to the forest. We got our second strike of the day above where Don's bear had been jumped two days before. Finally near the summit of Ski Lift Drive we saw a fresh track going up a muddy bank and turned out 5 of Tom's hounds. The time was about 7:30 am. The hounds took the bear over the mountain and we drove around in an attempt to hear the race. After we parked we could hear the dogs treed about a quarter of a mile below up down a steep canyon and decided to go to the tree. However, after slipping and sliding on the wet mountainside and trying to side-hill through a million blowdowns to a point above the dogs, the bear took off running again while we were still about 100 yards above the tree. The dogs took the bear out of hearing very quickly and we walked (read as Tom, who is 60 years old, walked and ran and I staggered, crawled and stumbled) up and down a series of ridges and sub-canyons trying to locate the dogs. At some point in the death march, Tom's electonic receiver unit indicated the bear was treed again and after a lung bursting and leg burning hike in that direction the bear was off on another run before we could get to the location. Finally, we decided to walk out to the road and eventually the truck so we could drive around and located the dogs when a guy Tom knows told him the bear was treed across the canyon we had started off in earlier. Off when go again up and over a series of intervening ridges and finally about 11:30 a.m. we make it to the tree. Thankfully, it was a mature boar as I had decided to shoot something out of spite for the pain I was suffering and the dogs had worked too hard and Tom was too damn tough. After a brief rest, some water and few photos of the bear in the tree, I set up for the shot. The bear was treed some 30+ feet up a huge Spruce and had some large limbs and old snags blocking his vitals. Eventually the bear moved just a bit and gave me a good opening for a shot with my Ruger 44 magnum Redhawk. I was shooting Winchester factory 250 grain Partition Gold ammo. I placed the shot up through the chest in the heart and lung area and the bear flopped out of the tree. As soon as he hit the ground I advanced toward bear as Tom's dogs jumped on him. To my suprise the bear jumped back on the tree about 10 feet in front of me and I fired my second shot directly into his back trying for a spine shot between the shoulders. This shot knocked the bear off of the tree again and as he hit the ground he spun around and started fighting the dogs. At this point the bear grabbed Tom's strike dog, Ranger, and I took a few steps toward the fight to get a good shot and not hit a dog. At about 3 or 4 feet the dog got away from the bear and suddenly there was nothing between me and very pissed bear but air. I don't think the bear was coming at me with intentions of jumping on me, but he was certainly taking the path without baying hounds as they were of the other three sides. I fired my third shot just as the bear started away from the base of the tree and this shot missed the head and angled down through the side of his neck under his shoulder. This turned the bear as he made a couple of bounds to his left and I had to wait a couple of heart beats to get another shot as Tom's dogs were darting in and out in an attempt to hold the bear in place. Finally, my forth shot broke the bear's back just behind the shoulders and allowed me to place the fifth shot to the base of his skull. The entire incident took less than 10 seconds, but was very intense for a bit. Upon skinning my bear and checking the bullet holes and internal damage it appeared my first shot hit one lung and lodged in the opposite shoulder. I recovered this bullet and it weighs 202 grains. The second shot entered just left of the spine and just below the line of the shoulders, took out the other lung and exited the breast bone. My third shot hit through the top of the heart and ranged through the liver and intestines. The forth shot broke the spine, did not exit and was not located. The 5 shot from about 2 feet to the base of the skull ranged back through the chest and exited just below the second shot. After trophy photos we trudged down the canyon and to the truck with me carrying my bear skin, grinning ear to ear even if I was so damn tired I could barely walk.













YES TERRY, I STILL HAVE THAT DAMNED UGLY HAT!!!



Perry

Congrats.

What, no story?

Congrats again Perry and Don. We ended up the season with 5 boars and a sow. We filled 6 out of 7 hunters. The hunter that did not get one had to leave 2 days early. Perry as usual it is a pleasure hunting with you and Don. I will see you and Angie for the lion in Dec. Tom told me to tell you that he would be ready for a rematch. But by last night we were all sore and ready for a break.

Well done, Perry.

Love the hat!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations guys. You have me pumped for my first bear hunt coming up Sept. 6!!

Congratulations and great story Perry!

Doug

Amen, appreciate you taking time to write the story with the photos.

Weidmannsheil! It sounds like you had a hunt that demanded everything you had, and with some adrenaline filled moments towards the end. What more can a guy want? Well done, and thanks for sharing the story.
- mike