The .45-70's gonna be busy soon

[petemi]

I drew a bear tag for my home Michigan Management District, Newberry, for first season.  I have 4 locations I can hunt both on my property and within a mile of my house, and two of them have had recent bear problems.  Now to come up with a good load   It's gonna be a Handi dandy time

Pete

[Mac11700]

Congrats Pete..

Good Luck on finding both a good load and a big bear to take with it..

Mac

[jim36]

 I don't know how old I have to get before I cease to be jealous.
Good luck and good shooting.
                                          Jim   <")))><

[petemi]

Thanks guys.  If I'm still on top of the sod, I'll be 75 by the time I draw another tag, so I've got to do it right this time.  The loggers are just finishing a select wildlife management cut here.  I'm thinking the bear will be in here turning over tops and debris looking for grubs and rodents.  I don't think it can hurt a thing.  The deer are already thick in the tops.

Pete

[S.E.Ak]

Clear cuts are always a good place to start looking. Back when I was a youngster I remember going to the dump at Iron Mountain and watching the bears

[streak]

I drew a bear tag for my home Michigan Management District, Newberry, for first season.  I have 4 locations I can hunt both on my property and within a mile of my house, and two of them have had recent bear problems.  Now to come up with a good load   It's gonna be a Handi dandy time

Pete

Pete,
Just get you some good old 405 grain Rem Corelokts and get`em around 1400-1500fps and you are good to go! Lot`s of luck on your hunt!

[petemi]

I've got the 405 Rems running between 1800 and 1900 fps, so I should be good to go.  They're loaded above Wolf primers right now, so I want to put a more reliable primer under them.  The .45-70 is standing here now jumping up and down wanting to go.  I've got dogs like that.

Pete

[bikerbeans]

Congrats Pete, I hope Yogi shows up on opening day!

[petemi]

Thanks, Tom.  I'd like a really big Yogi, since this will probably be my last bear hunt.  The chances look good.  A neighbor down the road a couple of miles had one climb up his outside wall, smash the kitchen window and get in.  From the size of the claw marks in the wall, it was a nice bear. 

It all goes back to the same thing.....it ain't the kill that counts, it's the hunt.  I'm ready to hunt.

Pete

[AtlLaw]

Now that's something to look foward to Pete.  Can ya bait 'em up there?

[bikerbeans]

Richard,

Pete is the bait!

BB

[Mac11700]

Richard,

Pete is the bait!

BB

  That's funny...be careful up there Pete..and lay off the donuts when hunting

Mac

[petemi]

Yeah Richard, I'll bait.  My remaining hound would be bear bait if I hunted her.  She's a little old lady. Doen't need to go out that way.

My neighbors, next door have a "Sugar Shack".....where you make maple syrup...bears have been in there 3 times recently.  It should be interesting.

Pete

[bikerbeans]

Pete,

I hunted black bear in Ontario in the mid 1990s.  We were not having any bear activity so the guide put honey and anise oil on me and my hunting partner.  It made us pay more attention to our surroundings.

BB 

[gcrank1]

Reminds me of the story about the std. Eskimo Polar Bear hunt of laying behind an ice chunk with his .22Hornet (?) and kicking his feet above like a wounded seal........

[gendoc]

hey pete, ya gunna eat them bars ??
been awhile ago, but i did a coupla times.. theys gud too.
we got lil honey bears round here which ain't too big bout the size ofa 60-80lb hawg.
when my son was 12 or 15 we found a new born cub that his mom was hit by a big truck.
the wife raised it ona bottle till he cud eat on its own. it got too big and onry so we put it back in tha wild
he stayed round a few years in my swamp. but we never seen him again after that.  seen tracks but cud'nt tell if they were his.  that was a fine thing for a yung'un to be a part of bout 20 years ago.
he had a red ear, and the rest of him was totally black.
we ain't got enough folks around here for them bars to be a problem....yet.
ifin that changes... i'll be eat'n bar again. if tha lords will'n and tha creek don't rize  

[quickdtoo]

Congrats Pete, I'd be glad to loan you the 6x45 Handi to put some sport in that hunt!!!

Tim

[petemi]

Tim, you're all right, I don't care what the rest of the world says.  Thanks for the offer, but I've got my .22LR

I'm thinking that little rifle ought to be a ton of fun.  That 6mm bullet out of a .223 case ought to be a lot more stable in wind.  Interesting.  Let me know.

Pete

[quickdtoo]

 

[gcrank1]

Stable....isnt that a 'state of mind'? Or just a place to keep animals in? (oh ya,...kinda one in the same).
Beat ya to it, BB!
Pete, I have a friend in rural Bayfield, same deal, big bears out back and carry if you are smart. I dont discount the usefulness of even a small bore 'noise maker' but it is a great opportunity to carry big. There is something about seeing a big blackie out where they make a livin' and knowing you are lower on the food chain.
Once, on a ML squirrel hunt I came face to face with one at about 10 feet. Me with a .440 RB over 25gr.of 3F and my 'frontier regalia'. To say it gave me pause for thought is an understatement. We regarded each other for a fair long time, then I slowly backed away. Truely a memorable moment, like a step back to D. Boone's time.

[petemi]

gcrank1, I had about the same thing happen a few years ago.  I was carrying a .32 Cherokee, which immediately turned itself into a kids toy rubber knife.  I looked at him and he looked at me and fortunately we both decided to depart in opposite directions.

Pete

[Spanky]

We can't hunt 'em here where I am so knock one down for me will ya Pete.
That 45-70 oughta be bad news for 'em.



Spanky

[Datil]

 Pete go get that bear and report back, Good luck!

 Datil