I spent two weekends in my hunting area.  Those weekends happened to be the last two weekends of Rifle season.  One thing that told me was where the deer were now, and if there were folks hunting an area, then it has produced in the past. 

Weekend of Oct 17

I left work Saturday at 1:00pm and arrived at my hunting area at 6:00 pm with about an hour of light left.  All the way up the road I saw hunting camps occupied.  I found a relatively flat spot and pulled off the road.  I was near the center of the area I was focusing on and it was apparent that the Rifle hunters focused on this area as well.  I had three camps within hearing distance, and I estimate about 50 hunters in those three camps.

My camp was pretty spartan.  A cot and sleeping bag, a roll up table, and a two burner propane stove.   Dinner was a can of soup, some French bread, and a cold Fat Tire amber ale.  The forcast was clear so I slept under the stars in my 30 degree rated Western Mountaineering Megalite down bag.   I did put it inside of a Ti Goat Bivy sac in case of a heavy dew or rain shower. 

In the morning I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a bowl of instant oatmeal as I waited for the sun to come up.  Since I’d never seen this ground before, I wanted to wait for daylight to drive the roads in the area and familiarize myself with the lay of the land.  My first foray was down to a trailhead that lead into a DEEP canyon.  After chatting with some other hunters I found another trail on the top of a ridge that I thought would give me a good view of the heart of the area I planned to hunt. 

I left my pack in the truck since I was just walking down the ridge.   I carried my rifle and a bear tag on the off chance that I spotted a bear.  By 9:00 am I spotted a bear feeding in a patch of oaks below me.  300 yards of hip high brush separated us.  The bear was oblivious since he was focused on feeding on the acorns that were falling like rain.  I tried to get him in the cross hairs, but the bear kept moving around the tree and feeding out of sight.  Twice, he fed around out of sight.  I had nothing for a good rest. 

Finally,  I found a low spot in the brush and took a knee when the bear fed out at 303 yards at a 19 degree down angle.  He turned broadside and the crosshairs danced over his shoulders.  I took a Deep Breath and….

JERKED THE TRIGGER!

The bullet kicked up the dirt behind and above the bear and I saw him wheel and dash into the trees.  I could hear his rhythmic stride and he busted through the brush headed to the deep and steep brushy draw below.  No bawl, no crash .  Just Thump-Crash, Thump-Crash getting further away.

And then the Fog rolled in.

At that point I decided to hike back to the truck and get my pack and wait for the fog to lift.  45 minutes later I was looking for the spot I fired from and eventually re-spotted the site of the shot.  I stepped off into the brush and fought my way down to the open oak patch.  A distinct bear trail lead through the oaks with bear scat every 6 feet along it.  I looked and found the tracks of my bear but no blood.  I did find a rodent chewed 3 point shed though.  After a Clif Bar and some jerky I fought my way through the brush to the top of the ridge.  That took me an hour to go 300 yards to the top of the ridge.  At that point I was glad I wasn’t weighed down by bear meat and a hide!

I spent the reminder of the day driving to lookout points and finding landmarks on the map.  I drove to the southern edge of the area my tag allowed me to hunt.  Doing that helped me to eliminate much of the area for a November hunt.  My one day of scouting had been worthwhile and I now had a knowledge base for the next weekend.