As it appears in Alaska Bears: Stirred and Shaken by Jake Jacobson
The weather had recently turned colder, but we’d had no big winds for some time, so the willows still retained a lot of their leaves, which made visibility a bit less than ideal, but the project was still doable, to my way of thinking. Such an opportunity might never come up again.
So, with the three-barreled Drilling slung over my back, bow in hand, and Mae with her rifle, we cautiously walked down toward the bear. A slight breeze drifted down the valley allowing a crosswind approach, which was advantageous for us.
If I hollered at all, she was to shoot the bear. I told her to expect the bear to make a kind of hissing or woofing sound by exhausting its breath if he was going to rush us or run away. That’s what I have often observed with bears on a kill or gut pile. Of course, that typical behavior is not a rule, as far as bears are concerned.
Bears have no rules.
We stayed out of sight in the willows on our side of the river, then crossed the creek at the same place the caribou had, our eyes always scrutinizing the brush, looking for brown hair against the snowy background. Each foot placement was contemplated and deliberate. No noise could be tolerated.
With us bent over, the cut bank gave us pretty fair cover. From the top of the cut bank to the outer edge of the dense brush was about thirty feet of sand and gravel upon which grew small clumps of brush. I planned to approach the main stand of willows slowly. Then if and when I saw the bear, I would draw back and let fly an arrow.
About halfway to the edge of the willows I heard a branch move and, before I could think, I was looking up the nose of an enraged grizzly at full charge, nostrils flared and showing the pink insides.
He had not made any vocal sound.
So much for my previous experiences with the hissing bit.
Without thinking, I drew back and released the arrow, which connected with the bear just to the left of his head, burying all but a few inches of its length. The bear veered and jerked to its left, biting at the arrow. Blood spewed forth as if from a garden hose.
Read “Big Grizzly by Bow” in its entirety in Alaska Bears, Stirred and Shaken.
Follow Jake’s experiences in his five exciting and entertaining books – Alaska Tales, Alaska Flying, Alaska Bears, Kodiak Alaska Deer, and Alaska Hunting. Each book has over 200 pages including photos. All five are now available at Sportingclassicsstore.com.
ALASKA BEARS: Stirred and Shaken is a collection of 24 stories describing Jake’s personal experience hunting and guiding for all the species of bears in Alaska. Bear biology, hunting techniques, cabin depredations and avoidance thereof, and other aspects of bear pursuits are detailed. These are true stories except for the names of some of the hunting guests from Jake’s fifty years of living and hunting in Alaska. Buy Now
