Norwich youth bags his first bear
For many of us, just seeing a bear in the woods would make our season. One fortunate young hunter had much more than that happen and was happy to share the story.
You may recall a few months back a young man named Dylan Howe helped with some retriever training and appeared in a column. He is the lucky fella I’m writing about and his first bear hunt was surely one to remember. I still haven’t seen a bear in the woods and am not sure I want to see one the way he did.
Dylan is an avid hunter and fisherman and says he hunts for food not for sport and aspires to be a guide in the future. He told me this as we prepared for a day of retriever training and asked if I would help get the information together for guide school. I told him I would be happy to help. I called him a few days later and gave him the information so he could prepare for the classes. We hadn’t talked for a while, when out of the blue he called. I missed it, so he sent me a text message with a picture of himself and the bear. When I saw it I had to call and get the story.
Dylan was hunting with his Step Grandfather in Booneville when he harvested the bear. The hunt took place on September 15 and was the first day of bear season up north. The morning started as most do getting up before dawn and hiking to the hunting site. As some days go, there was a twist. They were inspected by the local game warden as they parked to head out and hunt. He quickly checked their guns and licenses and had them on their way. He was also said to be a friendly officer as all I have met are. I guess most people expect to be harassed by any form of officer these days. The truth is you will likely never have an issue with an officer unless you are breaking the law. When you are found to be in compliance, our Environmental Conservation Officers are typically more than friendly and sometimes even tell you where the hot bite or where a good hunting location may be.
After their encounter with the officer, they headed separate ways to their hunting spots. When asked to tell the story Dylan said, “There isn’t much to it.” He said it happened early and was over. As most hunts go there had to be more to the story. He said he sat down and was waiting for the woods to cool down. As most of us do, he closed his eyes for a second to wait for things to settle. That’s when he heard a twig snap not too far uphill from him. He was sitting on the ground in a bottom looking uphill and was hunting mixed pines and hardwoods. He focused on the area where the sound had come from and within seconds movement was spotted. First the ears then the undeniable head of a bear popped out only 50 or so yards away. It paused for a second and looked in Dylan’s direction; it then began to move again. It was walking parallel to his location and when the time was right Dylan picked up, steadied and aimed his weapon where the bear was headed. The bear stopped again slightly quartering to Dylan and was now only 40 yards away. This is where the story gets good.
How many times have you forgotten to load your gun and had it not go off when you shot? Not too big a deal on a turkey, deer, duck or something that can’t eat you, but on a bear would not be cool. That’s exactly what happened to Dylan on this hunt. He said the bear was staring him down, so he pulled back the hammer on his 30/30 lever action. When he pulled the trigger, all that was heard was that sickening click most of us hear at some point. That’s the sound a firing pin makes ramming its way into an empty chamber. The bear didn’t react much other than to focus on exactly where Dylan was sitting. On the ball, Dylan rapidly levered a round into the chamber. His shot was true hitting the bear at the point of his right shoulder and exiting on the last rib on his left side. It was a perfect shot and instantly downed the animal.
I say this guy has nerves of steel and will master hunting in no time. Dylan is the youngest person to tag a bear in Oneida County so far this season and the youngest person I know of from Chenango County to do so. Congratulations buddy and get to work on that guide school stuff. I’m going to need quick thinking guides like you in the future.
Good wishes and when the time comes, don’t freeze up, react and make it happen as Dylan did.
You may recall a few months back a young man named Dylan Howe helped with some retriever training and appeared in a column. He is the lucky fella I’m writing about and his first bear hunt was surely one to remember. I still haven’t seen a bear in the woods and am not sure I want to see one the way he did.
Dylan is an avid hunter and fisherman and says he hunts for food not for sport and aspires to be a guide in the future. He told me this as we prepared for a day of retriever training and asked if I would help get the information together for guide school. I told him I would be happy to help. I called him a few days later and gave him the information so he could prepare for the classes. We hadn’t talked for a while, when out of the blue he called. I missed it, so he sent me a text message with a picture of himself and the bear. When I saw it I had to call and get the story.
Dylan was hunting with his Step Grandfather in Booneville when he harvested the bear. The hunt took place on September 15 and was the first day of bear season up north. The morning started as most do getting up before dawn and hiking to the hunting site. As some days go, there was a twist. They were inspected by the local game warden as they parked to head out and hunt. He quickly checked their guns and licenses and had them on their way. He was also said to be a friendly officer as all I have met are. I guess most people expect to be harassed by any form of officer these days. The truth is you will likely never have an issue with an officer unless you are breaking the law. When you are found to be in compliance, our Environmental Conservation Officers are typically more than friendly and sometimes even tell you where the hot bite or where a good hunting location may be.
After their encounter with the officer, they headed separate ways to their hunting spots. When asked to tell the story Dylan said, “There isn’t much to it.” He said it happened early and was over. As most hunts go there had to be more to the story. He said he sat down and was waiting for the woods to cool down. As most of us do, he closed his eyes for a second to wait for things to settle. That’s when he heard a twig snap not too far uphill from him. He was sitting on the ground in a bottom looking uphill and was hunting mixed pines and hardwoods. He focused on the area where the sound had come from and within seconds movement was spotted. First the ears then the undeniable head of a bear popped out only 50 or so yards away. It paused for a second and looked in Dylan’s direction; it then began to move again. It was walking parallel to his location and when the time was right Dylan picked up, steadied and aimed his weapon where the bear was headed. The bear stopped again slightly quartering to Dylan and was now only 40 yards away. This is where the story gets good.
How many times have you forgotten to load your gun and had it not go off when you shot? Not too big a deal on a turkey, deer, duck or something that can’t eat you, but on a bear would not be cool. That’s exactly what happened to Dylan on this hunt. He said the bear was staring him down, so he pulled back the hammer on his 30/30 lever action. When he pulled the trigger, all that was heard was that sickening click most of us hear at some point. That’s the sound a firing pin makes ramming its way into an empty chamber. The bear didn’t react much other than to focus on exactly where Dylan was sitting. On the ball, Dylan rapidly levered a round into the chamber. His shot was true hitting the bear at the point of his right shoulder and exiting on the last rib on his left side. It was a perfect shot and instantly downed the animal.
I say this guy has nerves of steel and will master hunting in no time. Dylan is the youngest person to tag a bear in Oneida County so far this season and the youngest person I know of from Chenango County to do so. Congratulations buddy and get to work on that guide school stuff. I’m going to need quick thinking guides like you in the future.
Good wishes and when the time comes, don’t freeze up, react and make it happen as Dylan did.
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