Nothing like crapping your pants in the woods, eh?
Hunting bear is always a controversial topic. Some folks are all in favor, some vehemently opposes it, and others don’t quite know where they land.
Make no mistake, a bear will easily rip your face off, but there is something cute and cuddly about them (hello teddy bears) that gives many of us an uneasy feeling about hunting them.
That being said, black bear tastes DAMN good.
Traditional bowhunter Clay Newcomb was out on a black bear hunt a couple years back when a big old boar walked right up into his kitchen… so close that it literally bumped his arrow.
Clay joined Steve Rinella’s MeatEater podcast to talk more in-depth about the crazy encounter.
“Up until he touched the end of my arrow, I thought I was in the driver’s seat… when my arrow touched his nose, that’s when I said ‘Oh crap.’ It was scary.”
Clay made a good clean shot, followed up with another, and filled up his freezer, but after folks saw the video, they had some complaints.
Clay revealed that he took a ton of heat, even from fellow bowhunters, about the kill. Many people felt like the bear spared Clay’s life and that Clay took his… not to mention, they claimed that he put a bad first shot on him.
But at the end of the day, Steve Rinella explained it like this:
“You’re hunting. The objective is to get a bear. You got a bear. Does it remove the objective if the bear touches your arrow?”
Pretty sound logic.
I’ve never hunted bear, but as long as it’s a legal, ethical kill, a well-placed and efficient shot, and it’s a mature, old bear… what difference does it make if the bear is close to you?
Especially, when using a traditional bow…. the closer the better, for both you and the bear… right?
You’re mad because the shot was “easy”? The bear “spared” him? Give me a break…
The encounter kicks off at the 9-minute mark.
