Life in the Northwoods

Sisco · October 22, 2015

So I am sitting outside on the patio about an hour and a half ago. I had just lit the charcoal for some steaks and was waiting for it to burn down to put them on. I was dressed in a black jacket and slouched in a patio chair kind of daydreaming. I catch some movement out of the corner of my eye and look up into the face of a humongous black bear 20 feet away. You can tell a big bear because their skull expanse is so wide it makes their ears look really small. This one has big shoulders, too so it is most likely a male. I quick stand up and start yelling and he turns and heads towards our shed and stops, turns and looks at me. I make a mental note of where his shoulder comes up to the shed. I yell again and wave my arms and he takes off. Afterwards I go up and measure his shoulder height on the shed. 39 inches. Guessing he was close to 400 pounds. When I take the dogs out tonight I will be packing a 357 with jacketed soft points. Don't feel like losing a dog to a bear. Shepp you would have drooled all over my patio, his coat was in fantastic shape. Would be a hell of a rug.

shepp · October 22, 2015

So I am sitting outside on the patio about an hour and a half ago. I had just lit the charcoal for some steaks and was waiting for it to burn down to put them on. I was dressed in a black jacket and slouched in a patio chair kind of daydreaming. I catch some movement out of the corner of my eye and look up into the face of a humongous black bear 20 feet away. You can tell a big bear because their skull expanse is so wide it makes their ears look really small. This one has big shoulders, too so it is most likely a male. I quick stand up and start yelling and he turns and heads towards our shed and stops, turns and looks at me. I make a mental note of where his shoulder comes up to the shed. I yell again and wave my arms and he takes off. Afterwards I go up and measure his shoulder height on the shed. 39 inches. Guessing he was close to 400 pounds. When I take the dogs out tonight I will be packing a 357 with jacketed soft points. Don't feel like losing a dog to a bear. Shepp you would have drooled all over my patio, his coat was in fantastic shape. Would be a hell of a rug.

wish he'd strolled past me about a year ago, with that said I'm making bear chilli this weekend

About like that?

Sisco · October 22, 2015

Close to the top one. I am setting up my game cams tomorrow and smearing some peanut butter on a tree a ways away from the house. See if I can get some pics. Cook that chili well, bear meat is the number one cause of trichinosis in Wisconsin.

shepp · October 22, 2015

Close to the top one. I am setting up my game cams tomorrow and smearing some peanut butter on a tree a ways away from the house. See if I can get some pics. Cook that chili well, bear meat is the number one cause of trichinosis in Wisconsin.

same bear both pictures think the guide said 425 or 450

thanks 160* plus ;)

Sisco · October 23, 2015

350 feet from my house. A big guy and a smaller one.

Sisco · October 23, 2015

Here is the smaller one

shepp · October 23, 2015

Learned a lot about bears on my trip last year, stealthy courious sob's. Not so much scared of them now, but I've got a new found respect of them.

Sisco · October 23, 2015

Learned a lot about bears on my trip last year, stealthy courious sob's. Not so much scared of them now, but I've got a new found respect of them.

Amen. Growing up I was always worried about them. Now like you say, I respect them. Grizzlies are another story. A totally different animal than a black bear. Very badass. Don't have near the caution or fear of humans. In the 70's had one around my backpacking solo camp in the Hebgen Lake area of Montana. Wouldn't go away so I climbed up a tree and spent the better part of the night up there. This was the same year a camper got killed and eaten in the Rainbow Point area out there. I was packing heat, but when they come through the side of the tent, it is too late. Discretion is the better part of valor sometimes.

planeflyer21 · October 23, 2015

/\/\/\/\ Being a "live buffet" isn't on my bucket list.

MikedaddyH · October 23, 2015

/\/\/\/\ Being a "live buffet" isn't on my bucket list.

Jon you dont want be bear tartar !

washguy · October 23, 2015

Wow Sisco...thats pretty ding dang kewl...ive only got squirrels to deal with Wash

Magwa · October 24, 2015

Ahh living in the woods is awesome.. cool pics....

shepp · October 24, 2015

We get reports of them romeing down around here I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few that lived over closer to the Mississippi valley. More so tho have been mountain lions, a co workers uncle opened up one of his out buildings (an old barn) and one ran out of it 10 or so years ago this time of year. The UW biologist were traipsing all over the marsh I duck hunt setting DNA traps. It was alittle unnerving duck hunting that year......

Sisco · October 24, 2015

Saw him driving down the road again tonight, he was near the trail cams so I should have some good pics tomorrow. We have occaisonal cougers up here, a lot of wolves and a ton of coyotes. With fisher or two thrown in. Last couger I say was on Hwy 61 over by Cable, WI Crossed in front of my car and sat down and watched me drive by. Quite a few years ago.

shepp · October 24, 2015

Saw him driving down the road again tonight, he was near the trail cams so I should have some good pics tomorrow. We have occaisonal cougers up here, a lot of wolves and a ton of coyotes. With fisher or two thrown in. Last couger I say was on Hwy 61 over by Cable, WI Crossed in front of my car and sat down and watched me drive by. Quite a few years ago.

I know a few people around were a deer hunt that have seen them to my friend lives off 13 as you leave butternut she swears she saw one in her yards. I've seen fisher tracks up there never a fisher, only a couple of bear. plenty of sign tho twice driving clear cuts my buddy and I have had one between us

Sisco · October 24, 2015

I know a few people around were a deer hunt that have seen them to my friend lives off 13 as you leave butternut she swears she saw one in her yards. I've seen fisher tracks up there never a fisher, only a couple of bear. plenty of sign tho twice driving clear cuts my buddy and I have had one between us

if she lives by Butternut, I am not surprised she has seen Cougar. South and east of there there are some surviving moose as well. Not many, and you have to go deep in the spruce bogs to find them. Best to leave em alone to reproduce and grow the herd back.

shepp · October 24, 2015

if she lives by Butternut, I am not surprised she has seen Cougar. South and east of there there are some surviving moose as well. Not many, and you have to go deep in the spruce bogs to find them. Best to leave em alone to reproduce and grow the herd back.

I've heard that the bar owners out on F told us there were moose and I thought they were nuts

Sisco · October 24, 2015

I've heard that the bar owners out on F told us there were moose and I thought they were nuts

no, I won't go into details because like I said, they need to be left alone, but they never disappeared completely. They have a tough time of it though. Whitetail deer spred brainworm, hotter than usual summers stress them, and tick borne diseases affect them as well. But hopefully they will come back. If they can start exchanging genes with Michigan's Huron Mountain herd, which is entirely plausible, maybe they can come back.