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A trip was made to my site today to re-bait. The barrel had been raised 8" and it was still cleaned out. Lots of bears. Most are small. I count 10, mostly black. With 2 1/2 weeks left in the season, I need to wean the little ones so I raised the barrel another 4".

I spent more time watching my backside than usual.








times and dates are off

Pipepusher....are the dates correct on the trailcams? Are you actually trying for a bear or just keeping them interested in free food?

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The times are not right.

These are from last weeks pics.

Yes, I am still going to try and kill one.

Yes, I like playing with them.

The dog season ended on the 10th, that should help.

Best of luck with your hunts. Hope you have a camera along to share some good photos with us.

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OH-OH, what is this??




The barrel was cleaned out again when checked on Friday,
and bigger scat piles are showing up. The bait was freshened up early then I backed out for 2 hours before returning to sit for 5 hours.
I climbed into the stand to find the seat had been chewed out.
Gone! Just 2 belt straps left.


The barrel is discriminating nicely.





Only had 1 show up, 5 min. after dark
(yes I was still on stand)

You must have left some serious odors on your stand seat that something would climb up and eat just the seat!!!! Are those temps correct on your trailcams? If so, I am sooooo jealous!

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Those are the right temps. Swamp Rat.
What do ya think that light is?

I think that light is another trailcam going off opposite the one that got the picture.

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Just got back.

Pipe has one on ice.

Story tomorrow.

I am looking forward to the upcoming post (& pictures)!

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A bait run was made Tuesday. I was going to surprise them Friday, on the third day. On the ground.

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Another great day in creation and a fulfilled quest.

When turning up my creek road, I said aloud "Start thinking bear".
There was no one else in the rig.
I slowed , looking for the small pullout, well below the trail head.
There-- on the right. That tall burnt sump was never there. " No pipe that is a bear" .
So the customary thing, running and looking for ghosts was done.
O.K. back at truck. " Get serious ".
Heading in on foot , Pipe knew from bumbled camera work, that bears were working the site from 11:00 A.M. on.
" Slower, look. "

A dark shadow rolls off. It was a large raven.
No, there is something else. Yes- bear.
I go down. Bear stands up, at feeder, goes down.
The 4 legged non collapsible chair was set on the sloped ground. It was a lousy rest. It was shaking all over the place.
Bear up- down. Up- down,up-down.


I am low, left and back of camera.




At the shot the bear headed down hill for the creek.


Looking for a bullet hole



The crimson trail clearly showed a crossing. A little upstream, I crossed the, mostly white water on an old 3' in diameter cedar.
The top of which was worn flat from wilderness traffic.
The bear was found in what looked like a bed. Or a blind.
Sure enough, when I climbed in and looked, there was a hole in the foliage that had a small direct view back towards the site.



A little bigger than average-- 190lbs.

In the process 7 non shooter bears were weaned from the site.
He was the 2nd smallest out of the 7 there now.
But I really wanted something to upholster my 44.


1st load out

Pretty interesting story and pictures Pipepusher....but you do seem to talk to yourself a lot How far down in the woods are you hunting from civilization? Looks like you have put in a lot of work for your bear.

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I am far enough to not have any human interference.

I got to spend a little time with the fur today.





Just started



Any words of wisdom?

Maybe Doc will jump in and help with some advice on tanning the bear hide...he did a couple this past winter for a friend of his. The one I got while hunting with him, we salted down until I could get back to Texas with it and then I fleshed it very clean, then soaked it a few days in a solution of battery acid/water/salt. After that I rinsed it in clean water with baking soda to kill the acid, then rinsed a couple times in clear water....then the work began! Stretch-pull-twist-pull-scrape-stretch, on and on until it became fairly pliable and cured well. I now have it as a rug in my office. I would never do one for myself again.....probably go to the tannery and let them use their machines to work it into good soft leather and fur.

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Congrats on the bear pipepusher !!!! You sure did earn that one.

Swamp is right, they are a LOT of work to soften after tanning. I don't have a fleshing machine so I can't thin them , and I never get them as soft as I would like, the hides are just too thick. You can get them fairly soft with a lot of work. Start breaking them as soon as they start to dry out after tanning. The thinner areas of the hide will dry first, so start working them first. I push/pull mine down over an old sawhorse, and I also mounted an old shovel blade into a big block of pine and work the hide over that. It takes time and effort, but you can get them fairly soft. Good luck.

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Those who trade liberty for security shall have neither.

"Take ye heed,watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is".

Rev. 6:8 and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was death , and Hell followed with him.

Thanks guys.

It is always an adventure in the bear woods. Right ?
I went to retrieve barrel and stand Saturday. While driving down the old railroad grade, I picked up an historic souvenir.





Pipe is thinking of possible Fall sites, while still learning from the closed site.
One question asked a lot is-" How long for a site, after a kill, to normalize?"
At this time and place, the bears were all back on schedule, 1st thing in the morning.


Wishing you all a safe and free holiday.

Well pipepusher you don't have to GUESS what caused that blowout! On one lease I am on it once had miles and miles of old logging trams back in the 30s, we still find the small rail spikes from time to time. I sure hope I never find one sticking in a tire!

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Pipepusher, what'd you ever do with the bear skin? Have you got all of your vehicle tires back "in the round"?

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Yes I am back on the road. Swamp
I have fleshed the skin a second time and it is now in a salt water soak for a couple days.

I have been looking at beaver traps. A few the right size would be nice. Mine are all a little small.

and you,
what are you doing ?

Just trying to stay cool here in this east Texas heat and humidity! We need rain in a bad way. Good luck with the bear hide.

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I have been wanting to go bear hunting for years. Maybe next year

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2011-12 Trappin' Season Totals
Coon-42
Beaver-53
Muskrat-6
Otter-5
Grinner-12
Skunk-1