Ep. 503: Render - Bears All Around

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1:04The jet boil flash is one liter built for those moments in the field when you want something hot without slowing down. Maybe it's coffee before you head out at first light, a quick meal miles from the truck. Or something warm when you finally make it back to camp. The flash boils water in minutes and packs down small so it earns its place in your hunting kit without taking up much room. Fast, compact, efficient. That means less time waiting around and more time focused on why you're out there in the first place. Because a hot meal or strong cup of coffee isn't always just about staying warm. Sometimes it's what gets you ready for the next climb, the next morning, or the next long day in the woods. Jet boil feels something greater. Bear grease listeners can save 15% at Jetboil.com with code grease. That's code grease for 15% off your order, some exclusions apply. My name is Clay Newcom and this is a production of the Bear grease podcast called the Bear grease Render.

2:21Where we render down, dive deeper and look behind the scenes of the actual Bear grease podcast. Brought to you by Tacovas Boots. I'm a cowboy boot man and I've been wearing Tacovas for years. They're the most comfortable boot I've ever put on. Good boots for good times. Action. Welcome to the Bear grease podcast. My name is Josh Landbridge Speelmaker. My name is not Clay Newcom as you can tell. Much better looking, more engaging, more friendly. Just like Clay Newcom, only better. I just want to welcome everybody to the show. We have an illustrious group of people here that we're going to be visiting with today. I'm really excited about it. I'm going to introduce them first of all on my left here who I affectionately refer to as my niece River.

3:25River Newcom. Welcome. Hello, thank you. River, how long have you known Clay? I've known Clay for 23 years. Really? That's a long time? A long time. Yeah, yeah, I'll say. What about Misty? Do you know her as well? Do you spend much time with her? A little bit. Yeah. Since she's your mom. Yeah, so you've known her. So that same 23 years plus an extra nine months. A little longer. Great. Well, glad you're here, River. You've been on the render number of times. Number of times maybe. I'm trying to remember I was on once. Once? Yeah. I think you were on when your dad was gone again one other time, I think. I remember him talking about land. About land? Mm-hmm. Okay. I'll take your work for you. I'll have to dip back in the archives. Yeah, I could be wrong. Then as we go around the circle here, we have Mr. Matt Gagnan. Matt? Welcome. Good friend of ours, me and Clay. Lives close to us here.

4:25And just an all around fantastic guy. He's like the guy that comes in clutch. Like when you need a guy there, you call Matt Gagnan. Because not only will he be there, he's going to have all the resources that you need to get you out of whatever pickle you're in. So, man, glad you're here. Thank you Josh, really good to be here. Yeah, man. And what's been going on with you, what's new and exciting these days? Well, I'll tell me what it is that you kind of do. Yeah, of course. So I know all of you guys through outdoor media. You know, I used to work with Clay at Mediter. I run a production company, I film a lot of hunting content. Everything like that. So that's kind of a connection here. And then relocated to Arkansas from Wyoming at the end of last year. Which has definitely been a big adjustment. But I'm loving it down here. And I've kind of started in the real estate world down here in Arkansas. Selling land and hunting properties. So very blessed to just be out on the land. I mean, some pretty amazing properties. Pretty incredible. Yeah. So, you know, coming from Wyoming, we're known for a beautiful state.

5:27I mean, it's one of the prettiest places in my opinion on earth. But you come down here and you spend time around kind of Northwest Arkansas. I mean, there's truly a beautiful place here. And there's a lot of just undiscovered gems. So, I'm just really, really fortunate to be able to travel around here, show some places to people and just discover it for myself. So, yeah. Well, awesome, man. Well, we're glad you're here. Thank you. Glad to be here. And then last but not least, we have last. We're going to go with the misses first. So, we have Chris Alliles with us here. Hi. And Joe Alliles. Now, Joe's been on the podcast one other time. One other time? Yeah, one other time. Yeah. So, y'all are, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Alliles. And you all are from the glorious town of Meena. Yes, me. The big town of Meena. The fabled town of Meena. Yeah. How long have you been there a long time? A lifetime. Really? That's home. Yeah. That's too crystal.

6:27Yes. The born and raised. Wow. Y'all are true locals. We are. We're local people. Y'all have seen all the stuff. Yeah. Especially from my last career. So, yeah. Oh, that's even buried if you ourselves. So, you had a career in banking. I did. Yes. But Joe, your career was, I was with the Forest Service. I retired from the US Forest Service Law Enforcement. Okay. I bet you've got some stories, don't you? Got a lot of stories. Got a few? Yeah. Now, that's why you were on the last time when we had done a story on some game wardens. Yeah. I believe it was that outlaw for a subject matter expert. So, some of our most popular episodes were the Louis Dale and Charlie Edwards. I'm sure. I'm sure. I do. Yeah. And Russ Arthur, you know. Yeah. Now, did you work direct? I think we talked about this last time, but you worked kind of directly with Russ. Russ was, you know, he was a special agent, you know, in the Eastern part of Tennessee,

7:28in that part of the world, whenever I was in law enforcement. So we were in different areas, but I've worked with Russ, you know, different times. Russ also is a fantastic guy. Russ is a great guy. He is. Just a good quality man. Well, we're sure glad you're here. I want to mention at the top of the show here, I want to thank our sponsor. I can do this. Tacovas boots. And Joe, I don't know if you noticed, but you are sitting in the Tacovas hot seat here. And we've got some boots here at Tacovas boots. And I'm not even wearing Tacovas. Well, you'll have the opportunity now because you are going to get a pair of boots from Tacovas. Oh, well that is a great one. So yeah, congratulations. And we appreciate you coming up to be on the show. Absolutely. Well, thank you. Yeah. A couple of things before we get too deep in the conversation, we have a new podcast coming out on the MediaEater network that I think probably everybody in this room would enjoy. It's called the Gun Fighters.

8:28Author Brian, as he says at Brian Burrow, the regular folks call Brian Burrow, but he says Brian Burrow. He's doing a series on some historical gun fighters. And there's a trailer out right now, but it actually, when this podcast release, it will have come out the day before. So for us, it comes out tomorrow, but for you listening, it came out yesterday. So get on the MediaEater network of podcasts and listen to the new Gun Fighters podcast. It's going to be really good. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah, a lot of cool stories and some voice acting and all kinds of cool stuff. So it's going to be good. So check that out for sure. We've got White Tail Week coming up the end of this month. White Tail seasons right around the corner. Did you, did you, uh, velvet hunt? I did. I did for one day, actually one morning, actually. And didn't see anything, you know, nothing.

9:28It's so hot that it just wasn't. We are, we are in day, I think, 1,862 of near or above 100 degree temperatures here in Arkansas. Yeah. It's been absolutely miserable hot. It's hot. Baris season started a week ago and it's, it's like, it feels weird to hunt when it's 100 degrees, you know. That first morning was hot. It was miserable, miserable. But anyway, we, uh, we've got, uh, we've got the reason, uh, that rivers here in Joe and Chrysler here and Matt too, honestly, is because we got some bear killers in the room. Arkansas Baris season started last Wednesday. So Wednesday the ninth and, uh, we got three bear killers in the room from this season. And what are jurors? One of them's mine. And I have to say that you may be able to see the glow. You know, when Moses went up on the mountain, he was in the presence of the Lord and he came down.

10:30The people couldn't even look at him because his face glowed. I kind of feel like Moses right now. That's how I feel. You know, glowing after, after my first bear kill, it's my first bear killer. So I was pretty excited about it. But anyway, yeah. So I want to, I want to kind of jump in and talk about, um, about your bear hunts. And I want to talk about mine because mine was pretty, pretty eventful. So here, well, I can start out. So, um, I, I got access to a piece of property. Pretty prime piece of property. I have to say pretty prime, um, because it's, it's, it's nice because it, it butts right up. It butts right up against the wilderness area. And, uh, the problem with that is it's landlocked. And, uh, there's no, I can't drive anything up there. So, um, my good friend, Bear Nukem, which folks may have heard of before. He's got a little mule named Slowtrap, who's, for a young mule, he's pretty trusty.

11:35He's pretty dependable. And then I, I borrowed a mule from another buddy of ours named Justin House. Shout out to Justin House, because he's, he's the other guy you want to call when you need something. So, um, Justin loaned me a mule that's, that's not new to him, but not, he hasn't had it a long time. But I have ridden this mule quite a bit. And, uh, it's a great mule. I mean, just calm, easy to handle, good natured. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? It's, it's, he's easy to catch. He, you know, just does what you ask him to do. And, uh, I've been using him to bait, bait these bears. So, where I'm baiting is, it's about two, little over two miles from, from where you can park the truck. But it is 1100 feet of climb. And so, it's a, it's a trek up there. And, uh, it's a good drive from where I live too. Bating is a, more or less a 12 hour job. So, by the time you come and get the mules and get your bait already and, and get it all loaded up,

12:38go out there, pack it in the panures and get to the spot and make it home. You know, it's, leave at six o'clock and get home at seven o'clock. So, I did that, I think six times I baited and I was having to bait, um, every three, four days because the bait was getting eaten up. I mean, they were just hammering. And I think, looking at my camera, and sometimes it's hard to tell, but I think I probably had at least a dozen bears coming into my bait. Maybe more. I mean, I feel like that's pretty conservative to say that I had a dozen coming in there. And, and, you know, anywhere from cubs to a pretty decent sized bore. But I did have a good size bore coming in pretty regularly. I'm guessing three seventy five, you know, pretty decent solid, you know, big bore, not old, old, but old enough, you know what I mean? That he's pretty solid. He's the kind of bore that when he walks, he jiggles, you know what I mean? So, that's what you want. That's what you want.

13:39So, um, I, I had baited and, and Clay and I put a video up on Instagram of, I think the third time, and the first two times I went up there to bait my lovely wife, Christy, affectionately known as Kiki, went with me. I mean, she was a trooper to hike up that mountain with me and help me load and unload all that bait. So, I'm glad this didn't happen when she was there. I think she would have panicked a little bit. But the third time and the fourth time I went out there, um, I had a sal on the bait who wouldn't leave. I mean, I was having to, I was having to, I parked the mules not far from the bait. And as soon as I, as soon as I stopped, this sal came in and she was, she wanted my bait real bad. And there, and there was still bait, a little bit of bait on the ground. So, it wasn't like she was starving. But it's been so hot and there's not a lot of water right now, but she came in and she was salivating, literally dripping from a mouth wanting to get my bait.

14:42So, I was shooting her way, you know what I mean? And I have to be honest, there were a couple of times where it made me a little uncomfortable because of how close. I mean, she was within seven feet of me and a couple of times I did draw on her. I had my side arm with me. And I wouldn't have shot her, but I definitely would have shot in her direction to scare her off. You know, I ended up throwing a stick at her and hitting her in the face. But she never backed off more than about 30 yards. So, so I got it baited the day before the day before season opener. I looked at my cameras and I had a lot of good bears coming in. I had my target bear that I was looking at. Also, I had a couple of, couple of sails with cubs, but I also had some other sails that didn't have cubs that were pretty good size. And, but I noticed that there wasn't hardly any bait left. So, I thought I had originally just planned on taking Rudy, the mule that I had borrowed, and ride him up so I wouldn't get all sweaty and just park him and get in the stand.

15:50But I was having bears in there 24 hours a day. I mean, there was hardly a time when I didn't have at least one bear at the bait. So, I thought if by chance I don't get a bear on day one and I've got a hunt a second day, there's not going to be any bait there. So, I thought I better take both mules and I'll pack one in with bait and then I'll ride the other one. So, I got there, unloaded the mules, put the saw bucks on slow trap and loaded slow trap with bait because he's pretty little. I'm a fairly good size guy. I know we had the men's health episode last, but I'm still a fairly size boy. And so, I rode Rudy because he's, he's, he's, he can handle a big man like me. So, I rode Rudy up, had my bow and pony, pony slow trap up there and got there and there was a sow there. And I think it was that same sow and and then there was a, then she had two cubs and I had, I had taken the bags of feed out of the paniers on the, on the mule and set it over by the bait pile.

17:03And I was trying to get my tree stand set up. But while I was trying to get my tree stand set up, one of those cubs came in and started trying to get in the bag. So, I had to get back down and shoe him off and I unloaded it. And so, then I went and took the mules and parked them, you know, about 250 yards away. And then I came back and got up in the tree, probably about one o'clock I think. And that, that sat, there was a bear, it was a sow, but there was a good size bear there that watched me get in the tree. I mean, just, you know, just stared at me while I climbed the tree, but she didn't go anywhere. I mean, she just stayed right there and, and ate. So, I got set up and, you know, I wanted to try to film it. So, I set up a camera and in the tree and I got a little tree, you know, tripod thing. I guess it's not technically a tree pod, not a tripod. Tree pod. Would that be a tree pod for you on? I like calling a tree pod.

18:04Tree pod. So, I did all that and, and this was a good size bear. And like, you know, the thought comes through like, am I going to get another bear coming in here? And so, I was like, you know, it's always a consideration, but I didn't. And she was there for a bit. And then, finally she left. And then a sow and two cubs came in. I assumed it was that same sow. And they were there for a while. And then, I guess about 245. And the whole time, those cubs were just going to town on that bait. And it was pretty wild this, this, I think this mom knew I was there. She didn't ever look up at me, but I think she could, she winded me a little bit because she kept standing off and popping her jaw. Pop pop pop pop. And those, those cubs would look up like we know we're supposed to come, but we're having a great time here. Exactly. And so she kept, she'd come in and take a bite and then circle out and pop pop pop pop. And then a couple minutes later, those cubs just ran up the tree.

19:13And that sow took off the other way, the opposite way that she'd come in. And then the cubs ran down and followed her. And low and behold, 245. And then, in walks my target bear. And I'm like, this bear is beautiful. And mind you, I've been shoot, I haven't consistently, my hunting until the last couple years has been sporadic. It's been, you know, hunt on a weekend here and there. And most of the time, it's rifle hunt because I didn't feel proficient with my bow enough to be bow hunting. With this kind of thing, it's been so much work baiting, so much cost baiting all the time. I'm like, the last thing I want to do is get in the tree and make a bad shot or completely miss. So I've been trying to shoot 100 arrows a day as often as I can. So when I go outside, just shoot 100 arrows. And so I felt more confident with the bow than I ever have. And so I, this big bore comes in and I'm like, I got it because I'm, you know, I'm, I'm maybe 15 yards from my bait pile. And I'm like, I got this. All I need is a shot.

20:28Well, this bear walks in and immediately once he gets past the tree, he turns his ramp toward me. So I have no shot. Then when he gets over to the bait pile, he turns broadside and flops down into the bait pile, scrunched up with his arm right back over his vitals. And I'm like, oh, dad, come at. And so I'm looking at this bear. And I'm thinking, should I shoot, should I not shoot? And my bear hunting mentor, Clay Nukem, you know, he said, he said, it's really important. He's like, try to get a pass through shot if you can because bears are notorious for not bleeding. You know, he's sticking arrow in them and they don't like to bleed. So try to get a pass through. And I'm thinking if I shoot, I've got a good chance of hitting that shoulder, which means it's too many variables. And I thought, surely he's going to stand up. And when he stands up, I'll have a shot. Well, he eats for about 10 minutes. And then he immediately turns his ramp toward me again and walks straight away from me. And I'm just, I'm sick. And you know, you're sitting there.

21:39Double guessing yourself, you know, second guessing yourself, should I've taken the shot, should I've taken the shot. And it's like in the end, you know, you feel good because you feel like you made the right decision. But it's like you made the right decision, but you still have a grant. You know, so. But I'm like, you know, it's it's 245, you know, I mean, I got hours before dark. I got five hours before dark. I'm just going to wait it out. I know the, and I thought, man, he'll probably be back. Clay was out of town. And so I'm kind of messaging him. And he's like, man, don't worry. He'll be back. He'll be back. So I'm, you know, I'm, I'm just hanging. I'm in my saddle. I'm sitting in a tree saddle. Then another saddle comes in. And you know, medium size, south, probably, you know, 180 pounds, probably. And she, she comes in and she's got about a six inch long, inch wide gash right on her rump. I mean, deep, not bleeding, but pretty fresh. You know, I mean, it's red meat. And she goes in and she frolics in this bait, like a cartoon.

22:53I mean, at one point, she's got her back to me. And she's, she's taken bites. And she puts her arms up like this and falls backwards. And it was pretty funny to watch. But she's standing there. And then all of a sudden, boom, she looks over to the left and bolts. And I'm like, all right. Here comes my bore. He's coming back. So, um, I see this big head walking through the woods. And it comes in right at the edge of the bait. It gives me a quarter in a way shot. And I just draw back and tenoring this bear. I mean, I heard it pass through and hit the other side. And when it took off, it, it's front legs, front arms, go out from underneath of it. And it slides on its face as it's starting to run away. And I hear crash, crash, crash. And then I don't hear anything. And then I hear, and I'm like, I texted clay. I immediately was like, excuse me. I look at the camera and I'm like, I think I just smoked him. And I immediately picked up the phone to text clay.

24:10And I, in my mind, I thought I'd just gotten the bore just because I was so caught up in the moment. So I just kind of take my time getting down. I'm, I'm confident the bears dead. And I walk down and walk over to the bait in there. My arrows completely pass through. It snapped in half. I think when it, when it, when it came, went charging out it broke that arrow in half. So I kind of just followed the path that I watched real careful to see where it was and what and went and sure enough 40 yards away. But it was a big mature south. Oh, that's excellent. Which I don't know. I mean, when you see the head on this thing, you know she's mature and she was dry. So I mean, for my first bear, I can't complain. I can't complain. And she ended up being, I mean, she's bigger than me. She's probably 275. Oh, that is. Yeah, 252, 275. So, so anyway, I was, I was elated, but the story doesn't end there. I'm going to try to make this part a little, a little shorter.

25:12So I've got two mules that have never seen a bear. And so Clay who had instructed me is like, now when you're skin in this bear, take these mules and tie them up to a tree, downwind of you so they can get the scent. And then he said, you're going to want to try to desensitize them. So maybe you get a little blood on your hand, let them sniff it before you go trying to pack a bear out on these mules. So I'm thinking, I'm thinking Rudy is Mr. Calm. I'm going to be able to pack on him. No problem. And I feel like Clay was kind of like exaggerating it a little bit for me, you know, just so I would really take my time. He might have been right. I remember when my dad first told me, son, you need life insurance. I had a wife, I had a kid, I was just a young man, and it was the first time that I realized that this was something that responsible adults had, and I did it.

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29:31So I park the mules go get the mules. I'm still on cloud nine and I go get the mules and time up and they're acting a little funny. And so I cut into the bear get my hands a little bloody and I walk up to Rudy and I stick my hand out and he immediately those ears perk up those eyes get big and he sniffs my hand and he backs up and pulls on that lead rope tied to the tree. And I thought okay I'm gonna back off I'm gonna give him an I walk over slow trap and and kind of let him sniff my hand a little bit and he's pretty chill and he I was surprised like he didn't get he snifted pretty hard but he didn't get riled up about it. So I go back to start skin and mind you it's the first bear I've ever skin so I'm struggling a little bit you know skin and a bear by yourself is hard anyway. So a couple minutes later I go back to Rudy and I let him sniff my hand same response and he just I can tell he's not crazy about it slow trap pretty chill.

30:32So I I get about I get my bear about halfway skin and go over to Rudy one more time to let him sniff my hand and he goes ballistic. I mean absolutely ballistic it's a 10 inch wide oak I've got him tied up to and I feel like he's gonna pull it down. He's yanking on his this rope so hard well he yanks so hard that he gets the halter down over the tip of his nose and it's just dangling on his neck. And so I'm like all he's got to do is lean that head forward and that halter's gonna slide right off. So I he's pulling so hard I want to kind of get him away from the bear a little bit so I untie the rope and I'm going to try to get back with him well when he does that he puts his head up and yanks the rope out of my hand and he gone see you later so I've got a borrowed mule loose in the national forest and slow trap still tied up fortunately.

31:38And it's 92 degrees and I'm thinking I got to get this me out of here so I finish I thought I'm just going to have to deal with the me I'm going to get this cut up get it on slow trap get down to the trailer and then I'll come back and and look for the mule and I'll get reinforcements if I need reinforcements so I get it cut up I put it in game bags and and slow traps got the pan years on unfortunately slow traps got the pan years on him. So I go over and I walk by slow trap and he kind of side eyes me the the mule mule term is he was a little watchy and he I put the I put the game bag in the paniers and then slow trap proceeds to go ballistic himself so he starts bucking and bucking and bucking and he he calms down enough for just a second I pull the bag out and he calms down and so I message Clay again he's like man I don't know what you're going to do he said you might try blindfolding so I take my she'd taken extra change of clothes so I could get out of my sweaty clothes before I got in the stand so I got my shirt and I just tied it around his face loaded him up no problem and I'm like I'm loading all of my earthly possessions on this mule and we're going to get the heck out of dodge so where he's he's tied up I've got him and I'm like OK I'm going to get him to the hatchback and that's really pretty fun he's the one to hit me the wrong thing and I'm going to the right.

33:01So we're he's he's tied up. I've got him and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get him to the bottom get my meat on ice And then I'll come back and look for look for Rudy So we get down there We start to take off we don't make it a hundred yards all the sudden Rudy shows up and he follows us all the way down that mountain like a puppy dog And we get to the bottom I tie slow travel. I'm thinking this is easy peasy chip shot. We'll just get these meals in the trailer We'll bust it on home well Guess who still smells like a bear me Guess who doesn't like the smell of bear Rudy and so I Proceed to try to catch him for the next Let's see that was probably 830 I Proceed to catch him for the next three and a half hours and River and her cousin Clara were hunting just a couple miles down from me and I said river I might need your help

34:02So river and Clara were kind enough to and y'all didn't come over to like 11 o'clock They came over at like 11 o'clock and we spent an hour Trying to catch this mule and he would never wander off I mean the farthest he'd go was just you know 40 50 yards But he would not let us put it put put our hands on him and so I said girls y'all go on I'm just gonna sleep in my truck and Maybe in the morning he'll he'll chill and I had some hand sanitizer and I tried to scrub up with hand sanitizer So I slept in the truck and he stood by slow trap all night long and The next morning I get up and I thought well maybe I can just So I ease out there and he's standing next to slow trap and I'm petting slow trap and Rudy starts backing up and he turns around and he's just slowly walking off and I managed to grab the rope Because he still got that lead rope. It's shredded, but he's still got that lead rope and he he drags me down the road and

35:05Just then he starts Trotting and I can't keep up with him. So I know that I am Done for with this mule So I pick up the phone is like I send out the bat signal You know shine the light in there and two hours later Matt Gagnan shows up Matt what happened at that point? Well, I showed up you look like you would have tonight Figured that you were gonna be just as stressed as the mule so I brought you a burrito and a Yeah, I just showed up and you had slow trap tied up fine on the trailer and he looked pretty cozy And then Rudy could just see him watching and he was I think he wanted to be a slow trap And he's probably about done with the whole experience himself and so what did you have some like alfalfa cubes? Yeah, it's mouth out cubes. Yeah, so I just walked out and Rudy didn't look spooked He just looked like he didn't want to he didn't want me didn't want you exactly much So you sat on the tailgate and he looked at you and he said have you smelled that dude?

36:07So I figured my best bet so I brought my Larry and I was gonna maybe you know Adjust an advise maybe try to get a rope on him. Yeah, and on the way down You know coming from my oaming. I'm like this is gonna get really west here And I figured I'd be on slow-chap and I'd have to rope this mule and down Liam but Slow-chap didn't have a saddle so that wasn't gonna work out So it's really uncomfortable ride on a set of saddle. It's hard to dally on and on nothing Exactly. I don't know you know want to hold on to it and you'll take off so I Went over it and just figured I'd say hello to slow-chap and make sure he was comfortable And I noticed I was giving him some some of those alfalfa cubes and just loving on him a little bit and trying to be as calm as could be and then Rudy was like Well, I want a little bit of that. What why don't I get some cubes? I don't know get some love so the more attention I gave to slow-chap Rudy eventually just walked right up to me And I gave him some some of that alfalfa cube and ate out of my hand and It's kind of rubbing his head a little bit and I had my my rope in this hand and the idea was I was gonna slip it over his neck And then hold on and hope for the best maybe try to get him tied to a tree or something

37:11But he was super calm and I felt like all right He's got that halter back around his neck and that rope was shredded to bits Yeah, dragon below him, but it was half hooked on his saddle too. Yeah, so it's pulling on him on one side He probably sees it underneath him and doesn't like it so I took my time kept feeding him a little bit kept loving on him And then when his lips started to drop that lower lip he was very calm I just grabbed that halter and kind of pulled it over a little bit And I just took my knife out and cut that rope off the saddle so I could at least get the rope in the bundle and right And then just spent a little more time with them and from there I think I walked him on the trailer once. Yeah got him on the trailer and then He started to back out. He was freaking out a little bit. So backed him out of the trailer Got him got that halter a little restituated. Yeah walked him on you met me He kind of tied a lead rope. You took that lead rope off a slow trap and we tied him up with that And he seemed calm enough. He was in there eating out falafel, saying now and then it was time to get slow trap on and you told me He was a little might need a little finesse and to get on the trailer, but I took my rope

38:11Took my my larry and then just use that as a lead rope Pulled him on and we we got him tied up. It was a little There was a moment when I was between the two of them in the trailer and it was a little Yeah, I'm like trying to sneak out of there and then it was one of those I'm just gonna go for it and not kick kicked ideally, but yeah, we got out close the gate and that was kind of it Got him on there. We got him recituated We had to fix that halter got a little jacked up from him pulling on it so much, but cut that and tied that off and good to go and And a story I think it was just man you probably smelled something awful and then you just associated with you as a good Yep, funny thing is I came out here the next day after I'd showered and he was fine. Yeah Yeah, didn't smell like bear didn't smell like bear anymore I'm trying to rub blood in his nose and yeah, exactly exactly like the river tell us about your your bear You spent some time in the woods. Yeah, I've he wasn't just this chip shot

39:13First thing sitting to stand and kill a bear. Yeah, we we hunted three days which we only planned I Hunted with Clara who's my little cousin and we both got two days off work by little cousin You mean like a couple years younger my little cousin We're not talking about an eight year old. No, she's sniping But we both got off work two days and we hunted We ended up hunting a little more than that, but we had a spot just close knit close to you I don't even know how far was I mean was it more than a couple miles? Yeah, it was closer than I thought and He you made it for me a lot and You owe me big I know I do actually you don't owe me because you came out in the middle of the night I'd rather get him a meal or something But me we went out me and Oakley Bay did a little bit too and then we were feeding probably 20 bears We had the camera there's bears there every hour of every day sometimes every five or six of them at the same time and big bears Big bears. We had yeah, we had three pretty good bears and anyways the first day the idea was we were gonna go in and

40:17Just kind of watch bears and wait and let the big bear come in and We got there at 12 and we didn't see a bear until around two, but we saw I think we saw five bears the first day maybe six No good shots on anything though. No good shots. Yeah, yeah, they were all kind of in and out They were smelling us the first bear that came in came in and we probably watched it for 20 minutes and it got Right up to the bay and just turned around and then a sour came in and say what were you feeling where you like? We're still helpful. Oh, I was First day. Yeah, I was hopeful it was different than I thought it would be just we were watching the camera dad I was texting dad just like yeah, and I was like is it weird that there's not bears here right now? And he said he said it looked like they were there all the time But but they're actually not and I looked at the time stamps. They were there all the time Well, I also think that you girls smell a lot different than I do I know there's a lot of product that goes into Maintenance of these young ladies that I think probably the bears were smelling

41:18I'm gonna take my lock that they might I figure they were true That's what we were talking about I said I wonder if they could smell that we were clean on the first day Little less about the third day anyways the second day we went in there and we saw six bears we watched bears all day long Really and at the right at dark two pretty good bears we could have shot them But I was just waiting I thought maybe the way they were acting like a sal came in And she spooked and then like a little boy Taney tiny board came in and then two more came at the same time And it just felt like they were all coming so we waited and then we got home That was our last day to hunt I had to work the next day. Oh And we on the drive home We were like I bet we could pull off a morning hunt if we went really early in the morning and it rained out it rained Yeah, hard yeah, it was pouring rain We thought we were gonna have to get out if it started aligning but it never and never got that bad But it rained hard that day and so they came in right at dark on the drive home We were like we I bet we could pull up I worked my drive home drive back to where you were staying

42:18Yeah, drive back out of the woods And so anyways we decided clear didn't work the next day and then I didn't have work until I Work night so until 7 30 right so we woke up at 5 and it was Horn rain lightning thunder everything we drove out there and just kind of sat for a little We woke up at 5 got out there at like 6 and we were gonna walk up and hopefully being the stand right at daylight But it was pouring down rain and so eventually I think 7 20 It stopped raining. It was still pretty dark and we walked up there and Really we had decided if we could kill a bear if a bear came in by 9 Just a respectable adult bear came in by 9 we'd be able to shoot it and that was kind of all the time We had if we were gonna get to work on time and skin and everything and at 8 45 We saw just kind of like a flash of black and I couldn't tell it looked it didn't look like a little bear and she's moving super slow But we saw flash and I don't clear And we just kind of like both were watching it and waiting for it and I thought it's raining and so everything oh it was raining then

43:21It was sprinkling then but the trees are wet and everything sounds like a bear because of the squirrel run. Yeah, it just like It just sounds like a bear's something big is on the ground because all the water falls down And so I saw it and then she disappeared and I was watching from behind me and Clairson on the other side of the tree so I and I couldn't see I was just watching waiting to see her again and then I Said Claire do you see that bear and she said forever and it was right in front of me I was looking over here and it was right in front of me and she walked in and we were trying to decide like Sized up trying to decide if we were gonna shoot her and she turned to a good position and we probably watched her for 30 minutes Wow and any other time I've killed two bears. I've killed three bears but two bears on bait and Arkansas before and any Both of those bears my dad was with me. What I realized is that he I didn't realize how much He would tell me when to shoot. He tell me he was a good bear He tell me how far it was. I had no concept of how far things are is what I learned But anyway, so he he usually does all that and both times I'll kill a bear we were like 10 yards from him

44:24Wow, and so they would get in and they would just look up and see us And they would know we were there and both of them stayed and like hung out these bears didn't so we took our time and then she She finally got to where she was standing to slightly quarter in a way. We're in a tree stand. Yeah, we're in a tree stand And she's standing slightly quarter in a way And so I got up and I got ready and she put her head and right as I pulled back my bow she dropped her head and that kind of was Like I don't know. It's kind of Kind of scrunched We watched the video and so I had I was drawn on her for a minute and a half before she put her head back up I watched the video River held that bow for at least a Minute minute and a half. I mean she's full draw A minute thirty nine seconds full draw and anyways, she eventually put her head up Shorter and she we just watched her run and then she ran just barely she ran over the side of the range So she ran just barely out of sight and we thought we heard her fall and Anyways, we we got out of the stand pretty quick Clara and maybe I don't know if you'll keep this Claire said I don't think that was a good shot

45:33I was a little panic and so we got on the tree stand immediately because that was terrifying right and I looked at the Here alone I didn't I looked at the air on it was just pale blood and it looked like it looked like a vital shot. Yeah And anyways, we looked around for not very long dad would have been upset with us We didn't look around for very long and we couldn't find any blood And I said I'm just gonna walk over there and just see because I think she's right there And we went we went down there. She had run 50 yards. She's just laying there. I say any any any any shot that the bear Expires in 50 yards is a good shot. Yeah, so take that Clara Yeah, thanks But you know what river you mentioned that like Obviously Clay has been a big part in your hunting career and you know I Clay is so you know talked about Clay has was the one who taught me how to hunt I didn't grow up hunting Not having him there was a different kind of experience because you know He's not there giving you your own to giving you the pointers telling you what to do

46:36It it it's a little bittersweet, you know to mean because he has invested so much time That you want him to share in it, but at the same time there's this sense of accomplishment that like yeah Hey, I was able to do this without someone else, you know, so that was pretty cool. Go up there I knew it would be a little bit of a different hunt, but I also Claire's never hunting before she killed She killed a deer one time she said that her when we were like she was maybe 11 or 12 she said that uncle's act Texan said hey That Clay's gonna pick you up today and we were going hunting so she came hunting with us and she killed a deer We're too much loader and that's it that's her only hunting and so I was like I have fun in but I'm not hunting I found it a lot, but bear hunting without my dad I Bear hunt well. I've never killed a bear Yeah, one time we killed a bear in Tennessee me and bear did but we had dogs so that was different Yeah, but I've never killed a bear without him and both those bear that was in like high school you're right and it was a different way we

47:39I'm trying to think what I was about to say It's all right. Well, that's a great story River congratulations Solo bear yeah, yeah, but packing it out. That's that was the other thing packing it out without you any bear I've ever killed and we've tracked a lot of bears with other people, but we take big groups like leave I killed a bear last year and it's a big deal like you'll go back to camp and wait for everybody and tell them and then go back out Yeah, and find it Skinner bear for ourselves. It's a lot and that's what I told Claire. I was like that. I'm pretty confident I can skin a bear. I'm skinned a ton of bears. I've never broke down Broken down the way that we did by myself. It was harder than I thought it would be Well well done. I was super proud of you. I was proud of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well well done River I Remember when my dad first told me son you need life insurance

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50:44Plan required 15 dollars per month equivalent taxes and fees extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes May slow when network is busy includes up to 20 gigabyte hot spot capable device required availability speed and coverage varies C mint mobile.com This country was founded on the belief that we should keep pushing our limits and doing things that have never been done before From landing on the moon to build in the Brooklyn bridge We don't stop to wonder why we just ask how bobcat was built on that same philosophy They started the compact equipment industry through grit determination and a whole lot of think we can't do that Watch us they set standards broke records empowered people to build bigger and higher to dig deeper to make the impossible possible It's no surprise they demand the best of their products for the people who demand the best from themselves After all real work isn't about building a resume

51:46It's building your legacy. We've all been there with doubters telling us what we can't do Who cares what they think we don't need their permission or forgiveness? We just get things done So go ahead and doubt me judge me challenge me but when the time comes watch me bobcat Joe This is this is a Now you're a Tradbo hunter. I am I have been now since 2017 oh since 2017 like exclusively Exclusively I sold my compound in 2017 the year I bought my recurve really yep Are you shooting the same recurve? You've got really I've got a little 40 pound black widow. I love it And that's the same one I've shot a few other ones, but this one I can just I shoot it pretty good And and I really like it I do also and but I have not hunted with any other boat what no I take that back I did crossbow hunt a little bit in there and I thought I wouldn't be disappointed

52:49Well, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding no shade to the crossbow hunters And I thought this is just not for me. Yeah, and I don't even own that anymore. Yeah, so But no this hunt it started Really We could we could start baiting 30 days before the season right and I can remember James Lawrence telling me you know Don't start to or not just James Lawrence the James Wherever it's at the I tell you the tree's bear grease Hall of Fame member James Lawrence telling all the time I see you're famous, you know And you've known James I've known James a whole life-throwing time. I have yeah really we used to live by okay And so yeah, I've known James. I knew his mom his dad his grandmother I know him all and he's a fine fine man Really good guy he is and I grew maintain you don't want to start baiting them too early He just don't want to get him used to it and then yeah, and like you were saying they're just eating more

53:53Yes, then you could put out. Yeah, so I went with another young man who's really getting started And I set a barrel up just on another piece of property just to get it set up Yeah, not even put anybody in it or anything actually put a camera on it just nobody We actually had bears come into an empty Bear really an empty barrel they would just come and check it out and then go on So we watched that for a while and I believe it was a week after We could have baited it's seen three weeks before season with them And that Sunday we were at church. We actually had a bear come into an empty barrel And Chris when are they messing with it? Yeah little bit. Yeah, you know not much That would just mainly come in they knew what it was You know, they're just they're used to it. Yeah, and So we went down after church and we baited that and keep it in my crystal. Yes We went down there and baited that one you needed some muscle. Oh, absolutely Yeah, and we baited that one and knowing that there'd been a bear there that morning

54:57Yes, no bear ever came to that we let it set a week with bait in it with baited it note the bear never came after you've been baited So after that the next day kind of like you I got to hunt a piece of property this year that you know The James Lawrence And another friend of his had actually taken some people they have a few people that they let come hunt that Well, those people didn't come this year. Okay, so they said hey, do you want to go hunt this? And I'm like oh, yes please you bet you So we started baiting that three weeks before we could not keep them fed you know They're really there a lot. Were you putting it in barrels in barrels? I actually and a week later We went got that other barrel and brought it after we had two barrels said to barrels now. What were you baiting with? And Just a little bit everything we actually started saving some of our stuff from the house that we knew the bears really

55:59That's a good idea for us scraps leftovers that we didn't eat. Yeah, that's a great idea I haven't that we knew you know that they would eat because everything's just gotten so expensive Yeah dog food yep corn yep, they love sardines to cover up your sin I bought six cans of sardines and took them up there with me when I was hunting the first day I was hunting And that first breath it was there just destroyed all six cans right immediately. Oh it takes nothing and And they eat them quick too. Yeah, yeah, the guy that runs a little Debbie route down in meaner. He's a good friend I say hey Billy you got any of this stuff left over and he's oh yeah You know, so I ended up with big boxes of that and we'd set in the shop and open those and yeah The bear will eat those and love little Debbie. Yeah, just who doesn't? Yes She goes with me all the time and we got to we were going in the evenings bait them And just as soon as we would bait them You know they're in there And as hot as it was we knew that we got transitioned as to the morning

57:01You know because it's just it's too hot during the day, right So about a week before that We started going in the morning so we bait them in the mornings and we'd watch our cameras. They're in there You know when we pull up we'd run them off right and before we can make it back to town There already back on that bait. We're talking less than 10 minutes Well, well, this is this is a good deal. So the plan here's where it starts The plan was we changed up We decided that open and day and we're going to do everything the same She's going to go in and bait and at that time about I think is the friday before season started I set up all my tree saddle stuff. Okay, got them used to that And then when she's baiting I'm gonna climb up in my stand and I'm gonna get all my stuff ready While she's baiting I said take your time. You know, they're not going anywhere, right? So that's what we done that first morning She walked in there baited it We had run them off they were there. Yeah, just how many bears you think you had coming in there

58:06Maybe at different times six or seven. Okay, that's what I think and So whenever we got there we ran them off She started bait and I got up my stand I texted a few people that I had lined up to help me and said hey, I'm set up. You ready. I would yeah That's exactly right. I said you be ready and this property is about 600 acres Okay, so I said you just going down there by the house where you got good foam service and just take back and taking that Yeah, she likes to bait, right So it wasn't Five minutes after we left I can see you know a large south coming in here and believe it I've got a recurve a 40 pound region The barrel's about 12 yards. Nothing. No, that's just that's a little too far. Right. It really is So before we'd already planned that you put me out some bait right here because I knew it was six steps, right? And he had stepped it off the week before when you set your steps up And I went down and again, you know

59:09I baited and then he had showed me the spot where he wanted so I dropped that there And I go back to the truck and I'm thinking all right. I'm gonna take me a little nap And I went down to an open spot where I had enough service that he get text me and say hey and I did I just kind of leaned back in the seat and I thought okay, and then my phone goes off He said come on back. It wasn't Ten minutes Enter up to her now. Oh, you're up to the day It's your bear harvest. Yes This it was a sail. It came in and I could I knew that I was gonna shoot this one Because you know like V James Lawrence and I always talked about if it's above that second ring on the barrel Right, that's a shooter, right and it's set there. I watched it for 10 minutes And I'm thinking you need to come to this spot right here, right? You're just too far So it looks around a little bit and Here it comes it starts walking to that spot, but it's head on Yeah, and by this time I've got my bow up. You know got it in front of me and it's just it's walking right to me

1:00:11And I thought now you you got to turn yeah It walks right underneath me, but where that boot said And I'm just sitting there looking at it and I thought how high on the tree are you? Well feet, okay, because I don't get real high with that right if the higher I get with my with my recover. I can't shoot good So I thought I need my spear I could just speared this thing because that's a that's a whole other story spear and deer Yeah, I've been trying to do that, but been unsuccessful with that, but I I could have speared this thing And You know, so I'm just sitting there watching it And about two minutes It just relaxes it turns around and it goes right out there and starts eating that And six steps just And writing the vitals writing the vitals it runs out there I hear a crash. That's awesome all her and teller Yeah, you didn't even have time to fall asleep did you?

1:01:12It's time to fall asleep. No, not at all. I said well, okay. He said here we go I thought no rest for the weary here Now crystal when when when all the skin and everything happens you get your hands in there. I do. Yes Yes, I do I helped him and I also helped track the bear, you know, okay. I love debate It's fun and then have you taken a bear? I have not taken a bear I still can't quite get past the fact that they have the deathmone Yeah, so I thought I did consider it. I thought about it. Yeah, but I thought no Do you do your hunt? I do dear hunt. Okay. Do you do your hunt with a bow rifle? I'm a I'm a gun girl. Okay. Yes Okay, yes, I'm a gun girl one and done, but I'm like you I didn't start hunting until I'm at Joe. Okay, so how long have you all been married? 20 what 15 15? Okay, and So after that, you know, we got all that taken care of my son-in-law. He's a PT doctor. Okay, you know down in Meena

1:02:14And you know, he's killed a bear last year and so They want these these people want some more taken on their deer hunters So they want some of these bears taken out right? So it was probably the day she's talking about Friday Rains and rains and rains. He sets in that stand. Just sees Several bears, but he killed one out of that same stand Saturday. Yeah, really. Yeah, good one. It was just a nice another style. Yeah, and full of icons So the bigger bears I think they're pulling off. Yeah, they're pulling off. They're they're eight necrons and they're Yeah, but that's our bear store. I love it. Well, how many bears have you taken? I've killed two. Okay. Yeah, recently like no the first one I killed 95 Oh wow And back in the 1900s back in the 1900s. Can you totally I'm really showing my age? Yeah I killed it with a gun and I thought then you know, I just don't want to do that anymore. Yeah

1:03:16It just wasn't for me and then I got to go in with James You know and David and got to help in the guys bat a little bit more. Yeah No, you know, and then I just I finally got the idea, but I want to kill it with a recurve Because where you were talking about the broad head I was standing there. I'm hunting that spot too. Oh, yeah Yeah, and That's a good spot right there, but I never had any come in right there We've been there and they've been on bait whenever we pull up there. Oh, yeah, yeah, but that's that's a good spot But well, I you know There's this big discussion and Clay Clay is talked about this quite a bit about hunting bears over bait It hunting bears over bait is not a sure thing. Oh, it's not and it is so much work people have no concept of how much work it is But we work a lot we did you work hard Yeah, you know the cost is a lot, but I think one of the biggest benefits of of hunting these these bears over bait is

1:04:16Is your ability to be selective? You know what I mean that you can harvest your older age population To make room for the younger ones that are coming up and they're not getting not getting pushed out of food You know what I mean? It's it's it's Really part of the conservation process, you know what I mean? And you know I really have great respect for the folks at Arkansas game and fish They they research our policies, you know what I mean? There's they're not just making up rules arbitrarily and If they're gonna allow us to bait. There's a good reason that they allow us to bait. So You know, I think I think anybody who who tries to To decry the the baiting doesn't understand what we do and so Yeah, it's it's it's a it's a it's a neat thing to be able to hunt these animals But to still have a lot of respect you know have a lot of respect for bears and the incredible population that we have I mean

1:05:19We have gone from zero bears to a two eight significant Huntable population because of the conservation efforts in our state and so my hats off to them You know have a hat my hat off my hats off to them because They've done an excellent job and just giving us the ability to To harvest these animals provide organic meat for our families. I mean, it's an incredible thing And you talk about the mules. We have a couple of corkies What they didn't like that really no and we kept this bear on us and you know for several days We actually put it in our or utility room. We're one of those dogs leaves. Uh-huh. You wouldn't go in there really not even Even in the cooler. He wouldn't go in has that dog ever seen a bear before no no not at all now when we you know Harvest our deer they're all they're both. They're all up in it but neither one of them they That's really interesting you would go in the room would not go in the room Well, I've I've got two great Danes and they were sniffing me up and down

1:06:22They were trying to go back to their roots of Baying those big bad boys in the corner and so they uh they thought it was great Yeah, I've got a blood tracking dog like a canine game recovery dog and You know we talk about that a lot in our circles that there's some dogs it'll just take to it They get on the center of a bear They get you know kind of fired up about it. They want to go find it If they're you bears are very easy to track they leave it on a sun But you get some dogs you bring them up to that track for the first time and they'll just they'll try to fight their Color to get away from it It just seems good it goes from dog to dog like Brian loves it I've got a belge malinois track with and she's all about it And then there's some dogs they just want zero part of it You know where you put them on a deer or an elk and they'll track All day long but that bear something about that bear sent there's just certain dogs that just do not like it They don't like it. They want nothing to do with it. You think that malmaw would she loves it. Yeah, so yeah She's they have no self-preservation chill, you know, you know, I'm so I come from my home and where we track on lead And so it's a little different dynamic. It's my first tracking season here in Arkansas where I could run her off lead tonight

1:07:26I go back and forth on that about sending her on a on a bear track off lead because I don't genuinely don't know what she would do If she got there on a live bear she has no self-preservation whatsoever So I'm gonna kind of bear that one and she can probably run up 12 feet up a tree. She's a little athlete She's a pretty hot straw. Yeah, she's a lot of energy But she loves the track. She's very gritty and it's just that makes me wonder Well, I guess we'll yeah, burn that bridge when we get to him. We do we do a bear track But it'll be interesting to see how she handles that off lead down here Pretty cool. See you know how many bears have been harvested so far. I don't I don't know. I probably should have called to find out But I think I've talked to a lot of people who've who've harvested bears. Yeah, I think so I talked to a young man He's been on the podcast before Caleb. Please have you met Caleb? Please Um He that kid is kid. He's not a kid. He's a young man. He's and is married and has a has a child so he's not a kid He is a he is a

1:08:28Self-bow killing machine. I mean just incredible hunter he killed uh He could he's harvested one on private land He almost got one on public with a self-bow He killed a great bear last year with a self-bow on private on public land and he he he he he Oh, exclusively hunts with a self-bow and He made that he made he makes he makes incredible bows. I mean just really beautiful incredible I've been entered into that yet. Yeah, that's that can be your next thing bear bear newcom can be your mentor Because he's good with that. I've got the spear on the mind Well, he's got a spear up here. He always wanted to hunt with and now now that it's legal Probably used to go on try No, he has two. Yeah, and have you harvested one with a spear? No, I've got some hair off one Oh, but the funny thing is when you throw that spear I don't know what it is really then you're setting there They're still there and you don't have anything

1:09:29Um Very first time I win I took one and you know, and I threw it and There they are they're still standing there. No, have anything Interesting the next time I go I have two There you go. Yes, so I bought it back up but So I've got some spear and stories for for later, but they're all misses and You know if they're underneath you you still have to throw that spear you can't drop it. Oh really don't move out of the way You can't just I've got a ride underneath me thinking well, I can just drop this No, you can't do that. I have not been successful doing that you have to put some momentum behind it I think they think it's a limb or something. Sure and they're going to have an instinct to get out of the way. They're just gone that fast. So you still have to With the one you got hair off was it right on it? Oh, no, it was I don't know Three yards so really and you were that close to the day was that close and it takes a long time for them to be comfortable enough To get right under that tree

1:10:31Wow Glow shave. Yeah, it's hey But up bumps Well, that is awesome great great bear hunting stories. We uh we sure appreciate you guys Absolutely coming up from the booming metropolis of meana. Yes, meana. Yeah. Yeah. It's really got a lot going for it It does lots of new activity in meana from new bike trails and yeah, bike trails really Yeah, wow Very big deal. You're your cyclist you mountain bike, don't you? Oh, I do know it more like a motor cyclist Oh, that's what I would rather do. Okay. That's that's another one right there. Okay. I still love motorcyclists You know, I you mentioned earlier just You know hunting with the the re curve and stuff and And shooting the bear with a rifle and I want to do that again I man. I don't have a problem with anybody using a rifle at all and I've killed a couple of the biggest buck I've killed was with a rifle but there is something

1:11:31That's visceral about using a bow, you know what I mean? I think it's part of the reason why I love to fly fish so much, you know what I mean? There's just that feeling and that connection of the fish is different than with just with a traditional rod and reel We're just cranking a fish to you, you know, and I have great appreciation for people who Put in the work and the time to be successful as something it just makes it more rewarding, you know So anyway, well done. Yeah, don't hesitate to pick up a reker or a long bow or I'm gonna have to I think I'm gonna have to don't wait too long too long and laugh Well, great. Well, thank y'all for being here. It's been a great great time together and Clay will be back for the next render if we let him Maybe River and I'll just start on this show so you go anyway, but Keep the wild places wild Because that's where the bears live. Thank you guys for for tuning in

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