JUMPED BY A BEAR in Short stories

JUMPED BY A BEAR - So there I am last November deep in the woods of Pennsylvania for the opening of Buck season. I’ve got my thermals on, my back woods heavy coat, my woods scene camo thermal overalls, my cold weather boots, portable seat cushion, rifle, ammo, spare battery pack, rope, lighter, flashlight, medical kit, skinning gloves, lunch, orange vest and orange hat and license tags. BTW love the safety purpose of orange but always seems odd I wear woods camo to blend in and stand out like a pumpkin in Halloween .....hmmmmm.

I enter the woods off the trail at the dark of early morning, chamber loaded with a round and safety on. I do my best to make zero noise as I lightly step by the glow of my headlamp. It’s freezing cold I can see my breath and I’m conscious of walking to fast and building up a sweat as when I stop to post up I’ll freeze. Each step is calculated every noise I hear as I work My way through the sapling underbrush and leaf covered forest floor to the ridge line that looks down into a defined bowl of light to dense brush and mixed pine and hard wood forest. I can see 300-500 yards clearly in a 180 degree direction in front of me. I set up with a large oak tree at my back to blend into the tree, still wondering … hmmm hey I look like a bright orange pumpkin.

Dawn is approaching and I grab a four foot long two inch wide branch with a three to four inch fork at the top and I start to whittle off the bark to create my Ridges shot steadying stick, really just keeping my mind of the cold.

Dawn is breaking and porcupines, birds, and squirrel noises fill my mind and make me strain to see that imaginary buck. I hear the crunch crunch of leaves and 200 yards off two doe come down off an opposing ridge headed in my direction fifty yards behind them a big spready ten point buck in behind them, a slammer. I steady my newly carved snipers steadying rod, wait for him to get 75 yards in front of me while he grazes, a big beautiful healthy thick buck. He looks up at me and BOOM shot is away and he passes instantly. I make my way to the Buck say my prayers of gratitude and dress out the meat.

Ok this is a big buck, biggest one I’ve gotten here while helping to manage the over populated herds in over 25 years, he is north of one hundred pounds dressed, closer to 125 I’d say.

After dressing out the deer I rope his anthers to begin the quarter to half mile trek back to the cabin and truck. I rope the antlers tie the other end to a thick branch about three feet long, twist up the excess rope on the branch and pull it up over my shoulder so the Buck drags behind my with his hooves dragging body on my back and his head and antlers are above my head.

I’m walking to camp in a low area with a swamp to my left and a small ridge about twenty five yards to my right. I hear a nose and hear the crunch of the ground leaf cover and see two black ears and the top of a fast moving black head. I think oh shit that’s a Bear, and he’s now in sight coming over the ridge at a full gait headed my way. I drop the Buck drop to one knee raise my rifle click off my safety and think oh shit. In that instant over lowering my eye to the scope the black bear now twenty yards away our eyes meet and I literally think oh shit that’s a bear and I believe the bear said oh shit that’s a human. The bear quickly changes direction away from me increases his pace and now I’m viewing his majestic beauty through the scope running full out with his shimmering winter coat glistening in the sun. I train the cross hears between his shoulder blades as he runs away from me and as a military trained shooter slow my breathing and steady for the shot.

He never stops or turns back on me so I never take the shot just sit there on one knee now breathing heavy from adrenaline and replay in my minds eye the encounter of being jumped by a bear who I am sure thought he was approaching a wounded buck he could smell and see his rack of antlers just over the Ridgeline.

I will never forget that beauty when my senses were heightened, awareness on full tilt, while he fast strides away from me ....that beautiful black long winter coat glistening in the sun!

Thank you God for the majesty of Gods creation and the desire to harvest and eat wild whenever I can! It is with enormous respect and deep gratitude I take another life for sustenance!