Im in, this is great. Ill share one of my hunting stories.
So I went to Maine on a black bear hunt with my family. It was a great family vacation, and I got lucky the first day. The first hour in fact.
I was with my brother and our guide, and we were trying to cut off a bear that was being followed by the bear dogs. I had never seen a bear except in a zoo before, and was hoping to see one.
We ran down an old railroad track to cut off this bear, and the dogs got louder and louder. My brother was supposed to shoot but he stepped on a railroad tie wrong and twisted an ankle, so I took over for him. I ran up to the guide and he said "It sounds like a big one!" I readied my rifle, my trusty 1958 vintage Winchester model 1894 rifle in 30-30.
Then, I saw the bear. It lumbered up over the railroad tracks 20 yards away out of a solid dark green wall of pines, with the dogs hot on its heels. The guide was telling me to shoot. I looked at the bear over my sights, and asked "You want me to shoot that little thing?"
It looked like a cub. I couldnt judge the size of that bear to save my life. What is a shootable bear supposed to look like? I had no clue. The guide said again "shoot it, SHOOT IT!!" So, I figured the guide would know and I took the shot. The bear spun, nipped at his flank and took off the way it came.
Well, that bear went about 5 yards with a 170 grain slug through and through both lungs and out of the other side. When I got there (carefully!) I found out that I am NOT a good judge of bears! My "cub" turned out to be a 596 pound bruiser with paws the size of my head!
The rest of the week we chased bears all over Maine, through brush and thorns, with no luck. My brother had a shot early but passed because his bear looked small. He should have shot, we didnt get any more shots that week. It might be a good thing, since we had so much bear meat that we would have needed extra coolers.
It was a hunt Ill never forget, and a beautiful animal in a beautiful place. Great times, great food and I was with family. My profile picture here is a picture from that hunt actually. I wish everyone could have such a great experience.