Ep.114 The Bear Queen

A shotgun shows up in Tina’s arms the day before her son’s wedding and it quietly reroutes the rest of her life. What starts as a “fine, I’ll try it” moment turns into a full-on bear hunting obsession, complete with solo trips, long sits, hard travel weeks, and a goal that’s about experience more than a scoreboard: 50 bear hunts by age 70.

We talk through what draws her to black bear hunting in the first place, including the adrenaline of pursuing an animal with real presence and real personality. Tina shares what she sees at bait sites, how bears act when they know you’re there, and why patience usually beats panic. Along the way we relive the close-up moments that stick with you: a big bear looking up into the stand, aggressive encounters on the ground, and the calm decision-making that keeps a hunt ethical and safe.

Last season alone takes us across Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and New Mexico. You’ll hear what makes Alberta feel almost unreal with bear numbers, how an Ontario chocolate bear finally shows after days of waiting, and why New Brunswick can produce giants when you refuse to rush. We also get practical about judging boar vs sow, the reality of hounds hunts with dogs in tight, and gear choices like 45-70 and 450 Bushmaster. If you’re searching for spring bear season tips, trophy black bear stories, or honest talk about baiting and hounds, this one delivers.

If you enjoyed the stories and field lessons, subscribe, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave us a review with your biggest bear hunting question.

Check us out on Facebook  Hunts On Outfitting, or myself Ken Marr. Reach out and  Tell your hunting buddies about the podcast if you like it, Thanks!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:28

And so on. All right. This podcast is growing and listening. So spring there's a lot of us are probably thinking about it right now. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. I know I am. I've recently got my dates started. And I have a small little one coming in and in my part of the uh country here. Anything that you have coming in before May. So think about this because they had one heck of a year of last year hunting. And one year beautiful night in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and New Mexico. It tells us how to get a bit of a later start in our hunting career, but it's definitely making it more quickly. Talk to us about how to get into hunting for their goals. And then we go through and we look at the moment with their one of the five concepts that we did for places and what it looks like there's everything from the male to lower play with tail. And it's really interesting. And so much more. And it's a product art product use code all cats, all 2026. Also if you guys are looking at turkey hunting and you can make some calls for that, I can recommend two great people you can contact them directly or through me. Or you can also go if you're looking for diaphragm or box calls. Turkey is also federal premium. The federal is just really great with what they're offering and different kinds of talks. But if they're Turkey loads, I definitely recommend checking out some federal premiums lineup for this year. And um, and if you're looking to get a hold of us to maybe come on the podcast or to get somebody for it or just reach out to me, you can email me at huntsonoutfitting at gmail.com or you can find us on Facebook, Hunts on Outfitting, or find myself on there, Ken Meyer. Feel free to reach out. Some of you guys have been. It's been great talking with you from all over.

SPEAKER_04 4:15

In the kind of beginning, a little bit recap, um, how I got started hunting, which um in 2000 my oldest son um was getting married and I was going to be like empty nested. It was kind of like, what am I gonna do? I've pretty much been a stay-at-home mom, work part-time at the hospital and the pharmacy and stuff um while they were growing up, but I pretty much stay-at-home mom most of the time, and I have three children, seven grandkids. And my son was getting married like the day before he came to me, and um he said, Mom, um, there's a tradition, you buy your parents a gift before you get married, and um I've got something for you, and you just close your eyes and hold your arms out. So I was like, I've never heard of that before. I think he kind of made that up because I never heard it before. So um I did that and opened my eyes and there's a shotgun laying across my arms. And I'm like going, What the heck? Yeah, you know. And he's like, You need to start hunting with us. Well, we have 28 acres um at our home. And um I thought, oh geez, you know, I I've got it, you know, he's so excited about giving me this gift. I I'm gonna have to use it a couple of times and then maybe I can just be done and he'll be happy that I've tried it.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Right.

First Bear Hunts And Getting Hooked

SPEAKER_04 5:31

And so um he said, But you know, if you're gonna hunt, you gotta help us do the work, you gotta help us, you know, get the the feed out and hang stands. I'm like, holy cow, this sounds like a lot of work. This doesn't sound like something I really want to do. But he was excited about it. And as they were growing up, they I I have two boys and a girl and they all hunted. Um, the boys more than my daughter, but they all always say, Mom, you should come hunt with us, you should come hunt with us. I'm like, uh, there's no way. I've got laundry to do, you gotta have your uniforms ready for your games tomorrow, I gotta shop, grocery shop, you know, it was just like there was too many other things. So the timing was right when he gave me the shotgun. And so I, you know, said, Okay. And from the first time I shot, it was like my husband's like, holy cow. I've never shot a gun before in my life, and I'm like, dead on, you know? Yep. So I kind of think I had a natural ability to shoot. And then um I actually started hunting with them. And the first time I got out there and and gotten a blind, you know, climbed a tree, gotten a blind, I thought, this is kind of cool, you know. And I as a little girl, I was a townboy, I built forts. I, you know, we'd I was outside, you couldn't bring me in the house. So, but of course, as I got married and had kids, no longer did that kind of stuff, right? So um being back outside, I was just like, okay, I'm I really like this. You know, I'm watching the squirrels and I'm just absorbing everything. And I just like this is awesome. I I can do this, you know. So I fell in love with with being in the outdoors again. And um, fast forward 2009, um, my husband's like, we're going on a bear hunt. And I'm like, uh, yeah, I'm thinking white tails more my thing. He's like, No, Tina, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. So we went to Ontario and he told the the outfit, he said, I'm gonna sit with her the first couple nights because she's never bear hunted before. And he goes, Well, if you do that, you're gonna decrease her chances by 50%. And I said, Uh, you're not sitting with me. If I'm coming to get a bear, I'm sitting by myself. So I did, and it the weather turned cold, and I didn't, it was in the fall, I didn't even see a bear. So then that made me even more like determined I'm gonna get a bear. The following winter in 2010, he went to an SCI um fundraiser and he bought two hunts, one to Saskatchewan for bear and one to Newfoundland for Moose for him and his buddy and me for bear. So Saskatchewan, um, I think it was the second or third night, I shot my largest bear yet. So from that point on I was hooked. And then I went to Newfoundland in the fall and I shot my second, well it was, now it's my third largest bear. So that's where the ball got rolling as far as bear hunting goes. I've been on done 34 bear hunts since then. Yeah, since you really got bit by the bug. Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed. Yeah. And then I've got I think 21 black bears and a brown bear um since 2010. And I've done like I've gone on, I I think it's 21 actual hunts by myself where I just happened to plane and I had an outfitter and I'm usually the only woman in camp, but everybody's always been wonderful and treated me great. And you know, the first couple times I did it, I was a little nervous. I'm like, here I'm going to camp and there's all these men, I'm an only woman, but they're all very respectful and kind. And so I thought, well, I can do this. Because my husband's like, Don't you want to do something besides bear hunting? I'm like, not really. I'm like, yeah, I do, but you know, if there's bear hunting, I'm picking that first. And he travels all over the world to hunt. He goes everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:09

So um he goes a lot on his own and I go a lot on my own, but we're both doing what we enjoy.

Why Bears Feel Different To Hunt

SPEAKER_03 9:14

So Yeah, well that's that's great. So um the bear thing, uh, what I see I see on your Jeep, you've got bear queen on your jeep. I think that's awesome. But I I is it because bear was one of the not one of the more I don't know, the first predator, I suppose, that you hunt to because you hunt a deer first, right? And then you use bear. But what was the attraction, what was the allure to to bear to get you this obsessed with them?

SPEAKER_04 9:41

Um well, I think there was something about hunting something that can hunt you. Right. The adrenaline of it. Um, and then the more I've hunted bear, the more I realize that they have personalities.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 9:56

I mean, there's skittish bears, there's nervous bears, there's curious bears, there's aggressive bears, you know, and it's like you never know what you're gonna get when they come in. And it's just even watching them, not necessarily hunting, but I I do a ton of pictures and video of bears while I'm sitting there watching them. And um, yeah, it's just something about them, they're to me they're special creatures, and then you know, it sounds kind of crazy, like, oh they're special creatures, but you're gonna shoot 'em. But you know, I try to go for the the Yeah, I try to go for the the older boars and the bigger ones. And, you know, I when people say, Well, how do you uh shoot them? And I'm like, Well, have you ever seen a trail camera with a big boar and a um cub in its mouth as it's getting ready to eat it? Oh boars. You know.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

I've seen some vide I mean I I hunt bears too here in New Brunswick and uh, you know, you see them out there and I I enjoy watching them come in. I actually to tell you the truth, I like seeing them come in more than deer. I have more fun watching the bears than I do the deer deer hunting. Um, oh yeah, like just complete savages. They don't see it, but you see the videos where the boars right, like you said, they'll they'll attack and kill the younger the younger cubs or younger boars even, and it's amazing how ferocious they can actually be.

SPEAKER_04 11:17

Oh, for sure. Yeah, they're very aggressive. Um I had one incident, I was in Ontario, I think it was two seasons ago, and yeah, I sat there. I seen a couple of small bears at night, and then it's you know, getting last night, so I'm packing out my pack and I'm up in the tree, and all of a sudden I hear this, you know, the bear bluff charging me, and I look to my left and he's like just at the edge of the woods, and he was big. And I thought, oh my gosh. I sat back down, put my rifle back up because I'm like, okay, I got just a couple minutes of daylight, you know, less light left, and see if he comes in. He never came, he he left. So I'm getting down under my tree, and I'm just like, I I think I look like granny on Beverly Hillbilies, just kind of looking to my right, looking to my left, and going out of there. But that bear was like not happy I was there and he showed aggression. There's times like that, it's like a little nerving, but you know, typically they're gonna come bother you. Um I love it when they try to climb the tree with me and I start talking and they look at me like, what the heck is that?

SPEAKER_03 12:21

Yeah. Yeah. Well, like you said, they they can uh they can have a lot of personality too, really. Compared to other animals that you'd hunt, you know, deer, elk or something like that. They they can a little bit, but I don't think to the extent that bears do, so that's what yeah, your reasons for being so obsessed with them. I yeah, I completely get it. I was just curious.

SPEAKER_04 12:42

Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much it. I mean, I just um and of course, like getting that my first bear is still today. It's my largest bear. Um and what's funny about that is, you know, I really didn't know much about bears or bear hunting. I actually got a book and read a book before we went, and you know, of course, all the way there, my husband is we drove this one trip. I said never again. It's like 34 hours of driving. And uh I I read this book and we had a lot of discussions about, you know, don't shoot the first thing you see, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay. And I think this was the second or third night, but I had been watching smaller bears. I'm like, okay, that's smaller. You know, of course, in the book it's telling, you know, the smaller the ears, the bigger the bear, and all the different things you look for. Yes, you know, when you're hunting bears, and I'm sitting there and all of a sudden this big bear comes into the bait, and I'm like, oh, he looks kind of big. And then he walked right over under my stand, looked up at me, and is sniffing. And so I'm shaking like a leaf in the tree. I'm thinking, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. And as I'm looking down at him, and he's looking up at me, and I'm thinking, he's got really small ears. I think this is the bear I need to take. So he went back to the bay and grabbed some food and he took off. As I was still shaking and trying to get my composure to to take him, and then I'm like, oh my gosh, I I think that was the finished taste. So I made up my mind if this bear comes back, I'm gonna shoot him. And a smaller bear come back in, and he's just really skittish, nervous, looking all around, and all of a sudden he bolts, and I'm like, okay, big boy's back. And he came in, turned broadside, perfect shot, went down about 40 yards. And it was like early on, like six o'clock. Outfitter wasn't coming to get me to like 10:30. I had no self-service, nothing. So I'm out there and by myself, and I'm like thinking, should I try to start walking back? No. He comes to pick me up. I hear his truck and I yell for him, and he I said, Paul, he's like, Yeah, you get one. I said, Yeah. He goes, Can we carry it? I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. So we walk over to it. He goes, Tina, that's a trophy bear. We're gonna need about six guys. He's like, Okay, I made the right decision.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

So he was saying to judge. Yeah, yeah. But um that so that was my first experience. And then after that, I was kind of like, then I go to to Newfoundland like in September and I get my a really big bear, and they're like, You might have just got another boon and crockett. 'Cause they it's the award, which is 20 between the skulls between 20 and 21. And my first bear was 20 and 516. That's big. Um and then my second bear was 19 and 1316. So they were thinking, you I think you might have got another boon and crockett, you know, and I'm like, holy crap, I think this bear hunting's for me.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

Yeah, yeah, you're f yeah, that's that's big both. That's you know, really big bear.

SPEAKER_04 15:34

Yeah, so those are my first two bears. And that kind of got me helps get me hooked, you know, besides watching them and I I kinda like the adrenaline rush of it.

Building A Five Trip Bear Season

SPEAKER_03 15:44

Yeah, yeah, no, I yeah. No, you were definitely obsessed, but it's it's great, you know, and you've been successful at it. So speaking about that, you had one heck of a season last year. And uh uh could you uh could you walk us through first of all uh like each hunt, but first of all the planning. What got you to think like all right, this year I'm going to five two countries, five different outfitters, five bear, let's go.

SPEAKER_04 16:10

Yeah. Well um I have a goal. I'm right right now, I'm I'm gonna be sixty-three next month. So I have a goal of reaching fifty bear hunts by the time I'm seventy.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:25

So I'm looking at it and I'm like, you know, I I don't match the bears with the hunts because I'm not gonna go on a hunt and shoot a bear just because I all right, here I got another I can say I have another bear. I'm not doing that. That's why my goal is just the hunts and experience and not the number of bears I got. Um, so I started thinking about I thought, well, if I'm gonna reach this goal, I'm gonna have to start piling on more hunts. Um, so I thought there I have an outfit or I go to ever since uh 2019, so every uh 19. I go every year. And that's a drive for me from my house, like nine-hour drive. So I do that. That's an easy hunt for me to do because I can just drive and have in the car and it's a beautiful drive. So I he's on the calendar every year regardless. Um, and then I went to Saskatchewan and um fell in love with that place. So he's pretty much on my every spring now. And then I after I went to New Brunswick the first time, um, the year before that, I didn't get a bear, so I'm like, I I gotta go back. I I gotta keep going back until I get one. So that's when I went to Ryan's. So that's three, and I thought, oh, and I looking at the calendar and I'm like, oh my gosh, I am gonna be like dying here because I get go to Saskatchewan for 10 days. By the time you get there, stay the night and do your hunt and everything. So anyway, I go there, I get home, I'm home a week, I drive to Ontario, I get there for a week, then I'm home a week, then I fly to Ryan's. Um at the end of that that spring, I said to my family, I said, do not let me book three hunts like that again. I am exhausted. And my daughter said, Mom, you said that last time you did it. And I said, Yeah, I know. But then, you know, you spend all winter thinking about beer hunting and you're like, I want to bear hunt, I want a beer hunt. So um that's how I ended up booking that. And then we were at an SCI event. So I booked these three. We are at an SCI event and um Oh no, last year, I'm sorry. Last year I didn't go to Saskatchewan. Yes, I did. I do four. I did I'm trying to remember now I've got a back step a little bit because I went to um Alberta. Right. I'm sorry, I went to Alberta, got two bears. Ontario moved home a week, then Ontario Mexico. Right. Okay. So I do too many, I can't even keep them straight, right?

SPEAKER_03 18:50

I I went on your Facebook last night just to to double check.

Alberta Baits Packed With Bears

SPEAKER_04 18:54

Yeah. I'm glad you're checking me out because I'm like, okay, they're all com they're all jumbled together. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, um, so Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, New Mexico. Um, I was at a auction and a friend taught me in a bidding on the hunt in New Mexico. And it the deal was if you buy the hunt, you have to bring a full-paying uh hunter, additional hunter, and she's like, I'll be your additional hunter, I'll do you know, I said, All right. So I bid on and I got it, and we you know, split the total cost and whatever, and it was a hunt with hounds, um tent camping. I took uh the Alberta hunt I did last year was also a tent camp. Um the other two were lodges. So anyway, I I got all those booked and when I went to Alberta, which was the first one of last spring, I was amazed at the bear. The number of bear. Uh we were walking in the first night and first afternoon to get me set up and he had bait, and and I look and I'm like, Byron, there's like a lot of bear right there. You're so I know, sorry. There's like five, six bears at the bait, and they just stepped aside to the edge of the woods and waited for him to bait while I got my tree, and they all come right back after he left.

SPEAKER_03 20:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:06

I was just amazed.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

You've hunted bear, so I've never hunted bear. I've been to Alberta, I haven't hunted bear there, but y you see those videos and stuff, and you've hunted bear a lot of areas so you can compare. Is there any other place like that where there's just bear at the bait as you're baiting and they just patiently kind of wait and then come back in? I mean, we've got a lot of bear here and there's bears everywhere, but in Alberta, it seems to be really they're just not that scared and they're just they're everywhere right while you're there.

SPEAKER_04 20:34

Yeah. Yeah, I that's like the first time I I think that I've really seen that. And and I was just like, holy smokes. You know, no wonder they got a two bear limit, right? And um those bears, they didn't they didn't mind him, they just stepped aside, they're like, Oh, you know, our dinner's here and then they come back in and feed, and I'm just like I I and a lot of times, like if you go to the bait and you know there's one and it runs off and then it it waits a little bit and it comes back in. Um but I rarely see more than one unless it's a a sal and cubs. And you know, usually if there's one and another one comes in, the more dominant one runs that one off. So yeah, I usually only have one one bear, occasionally two, where you're watching them, you know, because they just they don't like to share. But yeah, that's that was like I was amazed uh when I walked into that bait. I'm like, this is crazy. So um there I got it and it moved me the next night because I think there was a storm coming in that area, and I believe it was the second night that I got my beer there. And you know, we do pictures, we're loading it up, and he says to me, But he didn't want to go back to camp or you want to go sit in another bait? And I'm like, Uh I didn't think about it. Well, I I guess I might as well go sit at another bait. I said, But I'm not shooting unless it's bigger than the one I just got. He's like, Oh yeah, that's fine. And I thought, hmm. So they took me to a bait. This guy had been sitting there and, you know, I've seen pictures of the bear he's been passing on. And I'm like, I'm not passing on that bear. And they're like, well, we're gonna take you there because he's passing on it. And um they took me there and lo and behold, that bear come out. I'm like, oh my gosh, I've never got two bears in one day. This would be a first. Uh but where I was sitting, I was sitting on the ground, I could not get a good shot on him. So I didn't do it. And then the next night I said, okay, they're like, you want to go back there? And I said, Yeah, absolutely, but I want to move. I don't want to sit where I was sitting. I I just didn't feel comfortable with the shot. He has to be in just the right position. If I can sit over here, you know, I feel like more comfortable about getting that shot. So we set it up the next day. Um, he left, and 10 minutes later I looked to my left. I'm sitting on the ground, and probably 15 yards from me stood that bear broadside. I was like, oh my gosh. So then he slips down into the woods just as I spot him, and I'm like, he's going to the bait. I sent the outfitter, the guide a a picture. I'm like, he goes, Oh my gosh, already. He goes, I know, I'm like, I'm getting ready, Tina. I know it's happening. So he goes to the bait, starts eating, and I I took him. So that was like 24 hours later. Um, but those bears are I I don't know. In in Alberta, I had uh the that night before that I was sitting on the ground, I had a very aggressive blonde bear, smaller, because blonde's on my bucket list. That's the only color I haven't got yet. Yeah. And um, he was aggressive. And I keep like, I had my safety off. I'm on the ground and he's like almost touching me and I'm I'm yelling at him, go, go. Finally, and he's you know, love turging me and finally he went under this log and went to the to my loft and he stood up in his hint and he blew up charging me again. I'm like, he is an aggressive little thing. Um but I had a couple of episodes like that there. The bears were not like they were aggressive, a couple of them at that actual bait. Like they were not happy I was there.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:05

Not curious, just not happy. So um yeah, but that was amazing the bears I seen and just, you know, so I hunted three nights and I tagged out. So but anybody who goes there and doesn't get a bear is uh I'd be shocked.

SPEAKER_03 24:22

Yeah. What was it like in the uh with the tents and all that? Was that pretty cool and neat new experience for you as well?

SPEAKER_04 24:28

Yeah, it's kinda like camping, you know. I've done that before. Um in uh where were we Newfoundland we went when we hunted one time no BC when we hunted there we did 10. But um yeah, it's rustic. It's you know, you you just gotta be pre prepared for it. It was a little bit cold. Um but they give me a heater and I managed to find. So you can just rough it a little bit and you're okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Yeah. How w so in Alberta were you guys quite a ways back in the woods, I'm guessing?

SPEAKER_04 24:59

Yeah, yeah. Quite great. I felt like there was no fire. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing around.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

Yeah.

unknown 25:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

Yeah, that'd be uh yeah, that'd be cool. Just that yeah, I've always seen that with the canvas wall tents and stuff and thought it'd be kind of a neat experience just to to add to the hunt.

SPEAKER_04 25:16

Yeah, no, and that's the way New Brunsw or I'm sorry, New Mexico was also. It was the wall tents and stuff. So I'd yeah, uh I was exhausted after last year. Yeah, so so but I didn't get tired of hunting. I got tired of traveling.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

Right. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's the jet lag and and all that. Um so Alberta was a success, and then from there you're back quickly, and then it was on was it Ontario next?

Ontario Patience Pays Off

SPEAKER_04 25:44

Yeah, it was Ontario. Yeah, yeah. Um so that one is a kind of a semi-guided, he calls it. Um you bring your own food, nice lodging. Um, so I I always cook my food ahead of time, freeze it, and just throw it in a cooler. So I'm not cooking while I'm there, I'm just heating food up.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

Right.

SPEAKER_04 26:01

Um, which is nice. Um he told me before I came, I have an e-bike. He said, Tina, there's there's this really nice bear on this one bait I want to put you on. Uh, can you bring your e-bike? And I'm like, Yeah, I can bring it. He said, because I'll have to what he does is he you follow him out, you park, he gets out, he baits, you get up in your tree, he leaves. And then at the end of the night, you get down by yourself and go to your car, and then he usually has a meeting spot where everybody meets, see if anybody got any bears. You know, then you go back to camp. So he asked me to bring my e-bike, of course, the day before I'm getting ready to leave. So I unpack, repack, make room for that, and um I get up there, he goes, change of plans. I'm like, what? But because he he needed me to bring the e-bike out so I could take myself to the bait while he took the other guys out. So I get up there and he's like, There's a really nice chocolate on this one bait. And he's been there like every night, and I'm like, Okay. He said, Well, you you won't need your e-bike because this is the same area that the other guys are going, so I'll be able to get you in. Okay. And so um, I didn't need the e-bike. I go, I sit there, uh, I think it's three days, and he does not show up. And one morning I got up at like five in the morning or whatever before daylight, so I could get there, and I'm like, I'm just sitting all day. I'm sitting all day because he's gonna come in sooner or later. Sat all day, nothing. Oh my god, oh my gosh. I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna try to force it. I'm not going out there anymore. I'm just gonna go out there with the idea that if he comes, he comes. If he doesn't, it's not meant to be.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

Right.

SPEAKER_04 27:47

And about, I don't know, seven o'clock at night, and I probably got in this in the ground blind at two or three. I don't remember. But anyway, he here he comes. There well, there's a couple of bears, nice bears, nice bears, in there, and I'm like, okay, I'm I'm holding out, I'm holding out for that one. And um, I'm sitting there, and all of a sudden he shows up and uh he's like comes charging down this like hill, and the other bears are starting to fly away, and he gets in there and he's first eating and then he turns and looks right at me. He knew I was there. And so he turns broadside, starts to walk away, and I'm like, oh no, you are not walking away. So I I got on him and I made a great shot and um got that bear. He went about mm 40 yards or so, I think. Um, but it didn't take long for those other bears to come back. There were some nice, nice black bears, but um I you know I finally got a hold of my outfitter because I have uh Zoleo and he has one. So I was sent sent a message and like he's down, I got him, you know. And um, well, he wasn't looking at his Zoleo. He didn't he said it didn't dinger, you know, alert me at all. And then all of a sudden I'm like, it's getting close to dark, and I look at my phone and I tell the other guys at camp, Tina got him, Tina got him. So he finally re responded. And of course, I have um had my video going um when I shot that. And so I'm sitting waiting for him to come and I'm like probably watch this video a hundred times because you're like, gosh, did I make the right shot? Did I do it or did it, you know? And I like looking at it, I'm like, oh yeah, that's the perfect shot. He gets there, I show it to him, and he's like, You sure you bit sure you didn't miss? I'm like, Stop, just stop. I've been watching this and I felt like I was gonna be sick to my stomach the whole time waiting for him. Finally, it was like two hours after our shot that he he came and we walked, um, and he said, Well, way did he go? And I'm like, right up there to the right. We start looking there and nowhere around. And then he's like, Tina, blood's over here. I said, Okay, my drumline was going. So he went in a different direction than I thought he did. And we started founding the blood, and there he was. But he's beautiful, yeah. Beautiful chocolate.

SPEAKER_03 30:02

Yeah. Wow, that's yeah, that's really cool to get a color phase.

SPEAKER_04 30:06

I never expected to get a color phase in Ontario. I mean, they're just not known for color phase. So I was very pleased. And I just got the um report back from the Ontario Ontario Ministry that it was 12 years old.

SPEAKER_03 30:19

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_04 30:20

So that's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:21

Definitely nice mature one. And yeah, it's crazy that it made it to 12 being a color phase in Ontario. Because most people not most, but a lot of people, it doesn't matter how big the bear is, as long as not a cup, if it's color phased in an area where it's rare like that, there's you know, a chance there's someone's gonna try to shoot it because it's just so unique. So the fact that it made it that long is it's uh it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04 30:44

Yeah, yeah. But I I love it when they do that, they uh take the tooth and they, you know, do the DNA testing and they inform you what, you know, to send and uh yeah, I sent a a picture to my outfit and said, you know, my bear was twelve years old, and he said, That's that's a cool, that's old brewing. I said, Yeah. Oh yeah. Wow. So I got the one I got actually in New Brunswick was they said I bet you he's 15 or over. So I actually called and left a message. Oh no, that was New Mexico. Okay, I'm I'm straying off here.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

Sorry. Well, all right, so Alberta, great success, a lot of fun. Ontario, same thing, color phase. Uh yeah, well we're moving on to New Brunswick.

SPEAKER_04 31:24

Yeah, so that was like the third week in June, I think. Um I was a little nervous, um, skeptical about what I would see um that late in the season. Um, but Ryan had a a nice one on camera where he was gonna put me. And he said he, you know, he's been in and out here, and so I I feel that this is a good spot to put you. And um so I think that was either the second or third night that one um came in. There were several bears that came in, um, actually a couple of really nice sows. I'm like, wow, it's a little large sow. And somebody who probably doesn't have as much experience uh as me might have thought that was borough if I didn't, yeah, you know, a few years back I would have thought, wow, that's a big bear, you know. But I could tell it was the sow. Um for this. So she comes, she was in and out quite a bit. And she didn't have cubs with her. Um but then all of a sudden I looked up, she's there eating, and here he comes from the opposite direction. And they're both there together, and I'm I'm you know, I felt confident he wasn't going anywhere because I think he was kind of wanting to stick with her. And um I'm watching him and which I I like it when I have more time to watch him and judge.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

And then when he got up closer to her and I thought she looked big when I first seen her, and then he got up closer to her, and I'm like, oh yeah, that's him. That's him. And um it it was funny because like I was watching him and and I was just about ready to get, you know, ready to shoot, and all of a sudden one spooked the other and they both took off. I'm like, what? And then they came back because one hit the barrel or something and it spooked them and they took off, and I'm like, uh no. And then they come right back though, and same thing, he gave me a perfect broadside shot, and I got a a good video of this one also. Um and I got a hold of Ryan right away, and we got him out, and when we got him back to camp and they started, you know, skinning him and all of that, and they looked at his teeth and they looked at him over good, and I think it was Ryan's dad said, Tina, that is one of the most mature bears I think I've seen. He said, It's at least 15 years old. And I said, you know, looking at the teeth and his face, and you know, you could tell he's old. So they pulled the tooth, and I guess they send it into New Brunswick also there. But they said, you know, it getting them to give you a report or send you something on it, it's like half the time it takes them a couple years, or you never hear anything. So I will contact them. Yeah. Yeah. I'll contact them and try to get some information on them. But um, and that's that bear the skull, I think it was 19 and 1116. That's it.

SPEAKER_03 34:11

So that's a giant, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:14

Yeah, and you know, I I see on that black bear hunting page on Facebook, I see a lot of guys poster bears from New Brunswick, and I always see smaller bears. So I really didn't have hopes of getting a a real big one there because I thought, you know, everybody, every there I see it smaller, and I don't think they're really known a lot for bigger bears. And I said something to Ryan about it, and he said, No, it's just people don't wait. They don't wait it out.

SPEAKER_03 34:39

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, we've we've definitely got some giant bears here. I had a friend take one uh spring before last in the spring that was nearly 400 pans. Um but yeah, Ryan's right, people don't wait, they just shoot.

SPEAKER_04 34:53

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I think that's and now that I've been there and done that, I I can see where that can be the case. But you know, all these bears I'm seeing from New Brunswick if people were sharing. I'm like, these are kind of small, but uh I just need to get one from New Brunswick that'll fulfill that goal. And I was very pleased. I think he only weighed like 312. He might be it might have been on the downside.

SPEAKER_03 35:16

He still looked big. Yeah, yeah. Well that's a big skull. That's a that's a really big skull. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:22

Yeah, well, and I seen his head, I was like, okay, he's big. But you know, like I said, I think the the heaviest one I got was in Alberta that spring, um, and it was 366. And their skulls aren't as big as the other ones.

How To Judge Boar Versus Sow

SPEAKER_03 35:38

Yeah. So Yeah, that's that's huge. Um so Tina, you're your experience with this now, but for the people listening that maybe not so much, because bears are, they say they've been one of the hardest things to judge. When you see a big sow coming in, what how do you tell that it's a sow and not a boar? What are you looking for specifically?

SPEAKER_04 35:58

Um the size of the head for one. Usually those the sows have the smaller skulls. Um, the size of the ankles. Um a big bore will have like really almost no ankles. So they just go straight down. Um you look at the ankles on a sow and it they're smaller in diameter down by where you get to the foot. Um the sows typically have the bigger rear end where the bores have the bigger shoulders. So um those are the key things I kind of look for. I find the nose too. Right, right. Yep, exactly the shape of the head. Um of course if you I've never been able to get a good look at the underside.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:43

I mean, they have to be like in a perfect position and and you know, if they're big and fluffy, you can't see what's underneath there typically, unless they're standing on their hind legs, then you know, you might get a good look. But I've never like I don't even look for that anymore because I'm like so hard to see. You know.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:00

Yeah. I mean I will if I it gets in position, can I see? But it's more the characteristics of like the the size of the wrist, the skull, the shape of the nose, uh the like I said, the sows have the bigger hind ends when the the boars have the bigger shoulders. And I've studied it a lot, like you know, look at 'em bow sore difference or sow difference. And I've read, I bet you 20 books on bear hunting, just miscellaneous books on bear hunting. I I just part of my obsession, you know. The more I learn, the more I educate, the more I'm out there, um, the more confident I am also.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Right. Yeah. No, it's awesome. You do you do your uh your due diligence with it as being a responsible hunter. Yeah, it's not a lot of people do that, so that's very good to hear.

SPEAKER_04 37:49

And then there's times I've shot shot sows that I thought were boars. You know, um, I could have swore it was, yeah just because of their size. But and you have to take time and a lot of people I think rush because they think the bear's gonna leave, like a whitail, they s they see you and they're gone. I mean, they just get a a sniff and they're gone. I I don't find that is with bears so much occasionally, and if they do do that, like they get a sniff and they bolt, they're usually a younger, smaller one. Um, but it's usually uh because they're smelling another boar. You know, when they bolt like that, um, a bigger one. But yeah. They typically will stick around and eat. Um a lot of times, like when I was in Alberta, they they come in from every direction. Like I'm sitting there thinking, you know, I'm looking to my right, looking to my left, looking behind me the whole time because they're just coming in from everywhere, stopping under my tree, looking up at me, and then going back to the bait, you know. Um but yeah, uh I just try to take my time um and not rush it, like, oh my gosh, serious, seriously, you know, because you can say that and I I know a lot of people that think, Oh, I thought it was that one, and they get so excited when they see it, they think that it's that one that they're after that they don't take the time to say, Okay, I think it might be that one, but let me watch him for a minute because they're so worried he's gonna leave.

SPEAKER_03 39:13

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean that's why baiting i it's people sometimes fan upon it, but a lot of areas it it's still thick and stuff, you're not gonna be able to spot and stock. And also with the baiting, uh if you take your time, the bears will probably stay for a bit and you really can judge and take a good ethical shot on a bear that you plan on harvesting. The right 100%.

SPEAKER_00 39:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 39:36

Yeah, yeah. And and like and if they do come in and then they uh if it is your target bear and you're still judging him and he leaves, he's coming back. Nine times out of ten, I find that, you know what I i they know where that food is, they're still hungry, but they're gonna step out for a little bit, they're gonna scope out what's going on, look at check you out, circle the bait, circle you, and then when they feel confident that they're gonna come back. Almost always I find that happens. Um they leave and I, you know, I'm I'm just still judging them, but they leave, they come back, just gotta sit real still, quiet, don't move, and they'll come back.

SPEAKER_03 40:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Almost always. So the It's very different than hunting whitetail.

New Mexico Hounds And Shot Discipline

SPEAKER_03 40:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh so yeah, so New Brunswick again, great success, a lot of fun. And uh yeah, that's an old bear and a big one too. I mean, that's a said that's a huge skull. Um Yeah. So then um on to New Mexico and your fur was this your first hound hunt?

SPEAKER_04 40:39

No, that was my second. I did uh I hunted Michigan uh here we have to draw points. Okay and I got enough points and I went and uh a friend has a cabin and he baited all summer or whenever they could start baiting, I forget when it was, started in August. Uh he baited and he, you know, helped me out and I sat over bait I think seven nights and did not see a bear. So I had friends that were up there honed with their hounds hunting, and he seen my Facebook post and he sent me a message saying, You need to come, come with us, we'll get you on a bear. So I did. I got I got a bear in Michigan. It was a smaller bear. Um, but I had to be gone. I hadn't that was my last day to be able to hunt because I was leaving 25 hours later to go to Idaho for another hunt. So I'm like, I don't, you know, they got that bear up in the tree for me. I'm like, I gotta take it because I'm leaving. So anyway, um, New Mexico. Yes, that was um pretty intense. Okay. Hunting with hounds is intense anyway, um with those. But that was the first day. Um the hounds got on that that bear. Um within a few hours they had him trailed and they of course they got the GPS things on the dogs and so they got me out hiking around the mountain. I mean, kind of running around the mountain trying to get to where they they're seeing where the hounds are pushing the bear. Got me set up and the bear come through and it was like a split second I seen him, and all I could see was the head. So I couldn't take that shot. So we got back in the truck and they were worried about him going in this other area, the the dogs pushing him to this other area where we could not hunt. Um, and then they they sent one of the guides out there and he kind of pushed them back our way. And it was probably another few hours um where they got him out to where I could take that bear. But when it was time to shoot, and I know there was a guide out there kind of following the dogs and bears back a little bit. There were several dogs out, and I see the bear and the outfitters tell me, shoot. Then a few minutes, seconds later, he's like, shoot. Another few minutes, shoot three times. I'm like, I didn't feel comfortable with my point of you know, my view as to his view. I'm like, I I'm not I don't care how many times are telling me to shoot. If I'm not comfortable with that shot, uh, I'm not gonna shoot. And I waited till I was and I took him. So but that was intense because you you you know there's dogs coming like right behind it. I'm like, I do not want to shoot a dog. I so yeah, that's pretty nerve-wracking. Um that now is my second largest bear. I just got my that skull scored at 20 and 316.

SPEAKER_03 43:25

So Wow, yeah. I did not know New Mexico had bears of of that caliber in it.

SPEAKER_04 43:31

Yeah. Yeah. And my girlfriend that was with me um the next day, she got hers, and I swore hers was bigger than mine. Body-wise, I think it was. Um, but we both got the skulls cleaned and dried, and they mine ended up just a little bit bigger than hers. Hers just missed uh 20 mark.

unknown 43:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 43:49

But yeah. I was not expecting that.

SPEAKER_03 43:52

No. No. Uh what was it like hunting in New Mexico too? Was it I've never been there, it's quite hot. And do the bears hibernate? There.

SPEAKER_04 44:01

You know, I don't think they do. I'm not sure a hundred percent on that. Um, that was my first experience with it. We were high up in the mountains, very dry. Um, it was I would say the temps were between 60 and 70 when we were there, and it was October at the beginning of October. Um, but I don't imagine they they hibernate as long as like they would in you know, northern Canada and Michigan and stuff. Yeah, yeah. So, but they were they were both really really nice bears. Um mine was chocolate. Um, and hers was kind of almost chocolate. It was super, you know, um, it was so black, but it had sh chocolate shading. It was kind of a com it's really cool. Almost looked like black and chocolate.

Favorite Calibers Hides And Outfitters

SPEAKER_03 44:43

Yeah, yeah, very very unique coloring. Um so for most of these hunts, what is your weapon of choice?

SPEAKER_04 44:50

Like Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

Or does it say?

SPEAKER_04 44:55

No. I a few years ago, two, two or three years ago, I um my goodness, I got someone called me. I'm gonna push that. Okay. I was in Ontario and I was using my Weatherby 270. And um my outfitter said, and I had a higher powered scope on it, Tina, you really need to get like a 450 or 4570, you know, if a smaller scope on it for you know, bear hunting up this close and everything. And he said, That's that's good for long range, but you know, you should really get this. And I said, Okay, so I went home and told my husband, I said, you know, Nick suggested I get this and this for bear hunting, and he's like, Oh, Nick.

unknown 45:38

You know.

SPEAKER_04 45:40

And uh so then our anniversary is in December, beginning of December, and he gave me a 450.

SPEAKER_01 45:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 45:46

Um, Fishmaster. And um he said, I, you know, it's good good bear hunting gun here and and got me the smaller scope, and I'm like, Okay, cool, you know, like this. Well then Christmas come around and give me a 4570. With the small so he, you know, he says, I couldn't decide, so I got you both. I'm like, Oh, okay. I don't know what I'm gonna do with two, but you know. Um, but my favorite of any gun I own, and I'm left-handed. So at first when I first started hunting, I just used everybody else's, which were right-handed, and uh then we realized it was gonna be something I was gonna stick with. He started buying me my own guns. And uh, but I have a Christensen arms 4570, and I love that gun. I mean that packs a punch, and when I shoot it, I know I shot it.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's that's a perfect bear caliber, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:40

I forget what the the shells are that I use, um, but they're they're large. But yeah. No, that's so a lot of people ask me what I do with all these bears. Of course, I've got, you know I can't mount every one. I guess I could, but um I make stuff. I make stuff out of the hides. I have a lot of jewelry, that's bear claw jewelry. Um, I make mittens, hand warmers, oh cool. Cushion covers, pillows. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:09

That's that's really neat. Yeah. Yeah. So you yeah, you definitely get your use out of them. Oh yeah, yeah, for sure. D could you say which outfitters you used for each hunt uh this past for this past year?

SPEAKER_04 47:22

Yep, yep. Um I use Byron, um up in Alberta. Um Wolf Wolf Hunting Adventures. Yeah. Um highly recommend them. And for Ontario, it's Rox Hunt Camp, Nick Doyle. And I use Ryan and um Kay help me out with the outfit. Uh yeah, it's uh Quad B. Quad B, yeah. Okay. Ryan. Ryan Demerchant, yeah. And then in New Mexico, Rick Neverett with Neverett Outfitting and Guides. Um so those and then when I go to Saskatchewan, my favorite one um there is Buck Country and Dean Kipper.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_04 48:10

Heard of that one. Yeah. So and I've hunted BC with um oh my gosh, now I can't remember the name. But yeah, I've I've got some favorites and you know I I like to when I go go back to the same outfitters because I know what I'm getting. I've been burnt many times. It actually took me five times of going to Ontario, um, four different outfitters really to get my first Ontario bear. So that's another reason why you'll see I've done a lot of bear hunts, but I've only got so many bears. Um I had my first hunt in Ontario was no bears. It was fall, it was rather cold, they just shut down. Um then I had two really bad outfitters, and then I found Nick and I same bear. I had a great experience in the spring, but I passed on bears and I went back in the fall and got my first Ontario bear. So it was five times a hunt in Ontario before I got a bear.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

Wow, yeah. Yeah, that's uh yeah, that's a food trip. It's normally uh doesn't take that long, but I mean just I I've never been one to hunt bears much in the fall, so I don't know much about it, but I know that there's a lot more abundant food sources and then that they they do shut down quickly. Well, I guess sorry, I've gone with friends in Maine to hunt bear in the fall, but it's early fall and it's with hounds, so it's a little different.

SPEAKER_04 49:28

Yeah, yeah. I've done Maine one time. I need to go back to Maine because I didn't get one. That was another experience where I believe it's um there's like 27 hunters. It was it was during COVID and and I they were just racking people in there and I've never I'd never even seen a bear. I had a deer at my bait, so that was an experience that was Oh yeah.

unknown 49:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:50

Not good. So I've had I've had my share of ex of not great experiences. So when I find a good outfitter, I like to stick with them.

Next Plans And Why Community Matters

SPEAKER_03 49:57

Yeah. Well, um, when this is done, we'll talk after if you're interested in hunting in Maine. Um I got somebody I could steer you towards. Uh so Tina, uh now that we're coming into spring now, uh, what are your what are your plans for this year?

SPEAKER_04 50:16

I'm still working on a few. Um I'm going leaving May 17th to go back to Buck Country in Saskatchewan. Um when I get back from there, I'll be home actually I'm going to New Zealand the end of April for a week with my son.

SPEAKER_01 50:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 50:31

And then I'll be home a week, then I'm heading to Saskatchewan for Bayer at Buck Country. I'll be home a week, then I'm heading to Ontario. I'm actually waiting to get those dates confirmed. Um, and depending on those dates, I may try to go back to Ryan's um if he still has openings. I know I said last year, don't let me do three again, but uh see how I yeah, I'm just like, ooh. Well you can't. And then um yeah. In the fall, um, I have some friends that um run hounds in Georgia. Oh, cool. Um and he's talking about wanting me to come with them. And he said, you know, we have it's I'm t uh he said, I'm gonna be honest, it's swampy, it's it's a tough terrain and stuff. And then he brought up snakes, and I said, Oh, uh I'm not sure I want to do snakes and swamp bear hunting. And I I just have a really big fear of snakes. So that's really the only thing I have a big fear of. Yeah. Um, so he said, Well, if you can just come down with us for one week while we're training and get an idea. And then he recently told me he got a a new lease on some land that isn't as is rough and swampy. So I might be doing something in August in Georgia. And then I also have a hunt in Minnesota, which was probably going to be mid-September. So that's where I am right now. Let's see what might pop up. Yeah. I have a hard time turning down Yeah, I have a hard time turning down an opportunity to go bear hunting no matter where it's at.

unknown 52:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:01

No, but I mean that's great. You're you're you're doing it and you love it. And uh hopefully every year can kind of look like this for you. Just it's busy, but it you know, look at the great stories you get out of it in experience.

SPEAKER_04 52:12

Oh yeah, I have prepared I have met the coolest people bear hunting, and uh and one quick story is I met this um man up in Ontario um first time I went, and we are actually good friends now. We meet every couple months for lunch, and he's um I think Tom's 78, but he's a Vietnam veteran. And uh one day he says, Tina, would you mind if my you know ride with you instead of driving both of us drive? I said, Absolutely, you know, his bait was before mine, and then I had to go on, so I'd drop him off and um then come pick him up when I got down and I'd have the heated seats on for him and made sure he was out because she had a you know cold drink when he got in the car, and he said, Tina, I've never buddied up with a female hunter before, but I kind of like it. But we had great conversation. He shared some of his Vietnam stories with me, and you know, I just have so much respect for veterans and everything they go through. And um, but I and there's several guys from Ontario, and I call it the senior week now. Now he tries to get us all up there on the same week, so it's like you you're hunting with your friends.

SPEAKER_03 53:19

Mm-hmm. Yeah, no, that's great. And that that's what it's about too. A lot of it is just the I find anyways the camaraderie and and the people that you meet and on all this. That share passion for the outdoors. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:30

Yes, yes, absolutely. You know, and then the outfitters and their families and you know, Binbuck Country. And she's amazing. I might be the only woman at camp, but her and I share share a conversation together and always look forward to seeing her. And yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:50

Yeah. Uh well Tina, uh thanks so much for your time. Uh it was great hearing about your your bear hunting the past year and um looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing more stories from future hunts and uh best of luck. Um, this was this was interesting. It was very cool just reliving these the moments with you through the hunt.

SPEAKER_04 54:13

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I appreciate it. I I tell you I can talk to anybody anytime about bear hunting. So you can hardly get me to shut up if we're talking bear hunting.

SPEAKER_01 54:22

So I love great.

SPEAKER_04 54:25

Well, I'm glad you reached out and I enjoyed talking with you.

SPEAKER_03 54:28

Great, thanks. Okay, take care.