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Black
Bear Hunting in West Virginia with a Yamaha Rhino
SxS
::Continued::
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| One
of the many hunting dogs barks signaling
a bear |
When there was a chase or even a road side chat,
the bragging and pride was evident in the words
spoken along with some serious ribbing if a dog
wasn’t up to the task or missed a track. Care
was also taken to make sure every dog was in good
health before, during and after every hunt. The
reality that a dog could easily be killed by a bear
is paramount as the chase begins, but this is what
the hounds do and believe it or not you can see
the excitement they get from doing what they have
been breed to do. For the most part, ears
get cut from briars and feet can get scraped up
from ice and sharp rocks and usually that is the
extent of the injury to the dogs. Sometimes the
competition between dogs can lead to a fight however
the houndsmen make every effort to follow the
chase and be in the right spot to prevent this
once a bear is treed, which in itself can be a
real test of physical endurance. It takes an extreme
knowledge of the terrain to keep up with a pack
of dogs hell bent on running down a bear that
is perfectly capable of covering several miles
in a very short amount of time.
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Houndsmen take great pride in their hunting
dogs & make sure they are always in
good health before going out on a hunt |
The hunters in my group were all eager to kick
off the season at first light on opening day.
The age varied from young to elderly and the experience
was even more varied. Hunting as a group, success
is measured at the end of the day not by individual
accomplishments but by the team work displayed
throughout the hunt. It was easy to see that the
older hunters had a slight edge over those with
just a few years experience, but lessons are learned
fast and the chain of command develops differently
at each hunt.
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The black
bear hunt began right as the sun crested
the horizon in West Virginia
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Several members of the hunt had been at this
game for decades and had the lay of the land down
to a science and their knowledge of bears and
their behavior was remarkable. At times, when
I would think the day was blown, the radio would
crackle and the news that a track at been found
would once again make your heart jump. It was
usually a veteran hunter who through years of
looking for a subtle change in the dirt who would
get us on the next bear to track, but not always
as several members of the group showed excellent
form and would snake out a track as well.
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The elder hunters were eager to show the
"Young Bucks" how to track a bear |
I got the feeling that the older hunters eagerly
wanted those under them in years to learn what
they had been teaching even if the lessons were
not being announced. Occupations varied, from
surveyors to those engaged in the lumber industry,
to retired men who lost ages of years as the hunt
took them back to a different time. Nicknames
were always a cause for laughter with Fat ear,
Fuzzy, and Corn dog being a few of the more colorful
ones I remembered. And just like the names for
certain areas, each nickname usually had a story
behind it that when asked was the cause of good
natured ribbing and a whole lot of smiling. Indeed,
the group was all for one and one for all.
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