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Black
Bear Hunting in West Virginia with a Yamaha Rhino
SxS
::Continued::
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trip could turn form complete boredom to
extremely exciting in a matter of seconds |
The hunt itself is filled with extreme boredom to
an excitement level that rivals any event you could
possibly imagine and the time difference between
the two can take days or seconds. One minute you
are dozing off and the next you are on foot following
a pack of hounds with a large carnivore leading
the race. For the dog handlers, the chase is the
hunt. Many did not have any intent on killing a
bear but looked forward to allowing their dogs to
pursue and ultimately catch the bear.
With fresh snow falling the night before the
opening of the season, we were up long before
the guy who makes the donuts and on the mountain
looking for fresh tracks. Once a track was found,
a member would sit on the track as others ventured
further to see if they could figure out where
the bear had gone and where it might be. Come
daylight, it would then be decided on what step
to take next. Usually a few dogs that had shown
good skill in tracking an old track would be walked
along the track until the houndsmen decided he
was close enough to get more dogs to his location
to start the chase. This could mean hours of walking
in some inhospitable terrain while tethered to
dogs in very thick brush, a job not intended for
those not fully prepared physically to undertake
the rigors of these rugged mountains.
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Getting around
in this area was a challenge in itself.
A combination of ice & steep elevation
changes made for an interesting ride in
the Yamaha Rhino to say-the-least
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Getting around this area was not always fun as
ice and snow combined with narrow logging roads
and steep terrain had me on more then one occasion
wondering if this was indeed a normal thing one
might call enjoyment. Trucks for years have been
utilized but the explosion of ATV and SxS’s
have seen our favorite weekend toys launched into
a roll of workhorses that make a ton of sense
in this and other regions. Several Yamaha Rhinos
would be employed along with a Polaris Ranger
and one 4x4 ATV that saved the day late in the
week. The main problem with using an ATV to navigate
the roads is the extreme cold.
Temperatures were as low as 7 degrees and we had
winds in excess of 60 mph, hardly conditions one
would want to be riding in from before daylight
until dark. The SxS’s fair a bit better
if one has the cab enclosed but ingenuity rules
the days as heaters designed for additional heat
in Jeep’s were modified to work giving the
SxS operator some much needed warmth.
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CB Radio
mounted in a Yamaha Rhino 700 SxS came
in handy for communicating with the hunting
party
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During
the December bear hunting season it isn't
uncommon to start the day with temps in
the single digits |
On the first morning of the hunt, at 3 am, the
radio crackled and chatter about tracks and such
ensued. Just after daylight, the person we had
been chatting with rounded a corner in a Rhino
with a one off custom cab almost completely hand
built by its owner. At 7 degrees, it was toasty
warm in the Rhino and as daylight increased I
could see the home made doors and roof. One may
ask why not just buy one of the enclosures available
by many retailers but after a few runs I soon
learned that things get destroyed or damaged and
it was cheaper to handle replacement on items
on your own versus buying factory produced items
that may not be available to buy individual pieces
for. Made perfect sense to me and while I believe
form follows function, the craftsmanship displayed
proved you could have both.
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