Now, let us back track to the previous spring. A then 13 year-old Blake Metcalf of St. Mary County, Maryland is embarking on his first black bear hunt in the company of his grandfather Bill and his older brother Tyler, 14. The trio had decided on All Terrain Bear Hunts in Thompson, Manitoba. Master guide, Cory Grant has done the homework needed to put the two brothers on very active baits. The boy's grandfather was going to be sitting with them to enjoy some video taping action. Since both hunters were using bows, they were placed fairly close to the baits. On the first evening, Blake (while sitting with his grandpa) had an uneventful hunt after jumping a large blond bear that was feeding on the bait as they approached. On the hunt the following evening they spotted a black bear in the 400 pound class. Later, Blake missed the same blonde bear he had spooked the day before, at close range. The shot was high and ended up sticking into the plastic bait barrel behind the bear. Incredibly, the blond bear returned to the area but never presented another shot. On this same evening, Tyler thumped a nice 6 foot, 200 pound blond boar. On day three, because of a feeling that this large blond bear was sleeping at the bait, Cory decided to alter the hunt pattern and slip his young hunter into the bush at noon. Indeed, this was wise, because the bear was in fact caught napping at the bait site. After a quiet but unsuccessful stalk in which the bear was able to sneak off safely, Blake and Bill entered the platform blind and set up for a long wait. Four hours later movement was seen through the thick Manitoba bush. The bear approached and was identified immediately as the target bear. As Blake's grandpa Bill rolled the tape, Blake made a tight shot to the shoulder. After waiting and viewing the tape, it was decided to place the bucket at the road, which was Cory's pre-deter-mined signal that a bear was shot. An hour later, Cory stopped on the road and saw the bucket. As the trio carefully tracked a weak blood trail, they came upon a five-inch piece of a shoulder blade. Tracking on, the blood disappeared. After Cory viewed the tape, and along with the sparse blood trail, it was decided the bear would live. Another search the next day confirmed a marginal hit due to the thickness of this large bear's shoulder blade. So Blake, who practices religiously every day, has his bear get away, while the sporadic forays of Tyler to the range resulted in instant success. Sometimes this is just the way the cards are dealt.

Cory, being the guide that he is, determined that the first bear lived and decided to place Blake on a stand that had not been hunted for the last evening of the five day hunt. This proved a success as Blake promptly arrowed a 300 pound, six-foot black boar. This kill occurred at last light on the last night. As the hunter had to catch a plane early the next morning, Cory retrieved the bear after a 100 yard tracking job. Receiving the hide back home in Maryland, Blake had the prime spring specimen turned into a beautiful bearskin rug.

Returning the next spring, Blake and his grandfather were on a quest to bring home the blond bear. Again, expectations were good, as confidence in the outfitter runs high. On day one, Cory's girlfriend Loretta was sitting with Blake on the same stand as before (and where a seven-foot black bear was previously observed), but only a small cub was seen at the bait area. The hunt the next evening produced only birds and squirrels. Evening three saw the same cub around the bait, and a red squirrel decided to sit in the blind with the hunters. This brings us to day number four, and back to the beginning of our story.

As the arrow streaks to the trophy blond bear, final redemption swirls in Blake's mind! A solid thwack! A death run, and the odyssey is over. This time a perfect hit and a short track to the second chance trophy of a lifetime!

Jeff Sansburry is a technical advisor/pro-staffer for North American Archery who calls Sunderland, Maryland home. In the spring of 2002, he shot a black bear that squared 7' 4" and weighed just over 500 pounds. With a green score of 20 7/16", this was truly the bear of a lifetime! For most bear hunters this animal would be a rare if not impossible visitor to any bait station, yet Jeff had multiple opportunities at this great bear during three hunts. Now discover how Jeff made the most of his second chance.

It all started upon a recommendation from a friend named Doug Snell. A quick check of references and a phone call to Cory Grant had Jeff convinced that this was the outfitter for him. In essence, his goal was simple. Mr. Sansburry wanted a Pope and Young black bear. Jeff had killed his first black bear the year before in New Brunswick. That hunt was over one-half hour after it started when a 250 pound blackie met the lethal end of Jeff's arrow. This early success only seemed to wet the bow hunter's appetite for bears.

After arriving in Thompson, Manitoba the first week of September, Jeff settled in at the local motel, Cory arrived shortly thereafter. After discussing the details of the upcoming evening's hunt,

Jeff tested his bow's accuracy, as the flight always has the potential to throw the sights off a bit. A few bull's-eyes later, it was confirmed that the 70 pound, Bear Epic Extreme that launches a Thunder-head 125 on Gold Tips was in fact, still dialed in.

Around 2:30 p.m. the first day, Cory guided Jeff about a mile into the bush on a quad. As Cory set the bait, Jeff was instructed to climb into the portable tree stand already in place. Cory uses the noise of re-baiting as cover for his hunters to climb into their stands. On his way up, Jeff noticed claw marks on the tree and knew that this bait was an active one. Even before Cory had reached his quad, a small bear came into the bait, knocked the barrel over and ran off with a scrap of meat. As the quad could still be heard in the distance, two more bears, this time a sow and her cub approached the area. Not a bad start five minutes into the first night's hunt! The sow and cub fed for half an hour and then walked off into the bush. Jeff then heard twigs breaking and watched as a 250 pound boar approached the bait from the left. More breaking sticks from the right announced the arrival of a second bear of the same size. Though equals, these two bears shared the bait while bellowing at each other. One of the boars laid down while the other fed easily at the barrel. At this point, 90 minutes into the hunt, five different bears had been observed.

Because a set of 5 3/4 inch tracks were present, and the 55 gallon barrels had been thrown around, Jeff was advised by Cory to hold out for the big one. This big bear, though never seen, was on a three-day cycle, which is often the pattern for trophy bears. Although the bait would get hit every day, it would be completely demolished every third day. Actually, this was not Cory's first choice of a bait site for Jeff to sit on, but due to Jeff's desire to hunt the biggest bear available, Cory obliged by putting him there. Another hour went by, and Jeff noticed black movement in the bush behind him. This would be bear number six, and it soon joined the others feeding at the bait. This also was not "the bear," so Jeff once again watched. Around 7:00 p.m., the seventh bear came in, a 350 pound black colored boar. Even though Jeff knew this was a P&Y bear, he held off because this still was not the bear leaving nearly six-inch tracks. The hunter was very tense at this point with four mature bears feeding hungrily only 15 yards away. With the snapping and woofing common to multiple bears sharing a bait, Jeff knew that this was not an ideal situation to be in. Soon, straight behind the bait, Jeff heard a loud crashing with sticks breaking. He thought it must be a moose running through the bush, but was shocked to see a monster bear charging in to the bait! The four bears scattered in all directions and, unfortunately, one of the directions was up Jeff's tree. As the 150 pounder worked his way to within two feet of Jeff's boots, the hunter became visibly shaken. As the "booner" bear stared the treed bear down, Jeff's nerves were in a jumble. Things calmed little when the big boy decided to lie down at the bait and stay for a while. After five minutes the bear in Jeff's tree scooted down and ran away. As Jeff came back to reality, he realized that the big bear feeding below him was in the 500 pound class. This bear sported a very large head and a tiny white spot on his chest. Even though this book bear was offering Jeff a 15 yard quartering away look, the hunter still had not calmed enough to draw his bow for the shot. Standing taller and longer than the barrels, this trophy was a sight to see! After 10 more minutes had gone by, and after several hundred deep breaths, Jeff decided that he was ready to shoot. As the archer drew his bow back, the behemoth glared up the tree at him. Frozen, with his pin on the bear's rib cage, Jeff noticed the bear look away. Perfect! Well it would seem. With a bad feeling about the outcome of the shot (mainly getting torn to shreds), Jeff let his bow down and just decided outright not to shoot at this bear right now. As hunters, we can all respect the train of thought that if all is not right, for whatever reason, we pass on the shot. Jeff watched the bear feed for another 30 minutes then the monster walked off in the same direction it had appeared from. At dark Cory came back to pick up Jeff and was told of the events of that evening's hunt. After a few odd looks by the guide, it was decided that the hunter would hunt a different stand on day two. This second stand, about 15 miles from the first, produced two bears at the bait on the first evening. The largest shot by Jeff at dark weighed in at 200 pounds. It is at this point in Jeff's story that the hunter would like to make a valid point. Regardless of your ability to silhouette shoot, judging bears in low light is extremely difficult. Jn Jeff's own words, the bear he shot and killed looked "a Jot bigger" than it really was. The ground shrinkage was tremendous, and this was, in Jeff's opinion, due to the low light conditions. Meanwhile, Cory and Loretta sat in the stand that Jeff had seen the big bear in. They saw the same four bears come in and feed and as before, when the big boy came in they all scattered, including one up Cory's tree. This time the bear was removed with a boot to the head and chased off when he hit the ground. The monster on the bait seemed unfazed by all of this as it continued to feed for another half hour.

Fast forward to the next spring. I, like Jeff, was in search of a trophy bruin with my bow. In fact, I killed a 7' 10", 562 pound boar on my fourth night on stand (see Bear Hunting, June 2002, Monsters of Manitoba). We were the only two hunters in camp that week and both of us saw bears in excess of 500 pounds. I personally viewed three in excess of 300 pounds. As Jeff and I got to know each other by shooting our bows and exchanging our deer photos, the excitement of the hunt built steadily. Each day we would ride together in Cory's truck to our respective hunting destinations. Jeff was the one who loaned me a Scent-Lok suit, one that I attribute to my success on my booner. He was religious about scent and Scent-Lok is the only way to go.

The first night out for Jeff was as exciting as it can get. Once again, because of his goal of a record book bear, Cory placed him in the big bear stand, Again, a true trophy bear in the 450 pound class was seen. As Jeff was hunting, three bears, one a 100 pound I 1/2 years old, came into the bait. After a while a mature boar chased the small bear up Jeff's tree and promptly fed at the bait. The bear, now almost in Jeff's lap was too close for comfort. Then the huge bear and a sow came into the bait. Jeff videotaped this monster, which had a large crease down its skull and almost nonexistent ears. Because of the lack of a white spot on its chest, it was determined to be a different bear. Remarkably Jeff passed him up. This was a trophy bear in every sense, with a belly almost touching the ground and a huge head. As we watched the fresh video footage over dinner, this was literally the largest bear I had ever seen on tape. To make a long story short, after continuing to hunt that bait religiously for the rest of the hunt, Jeff never again saw that bear. The breeding season does that. Jeff ended up taking a battle scarred six footer on the fourth night that weighed around 200 pounds. This boar came into a challenge call.

Fast forward again to the next spring. This was to be Jeff's third hunt to Manitoba with All Terrain Bear Hunts. Jeff knew he wanted the first week in June and was lucky to find a spot open. He now had three bow-killed bears under his belt and had been through it all. Both he and Cory felt that he could kill a big bear no matter what situation would arise. On his first night on his favorite bait, deja vu hits with four bears coming in to feed. The largest was 350 pounds but Jeff knew the big bear was still around. He never took a shot that night. In the same spot the next night, after settling into his stand a small bear came in. Soon, thereafter a sow and two small cubs arrived to eat. Not much else happened that night. The evening hunt on day three saw Jeff once again at that same bait. Once again a small bear came to feed after an hour or so. This bear feasted on a variety of foods at the bait including fresh meat scraps, oats and grease, fresh fruits and vegetables. Even though the wind had shifted and was blowing directly to the bait from the hunter, the bear never noticed Jeff's presence. Then the wind shifted again, coming from some thickets to the bait. The smallish bear feeding at the bait bolted and was not seen again. Another two hours went by when suddenly a crashing sound alerted Jeff to the presence of a large animal approaching the bait from the rear of the tree stand. He caught a glimpse of a large bear approaching, and as it came into view he saw that it was a 300+ pound sow with a white "V" on her chest. Then to his amazement Jeff saw a 400+ pound blonde boar dogging the sow. The boar's actions made it clear that the sow was in heat. Both animals made their way to the bait as Jeff prepared to shoot the blonde male. This was not his target bear, but it was a book animal and off-colored at that. As Jeff waited for the sow to move away so he could get a clear shot at the blonde monster, a loud huffing and crashing came from the thicket. After the big blonde answered with his own challenge, a huge black blur erupted from the thicket and charged the bait site. It is a sight to behold when 500 pounds of black fury explodes onto the scene with one thing on its mind. As the black monster sniffed the sow, Jeff prepared to shoot at this bear. With a perfect 15 yard quartering shot presenting itself, and the big bear distracted by the sow, Jeff released his arrow. THWACK! A perfect pass through the rib cage! The bear roared and spun around angrily. The big blonde and sow quickly vacated the area while the mortally wounded black moved off 15 yards and literally tore the woods up! It is an eerie feeling when a huge bear goes postal after a bow shot. I have witnessed it myself and no matter how many bears you kill with a bow, it still unnerves the best of us. The arrow quickly did its job and suddenly Jeff's dream had come true. The bear of his dreams lay only yards away, and the ordeal was complete. This bear, although not taken the first time it was encountered, was indeed harvested the second time. Being careful, scent free and placing quality baits regularly can and does give Cory Grant's hunters a second chance at trophy bruins. Cory also has his own second chance trophy, a 605 pound bear killed by bow a few years earlier.