Chasing Bear in Oregon: A Hunter's Tale
Chasing Bear in Oregon: A Hunter's Tale
“The red dot is right between the eyes. I might as well pull the trigger,” was my last thought before I harvested my spring bear.
It happened quick. And that’s how hunting goes. You prepare for months for an encounter that might only last a second. In Western Oregon, hunters must be on their game. The forest canopy can limit light, and thick brush narrows shooting lanes. In a split second you may need to bring your rifle to your shoulder, the scope to your eye, crosshairs on the target, flip the safety off and then make your gun go BANG!
My brief encounter with a bear occurred on a brushy ridge, behind a timber company gate on the Oregon Coast. It was my last day to hunt. The stakes were high. “Be ready it if I get a chance,” I thought to myself.
Near where a trail split off from the gravel road, I noted fresh bear scratches on an alder. On the trail there were tracks rounded off from a recent downpour, and several piles of bear sign. The trail went down a narrow ridge grown in with blackberries, salal and other lush green growth. The ridge’s steep sides dropped into deep canyons. Seems like a good trail to sneak down, I thought.
A soft ocean breeze hit my face as I walked down the trail. Sprinkles and drips from the trees dampened the sound of my movement. I crept down the ridge, careful to take my time. No sense rushing through great conditions with so much bear sign around.
After contorting myself through blackberry vines like a game of Twister, I peered forward, hoping the blackberries receded and no impassible obstacles lay ahead. Instead of obstacles, I saw black through the green brush. “That’s gotta be a bear,” I thought. But a low hanging branch obscured my view. I took a side-step to my left to get a better angle.
Then I see it, a large bear staring straight at me, with its shoulders squared. Quick as a flash I perform the sequence: Gun-shoulder, scope-eye, crosshairs-target, safety-off, send it, BANG!
The bear disappeared and I stood there listening. But the forest was silent. I didn’t want to assume the bear was down for good. If injured and spooked, the bear might run down into the side canyons. Or worse he might try to defend himself.
After a few moments I shifted around. Through the green brush I saw black on the ground. That was when I realized just how close I was. I stayed put and waited. After a few minutes of the bear not moving I inched closer. I saw a pool of blood coming from his head and knew it was over.
Then I began to put it all together. The bear was really close (later ranged to 12 yards), he saw me first and was standing his ground. His shoulders were squared to me and he was waiting. But the shot was perfect, even though the whole encounter only lasted about a second.
When I pulled my rifle to my shoulder, I had planned to aim for the bear’s chest. But his head was the only part of his body completely unobstructed by brush. Fortunately, the red dot on my 3x15 Firedot scope drew my eye to the center of the crosshairs. As the red dot rested between the bear’s eyes it was an easy decision to squeeze the trigger.
If I wasn’t using my 3x15 Firedot, then maybe I would have taken longer to identify the point of aim. A delay could have cost me my one shot opportunity this season. The bear would have likely ran off, but who knows?
When I inspected the bear I saw he had been in a very recent fight. There was a claw mark across his face. His eyelid was torn and his gums were ripped open. Perhaps the bear thought I was his rival, coming back for another round?
In the end it didn’t matter. I held my nerve and the scope performed as intended. In a close quarter encounter with a large black bear, the red dot drew my eye in for a quick, precise shot. With 20+ years of brush hunting experience, I can’t help but think the 3x15 Firedot is the best scope for what I do. The 15x magnification allows you to zoom in for distant shots. In the trees you can dial the magnification back to 3x (I like 4.5x for pushing brush). The Firedot speeds up the process of finding your point of aim. I can’t help but wonder, if I had been carrying a Firedot for all 20+ years of hunting, then how many more critters could I have harvested?
That won’t be a problem going forward because with Leupold’s legendary warranty, I will always have the VX-5HD 3-15X44 CDS-ZL2 Illum Firedot Duplex mounted on my favorite hunting rifle.
If you are relentless about hunting like I am, then I suggest you find the right Firedot for your needs. No sense taking a chance with tag soup. When it is the last day of your hunt and you only have one shot, then you want all the controllable factors in your favor.
Make your shots count and be relentless.
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