Bagging big bears

Hunters use archery equipment to get trophies

— Black bears have an insatiable sweet tooth, and Daniel Davis of Sherwood used that weakness to kill a massive one near Marshall.

Davis, an exercise specialist with Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock, used Little Debbie snack cakes to entice a 475-pound bear within archery range on Oct. 5. He hunted private land with two friends, one of whom was visiting from Wyoming. Davis said his role was to help the others get their bears, and that he didn't plan to hunt. However, Thomas Schulz of Cody, Wyo., killed a 225-pound bear at 15 yards on the second day of a week-long hunt. The other member of the group bagged one on the first day. Since his friends had reached their limit, Davis spent the extra time trying to make it a trifecta.

"Thomas actually saw the bear I killed first," Davis said. "He hunts with a longbow, and he needs shots 15 yards or closer. The bear didn't come close enough, so he passed. The next day, he got one that weighed 225 pounds, a real solid bear. He shot it at about 10 yards."

That was on Tuesday, and Davis let the bait sites rest a few days. He returned on Friday. The weather was perfect, he said, with a cool wind that favored the stand where Schulz had seen the big bear. Davis got on the stand at 5 p.m. Cool set in as the wind calmed, and the woods grew quiet.

"At 6:15, I heard a little noise to the right, and he was standing there about 75 yards away," Davis said. "I knew it was him. He was standing with his head up, checking the wind. I positioned myself and got my bow up, but he turned and slowly walked away."

The bear circled around and reappeared in another spot about 40 yards away. Davis said the bear tested the wind and walked away again.

"Next time he showed up, he was checking the air again," Davis said. "He closed the distance to 15 yards and turned broadside. I centerpunched him, a double lung shot. He expired in five seconds or less."

Despite its immense size and toughness, Davis said a bear is actually easy to kill with a bow.

"If you shoot a bear right, he's not going to make it more than 40 yards," Davis said.

The bear didn't run far, but he did tumble over a small cliff into a deep ravine. Davis and his father tugged on the creature awhile, but they only managed to move it about 6 feet.

"I said, 'Listen, we ain't got what it takes,' " Davis said. He rounded up four buddies, and it took the six of them nearly three hours to move the bear 75 yards. They used a come-along and winched the carcass fromtree to tree.

That was Davis' third bear. He killed it with a Matthews Outback compound bow with a 70-pound draw weight. Tipping his arrow was a 100-grain Rocket expandable broadhead.

To qualify for entry in the Pope and Young record book, a bear's skull must measure atleast 18 inches across. Davis said his bear initially measured 21 inches, but he said he believes it still will qualify after the mandatory drying period.

As for the meat, he hired a processor to grind it into hamburger. He said it was delicious.

"Bear doesn't have a gamey taste at all," Davis said. "The best way to cook it is on the George Foreman grill. That drains all the grease off, and when it's done, it's just right. I had a cookout last Saturday and served bear burgers. Everybody loved them."

Another successful bear hunter this month was Dakota Welch, 15, of Ferndale, who shot a bear weighing between 350-400 pounds on private land in Saline County. He used a 45-pound Dakota recurve bow and a 100-grain Magnus broadhead to shoot his bear at a range of 15 yards.

Welch used Kroger-brand dogfood to lure the bear to his stand at the edge of a clear-cut.

"We hunted in the morning and didn't see anything," said Welch, a student at Academics Plus Charter School in Maumelle. "We came back about 2 and saw six bears. I shot the last one that came in. After I shot it, it went less than 50 yards."

Welch's opinion of bear meat isn't as generous.

"It's, like, tough," Welch said. "It tastes like pork roast."

Sports, Pages 34 on 10/28/2007

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