Like many hunters in America, I’m just a blue collar worker that has the same daily struggles as the next guy that tries to find room in his budget for hunting. Since my early 20s, I’ve wanted to go on guided hunts, but I kept thinking, ‘I’ll just wait a few more years, by then I’ll have enough money.’ Well a few years turned into five, then ten, and all that happened was I made a little bit more money but the hunting prices tripled! So, word of advice, don’t wait! If you want to do something, find a way to make it work and just go experience it. 

That brings me to the spring of 2023. I decided to try and hunt a black bear, which I had never hunted before. Like I said earlier, I can’t afford to go on guided hunts every year, so I wanted to be careful where I went and who I went with to put me in the best position to harvest a “nice” bear. I just wanted an average representation of a bear from which I could get a full body mount. During the process of looking for an outfitter, I wondered if it would be my only chance to get a black bear. I have many other hunts that I’d love to go on, which requires time and money, and I have a lot more time than money! 

After many, many hours of research, I was dead set on going to Vancouver Island, BC—the land of the coastal giants. I picked out a few outfitters and I talked to all of them. I was about to book a hunt when I came across Artistic Wildlife Expressions (AWE) taxidermy, which is said to have one of the best if not the best bear taxidermist in the world. I figured, what would it hurt to ask him a question or to? 

I sent AWE this message, “If you could only go on one black bear hunt in your lifetime, where would you go?” He responded with a phone number and said to call that guy.   

So, I called the guy Adam from Pantego, North Carolina. After 1-2 phone conversations and a couple texts, I booked a bear hunt on the coast of NC. I texted my buddy who was supposed to go along, and he just made fun of me for booking a bear hunt in North Carolina, of all places. Regardless, November couldn’t get here soon enough. I asked another good friend if he wanted to travel along with me and he was more than happy to come. 

The day finally arrived, November 10th, and we thought everything was going as planned until we got our first flight delay. They said it would be about an hour. We had no concerns at this point because we had 1.5 hours between our connecting flights. Then the screen updated and said it was going to be another half hour; by then we were sure we were going to miss our connecting flight. We landed in Chicago and they said anyone needing to get to their connecting flight needs to get off first. We had roughly seven minutes before our flight took off, and the terminal was on the other side of the airport. We set some kind of land speed record getting through the airport; they were just about to close the door when we arrived at the gate. 

We finally made it to Pantego and were greeted by the owner and all the sub guides, plus the other hunters in camp. They were all very welcoming, we sat down for a great meal, then tried to get some sleep and be ready for opening day.  

Day 1: This first morning we were set up about 1.5 hours before sunrise. Watching the sunrise was the first experience I had of North Carolina, and what a beautiful state it is. It wasn’t long before we saw our first bears. We were set up on crossings between bedding and feeding. The guides said the biggest bears head back to the sanctuaries at first light, so we were trying to intercept them. We saw around 25 bears, and I didn’t realize until then how difficult it was to judge size during a hunt.  

Day 2 and 3: These were much like the first day. We saw plenty of bears during each sit and I probably should have taken one of them since I felt more confident about what I was looking for. But, most of these opportunities gave me only a split second to judge size and yardage before they were across the clear cut. 

Day 4: I was starting to get concerned that I missed my best opportunities after passing over some large boars. Plus, our flights were scheduled to leave on day five, so it was now or never. The morning was very slow, so we decided to regroup for the evening hunt. That evening we saw only sows and cubs, so it was time to make a decision. My guide and I talked and I think he knew I was being overly selective, but he also knew what was in the area every single night and we were within minutes of the giants crossing with enough daylight for a shot every morning. My guide asked if we could move our flights back one day because he had one more trick up his sleeve.  

Day 5: Our plan was to set up on the opposite side of the clear cut, which would give us just a little more time for a shot. My sub guide suggested we move a little closer than we had been to their crossing. Before we ever got to our position, the owner knew that there were two giants a half mile away at the bait station and he knew they were in trouble because they were staying later before heading back to their sanctuary (we did not know any of this until later). I had a pretty good feeling about my last day; we were going to put dogs out if we didn’t have any luck on the morning hunt, and that actually sounded super exciting.  

Literally one minute after shooting light, an absolutely massive black bear swaggered into the crossing. Just by the way he walked, I knew this was a big bear, so I settled my cross hairs and squeezed the trigger. At the sound of the shot, we knew I hit him well, but he was in the trees and reeds too quickly to see anymore. My sub guide and I texted the owner, and he and the rest of the guides decided to meet us within 15 minutes. My guide and I walked and looked for blood, but only found two small spots and a drag mark in the dirt.  

When the rest of the guides and owner arrived, we talked about what happened and I said I thought I made a good shot, but the edge of the trees were so thick we couldn’t see six inches into them. The owner stepped into the reeds and pines and declared, “I see a dead bear!” He had only run about eight yards from the middle of the clearcut and about a yard into the trees. When we finally got to him, I couldn’t believe how big he was! It finally all came together for me. 

After contemplating my six day hunt and everything that happened, I decided the bear took third place next to the hospitality of the wonderful people we met and the beautiful views of coastal North Carolina. I’m grateful to Tri County Guide service and all the amazing people I met that are now lifelong friends. I eventually got my meat back and am very impressed with the taste. I really want to do this again, so I plan on squeezing it into my budget no matter what it takes.