Photo: Darryl Quidort and Two Trophy Black Bears

"No kidding," I thought out loud as I remembered the many miles of wilderness we had already left behind. After the airline flights we had been trucked to the end of the road at the Clearwater River near Fort McMurray, Alberta. From there it was a 47 mile boat trip to camp. No wonder Bruce McKenzie is known for getting his hunters into big black bear.

Camp was a postcard pretty 16 by 20 foot log cabin made of peeled spruce logs and set on the bank above the river. Bunk beds were built on one end. A table, chairs and a nice little wood stove with a full wood box were all the furnishings we needed. Meals were served family style in the big log lodge building. Echo, the cook, never let us down, if you know what I mean. We lived like kings.

"Don't get impatient," Bruce told us that first day. "Don't even shoot a bear tonight unless it's a huge one. Everyone gets bears in this camp. You have eight days to hunt. You'll get big bears, just don't get impatient and shoot small ones. And don't shoot the sows. There are plenty of boars around, wait for a big boar. Bears can be hard to judge until you get some experience with them. I'll have one of the guides sit with you if you want, to help you learn to tell boars from sows. You're going to see bears, so don't get in a hurry. You'll get big bears if you are patient."

Just three hours after arriving in camp we had our gear stowed in the cabin, had shot a few arrow holes in the bear target behind camp and were loading back into the boat to go hunting.

The bear hunting action at McKenzie's bear camp started that first evening and never let up. We used the jet boat to go even farther up the river to the baits. After dropping off a couple of other hunters we cruised up to my stand site. Bruce picked up his rifle and led the way into the bush on a faint trail. "Nock an arrow, aye?" He said. "There may be a bear on the bait. You might get a shot, aye?" Yeah, right, I thought as I got out an arrow. As we neared the feeding station Bruce raised the rifle and calmly said "Bear." I looked where he was looking and there was a bear. A big one! I slid in front with my bow ready and we advanced. The bear held his ground, but didn't present a good shot for a bow. Then he walked away. "He'll be back," Bruce said, as I climbed into the treestand. Before he left he tossed me a can of Bear-Scare pepper spray. "You may need this to get back to the river for pickup tonight," he said. "This is the real thing. Good luck."

The parade started soon after Bruce left me. A small black bear silently appeared and walked carefully to the bait. He daintily ate dog food and carefully watched around him. Soon his attention was focused behind him. Then he silently walked away. I watched where he had been looking and soon a bigger bear appeared. He walked right in and laid down to eat. After awhile he jerked to attention, then ran off into the bush. A larger bear ran in and bluffed a charge in the direction he had gone. He then began to eat. Another large bear walked in, but the first one wouldn't leave. A fight broke out to see which bear was dominate. It didn't last long. The winner got the dog food. The loser waited in the wings. Then a huge old sow with a 1 1/2 year old cub showed up and let both bears present know she was in charge. After a few false charges and woofs and a lot of teeth popping, she and the cub got their meal.

I saw at least seven different bears that night. Some returned to the bait several times. I got so I could recognize them. But as the light diminished I couldn't tell the players without a program. I had my Bear-Scare in my hand on the trail to the river for pickup. There were lots of bears!

It was easy to get into the routine of Mckenzie's Bear Camp. Breakfast at 10:00 AM. Then fish on the river, practice with your bow or check baits with the guides until 4:00 p.m., when lunch was served at the lodge. After that we got our gear together and took a boat ride to the bear feeding stations to hunt. Hunt from 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. It is daylight for 18 hours in northern Alberta the first week of June. During supper in the lodge at midnight we all talked over our experience. Several of us had video cameras so each night we watched videos of the evening's hunt. Go to bed when you please, get up when you feel like it. Not a bad way to hunt, or live.

I was impressed with Bruce's bear feeding and hunting program. There are no roads in the area so he brings 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of oats and dog food in on the river ice during the winter. His ingenious self feeders are the main food source of the bears during the summer, drawing bears from an unlimited area of wilderness. Feeding stations are at least four miles apart on alternating sides of the river. Some are near the river and others are way back in the bush and are reached by four wheeler. Multiple bears were using each feeding station. Most hunters saw bears every evening they were in camp. I saw about forty bears during my eight day hunt. There were lots of bears!

Bruce tries to protect the sow bears because when they come in heat, usually the first week of June, they draw the big old boars in from the wilderness. A sow bear in heat is the best bait for a huge old boar. The old boars also become very aggressive at this time.

The six hunters in camp had brought in three bears by the second night. By the third day I had seen enough bears close up to be confident I could tell a boar from a sow and knew better than to shoot a small one. I was ready! A nice sized boar, coal black except for a white V on his chest, came in that evening. He had a real nice hide without any rubbed spots. Since each hunter is allowed two bears in Alberta, I decided he was big enough to fill my first tag.

 

Photo: Author on Left, Bruce McKenzie and Denny Sturgis with two Trophy Black Bears

I waited until he was angling slightly away from me and had his attention focused on the bait. Then I silently drew the recurve to my anchor point, hesitated slightly and, released the string. The bear growled loudly and spun around to bite at his side where the white feather fletching had disappeared. It was over in seconds. The bear never made it out of my sight. It always amazes me how fast and clean a razor sharp broadhead does it's work.

When the guys arrived to pick me up there was a pile of bears in the jet boat. The six hunters had taken five bears that evening. Not a bad night. All bears must be recovered and brought out of the bush before dark. If left until morning other bears will eat them. Each hunter is given a radio to call Bruce or the guides when a bear is taken.

We had our choice of the many baits to hunt and as we became familiar with them each one seemed to have its own story. There was Toothless, named because so many old bear with worn down teeth had been taken there. The Graveyard earned its name honestly, many bears had died there. Janice was named after someone's old girlfriend. Don't ask me why. Then there was the Frankenstein bait, named for the bear in charge. Frankenstein is a huge cannibalistic boar that eats other bears. In fact Bruce sometimes feeds him raw bear meat at that feeding station. He has been hunted, unsuccessfully, for the last three years. Bruce says "He just won't come in with a hunter in the treestand, but will slowly circle the area all evening." One time they made up a dummy for the treestand and put up a new stand on the trail Frankenstein circles on. Frankenstein didn't circle that evening. He pulled the dummy out of the stand and chewed it apart.

Other things are also chewed up. While I was there, one hunter left his raincoat and canteen hanging by his treestand. The next evening he found his raincoat in shreds and his metal canteen will never hold water again. Several punctures from a bears canine teeth made sure of that. Oh, if you ride the four wheeler to your hunting area, be sure to remove the seat and take it with you to your stand to protect it. Bears will chew those foam seats apart every time. Did I mention there were lots of bears?

My chance for a record book black bear came on a cool quiet, evening in the northern Alberta bush. A big sow with a 11/2 year old cub came by, but they weren't interested in the bait. Loud grunting and teeth popping could be heard behind them. As the huge boar swaggered in the cub took to the trees. Luckily, not my tree. The big sow turned on the old boar to show him who was in charge, but he wouldn't be intimidated. I've never heard a more vocal bear argument. I guess he made his point, because the sow withdrew and waited near where the cub had climbed a tree. The boss bear made a slow and deliberate circle around the whole area, crashing each dead fall and brush pile just to make noise. As he circled behind me he looked right up at me. Then he stood on his hind feet and grabbed a birch sapling with his front feet. Shaking it violently, he woofed loudly at me several times. I didn't move. Dropping back down he slowly walked right underneath me. From my stand just 12 feet up he looked absolutely huge! Eight yards in front of me he stopped and turned to look back toward the sow. My arrow took him in the ribs angling toward the far shoulder. The immediate loud growl that an arrow shot bear lets out is a pulse stopper. The huge bear left fast and went down hard a short distance away. The big sow and cub were gone when I turned around.

A radio call to Bruce brought help and four of us worked up a sweat, getting my bear to the boat just before dark The ride back to camp felt good.

Bruce and his guides skin all the bears and care for the hides professionally. They are salted, dried, bagged for travel and properly tagged for all hunters. He also fills out all the permits and papers to get you through customs without delay.

A week at Bruce McKenzie's bear camp goes by all too quickly. We soon found ourselves at the dock, loading our luggage and trophies into the jet boat for the ride down river to civilization.

As the big engine hummed us along, with the wilderness passing away smoothly on each shore, I thought about the great hunt I had just experienced. Good accommodation, good food, good guides, good feeding and hunting program, good potential for huge bears. My best bear hunt ever.

Then I had another thought. I might have to go back. With a quiet stalk in alone, a fresh stand in a different tree and my Scent-Lok suit I think I could get Frankenstein!

Author's notes: McKenzie Outfitting Inc. also has hunts for grizzly bear, mountain goat, mule deer, antelope and whitetails. Bruce books both rifle and bow hunters for black bear hunting. Contact Bruce at McKenzie Brothers Outfitting Inc. P.O. Box 5062, Devon, Alberta, Canada T9G 1X8 Telephone (780) 987-7300 or by e-mail.