88:

There's no doubt it was exciting!!

Bear are a fascination to me. I think it is the paradox of a critter that looks like a slug but runs like a coyote. They never cease to amaze me.

We discuss this hunt all the time; what we could have done differently, etc.

Bear of whatever size are TOUGH. Incredibly tough and tenacious.

I have seen the evidence of this toughness several times, maybe the most dramatic being a hunt in the St Maries Gorge when deep at the bottom we treed a sow. It was stuck in the tree in such a ways that the only shot was thru a branch she was holding. The shot did so, and then took it thru the chest and out its back just to the side of the backbone.

The bear slid out of the tree and fell some {I'm guessing, I didn't climb it} 30 or more feet, and piled up on its head and shoulders. This alone would, you would think, be enough to do it in but the thing was also sporting two holes that added up to a mortal wound and neither the bullet nor the fall ended the day.

I was sitting on the slope, the dogs tied up as usual, and naturally expected the "work to start" {gutting and packing it out up the steep slopes}.

No dice.

The critter sort-of shook itself off and stood up and looked around at the dogs that were tied up maybe 20-30 feet away.

The houndsman started yelling "SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!!!!"

I did, once, and as it was still moving, I shot it again.

The load was my favorite .45-70 load; 402 grain LEE cast Hollow Point bullet {wheelweights, very deep penetrating}, 1640 fps at the muzzle.

No pistol round that!! It is devastating.

And, as usual, a small bear!

Nothing should be implied by all this that bear are bulletproof. They are not. But they do not give up like some critters do when holed. They keep going and doing what they know how to do. And due to the methods used to hunt them, that usually means there are people around when they are doing it!

Even in the sixgun hunt the first shot would have killed the bear, but when?

I have no idea how much time elapsed between the first shot and the last, but I would think it could not have been more than 1 and a half minutes. In fact, I just asked my son who is eating breakfast and getting ready to go back to college. He guessed 1 1/2 minutes and then after saying that, he said "I bet it didn't even take that long."

My sentiments exactly.

Alot can happen in a minute!