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Arizona New Mexico Outfitters and Guides The following is a collection of real life entries as written by the outfitter, guides, and past clients. Their purpose is to give potential hunters an idea of our hunts.
Black Bear Hunting Stories This story was written by a past client and has also appeared as a magazine article. Arizona Desert Bear Hunting By
Steve Chappell Corpus Christi, Texas
It
all began when I started searching the Internet for a guided bear hunt.
I had never been bear hunting and wanted something challenging and truly
considered sport hunting. I
didn’t want to hunt bait for bears. I
was leaning towards a horseback hunt in Idaho or Montana but could not find
anything that was for bears only. Then
I found the Arizona Guided Hunts website.
They advertised in bold letters, “This
is a very rugged hunt.” It
sounded just like what I wanted. I
called the owner of AGH, Pat Feldt, and he explained the 4 day hunt was spot and
stalk and physically demanding. He
said that if I was in good shape and could stand the 90 degree heat and shoot
accurately at 300 yards, then I had a good chance.
Being from Corpus Christi, Texas, I thought, 90 degrees with no humidity
would be a cool day. Hunting in
South Texas, I typically have to make shots on deer at 300+ yards, so long
distance shooting was the least of my concerns.
I
got references for two hunters, one that was successful and one that wasn’t so
lucky. Both hunters were very
satisfied with the service, the amount of game they saw and the amount of effort
that Pat and his guides put forth to ensure a successful hunt.
Both hunters emphasized if I wasn’t in shape, I would probably not be
successful. One of them told me
that most hunters go home in 2 days because they can’t take it.
This wasn’t a hunt for someone 40 pounds over weight and out of shape.
I called Pat and booked the hunt then immediately started an exercise and
diet program. Over the next 6
months I managed to loose 40 pounds and to ride a bicycle 10 miles a day in the
hot Corpus Christi sun. I wasn’t
about to let this hunt be a failure because I couldn’t cut it.
I
was ready, but when we got to the top of the mountain the magnitude of the
situation hit me. We were glassing
an area about 10 miles in diameter. I
immediately discovered that there is no flat ground in the desert mountains of
Arizona and if we spotted a bear it would not be close.
The hunt was going to be a lot harder than I had imagined.
After
about an hour Pat spotted a bear with his 15 power binoculars.
I glassed the immediate area but couldn’t find the bear.
I asked him where it was. He
said “Over there, about 3 miles away.”
When I finally found the bear, it was just a small black dot on the side
of a mountain. We
went back to the tent camp and Pat pulled out the topographical maps.
We found where the bear was located and plotted our strategy to go after
it in the morning. Fortunately for us there was an old mining road that could get us
within a mile or so. We setup on a
mountain and spotted the bear shortly after daylight a mile away.
Pat took a look at me and said “Are you ready?”
I said “You bet” thinking we would walk on over to where the bear
was. Then Pat took off scrambling down
the mountain with me hot on his heels. We
hurried down that mountain, up and down the next mountain.
At the bottom of the second mountain Pat said to wait until he radioed
back to another guide we left behind to keep track of the bear’s movements.
I really think Pat stopped because he was afraid I was going to die on
the spot. No matter how fast I
tried to breathe, it wasn’t enough. I
just couldn’t get enough air. When
Pat saw I wasn’t going to die, he said “Let’s go the bear is 2 mountains
away.” Thankfully
the third mountain was so steep we couldn’t hurry up it.
When we reached the top, the bear was on the mountain across from us
eating prickly pear fruit. I unfolded the bi-pod and took a prone position on the crest
of the mountain. I looked back at Pat and asked him how far away the bear was
according to his rangefinder. He
told me 280 yards and not to shoot yet. I
couldn’t help but wonder why he was mounting his rangefinder on a tripod.
I found the bear in my 6.5 X 20 power Nikon scope and was very grateful
that the bear was behind a bush and stayed there for about 30 seconds.
It gave me time to catch my breath and lower my heart rate. I had been
practicing shooting at 400 yards using 7mm mag 150 grain Nossler Partition
bullets in my Ruger #1 and figured 280 yards to be an easy shot.
When
the bear stepped out from behind the bush I put the crosshairs on his neck and
squeezed the trigger. The bear
dropped in his tracks. Hammer dead!
I think Pat was as excited as I was.
He had been filming the event and had the whole thing on tape.
It turned out that what he was putting on the tripod was a camcorder not
a rangefinder. The
excitement of getting my first bear didn’t hit me until we climbed up to the
bear and I looked back and realized what it took to get to this spot.
It was a fair chase. Hunting
in its purest form. It was
everything I wanted in a hunt and more than I expected.
I
was very impressed with the skinning skills that Pat and his assistant had.
They took every precaution to ensure the bear hide would make the best
looking rug possible. We took the
hide to a taxidermist that afternoon. The
taxidermist, Weller's Wildlife Studio, makes the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen.
I can hardly wait until it arrives.
The meat was also well taken care of and also taken to a butcher that
afternoon. Arizona
Guided Hunts makes it easy. They
pick you up at the airport then take you straight to camp.
The food is cooked outdoors and is great!
I am definitely going back next year with the intention of only hunting
for a trophy bear. Watching the video that Pat made gives me the incentive to
stay in shape. It’s great to
watch one of the most exciting hunts I’ve ever had. If you are looking for a rugged hunt, something that requires shooting skills and is physically challenging, then I recommend contacting Pat Feldt of Arizona Guided Hunts. You won’t be disappointed. You can contact Steve as a reference on our bear hunts at schappell_00@yahoo.com
Bruins
in the Desert by Pat Feldt This article has appeared in a couple magazines including the Arizona Hunting Tales, Winter 2000 issue.
I have found that being successful with spot and stalk black bear hunting in
Arizona depends mainly on locating a bear before the sun comes up.
They turn nocturnal in the hot summer months and once the sun hits them,
they are on the move and off to bed. Since I hadn't scouted the area ahead of time, my goal was to scan the 4 square mile area to
just locate a bear. I would then have an idea of what to do for the evening
hunt. Bears will usually come back
to the same canyon or visit the same feeding grounds in the evening if food is
plentiful or if they are not pressured. I had reached my destination and began glassing the steep slopes with my tripod-mounted 15X60 binoculars.
Not two minutes into glassing, I spotted the biggest bear of my career.
He was a huge black bear with a golden back.
With his coloration and size, it seemed to be the monster bruin that was missed 2 years earlier by another
hunter. The sun was up now and I knew at any minute he would move off out of sight and head for his bed. The bear was 1000 yards or further away, but was still munching on prickly pear cactus fruit, so I thought I might be able to get a shot if I was in position within the next few minutes. Instead of watching this bear, patterning him, and trying to get into position in the evening when he came out to feed, I decided to take my chances and get as close as possible. After packing-up my glassing gear (tripod, binoculars, etc.), I raced to a cliff drop-off directly across from the big bruin. I set up my glassing gear again and found the monster still there. As the beast picked through the fruit patch, I estimated his range. He was now only 425 yards away, which is an easy cross-canyon shot on such a huge animal. I lay behind my sniper setup.
After adjusting the Harris bipod and turning the Leupold
Vari-X III scope to 20X, I set the
target turret to 4 minutes of angle. This
was going to be a one shot kill I thought, since I practice routinely at the
1000-yard bench rest. The
crosshairs settled on the feeding black bear’s chest and I squeezed-off a
round out of the .300 Win. Mag. The
whack of the bullet hitting the bear echoed throughout the canyon.
I looked through the scope and saw the bear’s feet up in the air.
It was all over. I had just
finished off a monster bruin...............so I thought! I began to pack all my gear into the backpack when I
glanced over to the opposite canyon wall and saw “Mr. Grizz” heading slowly
down towards the bottom. Franticly, I
set-up the gun again and found the big black bear just as he was about to
disappear into the riparian creek bottom.
I touched off another round. Boom!
Whop! The bear was hit
again, rolled over, but refused to stay down. I
eventually lost sight of him amongst the riparian vegetation at the bottom of the
canyon.
Knowing he was hurt bad, I waited 30 minutes to let him expire. Because of the rough terrain and thick brush, it took a good hour before I
reached the bottom of the canyon. Being
hit twice with two bullets coming out of the barrel at 3300 feet per second, the
bloodtrail wasn’t hard to find. But, following it through the thick riparian
growth of the creek bottom was a feat in itself. I sometimes found myself crawling on my hands and knees to
avoid getting snagged. With my chin tucked into my chest, I busted through some thick oakbrush when suddenly I heard a grunt and crashing that seemed way too close for comfort. I froze like a statue and slowly lifted my head to investigate. I found myself face to face with a Kodiak-sized bear (not an exaggeration!). He was on all fours facing me with his teeth popping and hair standing on end. I couldn't help but notice the massive amounts of pooled-up blood around him. The old fellow seemed angry and hurt bad. I was taking no chances with this angry beast. I pulled up the gun and pounded another round into the front of his chest. He flipped over backwards and gave one last groan before expiring. After cleaning my shorts, I took awe at his size. He was so wide that the two 165 gr. Nosler bullets fired from the .300 Win. Mag. did not even exit his body. Up until this point, I had faith in this bullet for bears. I have seen many bears get "knocked in the dirt" by this load, but when you encounter one this big, you want something that will pass through. The next 3 hours were spent taking photos on a tripod, skinning and de-boning the bear. With the Arizona September daytime temperatures sometimes reaching 90 degrees, the meat and hide have about 5 hours to get to a cooler before spoiling. So, with 225 lbs. of meat, hide and gear on the freighter packframe, I took off up the mountain. I found myself going only 50 to 100 yards at a time before stopping to catch my breath. It was the roughest pack-out I had ever done alone. When all was said and done, he measured almost 9 feet long and 7 feet around the chest. The raw hide and head weighed in at 120 pounds. His true live weight was estimated using measurements and charts at 550 pounds. He officially scores 21 11/16 SCI, ranking it #8 in the SCI World Record Book. A once-in-a-lifetime trophy bear that I will never forget!
"The Bear Hunt of a Lifetime" By Joe Eades of Maryland
One phone call to Arizona and "The Hunt" was on. We discussed a few things over the phone such as, which caliber to use, what distance to expect the shots, and the physical aspects of the hunt? My buddy Greg had purchased a new Remington .300 Ultra Mag for the previous bear hunt with Arizona Guided Hunts. After seeing the video of Greg's bear drop like a rock, I thought "should I take my 30-06 Rem. model 700? I don't think so!" Both Stanley and I purchased a new Remington 700 in .300 Ultra Mag and were impressed with the performance. We topped them both with Leupold scopes and fitted them with Harris ultra light bipods for added stability. I figured that if I encountered shots across a canyon at 350 to 500 plus yards, I would be totally comfortable. We also discussed how demanding a hunt could be in Arizona. Physical conditioning was very important and the terrain in Arizona or anywhere out West, is fairly rough. Not to mention the altitude difference and rattlesnakes! Our outfitter Pat Feldt picked us up at the airport in Tucson very promptly. We arrived and set up camp a short time afterward. After getting settled in, we decided to go a field to get a taste of the days to come. We grabbed our optics and each hunter and guide headed in different directions to glass mountain ridges. Mike, my guide, was an older gentleman with a lot of hunting experience. As we made our way through some mesquite and cat claw brush at the bottom of one of Pat's favorite canyons, Mike shared some vital information with me. He said, "Joe, what's important is that you stay hydrated, move at your own pace, watch your step and rest when necessary" (to cool your body down). As we moved along, he pointed out to what he called a "bump" (big hill - small mountain) and said that's where we will glass from. By the time we were half way to his "bump", I was gasping for air and my lower quadriceps were burning like hell. My guide told me that is normal especially for a flatlander (ie. someone from back east) like me. We finally made it to the "bump"; a hike which only took a half hour and felt like forever. Just before dark we watched a nice sized black bear come down the west slope of Pat's secret canyon. This bear was at least 375 to 400 pounds. The next morning we hiked higher into the canyon to try and intercept the big bruin, but unfortunately, he had traveled to the opposite side of the big canyon over night. Mike glassed up the big bear lying on a rock ledge about a mile away. We did our best trying to get into position and intercept him, but ran out of time before we lost sight of the monster. Back at camp everyone discussed how to approach the bear for my evening hunt. Pat and Mike went over the topographic map to find the best possible route to take up the mountain towards the bear's homestead. It was a fairly long hike up the mountain with no avail. The bear did not appear this time. It was yet another long hike down the mountain in the dark. We arrived back at camp so late that all the rest of the hunting party were sure that we had taken a bear. My guide and I kept at it and on Saturday, September 21, 2002 (the second day of the hunt) my luck changed. The hunt began by taking a totally different route up the mountain. My guide Mike thought it would be best to go west of the ridge where we saw the big bruin the first time and come down on top of him. Once we reached the top of the ridge, it was late in the morning and primetime had run out. After glassing every little crease in the canyon only to find a few Coues deer, I found myself some shade and took a nap for a few hours. About four o'clock we glassed up and down the canyon and saw nothing. Time was running out for Saturday's hunting session and the sun was about to set. My stomach growled, my legs were exhausted, and I had blisters on my feet. To be fifty-seven years old and hike up mountains is one thing, but to do so like it's a walk in the park is another! They say you should never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Well, let me be the first to say there is nobody I know that can walk even one hundred yards in Mike's shoes. As we headed down a rough and rocky part of the canyon, I was trailing about 15 yards behind. I decided to take the round out of my chamber to be safe while traversing through the rough terrain. We preceded to stop and glass every ten minutes or so with about one hour of daylight left to hunt. Just as we were about to head down the next ridge, we heard some noise in the clump of bushes and rocks to our left. We stopped to listen as the sound was going in the opposite direction that we were hiking. The noise we heard stopped as we stopped. Mike motioned for me to go around the other side of the rocks. I stood still for a few seconds then moved forward a few feet to see down the canyon. Suddenly a blur of brown mass bolted out of the cover approximately 20 feet away! It became apparent that it was a brown bear bolting straight for me! There was no time for thought. I had to do something and I had to do it fast, faster than ever done anything else before. With no round in the chamber and the bear charging full speed now at 15 feet, I opened the bolt and chambered a round. As one can imagine, I nearly broke my thumb pushing the safety to the firing position! With no time to shoulder my rifle and use the scope, I pointed the muzzle at the bear's chest. I held my rifle tight for dear life and fired while the bear approached at only 10 feet! The bear flipped over backwards only eight feet away and rolled on his left side. The rifle nearly came out of my hands and the scope covers popped up from the recoil since I was shooting at waste level. The bear tried to get to his feet, so I quickly chambered another round and threw up my rifle! While the bear put his right paw up showing his claws, popping his teath and looking at me with fierceness in his eyes, I fired another shot. I wasted no time yelling, "I got me a bear" as loud as I could. Mike came over quickly and saw me backing up the hill still pointing my ultra mag at the twitching bear. Mike seemed amused at the whole situation and giggled as he said, "He's done. You can relax now, Joe." I started to shake so bad I had to put my rifle down and collect whatever nerves I had left! The miniature grizzly was down for good! As he lye there motionless, I was speechless! He wasn't the original monster bruin we spotted a couple times, but he is six feet long, cinnamon or light brown and 225 lbs., a trophy in any bear hunters eyes. Any bear that is light brown, charging you at 10 feet with less than 3 seconds to react while no round chambered -- to me, qualifies as a grizzly! If you like hunting and want guides that will work their ass off, contact Pat Feldt of Arizona Guided Hunts. Bring your hiking boots and a spare set of nerves! This is a true story and for further info on my hunt you can contact me at Joe2Easy@aol.com
Arizona Desert Bear Hunting “The Big One” By Steve Chappell Corpus Christi, Texas
This time I was really ready. I exercised the entire year and practiced shooting at 400 yards for a month prior to going on the hunt. If you don’t prepare for this hunt, you’ll diminish your chances dramatically. A few hunters have gone home early because they couldn’t cut it. I also told myself that I was going to remain cool and not get as excited as the last time. The adrenaline rush you get when your crosshairs are on a bear is like that of no other. I told Pat that I only wanted to hunt for a bear that weighed at least 300 pounds and to pass up anything smaller. Pat was very honest and said that my chances might decrease a bit if I was to be selective. I told Pat that was fine. If you don’t swing for a home run, you never get one. The night before we went out, I thought about how tough it had been last year and wondered what the morning would bring. Last year, I shot my bear in the first hour of the first morning. Like last year, morning came early. We left camp at 4:00am and drove into the mountains for 45 minutes. After parking the Jeep, we took off down a dry creek bed that ran into a running stream. It was fairly wide and there was no way across without getting wet. Pat asked if I wanted to take off my boots and walk across the knee-deep creek barefooted. My only thought was that I’d probably fall and break a leg or worse, my scope, so I decided to leave my boots on and contend with wet feet. Being from South Texas, I didn’t know water got that damn cold. Well, anyway we made it across the water then had to climb a 30-foot cliff before we could start to climb the mountain. We got to the top and daylight came. I saw we were on a huge plateau and on both sides of us were deep canyons. We set up tripods and binoculars and waited for glassing time. Soon after daylight, Pat, his helper, and I began to glass. Within a couple minutes we spotted a very large bear 3 canyons away (about 1 mile). It was heading towards a mountain at the end of the plateau, so we rushed about 3/4 of a mile to where we thought we‘d be able to get a shot. While waiting for this big bear to reach us, Pat spotted a bear on the mountain across from us. We realized it was a smaller bear and not the one we had come for. We were deeply engrossed in watching it when all of a sudden Pat’s helper, Keith, saw our bear about 1/4 mile behind us. It was heading down into a very deep canyon, but at a pace which would give us plenty of time for a shot. Now the chase was on which added to the excitement. We had to hurry back towards where we started in order to get within range of the big beast. Once in range, I laid down and got the bear in my scope. Pat said it was about 300 yards away. Last year I set my scope on 20 power for a 300 yard shot and the bear’s distance and size fooled me. It looked bigger than it really was. A common mistake I‘ve learned to overcome when deer hunting. This time I had the scope set on 10 power and the bear looked the same size. In all the excitement, I remembered I only wanted to shoot a big one (it’s amazing how much you forget when you see a bear) so I asked Pat, “How big is it?” He said, “It’s a shooter.” I said, “How BIG is it?” He said, “Don’t worry, it’s a shooter.” I said, “HOW BIG is it?” Finally exasperated, Pat said, “Don’t worry, just shoot the bear. It’s a BIG ONE!” I squeezed the trigger and hit the bear with a solid thump. We were amazed in that it only stumbled him. The bear took off down into the canyon out of sight. We looked over the edge of the canyon and couldn’t see it. After discussing the situation, Pat thought it would be best if we wait awhile before we make our next move. Pat was videoing the action the whole time and caught the shot on film. So, in order to verify how good the bear was hit, we viewed the video right there in the field. You could tell the bear was big. It looked liked I hit the bear too high behind the shoulder. My heart sank. I could tell by the look on Pat’s face he didn’t have a good feeling either. Feeling totally dejected we walked around the edge of the canyon to the other side to look for a possible blood trail. I wasn’t looking forward to going to the bottom of a steep, deep, narrow canyon to look for a big and angry wounded bear. Please note: in Arizona, guides aren’t allowed to carry rifles or go after wounded animals. It’s the hunter’s responsibility to get his own game. When we got to the other side we found where it stood when I shot and where it went down into the canyon. When I looked over the edge, I could see the bear about 300 feet below us dead as a hammer. I was elated! I could tell Pat was thrilled also. All he kept saying was “Look how big it is!” The bear turned out to be a Monster! He was 7-foot long, weighed around 400 pounds and scored 20 7/16 inches. The shot was a good one. Through the left lung, exiting in front of the right shoulder. I’ve never been so excited! We took many photos then skinned and de-boned the beast. Because of it’s size, it took several hours for 3 people to pack the animal out. I now have this huge beautiful bear skin rug on my wall and marvel at it every time I walk into my game room. The video Pat made is great. I can’t help but laugh every time I listen to us bantering back and forth about the size of the bear. Pat thinks I’m a really lucky hunter. I know it’s because Pat is such a great guide. This year when I called AGH to make arrangements to go back for a third bear hunt, Pat said, “Come on. You’re easy. Hunt one hour and shoot a bear.” I promised Pat that if he said the bear was a shooter, this time I would take his word for it. I figure all I gotta do when I see another big bear is stay cool, calm and collected. Yeah, right.
Please visit our bear hunting page for rates and other info.
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Home | Other Hunts | General Info | Rates | Contact Us | Stories | Links | References | What to Bring This website last updated: June 12, 2009 Copyright © 1999-2009 Arizona Guided Hunts. All Rights Reserved. "Arizona Guided Hunts" is a Registered Trade Name. |
When I stepped out of the truck and saw the rugged mountain
we were going to climb to glass for bears, I couldn’t help but wonder what I
had gotten my self into.
A
hot September morning in 1999 found me climbing a mountain slope
covered with catclaw brush and
prickly pear cactus in total darkness.
The hunt of a lifetime was in
the making after a morning of snow goose hunting in Delaware with my friend Greg
Jackson and Stanley Rouse. We gathered at Greg's residence to discuss what
big game hunt would be on the agenda for the upcoming year. Greg has
hunted with an outfitter by the name of Pat Feldt (owner of Arizona Guided
Hunts) several times before and has had a lot of fun and success. However,
I would have never been convinced until I watched the video of his previous
Arizona black bear hunt. After viewing the video, Stanley and I were
hooked! 
It
was late Summer in 2001. This was my second black bear hunting experience with
Pat Feldt and Arizona Guided Hunts (AGH). My first trip was so exciting that I
just had to come back for more! Arizona Guided Hunts offers the true sportsman
everything they could want. Rugged hunting, a test of your shooting abilities, a
guide service that does everything possible to ensure your hunting experience is
successful and, not to mention, the great food!