[Hot Paws]

I couldn't believe it, I was so happy I would laugh and then cry. September 23, 2015 with 15 mins left until last light. A chocolate color black bear decided he would check out the bait. 20 yards away and I drew my first arrow, unfortunately my trigger release let go too soon and the arrow landed between me and the bear. I froze, he looked at the illuminated nock and then looked at me. Fortunately he went back to eating and I nocked another arrow. This arrow was a perfect shot that went exactly where it needed to be. He went 19 yards and moaned his last breath. We still had 10 mins of light to load him. He came in at 7:47 and last light was at 8:05 that night. After I cleaned the skull and it dried for three months I took it to an official measurer, it turned out to be 19 13/16. This bear weighed 507lbs squared out at 7'4" and made the pope and young record books. Approximately 200 hours of hunting into this bear, he was so worth it. I would like to say a huge thank you to my hubby Backwoods Runner, I couldn't have done it without you.