 I spent the beginning week in June last year on my first black bear hunt. I had organized and arranged this all girl hunt and there were three of us ladies who went. We traveled to New Brunswick, Canada. I flew in from Michigan, Carlotta traveled from Wisconsin, and Belinda came all the way from Louisiana. None of us had bear hunted before. Belinda and I were experienced with other game hunting and Carlotta had done quite a bit of upland game bird hunting, but that was the extent of our bear hunting qualifications.
The outfitter picked us up at the airport and wasn't sure what to make of us. As a matter of fact, everyone we ran into seemed a little shocked, to say the least. I guess a bunch of ladies going hunting all by themselves, is not something you see everyday. Once we arrived at the lodge, we were shown to our cabin. Since we had flown in on Sunday and Canada allows no hunting on Sunday, the girls and I unpacked and spent a little time getting to know one another.
That evening we shared dinner and talked about our hunt the following afternoon. The guides informed us that they would take us to the blinds around 3:00 PM and then pick us up at dark. Carlotta was hunting alone and Belinda and I had arranged to do this hunt together, as we were going to try and film each others hunt.
 The first night Belinda, hunting with a rifle, was ready and eager to go and I would be running the camera. At 3:00 PM, the guide took us to Belinda's hunting area, where we climbed up in the stand and settled in. Everything was so exciting and perfect. Everything but the bugs. People had warned us about them and they did not exaggerate one bit.
We had been in the stand about three hours, when as quiet as a mouse, out pops a bear. He was magnificent. He reminded me of the Shadow, disappearing as gracefully as he came in. We were not sure what to think. We thought we had scared him away, but no, it was just his routine. The shadow showed up several more times, each time not giving Belinda enough time to take aim and shoot. I was getting incredible footage though. On his forth time in, Belinda leveled her custom 308 Arnold Arms rifle and pulled the trigger. Her bullet was right on and the bear made it only about forty feet, before he crashed below us.
I was so nervous the whole time and was sure the footage was ruined as I was certain my breathing was all you were going to hear. The Shadow let out his death moan and expired. I congratulated Belinda and we climbed down to take a look. What a beautiful animal!
When our guide showed up to get us, he asked if we had seen anything. We were sitting at the bottom of our tree and had dragged the bear as close to the road as we could get him. I just smiled and pointed and again, we had shocked him.
Back at the lodge, everyone waited to hear the story and I played back the tape and let them take a look at the footage I had captured. The footage came out nicely and I was very proud of the shot Belinda had delivered. With all the excitement of this hunt, I couldn't wait for the next night to come, so I could have my chance.
The very next afternoon, we again, headed to a treestand, but this time I was the hunter. I had my trusty bow and Belinda was behind the camera. Up the tree we went to fight with the bugs again. I wasn't about to let them spoil my hunt. We spent a few hours watching squirrels, hawks, porcupines, and an array of wildlife, but no bear.
Finally, at 8:15 PM my bear appeared and just like Belinda's, it was magic. No noise, not even a peep. I watched him for what seemed forever and then he presented a shot. I drew my bow and just as I was about to release, he faced me and decided to lie down. So there I was at full draw and my target, decided to rest. After a moment, the bear got up and went behind some brush. Still at full draw, I was close to just launching the arrow into space, when at last he moved to a clear position and gave me the shot I had been waiting for. My arrow hit its mark and the bear spun and ran.
 It was nearly dark and I was not sure about my shot. The guide came for us and with the daylight fading fast, we decided to let the bear lay and not push him. We would come back the next morning. I was worried as I didn't know exactly how well he had been hit. I didn't want to just wound him and leave him. I listened to the guide and trusted that he knew what was best.
At the lodge, we went over the footage again and again. Because I had held the arrow at full draw for so long, the shot seemed to be a little further back then I had hoped for. Now I was sick. All night I tossed and turned, not sleeping a wink. Bright and early the next morning, I was ready and waiting for the guides.
Starting from where I had shot him, we started tracking and after an intensive search, the words "he's over here," reached my ears. What a relief! Just as we had thought, I had shot him a little too far back and nicked lung and his liver. As the relief of finding him set in, so did the proud feeling of harvesting my first black bear. It was an adventure and a learning experience all wrapped into one.
On the fourth day of our hunt Carlotta, too bagged her bear. We where all satisfied and happy bear hunters, so we celebrated together. The owner and operators of Ugly Bear Lodge treated us like royalty. We wanted for nothing even in bear camp. Three girls and three bears. I have hunted black bear since and I will continue to hunt them in the future, but I will always remember my first one.
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