Justin Cook could hear the bear before he could see it.
It was just before dark on opening evening of Maine’s 2014 bear season, and Cook was sitting over a bait site in New Sharon when he heard heavy breathing in the woods.
“When he stepped into sight, I immediately knew it was him,” he said.
The bear came within about 20 yards, and Cook drew his bow and shot.
The bear ran about 80 yards before collapsing, leaving a blood trail that led Cook and his cousin Rusty to the enormous animal. They were amazed at its size.
It weighed 540 pounds live weight, making it the largest bear taken with a bow in Maine, according to the Maine Sportsman records.
This was also Cook’s first bear.
His cousin had always wanted to bait one, and the opportunity came when his in-laws began telling him about a nuisance bear raiding their bird feeders and those of their neighbors.
Their first trail-camera photos showed a respectable bear.
Then they got a photo of something much larger.
“When I saw the picture of the big one, I told him that it may be a state record archery bear,” Cook said.
Rusty graciously gave his cousin the first opportunity to hunt it.
That made opening day especially nerve-racking, Cook said. New Sharon is a small town, and word about the bear had spread among local hunters.
While he has bowhunted bears several times since, he hasn’t had another bear come in.
This year, he will return to the bear woods with his 7-year-old son, who already has two deer and three turkeys to his name.
“Hunting has always been my biggest passion,” he said. “My father instilled the love of the outdoors in me at a very young age. Most of my core memories in life are with him in the woods. And now I am fortunate enough to continue that with my son.”
