MORE PHOTOS AND NOTES FROM BEAR CAMP
The camp cooking of Shaune Himmler Augsburger and Alan Augsburger alone is enough to bring a hunter to Northern Wisconsin Outfitters.
We’re still waiting for the final tally from Northern Wisconsin Outfitters following the first weeks of the bear hunt, with several hunters still looking to fill their tags. I know that many tags were filled and the large majority of hunters, if not all, had shot opportunities that they either took or refrained from taking depending on the individual’s own definition of a successful hunt.
Bryan Bergmann’s bear taken with a well-placed arrow is recovered in short order by the hunter, Mike Foss, and Mike Hart.
As a reporter covering NWO for the first two days of the season, the hunt became successful when I tasted the fish and chicken fry put out for the hunters by camp chefs Shaune Himmler Augsburger and Alan Augsburger. That was unbelievably delicious, as was the lasagna, and breakfasts that included eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and I’ll stop now before I have to run to the kitchen.
Hunters listen in on the eve of the hunt as bear experts Mike Foss and Robert Haas answer questions at the NWO lodge.
Hunters at the NWO lodge also experienced a bear hunting educational seminar on the eve of opening day coordinated by NWO owner and guide Robert Haas, assistant Mike Foss, and bear butcher/skinner Bill Engler. The seminar was another opportunity for hunters, many who had never hunted bear before, to listen to experts regarding everything from how to tell how large a bear was, to what to do after the hit. The lessons also provided the hunters the opportunity to ask any question they may have brought to camp.
First time bear hunter Mike Hart baits his stand a final time before hunkering in for a long wait. He made a perfect shot on a 195 pound boar with his bow 10 hours later.
Personally, the experience with NWO also offered the chance to bait bears with long-time friend and On Wisconsin Outdoors’ columnist Mike Hart, and to track and recover bears after a successful hunter had taken the shot, or interview the hunters following that experience. Best of all, each of the hunters successful after day one made such well-placed shots with either bow or firearms that the bears were dead only seconds after the hits. No wounding and true reasons to celebrate a quick kill and hunt well done.
The Bergmann bear is taken from the field.