It would be hard to believe what happened to Steve Pavliscak during a black bear hunt in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in September if he hadn’t filmed the encounter.
A bull moose approached Pavliscak’s 4×4 wooden ground blind while he was hunting in Houghton County. The bull even bumped into the blind and sniffed the muzzle of his rifle, which was resting on the windowsill. Pavliscak had readied the rifle, anticipating that the big animal he heard coming was a bear.
He was in for an amazing surprise when he realized that what he had heard was a moose, that it was attracted to his rifle, and that it came so close to investigate. The bull was only about three feet away when it smelled the end of his rifle barrel.
It was the third day in a row he’d hunted that blind, and Pavliscak had yet to see a bear visit the bait site positioned in front of the blind. He believed that the heat — there was a high of 85 that day — reduced daytime activity for bears. He’d captured a trail cam photo of a big bear at that bait, but the bruin had only been visiting the spot once every few days.
Since it was the third day of his hunt when he heard branches breaking, it was natural for him to assume a bear was making the noise. It was 4:30 or 5:00 p.m., a typical time for bears to be active. The sound of breaking branches was also followed by grunting and heavy breathing.
Pavliscak wrote a personal narrative about the experience that he shared with Outdoor Life:
I turned slightly to the left to look out the blind window, squinting into the dim light, sweat from the heat rolling down into my eyes. My heart stopped. There stood a massive bull moose. My breath caught in my throat as he brushed and bumped the blind. His enormous antlers caught the light like a crown, and his deep brown and gray coat glistened as he moved.
The moose was surprisingly stealthy for his size. His massive hooves barely made a sound on the forest floor. I felt an odd mixture of fear and awe. This wasn’t the bear I had come for, but there was something captivating about the way he moved as if the forest itself bowed to him. He truly was the king of the forest, and this was his home.
Suddenly, the moose turned and headed directly in front of my blind. My heart raced, pounding in my chest like a war drum. I pressed myself against the back wall, barely daring to breathe. Would he sense me? Would he charge?
To my utter astonishment, he walked up to the blind window. I could hardly believe it as he stuck his head through the small opening, his massive nose brushing against my hunting rifle. He sniffed curiously, then licked the barrel with a long, wet tongue. The sheer force of his presence filled the blind, overwhelming my senses.
As he withdrew slightly, I felt a surge of adrenaline. This was my chance to capture the moment, to witness the rare beauty of a creature that few ever see this close. I slowly reached for my phone, careful not to make a sudden move that might startle him. Just then, he returned, nudging the rifle again, clearly intrigued by this strange object that had invaded his domain. Maybe it was the sweet smell of the Hoppe’s #9 gun cleaner that drew him so close.
And then, as quickly as he had come, he pulled his head back, seemingly satisfied with his investigation. He stepped back, shaking his head and letting out a deep, resonating grunt. It echoed through the trees, a sound that felt ancient and powerful.
Pavliscak Gets His Bear
Although Pavliscak didn’t get a bear that day, the bruin he was waiting for made an appearance the following evening, and it turned out to be a 400-pounder.
“Just as the sun started to settle, I heard a crunch in the underbrush,” Pavliscak says. “I took a deep breath, locked my scope crosshairs on the bear, and squeezed the trigger.”
Pavliscak shot the bear from 50 yards with a 200-grain Federal Terminal Ascent bullet, which performed perfectly. The bruin only made it 40 yards.
Photo courtesy of Steve Pavliscak.
Pavliscak’s bear had a dressed weight of 380 pounds, which means its live weight was well over 400. Its skull is expected to qualify for the state record book, which has an 18-inch minimum.
This was also Pavliscak’s first bear hunt. After 23 years of planning, he had accumulated 23 preference points to guarantee he would be drawn for a tag. (Five to six points are normally enough to be drawn for a bear permit in the management unit where he hunted.) Pavliscak hunted out of a camp owned by Roy Little, called Bushwacker Bear Camp, in Houghton County. His son Justin and good friend Andy also hunted, but they didn’t see a bear.
Even if Pavliscak had not filled his bear tag, he says he would have had a successful hunt because of the moose encounter. For him, the big bear was just a bonus on top of an incredible hunting experience.
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