My brother and I had an opportunity last night, just 125yds up hill from where we got the early bear last sept. Sullivan county for reference. This is a overlooked secluded patch of hardwoods with a some steep rock ledges getting in that keeps others out. Acorns and beech are abundant this year. We left the car around 530p to ‘still hunt’ up to a spot we can overlook this hardwood bench. We got to our spot about 630p to sit against a tree. 15 mins later a nice bear that must have read the script pops out from the thicket walks up the ledge we are overlooking about 40yds to our left. We verify it’s a lone bear and I pull up my gun and my scope window is foggy. He was perfectly broadside but I couldn’t get him thru my scope enough to confidently shoot. We let him pass, make sure my scope is clear, get up and start following. Crest the next little bump only 15 yds up hill and he’s right there, 20yds quartering away. Nice bear for sure. I pull up my gun and although it was good before we started following, the bear was so close he took up my scope window and I whiffed the shot. I did not realize til a few minutes later the second time my scope wasn’t foggy like before, I was at 6x because earlier I tried spotting the bear thru it cause my brother could still see him on the binos. Lessons learned.. I most always keep my scope at 3x. Major lesson learned. I want that shot back.
We still treated it like a hit because at first we were not sure. It all happened quick and the bear took off. No blood, no hair nothing. Confident after coming back in the light this morning there is no blood or sign of a hit. While gridding to be sure found all sorts of amazing bear sign. Needless to say will be back in there late next week after giving the area some time to rest.