My hunting partner died four years ago and every time I enter the woods the joy and pain of his company haunts me. He was a good man but not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Some of the situations he got himself into will bring me to tears for the rest of my life and I'd like to share this one with you.
His name was John Oakey Cooper alias "The Coop". One year he was in deer camp with me and expressed a desire to learn how to deer hunt. I agreed saying, "OK Coop I'll take you but you can't carry a gun cause you don't have licensese." The next morning I decided to enter the woods at sun rise instead of 4:30 am so Coop would be more comfortable. As we climbed the hill I saw a couple doe and decided to hunker down in the brush hoping a buck would join them. After two hours the Coop got bored and wanted to go back to the jeep trail. I've hunted these woods along time and know the critters that live here. I know that nine chances out of ten a black bear isn't interested in you but it's that one chance that will put a shiver up your spine. I also know there are quite a few cougar in the area and one Tom had a bad attitude. After a half hour of his whining a decided to let him go. I unstrapped my revolver and handed to him saying, "OK Coop you can go back, but take this." He took it with a confused look and the conversation continued;
Coop: "What's this for?:
Me: "Just in case"
Coop: "In case'a what?"
Me: "In case you see a big buck go ahead and shoot him and I'll put my tag on it." knowing full well where he was going he wouldn't
see a deer.
Coop, quietly as he could crept away and went to the jeep trail. He was sitting above a very steep ravine when he heard a ruckus in the ravine. He thought, "HA ha I'm gonna get Ron's buck for him" not knowing that deer don't make a ruckus. He turned to his right raised the revolver and waited. After five minutes the ruckus stopped. Confused as to why the deer didn't come out he turned around to see a four hundred pound Black bear staring at him not 30 yards away
. He shouted, "Holly $&!% it's not a deer". Now the bear stood up. The Coop was feeling mighty inept with my 357 and started a negotiating with the bear and the bear was talking back. Evidently the Bear wasn't impressed with the intelligence level of the conversation and decided to go back into the ravine. Coop got to his feet and ran to the truck as fast as he could shouting words that would have made a sailor blush the whole way. My brother-in-law and I heard the commotion and found him at the truck ten minutes later. On our approach my brother-in-law said, "It's smells like crap down here!." Coop replied, "Took a dump!" There he stood pale whiteand shaking, he had taken a dump in the middle of the jeep trail, drank three beers and still couldn't speak in a full sentence.
Me: "Coop, what happened?"
Coop: "Bear"
Me; "What do you mean Bear?"
Coop: "Big m)&%$# # $%^&*& BEAR!"
Me: "Will you please speak in a full sentence?"
Coop: NOT A DEER!"
From that day forward Coop had a new nick name in camp, he was "Bear Bait"
Now the next year Bear Bait wanted to go deer hunting again and this time he had a licence. So at 4:30 am we climbed the hill and near the top where the deer cross over I sat him down in a well concelled and comfortable spot. The following conversation set the stage for the rest of the morning.
Me: "OK Coop, When the sun comes up, fork horns or better, any angle is good I'm out of range and sight and don't call me on that
walkie talkie until 9:30."
Bear bait: "Well...What are you gona do?"
me: "I'm going down to a big Ponderosa Pine and take a nap and I suggest you do the same."
Bear Bait: "How can you sleep in the woods?"
Me: "It's easy ya just pile up some leaves and needles and lay down."
Bear Bait: "But what about the animals?"
Me: "Let find their own bed! And don't be Call'n me on that walkie talkie til 9:30 ya understand!"
I dropped down the hill to my favorite spot and as the sky lightened I moved into position for a beautiful quiet morning of hunting. The sun had only been up half an hour when it started.
Bear Bait: "Brill....Brill, can you hear me?"
Me: "Yes Bear Bait I can hear you...and so can the rest of the woods...What do you want?"
Bear Bait: "Are skunks in season?"
Me: "Skunks!!! They're varmint and there's on closed varmint season...ya I guess so...why?"
Bear Bait: "Well.... there's one commin up the hill at me."
Me: "OH Coop... let that damn skunk alone he's not interest in you....Now be quiet!"
I had just settled in again watching the squirrels and other critters when i heard.
Bear Bait: "Brill...Brill... can you hear me?"
Me: "Yes I can hear you without the walkie talkie! What do you want now?"
Bear bait: "Are you sure that skunks not interested in me?"
Me: "No Coop he eats nuts and berries and bugs and snails and roots he's not interested in bear bait....Will you Please be quiet!"
Now I'm Little steamed with my buddies noise but I'm laughing inside as I ponder last years events when I hear.
Bear bait: "Brill..Brill...You still there?"
Me: "Where the ^%$# else would I be?"
Bear Bait: "That skunks get'n close I'm gona shoot him!"
Me: "NO COOP don't be shoot'n no dang skunk every deer in this county will be in the next before you know it!"
Bear Bait: "Well... I'm gona throw a rock at him!"
Me: "NO COOP DON"T TH...........
Then it happened! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH. There was Bear bait running across the top of the hill like his hair was on fire and his butt was a catch'n......and the skunk was chasing him.
He got a new nick name that day!
The Pooh Bear
God I miss him.
