With all the technology available today, very few big game animals fly below the radar. Most animals are spotted on a trail camera long before a hunter decides to tag them. But even with all of today’s technology, every once in a while a big game animal flies below the radar. This was the case with a monster black bear that was recently harvested by Mark Wynalda while he was hunting in Saskatchewan. “My dad and I had been hunting the same stand for four or five days before we saw the big bear I eventually killed. None of us – the outfitter, my dad, or I – had seen the big bear on any of our scouting cameras. We were completely surprised the moment he walked in,” Wynalda said.
Judging the size of a black bear when it walks in front of you can be very difficult. However, Wynalda knew as soon as he saw the big bruin, that he was indeed a monster bear. “The bear walked in on the down wind side of our Wyndscent unit. I instantly knew he was an extremely large bear,” Wynalda noted. The bear walked into the bait and Wynalda had to wait for the perfect shot. “I was using a crossbow and testing out our new Fourth Arrow Final Rest Shooting System so luckily the crossbow was locked in place and ready for the shot the moment I saw him. We didn’t have to maneuver the bow or get into position which was a good thing, because I was super excited as the bear worked his way around the bait.”
Eventually, Wynalda was able to make a good shot on the bear and was amazed how big the bear was when he walked up on the it. The bear has a 21-15/16” size skull and will be one of the top 20 bears ever taken in Saskatchewan. It is also one of the top 250 Boone & Crockett Black Bears of all time.
Mark Wynalda of Fourth Arrow with his giant black bear.
This amazing story just proves that you never know when a record book animal is going to walk out during hunting season. Game cameras make most of us believe we know what animals are on our property and when. Hunting is still hunting and sometimes the smartest of critters avoid being caught on camera for years.
