On Friday, September 24, 1999, Walt Earl, called me with a hunting challenge. He told me of a very large black bear that was terrorizing the ranching community near his home in the Snowy Mountains. The bear was killing livestock in the corrals and barns of the ranches, and had the area in fear. Many precautions were taken to protect the livestock but the bear was a big one and could easily kill the ranch animals. He was bold and cunning, never seen in the daytime; he was a night killer. His giant tracks on the corral floors and voracious appetite left little doubt as to his size. The ranch families wouldn't allow their children outside for fear of the bear. The apple trees around the homes were stripped of their fruit to give the bear less reason to visit. This was a big bear with an attitude. The State of Montana sent in their professional hunters with traps, dogs, and baits to hunt down the rogue bear, but with no luck. They found other bear...but not the big rogue. When the state hunters pulled out, defeated by this bear, Walt called me on Friday and said, "let's go hunt this big rogue bear". He didn't have to ask me twice.

I arrived in Billings on Monday and was picked up by Walt at the airport, and we headed to his home in the Snowy Mountains. The next morning we were up before daybreak and tracking the big bear. We hunted this bear for five days in snow and cold weather, sitting on mountain ridges in high winds, watching as the sun came up, looking for the bear. Over the first four days of the hunt Walt had developed a plan. The bear changed his path from his kills and the different berry patches where he fed on a daily basis but Walt knows bears and on Sunday, in the early morning, we saw the bear, He came out of the very berry patch that Walt had predicted and headed for the high country. He stopped for a second as he caught our scent...It was a long shot but it was now or never. As I squeezed the trigger I thought "please bullet, go to the crosshairs. If I miss Walt will give me hell". When I regained my focus I saw the bear motionless on the ground...one shot through the heart.. It was a long hard hunt...but we got the rogue bear that couldn't be gotten.

As we worked to get the bear back to the cabin, ranch families brought their children over to see and be photographed with the bear that had terrorized their community for so long. It was a great day in Judith Gap and we were the heroes...I liked that. The next morning I quickly packed and was on the plane at noon heading back to Jacksonville with three coolers full of bear meat. I had so much bear meat I had to pay extra, but that was ok, I was a happy hunter.