Double Bears at Kammoe & Sons Outfitters near Timmins, Ontario

It was only the second evening of his hunt—the first in this particular stand—and the sun was still high when Keith heard the telltale sound of a snapping twig in the woods behind his stand. So far, Keith hadn't laid eyes on a black bear, aside from those he'd seen in trail camera pictures. It seemed unlikely that this snap could announce the impending arrival of Keith's target bruin—but then again, this trip had already delivered a few surprises.

It was the first week of June when Keith Beasley drove to Kammoe and Sons Outfitters, located just outside Timmins, Ontario. Along the way, Keith picked up his guest for the week, Evan Williams of Hoyt Archery. Evan is an avid hunter and outdoorsman with a background in competitive shooting. When he's not travelling or consumed by the responsibilities of his busy day job, he devotes much of his time to the hunting opportunities and outdoor adventures offered by the rugged and varied landscape of Utah, where he currently resides. This trip with Keith, he admits, is a first for him. "It's actually my first opportunity to hunt black bears. It's always been on my list, and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity."

Between his competitive shooting career and his career with Hoyt Archery, Evan has travelled to many destinations around the globe. But this is his first trip to Canada. "Out in Utah, we're a high desert climate—very, very dry, arid. We have a lot of open spaces, so the traditional hunting that we're doing is big glass, big country. Coming out here to Canada, it is amazingly green."

Green it is. Kammoe and Sons Outfitters' base camp for the week is located deep in the forest of Northeastern Ontario, giving guests an immediate feel for the environment they'll be hunting in. "Personally, I'm used to mule deer on the landscape, elk, sheep, a lot of open country—longer distance shot opportunities," explained Evan, as he scanned the dense forestry surrounding the camp. "It's very, very tight in here—we're going to be using top pin for sure," he added with a chuckle.

Keith has had the privilege of hunting with countless family-run outfitters over the years. Still, Kammoe and Sons takes "family-operated" to a new level—in the hours after their arrival, Keith and Evan are welcomed by no fewer than four generations of owner Moe Patry's family—including Moe's father, two of his sons (Pat and Mario, who would be helping as guides for the week), and his grandson.

After gathering all of the week's hunters together in the camp's dining trailer, Moe welcomed everybody with a comprehensive presentation (complete with a video component and pop quiz) on best bear-hunting practices—like reliably sizing and sexing bears and placing an effective shot. It was a uniquely engaging experience that spoke volumes of outfitter Moe and his company's commitment to sustainable, ethical hunting.

On the first morning of their hunt, Keith and Evan got out to enjoy the spring weather, slinging arrows on the Kammoe and Sons property to make sure their bows made the trip safely. Then, they enthusiastically accepted the invitation to join Moe and his sons in tending to some of his bait sites, helping to relocate tree stands and check out game trail cameras. After finding and assessing evidence of tons of bear activity, the guys determined where they'd set up for their first evening, got changed at camp, and headed back out to their respective spots.

Evan had been in his stand for less than an hour—fifty-four minutes, to be precise—when he spotted the first bear approaching his bait site. It followed the same trail Evan himself had used to enter the woods. Evan marvelled at the quietness of the brute as it maneuvered the bends of the trail, sneaking past the stand and to the bait. Entering the woods of Nothern Ontario for his first-ever black bear hunt, Evan wasn't sure what to expect—but he certainly didn't expect to be greeted by a sizeable black bear during the first hour of his first sit. He scanned the body of the bear, appraising its size.

"I don't know... first bear, first evening?" Evan considered. "I think we're going to let this one go." It didn't feel right to draw his bow on the first bear he saw; what if another, even larger bear was lurking unannounced in the woods, waiting to come into the bait? What if this bear wasn't as big as it seemed—after all, Moe's presentation the night before had confirmed one thing above all else: black bears can be notoriously challenging to judge—especially for the uninitiated.

But the more Evan observed the bear, the more its size and confidence struck him. Evan noted that this bear didn't seem remotely skittish; it stood its ground at the bait with authority, giving no impression that it was nervous of other bears that might intrude on its dinnertime. And when it extended itself, standing up on its hind legs to reach some chocolate frosting Moe had cleverly smeared high up on some trees, the bear's remarkable length revealed itself.

"I think he's bigger than I think he is," Evan realized, watching the bear maneuver to another tree, standing on its hind legs to reach another smear of chocolate frosting. "That's a big bear."

Once he'd made up his mind, Evan pulled his bow from its hanger and drew his shot in a single fluid motion, quickly steadying himself and releasing his shot with the confidence of a competitive shooter. The arrow took flight and punched through his target, and the bear tore into the brush.

"I think it's a little far back," Evan admitted, evaluating his placement immediately after the shot. But the bear crashed in seconds, no more than twenty yards into the timber beyond the bait. As his adrenaline surged, Evan hung his bow, struggling to steady his trembling hands. "It's my first bear. First trip to Canada! This was awesome, holy cow."

Recovering his bear was easy. A clear blood trail led straight to the fallen bear. "I don't have the words," said Evan, kneeling next to his first-ever black bear. Then, reflecting on his prolonged hesitation, he added, "We just about let this bear walk." In the presence of the fallen giant, it seemed unthinkable that he'd ever pass on the animal, even on his first hunt day.

"Most times you walk up on an animal and you've got ground shrinkage—this boar is more than I could've imagined. This has truly been the trip of a lifetime."

As the sun set on Evan's first successful bear hunt, Moe and his crew arrived, eager to help haul the bear from the woods. Although Keith's first day wasn't as eventful—he hadn't seen any bears during his first sit—he was overjoyed to hear of Evan's success. Evan shared all the exciting details with Keith and the other guests over a hot meal back at camp.

The next day, while Evan was eager to put his feet up and enjoy some relaxation back at camp, Keith opted to take advantage of the nearby fishing opportunities. He launched a boat into one of the many surrounding lakes and cruised the shorelines in search of walleye. It took a little time to get it dialled in—Keith sacrificed a few casts to the lake's ravenous pike population—but he soon found himself hammering a school of decent-sized walleye. "What a riot," said Keith. "A lake full of walleye and pike at bear camp—it doesn't get any better than that."

Once he was back on solid ground, Keith wasted no time—he made the rounds with the Kammoe and Sons crew (two of Moe's sons, Pat and Mario in particular), diligently checking trail cameras for any new leads. Sure enough, a sizeable boar had hit one of Moe's sites in broad daylight. With this new intel, Keith prepared himself for a change of scenery on his second sit.

For his second evening, Keith's experience wasn't dissimilar from Evan's first—it didn't take long for the bear woods of Northern Ontario to offer an irrefutable opportunity. About two hours into his sit, Keith heard a twig snap—though quiet, the sound interrupted the woods' silence like a bomb going off. Keith froze, each breath carefully calculated.

The bear didn't make another sound before it materialized, a tremendous black mass in the periphery. It doesn't matter how often Keith has been in the bear woods of Northern Ontario and experienced it first-hand: the effortless quietness of an approaching black bear always surprises him. It doesn't matter how enormous and brutish they appear; they're seldom heard—until they want to be. At the edge of the bait site, the black bear—Keith's target bear, he'd determined with a glance—suddenly throws its front paws against some small trees, bending them, shaking them, rustling the leaves, announcing its arrival with the subtlety of a freight train.

Announcing himself like he owns the place. It's a thought that's quickly reinforced when the bear finally emerges from the brush and, if only for a moment, sprawls out at the base of the tree stand, giving Keith a clear bird's eye view of his girth. "Wow. He's big."

After his brief stop beneath the stand, the bear rose and continued on the path toward the bait. As Keith grabbed and readied his bow, however, the bear suddenly made a beeline into the woods, skirting the bait entirely. Keith watched as the bear disappeared into the woods, then watched the movement of the brush that indicated its path around the perimeter.

"He's coming in behind it." The bear re-emerged behind the bait, pausing behind some trees, keeping its vitals guarded as it assessed the scene. With no clear shot, Keith remained still, ready to draw, hoping the animal would come forward.

His patience paid off. After an endless standoff, the bear finally committed, moving past the trees and climbing over a log to reach the barrel. The bear first positioned itself behind the barrel, chowing down freely. When the bear finally circled between Keith and the barrel, it plopped down before presenting a broadside shot. All Keith could do was hope the bear would rise to its feet and pause for a moment before retreating into the safety of the timber.

The bear started to move, shifting its weight, and Keith didn't hesitate. As soon as the bear began to rise, Keith drew and steadied his bow, releasing the arrow for a perfect shot. "We got him," Keith said, listening as the crashing movements of the bear reached a crescendo before suddenly being silenced. "What a hunt. In close, personal—sixteen yards with a bow and arrow."

Keith followed a pronounced blood trail fifty yards into the timber. The trail ended at a giant Northern Ontario black bear which had come to rest wedged between two trees. "Look at the size of the back end on this bruin," Keith remarked as he walked up to the bear. "This is a beautiful, big black bear."

Once he'd discovered the bear, Keith made his way back down the trail into cell service and contacted Moe and his boys to share the good news. Shortly after that, the crew arrived and made quick work out of recovering the bear, hauling it out from the woods and back to camp, where guest Evan Williams was still enjoying some relaxation.

It might just have been a first for Canada in the Rough: Two hunters tagged out in two days, each with the first black bear they encountered—and big, beautiful black Northern Ontario bruins at that. 

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