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August 2013
HUNTING & FISHING 2013
7
With that panic attack over, Sarah soon
was was able to reach Jacob on the radio.
“I told him, ‘I shot a big bear, a really big
bear,’ ” Sarah said with emphasis.
Jacob’s instructions were stern and di-
rect: “I’m on the way. Don’t move.”
With son Wyatt in a backpack carrier, Ja-
cob arrived about 45 minutes after the radio
conversation.
The search began
Mom and dad (and toddler) scanned for a
blood trail that might lead to a dead — or
alive — black bear, with more and more
light fading every moment from the western
horizon.
“We didn’t find any blood, nothing,” Sar-
ah said. “I was so worked up I had no idea
what was going on. Did I not hit him? I was
doubting myself over and over again.
“We figured it probably was not a good
thing to look for a possibly wounded bear in
the dark with our son. So we decided to go
back to camp and try again in the morning.”
After a short night of sleep, Jacob got an
early start at 5 a.m. the next day, hoping to
cover more ground while Sarah watched
Wyatt in camp.
At 9:45 a.m. Sarah radioed to Jacob ask-
ing if he wanted food.
Moments later, with Sarah halfway
through the chore of making sandwiches,
Jacob called back with good news.
“I found him.”
Originally, from her vantage inside the
ground blind, Sarah was convinced the bear
had gone much deeper into the woods be-
fore piling up. That initial impression
caused both she and Jacob to search the
wrong area.
Turns out the boar had actually gone no
further than 10 yards behind the blind.
At one point the evening before, Sarah
and Jacob (and Wyatt) had stood no more
than 7 yards from the bear.
That next morning while searching, Jacob
decided he would make another sweep
around the blind.
“He poked his head in some thistle bush-
es and there he was,” Sarah said. “Jacob
was absolutely blown away by his size.”
It turns out he had good reason to be im-
pressed.
The boar was scored at this year’s Sports-
man Show, measuring 19 10/16 inches, which
Sarah said qualifies for the Oregon Pope &
Young record book as the 30th largest black
bear taken during an Oregon archery sea-
son. She’s also the first woman on that list.
One final note
Sarah is due to give birth to her second
child on Aug. 19. The new arrival won’t can-
cel this year’s hunt, only delay it.
The family still plans to make it out later
in the season, this time with a newborn and
3-year-old Wyatt in tow.
“I don’t know how much hunting I’ll be
doing this year,” Sarah said.
RECORD BOOK BEAR
Sarah Feldhacker
shot her black
bear using a
custom Hoyt
Carbon Element
bow. Her bow was
specially made to
fit her short
draw.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
