I am back!! Not really happy to be out of the woods but have a bit of a tale to ell. This year's camp included 4 of us adult hunter's and my buddies 12 yo son on his first deer hunt. We got up to camp early, got set up, cut fire wood for the stove and were raring to go for the opener. Opener was a slow day with nothing but a couple of coyotes for us and not very many shots fro the surrounding area either. The day was a bit of a downer as we also had to deal with a jack-leg riding his freaking ATV into the wilderness. The @sshats who ride those things up there have torn down all of the signs and think that absolves them from following the law. After a good nights sleep and continuing chilly temps, we headed out on Sunday with renewed hope. I move to a high ridge watching an expansive bowl but had no activity. About mid morning I heard the report of a couple of shots from way down the valley and hoped it had been one of our party. Just after noon I was restless and decided to head back to camp for some chow. As I rolled down the trail entering camp I noticed some commotion. The other camp members were all there and working on 2 deer!! Seems my buddy's dad and son scored does almost simultaneously while sitting together. I tucked in helping with skinning. When we were done we shared some chow in the afternoon sun. About 1430 I decided to head for my favorite spot up and over a ridge(down a hole)and my other buddy (Aaron) decided to join me. we staked out a meadow that stretches about a mile and a half, me at the top and him in the middle. The afternoon was clear and chilly but uneventful. About 35 minutes before the end of shooting light Aaron comes rolling up to my spot and I wave him into the wood line with me. He asked if I was ready to go and I said "No, we have some light left and head lamp, let's sit." So we sat and talked of our respective time in SOF (he is a Ranger and I was in 2 different SF Groups)and deployments while drinking in the last of the day. About 5-10 minutes left in shooting light I caught movement out in the meadow. It was a bear!! As I raised my rifle Aaron said "BEAR" a little louder than he intended and the bruin started to lope toward the woods. I caught him in the scope and dropped him with a shot to the neck about 40 feet from the timber. I never would have guessed that of the 3 tags I carried into the woods THIS would be the one I filled BTW, he is a dark chocolate color and went about 300lbs.