Tracy Murphy, 40, had never encountered a black bear until the afternoon on Sept. 26.
Hunting from an enclosed ground- blind in Dickinson County in the western Upper Peninsula, Murphy–a veteran hunter of about 15 years– watched as several smaller bears came into the bait pile to snack on a mix of bread, pancake syrup, chocolate, and marshmallows.
The concoction brewed up by her husband Rex, also a veteran hunter, was just the meal ticket for some bear action.
‘I passed up some of the smaller ones,? said Murphy. ‘Then this one came in toward me, stood on its hind feet and looked right at me. I could see a white spot on its chest.?
Murphy, a Groveland Township resident who bagged a Michigan elk in 1998, as well as several white-tailed deer over the past few years, knew to wait for the perfect opportunity.
‘I felt pretty safe inside the blind,? said Murphy. ‘But still at about 40 yards I was just too nervous to shoot and waited for the right shot.?
Murphy connected with one shot to the shoulder with her 30.06 Remington. The bear, approximately 7 feet tall, weighed in at about 250 pounds.