The Wrights: What John has been up to

John got a archery bear tag this fall but wasn't sure if he would have the time to fill it, since it coincided with his Elk hunting season. Then we found Mr. Bear up a tree near our house. John and the guys waited for him to come down and he got a good shot, hitting one lung, but the bear still had some life left in him. They tracked him from 9:15 am til 3:30 in the afternoon. When they found him he was injured badly and almost done for, so John stuck him one more time. This time though it did not glance off the shoulder blade and he died instantly. Now we have, most likely, a record size bear with his height measuring around 7ft 4in and his skull measuring 21 to 22 inches initially, but not officially. He was massive. If you don't like hunting pictures... you may not want to continue; However, I did try to keep the real bloody pictures out.

In this picture you will notice the two blue tags in his ears. This was a problem bear that was relocated and had 2 strikes against him. Next time he would be destroyed and the Department of Wildlife was pleased that a hunter got to him and will benefit from the kill rather than it just being tossed. This picture was taken of him up in the tree, if you hadn't figured that out.

The Hunters (L to R): John, Mark, Brant and Justin. (we missed Kirk in this photo somehow but he was there and a big help)

John and Mr. Bear

John, Ethan, Jimmy (who helped Track him) and Brant

John's Hand in comparison to the bear's front paw

A Men's Retreat was taking place at the Family Ministries Facility and some of the men saw the guys dragging Mr. Bear out of the woods. They came over to help and get their picture taken with the massive bear. They, being from Atlanta, Georgia, were shocked that women and children would be there witnessing the events.

Then we pulled up to the Family Lodge and the men continued to pour out to see it and get their picture taken with it. Talk about the perfect men's retreat!