After pursuing big game animals for decades and bagging some real whoppers, Wyoming hunter Owen Miller said record-book scores “are just a number for me.”
These days, it’s more about the experience.
He’s used a rifle and modern compound bow. But he’s grown fond of his traditional recurve bow – a weapon which requires him to get within about 20 yards of his prey.
But when his friends and peers got a look at the sheer size of a cinnamon-colored black bear he killed with that bow in May, they told him that, in this case, the numbers really do matter.
“I have guys pushing me, saying, ‘Dude, you have to get that officially scored. That is a huge bear,’” he told Cowboy State Daily.
By The B&C Numbers
The Boone & Crockett (B&C) scoring system, widely considered the gold standard for hunting trophies, scores bear by skull measurements.
Going by his own, unofficial measurements, his bear’s skull comes in at 21 and 1/16 inches, B&C. That would put it at No. 8 for the all-time biggest black bear in Wyoming, he said.
At his friends’ urging, he’s considering getting the skull measured and recorded by a certified B&C scorer.
Since he shot the bear in the last week of May, the skull has nearly gone through the mandatory “drying period,” he said.
Big game animals’ antlers and skulls shrink as they dry out over the first couple of months after the kill. B&C won’t accept measurements into its official record books unless they were taken after the mandatory drying period.
So, it’s wait-and-see for Miller as to whether his bear will make the record book.
But regardless of the measuring tape’s final tale, his memories from the hunt will be the real trophy.
They Knew That Bear Was In There Somewhere
Miller lives in northeast Wyoming and likes to hunt all over the state. One area in southern Wyoming is his favorite for hunting bears and elk.
Elk hunting seasons are in the fall, while bear seasons are in the fall and spring.
Miller and his brother knew there was a huge, cinnamon-colored male black bear in the area. They and others had seen him a few times.
But he always managed to evade hunters.
Last fall, his brother hunkered down in a tree stand at their favorite bear baiting site, while Miller ventured out to bowhunt for elk.
When he got word that his brother had dropped a bear, he was certain that it was the monster they’d been looking for.
It turned out his brother had taken a different bear.
But there was the spring bear season to look forward to, and his recurve bow would be ready.
Owen Miller used a traditional recurve bow to kill this huge cinnamon-colored black bear in southern Wyoming. It’s in the running to be one of the biggest bears ever taken in the state. (Courtesy Owen Miller) 
Owen Miller used a traditional recurve bow to kill this huge cinnamon-colored black bear in southern Wyoming. It’s in the running to be one of the biggest bears ever taken in the state. (Courtesy Owen Miller) 
Wyoming Bowhunter Owen Miller likes getting back to the basics, including using a traditional recurve bow, and arrows with two-edged hunting broadheads. (Courtesy Owen Miller) 
Wyoming bowhunter Owen Miller uses nearly every part of the black bears he hunts. That includes the rendered fat, which he uses for cooking oil and to waterproof leather footwear. (Courtesy Owen Miller)
‘It Gives Me A Headache’
Miller said he became interested in hunting with a recurve bow several years ago, and finally bought one from a friend.
When it was time to practice, he shot the bow nearly every day.
Unlike more modern bows, the recurve doesn’t have sights. It also doesn’t have a compound bow’s pully system, which allows an archer to hold the string back in the ready-to-shoot position for an extended period.
“It’s very traditional. No sights, everything is on instinct. There’s no holding the string back, you have to draw and shoot in one motion. You have to practice a lot,” Miller said.
He’s also picky about the arrows he uses. Many modern arrows have four or more cutting blades.
“It gives me a headache looking at that. It doesn’t look traditional,” Miller said.
Instead, he opts for traditionally triangle-shaped broadheads with two cutting edges.
Gradually, he gained enough confidence in his accuracy with the recurve bow to take it out hunting.
“It took me probably two years before I was comfortable hunting with the recurve. When I’m hunting, my motto is, I want to kill something, I don’t want to wound it,” he said.
He missed a turkey with the recurve bow, but scored good, fatal hits on mule deer, whitetail deer and a couple of black bears.
So, heading out to hunt this spring he felt confident that if he got a clear shot at the huge cinnamon bear, he’d bring it down quickly.
‘Just That Alone Was An Adventure’
Toward the end of May, Miller had a wedding to attend in the same general area as his bear hunting spot.
While he was busy with the wedding, bears came in and gobbled up all the bait before he could get out hunting.
As soon as he could, he resupplied the bait and decided to spend the day in his tree stand.
He wasn’t expecting much to happen. It usually takes bears at least a few days to start coming back to a bait site once it’s been disturbed.
At about 3 p.m., he spotted some movement and wondered if it was the bear he’d been waiting for.
“I realized, ‘That’s not a bear,’ so I got my camera ready. And here comes this huge freaking mountain lion. This thing came right under me, it was sniffing the ladder on my tree stand, but it never looked up,” he said.
The mountain lion kept going, eventually disappearing back into the timber.
“Just that alone was an adventure,” Miller said.
‘I Just Drew Back And Let Him Have It’
Miller figured that the encounter with the mountain lion was enough to have made the trip worthwhile, even if he didn’t see any bears.
But he decided to stay in his tree stand until dark, just in case.
At about 7 p.m. a bear finally showed up, and it was clear right off the bat that it was the cinnamon monster.
“He must have decided that there wasn’t any threat or danger,” Miller said. “He was just sitting there, rubbing his neck on a pine tree.”
Staying as still and as quiet as possible, Miller waited for the bear to get closer and offer a clear broadside shot.
Finally the moment came.
“He just turned his head, and his beady eyes were looking right up at me, so I just drew back and let him have it,” Miller said.
The shot was nearly perfect, right through both of the bear’s lungs, a quick and fatal blow.
A Bounty Of Meat And Fat
The bear probably weighed well over 400 pounds. As darkness fell, Miller set about skinning and processing the huge carcass.
“It was 1:30 in the morning before I got the first load back out to the truck,” he said.
Under Wyoming hunting regulations, black bears are classified as a trophy game species. That means hunters aren’t required to keep the meat.
Miller doesn’t agree with that. He thinks bear meat is delicious, and doesn’t see the sense in letting it go to waste.
It makes for great sausages, burgers and steaks, he said.
“It’s high in fat, so you don’t want to eat it frequently,” he said.
He also kept the fat from the bear, which he rendered down into an oil. It makes for great cooking oil and can also be used to waterproof leather footwear.
As for his next hunting adventure, Miller would like to sneak to within 20 yards of huge bull elk and take it down with his recurve.
“It’s about the challenge,” he said. “I’ve shot so many animals with the compound bow and the rifle. I still use those sometimes, but I’m having so more fun with the recurve,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
