Missouri is in the middle of its first black bear season since the species began to recover there in the 1950s. Previously, the state’s black bear population had shrunk to almost nothing by due to unregulated hunting and human violations (first settlers and urbanization). In recent years, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has conducted numerous studies on black bears and observed rapid population growth, which led to the first bear season in modern history.

Hunting is highly regulated. Only 400 beacons have been pulled by residents of Missouri, giving them the first chance to hunt bears in their state. Although a total of 400 tags have been issued, the hunt is closely monitored and will close as soon as the quotas for the three hunting areas reach 40 bears.

BJ Applegate, a longtime resident of Missouri, was one of the first hunters to tag a bear. He couldn’t have been more excited to pull a permit and be part of this hunt.

“It was just one of those dream hunts,” Applegate said. “I have been in this area all my life and saw my first bear when I was 13 with my grandfather. Many people did not even think about the presence of bears in this area. In the past seven to eight years, I have seen seven or eight bears.

Applegate is a serious deer hunter, but after drawing a bear tag he devoted an enormous amount of time to pre-season spotting.

“I hit really hard. I was in the woods every weekend that allowed it, and if I couldn’t be in the woods my buddies were [out there],” he said.

Applegate has taken one of MDC’s online bear hunting information courses and has chosen to focus on bear hunting rather than deer hunting this fall. He took a week off to hunt in the hope of killing a bear. During his scouting, he was able to find a ridge on public land laden with acorns and bear droppings.

A black bear sighting

The black bear season began on October 18. That evening, BJ got a call from one of his deer hunting friends who had gone to check a surveillance camera on that ridge line.

“That bear was over there eating acorns and she got aggressive with him,” Applegate said. “He said ‘she’s in there, she’s aggressive, I think you can have her if you go in the morning’. That’s what I did.”

Applegate waited until daylight to slip into the tree he had saddled up on the ridge line. The saddle had “so many tassels that you couldn’t walk without stepping on it.”

“It was one of those mornings, you just have a feeling that everything is going to work,” Applegate said. “I knew something was going to happen.”

He had been in the tree for about 40 minutes. Applegate looked over his shoulder, noticing a black spot that wasn’t there before.

“I really started to look and I could make out his hind legs,” Applegate said. “I turned around and she took about three steps. I [brought] my gun in the air and [got] on his shoulder, but I’m shaking so much that I have to put it down and tell myself to breathe. She walked another 15 meters in a wide open area and I pulled. When I fired, it took off like a rocket. I thought there was no way I was missing her, then immediately heard some death grunts.

After calling a buddy, Applegate, who used a 7mm-08 to kill the sow, got off his treestand and sat down at the base of the tree to regain his composure.

“I was pretty shaken up,” he said.

Applegate went to where the bear was standing when he shot and quickly found blood. He knelt against a tree for several minutes looking under the brush and spotted more blood. When he got up to walk, he almost immediately saw the bear lying only 25 to 30 meters from where he had shot it.

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He reported his bear to the MDC almost immediately. Officials met him at his taxidermist’s shop where he skinned, dressed, and carved bear meat. The bear had an ear tag, and MDC was able to confirm that this sow was a problematic 5-7 year old bear that had been darted and tagged. It was also featured in some of the state’s educational bear videos and in the course Applegate took in preparation for its hunt.

“You know, 15 years ago I never would have dreamed that we would have bear season in Missouri,” Applegate said. “It happens. I get drawn. I spend hours on it because it’s something I might never be able to do again, and I want to be a part of it.