Belgium, Wisconsin – At 6’4″ and 315 pounds, Bill Foster is a big man.
Experienced hunter with experience in a professional archery shop and two Oconto County trophy black bears under his belt. You’d think he wouldn’t flinch, sitting 15 feet in a tree overlooking a bait site on private property.
But the bear he saw approaching in the Burnett County woods on September 8, 2022, had its heart beating so strenuous that it took more than a minute for it to composed its breathing enough to take – and make – a 28-yard shot with the Obsession Turmoil mixture.
The vast boar had double lungs and a four-bladed Slick Trick Magnum blade, a 100-grain head and a diameter of 1 1⁄8-inch cutting diameter. Foster watched as the bear dropped within sight at the edge of the cornfield.
Yes, Foster’s bear was huge. His skull recently scored 22 points 11⁄16 inches by a panel of certified measurers, setting the state archery record for a bear shot in 2003 in Chippewa County by Duane Helland.
Foster shot his bear on the second night of the 2022 Wisconsin bear season. Just the night before, Foster’s friend from Tennessee, who also pulled out a bear tag, shot a 250-pounder from the same tree. Foster, who arrived in Burnett County delayed because he was coaching his son’s football team at Cedar Grove, then moved to the stand for the final hour of the hunt, but there was no sign of him.
“The bear I caught showed up a few days earlier with that bait, but everyone knew it was nearby,” Foster said.
On the second day, he entered the stand around 4:30 p.m
September 8, 2022. Foster’s friend shot a 250-pound bear with the same bait the night before. (Photo courtesy of Bill Foster)
“It was hot and windy, with 20-mph winds and mid-70s temp.” – said Foster. “Closing was at 8pm and he showed up behind me at 7:02pm. With the wind. He tired me out and looked like he was going to fly away. I didn’t have much of a choice (wait until he got close to the bait), so when he gave me a clear shot at 28 yards, I took it.
It was the first bear Foster saw during the 2022 season, and after guide Bradley Brown and friends helped retrieve it from the woods, its clothed weight was an impressive 478 pounds. The estimated live weight was 552 pounds.
Foster hopes to find out the bear’s age soon because he reported the tooth to the DNR. But he’s not he’s not sure how long it will take because he’s still waiting for the results of his son’s first bear test in 2021.
“I’d like to know how old he was, but I haven’t gotten anything yet,” Foster said.
His previous two boars weighed 458 and 300 pounds dressed, the first with archery equipment and the second with a rifle when he got impatient.
Foster lives in Belgium but grew up in Little Suamico. His first two bears were shot on his family’s property in Oconto County.
A week before the 2022 hunt, he dislocated his shoulder and reduced his bow draw from 70 to 57 pounds.
“The arrow pierced the bear and stuck in the ground,” Foster said. “There’s just no reason (to shoot 70) and I never went back.”
Foster said his friend from Tennessee might have been interviewed if he hadn’t shot the first bear he saw on opening night.
“Be patient,” Foster said when asked if he had any advice for hunters looking to bag a trophy black bear. “Just like my friend who was sitting on the same rack the night before, if he had waited, he could have had that teddy bear.”
Another tip from Foster: Mark things around your hunting area for height and length to better gauge an approaching bear.
“This one, as you can see, was big,” Foster said. “But a lot of big bears can look small, and small ones can look big. It’s hard to judge them.”
Foster drew the Zone D tag in the sixth year of trying. He’s going to make a bear mount all over his body.
A special panel of Boone and Crockett Club, Pope & Young Club and Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club measurers scored the bear on November 12, 2022. The panel included WBBC members Errol Jones, Marty Krumrei, Mark Miller and Stan Zirbel.
Although Foster did not attend Pope & Young’s recent conference, he said he “most likely” will attend the Boone & Crockett Awards ceremony, which will be held July 21-23 in Springfield, Missouri.
