Lake Holcombe High School freshman drops 542-pound bear

Kayden Jones, 14, Holcombe, was on Cloud 9 Sept. 30, when he harvested a 542-pound bear with his hunting party. The bear led the party on a merry chase, but thanks to a strong trail dog and an experienced hunter at his side, Kayden dropped the bruin with one shot from his 30-30.

By Ginna Young, Courier Sentinel

For only 14 years old, Holcombe freshman Kayden Jones is already on his way to being one of the best hunters around. This fall, during the second week of bear gun season, Sept. 30, Kayden harvested a monster of a bruin.

The 542-pound bear was in on baits the night before, so Kayden turned his dog and a friend’s out the next morning.

“They cold-trailed the bear off the bait for a while,” said Kayden.

As Kayden’s dog closed in on the bear, his dad was stationed on the road and turned another dog in to help. Kayden ran into his older cousin, Walker Jones – a great hunter in his own right – in the swamp and the two stayed as close to the dog trailing the bear as they could. By this point, Kayden’s dog, Reaper, was within 400 yards of the bear.

“Every time it’d get close, the bear just would come running out,” said Kayden.

He and Walker followed the chase for about three miles, then the bruin went toward a lake and turned, with the dog closing in at 300 yards. Kayden knew this was his only chance to harvest the bear.

“We took off running,” said Kayden. The two closed to 100 yards, so Walker decided to go up behind the bear to catch its attention, while Kayden kept trailing it for a shot.

“Sure enough, the bear saw Walker and turned toward me,” said Kayden.

He waited for the dogs to get back, then made a 30-yard killing shot.

“I was really nervous,” said Kayden, but in the end, his accuracy with his 30-30 was all he needed. “One shot.”

Walker then finished off the bear, just to make sure it was dead, before Kayden approached. Kayden gives credit to Walker for all he did during the hunt, to help his younger cousin get his bear.

Although Kayden has hunted bear many times, this is his first harvested one. To celebrate and remember his experience, a 3/4 mount is at the taxidermist and the meat is being processed for the freezer.

“The bear fat in his back was probably 4-5 inches thick,” said Kayden, a sure sign of a hard winter.

Kayden’s tag this year was from a transfer of a girl he helped last year, and with the point system in place, he estimates it will be about five or six years, before he’s able to get another tag. Until then, he can look back on his hunt and relish the feeling of harvesting such a large bear.

“It’s like the most adrenaline I’ve ever had,” said Kayden.