Doubt is a state of being that in its purest sense causes someone to be unsure of something.  Doubt will fan the flames of suspicion; invoke uncertainty of the truth, and call into question the factuality or existence of something.  The degree of doubt, coupled with the gravity of the consequence that surrounds it, will generally govern one’s quest for the truth.  This truth may never be completely clear, however, there are questions that can be asked, and experts that can be consulted with to either minimize, or remove doubt entirely. On the other hand, the term “no doubt” is all about confidence.  It is the absolute truth that something is certain.  This certainty of truth can come from within, or channeled through the experience and expertise of others. In either case, subsequent actions are executed boldly, for there is no doubt, there is no way you could be wrong.  Right?  Well, not always, sorry to say. I learned this lesson earlier this year while bow hunting for black bear in the Canadian wilderness.  This was my sixth visit to the area, and my objective was to make it my last by arrowing a 300+ pound black bear, from the ground, up close and personal.  My very knowledgeable and trusted outfitter and I had discussed our plan weeks in advance of the trip.  He had roughed into the brush line a brand new 2 man ground blind that was concealed nicely, about 18 yards from the pod.  The blind was perfectly positioned between several bruin corridors, each with scat and other heavy and active sign. On the first evening, the winds were light, in our faces, and we spent the first five minutes examining the damage that a bear’s claws and teeth had made to the not-so-new-looking ground blind.  We spent the next half hour discussing what could go wrong, and if it did, what we would do about it.  We had no firearms, no pepper spray, so my outfitter calmed my nerves by sharing his plan of avoiding a problem by explaining that he would talk to the bears if they got within 5 yards of the blind.  I quickly concluded that if we had an incident, and the bear whisperer was not successful, I was going shove him in front of me and hope for the best. Mamma bear and her yearlings paid us a visit forty five minutes into the sit which was fairly early.  Each bear had a beautiful black coat, and after mamma bear was done doing the mama bear thing, they all settled in for a feast that included three day old lobster shells, corn on the cob and some chocolate good good for dessert.  After twenty minutes, an abrupt and bone chilling gnashing of mama’s teeth brought a close to our little party, and off they went. Both of us were confident we didn’t spook them off the pod.  That was reinforced when another much larger bear shoulder rolled in shortly thereafter. Judging the size of bears in the wild can be tricky at times. Being on the ground and so close to the barrel didn’t make it any easier for me.  Thankfully, I had my trusted outfitter sitting right beside me to help insure we exhibited the patience necessary to zip Mr. Big. I sat in awe and mentally filed this animal as the outfitter assessed the situation.   It didn’t take him long to begin whispering the words of wisdom.  He’s got a 24 inch neck; look at the proportion of his body relative to the barrel, look at how many inches his back was above the barrel, the characteristics of his head, and positioning of his ears.  All of this spelled boar – big boar.  Then I heard the words I was waiting for: “Dude, he’s really big. I think you should take him”. I reached for my bow, and tried to hand the camera over.  This was met with an uncertain tone of  “Wait, wait, wait.  I just don’t wanna make a mistake.”  As the bear strolled off, I was okay with the decision to pass on him given it was our first night, and there could be a bigger bear in the area. Day 2  Mr. Big came in again and the outfitter was now sure that he was a shooter. Heart a pumping, I waited for a good shot and drew my bow.  The bear quartered toward me and I had to let down.  He hung around for a few more minutes, but never presented me with a clean shot.  I was sorry to see him wander off. Once again, we rationalized why the bear left and felt confident that it was natural and he never knew we were there.  The outfitter then told me that we had yet to see a bear come in from the left or right highway, only from behind the pod. He felt a bigger bear would come in through the thicker brush, and that was just ten yards from the blind.  No sooner had he said this, when a big black head emerged to my left. I nudged the guide, and he peeked through his mesh port hole and said:  “That’s your bear.  It’s a no doubter.”  I didn’t waste any time, but had to move real slow given the bear was so close.  After two or three steps toward the pod, I was able to draw and pin up on the quartered away boiler room. A quick pull of the trigger, a zip, a flip, and a quick back bite all preceded the thunderous departure.  I felt good about the shot, and it got quiet fast.  My outfitter and I embraced, high-fived, and then I sunk into the chair to decompress. We waited fifteen minutes before surveying the area of impact.  We found my arrow and it had good blood.  The outfitter had started to blood trail, and I heard him begin to descend into the valley.  He called to me to let me know the bear was down, 30 yards from the pod. I called back and asked if it was okay to join him, and there was no response.  I called again, and this time the response was sobering.  “This is the worst case of ground shrinkage I have ever experienced!” The “No Doubter” turned out to be a sow that weighed 140 pounds. Talk about throwing a wet blanket on the party.  Guess there are times where you should doubt the “no doubter”.  In the end, the shooter pulls the trigger and I own that.  That notwithstanding, this was a very exciting experience, and I would highly recommend hunting black bear with your bow from the ground if it’s within your risk tolerance.