The Daily Dispatch

Ted Doberstein has always been an avid outdoorsman. The 1978 Wahpeton High School graduate saw success on the wrestling mats at the North Dakota State College of Science (when it was NDSSS) and at North Dakota State University. But perhaps Doberstein's biggest thrill came last month in northwest Ontario, Canada, when Doberstein bagged a 400 pound black bear that he hopes could be classified as a trophy black bear.

The average black bear weighs 200 pounds. "A lot of friends and I would go bird hunting at Tewaukon when we were in junior high and high school," Doberstein said from his Bensonville, Ill., home recently. "I guess I fell in love with the outdoors when I was real young and would see my dad come home from hunting and would hear his stories."

A semi driver, Doberstein took a hunting and fishing trip this past August with a friend from his Willow Creek Community Church in Bensonville. The plan was to spend eight days fishing in the morning and hunting for black bear in the evening.

On the first night of hunting, Doberstein spotted a bear he estimated to be about 180 pounds approach his stand. "I passed on her, based on size," Doberstein said. He's glad he did. It turned out to be a mother and her two cubs.

After seeing more bear of equal and smaller size over the next two days, and seeing nothing for two days after that, Doberstrein says he "decided to get aggressive" and hunt from another stand that was more secluded. Doberstein also decided to give up the morning fishing and concentrate entirely on the hunt.

"I showed up at 8 a.m. and got 'bearzilla' at 8:20 p.m. that night." Doberstein said. "I'm in a tree stand, similar to a deer stand for over 12 hours. When the bear approached, my heart was pounding in my chest and I'm going through my coaching phrases: 'calm down, be steady, don't move'. The bear came in like a ninja. He didn't make a sound."

After shooting once with his Marlin Western Style 45-70, Doberstein shot a second time and missed. Fortunately, the first shot fell the bear. "Luckily, he dropped after about 30 feet," Doberstein said. "You want to have a humane shot. I didn't realize how big he was until I got down and made a feeble attempt to move him." It took seven guys to get the bear out.

Now, if the bear measures up, it could be scored by the Boone and Crockett company and classified officially as a trophy bear in their registry. "It's like being listed in their hall of fame," Doberstein said.

So, what's next for the big game hunter? Doberstein said, "The 120 hours over the past three years has put me into retirement. I'm so tired from bear hunting, maybe i'll go fishing. You can just call me 'Bear Hunter Emeritus.'"

Ted Doberstein would like to here from his Wahpeton friends. E-mail Ted at schmidttd2@hotmail.com

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