Burnett County giant bear ties for Wisconsin’s archery state record

Belgium, Wis. — At 6-foot-1 and 315 pounds, Bill Foster is a big man. 

An experienced hunter with archery pro shop experience and two Oconto County trophy black bears under his belt, one might think he wouldn’t get rattled while perched 16 feet up a tree overlooking a baited site on private land.

But the bear he saw approaching in a Burnett County forest Sept. 8, 2022, had his heart pounding so hard it took him more than a minute to calm his breathing enough to take – and make – a 28-yard shot with his Obsession Turmoil compound.

The big boar was double-lunged with a Slick Trick Magnum four-blade, a 100-grain head with a 1 1⁄8-inch cutting diameter. Foster watched the bear drop within eyesight at the edge of a cornfield.

Yes, Foster’s bear was huge. Its skull recently scored 22 11⁄16 inches by a panel of certified measurers, tying the state archery record with 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 one night before, Foster’s friend from Tennessee, who had also drawn a bear tag, shot a 250-pounder from the very same treestand. Foster, who arrived in Burnett County late because he had been coaching his son’s Cedar Grove football practice, then moved into that stand for the last hour of hunting time, but nothing showed.

“The bear I got just showed up a couple days before on that bait, but everyone knew he was around,” Foster said.

On day two, he got into the stand about 4:30 p.m.

“It was hot and windy, 20 mile per hour winds and mid-70s for temps,” Foster said. “Closing time was 8-something, and he showed up at 7:02 p.m., behind me. Downwind. He had winded me, and looked like he was going to take off. I didn’t have much of a choice (to wait until he came closer to the bait), so when he gave me a clear shot at 28 yards, I took it.”

It was the first bear Foster saw in the 2022 season, and after help getting it out of the woods from guide Bradley Brown and friends, its dressed weight was an impressive 478 pounds. The estimated live weight was 552 pounds. 

Foster is hoping to learn the bear’s age soon, having submitted a tooth to the DNR. But he’s not sure how long it’ll take, as he’s still waiting on the results of his son’s first bear in 2021.

“I’d like to know how old he was, but I haven’t got anything back yet,” Foster said.

His previous two boars weighed 458 and 300 pounds dressed, the first with archery gear and the second with a rifle after he got impatient. 

Foster lives Belgium, but grew up in Little Suamico. His first two bears were shot on family property in Oconto County.

A week before his 2022 hunt he dislocated his shoulder, and turned his bow draw weight down from 70 to 57 pounds.

“The arrow zipped through the bear and stuck in the ground,” Foster said. “There’s just no reason (to shoot 70), and I’ve never gone back.”

Foster said his friend from Tennessee might be getting interviewed, had he not shot the first bear he saw opening night.

“Be patient,” Foster said, when asked if he had any advice for hunters hoping to shoot a trophy black bear. “Just like my friend who sat on that same stand the night before, if he would have waited he could have had this bear.”

Foster’s other advice: Mark things around your hunt area for height and length so you can better gauge a bear coming in. 

“This one, you could see was a big one,” Foster said. “But many big bears can look small, and small ones can look big. They can be tough to judge.”

Foster drew a Zone D tag in his sixth year of trying. He has intentions of getting a full-body mount of the bear done. 

A special panel of Boone and Crockett Club, Pope & Young Club and Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club measurers scored the bear Nov. 12, 2022. The panel consisted of WBBC members Errol Jones, Marty Krumrei, Mark Miller, and Stan Zirbel.

While he didn’t make the recent Pope & Young conference, Foster said he “more than likely” will attend the Boone & Crockett awards ceremony July 21-23 in Springfield, Mo.