collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017  (Read 21374 times)

Offline tgomez

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Aug 2014
  • Posts: 1550
  • Location: SPOKANE , WA.
  • "IF IT BLEEDS, WE CAN KILL IT!"
  • Groups: Evergreen Archery Club, Spokane Rifle Club, NRA
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #45 on: April 28, 2017, 08:03:54 PM »
Besides size and possible scarring on males, is there any way to tell male from female?

My other question is about meat handling. Let's say the temperature is 80-90 degrees and I have a 1-2 hour drive to get home. I get a bear. Get it in coolers and on ice right away? Do you guys suggest putting meat bags inside plastic bags to keep the meat dry? Do I need to ice the hide as well? Right now I only have 2 of the cheap Coleman coolers for camping etc. How many for a bear? I was guessing 4. Thanks.
[/quote

Bring two coolers at least 120-150 qts in size. If you don't have any and are on a budget then check Craigslist for some used ones. BEST OF LUCK!
☠🫀 ULTIMATE PREDATOR 🫀☠

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #46 on: April 28, 2017, 08:10:04 PM »
Besides size and possible scarring on males, is there any way to tell male from female?

My other question is about meat handling. Let's say the temperature is 80-90 degrees and I have a 1-2 hour drive to get home. I get a bear. Get it in coolers and on ice right away? Do you guys suggest putting meat bags inside plastic bags to keep the meat dry? Do I need to ice the hide as well? Right now I only have 2 of the cheap Coleman coolers for camping etc. How many for a bear? I was guessing 4. Thanks.
[/quote

Bring two coolers at least 120-150 qts in size. If you don't have any and are on a budget then check Craigslist for some used ones. BEST OF LUCK!
Thanks! Found some!

Offline high country

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Old Salt
  • ******
  • Join Date: May 2007
  • Posts: 5129
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #47 on: April 28, 2017, 08:19:33 PM »
Wdfw has a decent video on boar identification....it's small stuff like neck lenght, his size that separates them.

I pack a pair of knives and a cammilus ceramic sharpener. You can flesh over a log, rock or your leg. Larry Bartlett of pristine ventures has a video series called "wilderness taxidermy" that will help you immensely.

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #48 on: April 28, 2017, 08:59:27 PM »
Wdfw has a decent video on boar identification....it's small stuff like neck lenght, his size that separates them.

I pack a pair of knives and a cammilus ceramic sharpener. You can flesh over a log, rock or your leg. Larry Bartlett of pristine ventures has a video series called "wilderness taxidermy" that will help you immensely.
Thanks. I've only ever fleshed coyote and fox. Appreciate the video recommendations.

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #49 on: April 30, 2017, 10:41:15 PM »
Took another trip this weekend saw some great country. Marked a couple spots and deleted a few because of the 2015 fires. Saw a lot of animals. My wife was hoping to see a moose but all we found was the poop.

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #50 on: May 01, 2017, 09:05:04 AM »
Crossed this area off my list.

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #51 on: July 07, 2017, 09:02:03 PM »
I decided I'd look a little closer to home. Most of my scouting was by truck just to get the lay of the land but I did a little hike to check out the berry situation. If you bear hunt the forest roads between Highway 2 and Lake Wenatchee I could use a little strategy advice. It looks like a good area. Here's a few pictures. The berries are already getting a little color at about 4500 feet in the Henry Jackson but I won't be hunting until September.

Offline MHWASH

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (+5)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2007
  • Posts: 1187
  • Location: Colfax
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #52 on: July 09, 2017, 07:56:26 PM »
Eric, looks like your having a lot of fun planning this hunt. I think the planning is just as exciting as the actual hunt. 

I really like the looks of the area closer to your home.

Offline Eric M

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 1538
  • Location: somewhere in time
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #53 on: July 09, 2017, 11:32:46 PM »
Eric, looks like your having a lot of fun planning this hunt. I think the planning is just as exciting as the actual hunt. 

I really like the looks of the area closer to your home.
I hope I have as much fun during the hunt as I've had getting ready for it. haha. Thanks. It looks promising. Just don't think I'll be off work in time to sit on any berry patches. But I really love the 2nd half of September in Washington.

Offline JeffRaines

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (+4)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2014
  • Posts: 538
  • Location: Roy
Re: A couple of bear questions for Bear Hunt of August-September 2017
« Reply #54 on: September 24, 2017, 09:00:48 PM »
I put a week into this hunt so far. Thought I would pass along a few lessons learned if anyone's interested. #1 The frozen 1 gallon jugs worked great in my coolers! They are still partially frozen after 7 days. Since we don't drink a lot of milk, I bought gallons of water and froze them. I didn't drain some water out first to allow for expansion so they all split and leaked.  #2 My first day I shot a couple of grouse. Grouse can become a huge distraction. #3 I took one of my wife's blackberry pies with me.  If you eat 1/4 of a blackberry pie with coffee for lunch, be prepared for what's coming. Trust me on this, you can't get back to your rig fast enough for the required items. #4 My wife bought me a solar charger for my phone since I was using hers all the time. I should have brought hers also. Test and retest your gear! It wouldn't hold a large enough charge and I left the other one at home. I ended up going to the Midway Store near Lake Wenatchee and they let me charge my phone and the charger.(Thank you ladies). #5 If I try calling predators again it will be with an electronic call. I'm only good for about 20 minutes. I don't know how guys can call for 1/2 hour to an hour. Maybe more practice?

After some driving, a lot of walking and trying a few sets calling, I decided to climb up out of the valley and look up high. I had only seen old bear scat down low, grouse, and a decent number of does and fawns. In 4 days the only bear I had seen was up high, but too far away for me to get to before it died of old age. I went up the mountain at night, with the plan being to be there to glass at first light. I was unprepared for it to snow and got too cold so my #6 is knowing your gear limitations. In frustration, and with chattering teeth I decided the best and safest thing for me to do was to go back down before I got hypothermic. So I got back to the trailhead at 3 or 4 in the morning and went home for a night to dry all my gear and have a beer.

I decided to try a different area not known for bears but for its elk. A few bears get shot there every year and my thought was maybe the bears would be moving around eating the gut piles. Driving over 410 I narrowly avoided filling my roadkill tag. There was still quite a bit of smoke Thurs night-Fri morning. At first light I heard a lot of coyote activity. Between 7 and 9 I heard a few elk calls. I put quite a few miles on my boots. #7 Get some boots that don't squeak when walking downhill. I found one carcass from a harvested animal still pretty fresh. Lots of crows on it and some coyote sign but no bear sign. Glassed for a few hours up high and saw a couple of elk at a distance. Bumped a pretty decent buck on the way back down to my rig. I looked around down low where the acorns are (and some berries along the creek), but all I found was elk sign. I also drove the Bethel Ridge Road from 12 to Nile and was fooled a few times by black stumps.

I have a lot to do this week but I'm hoping to get after it again the week after. I'll post a few pictures later.

#3 HAHAHA. I was about a half mile from the truck a couple years ago when it hit, and it was one of those times that I left the stuff at the truck. However, it didn't matter - if I had been a hundred yards from the truck it would've ended the same way. Alder leaves(closest thing to me) ended up being the "required items".

Nothing wrong with grouse being a distraction either, I feel like they're a confidence boost... you can at least say you got something(if you don't miss like I did earlier today  :bash:).

I've struck out bear hunting so far myself, and I've put a decent amount of effort into this year. I did buy a Foxpro Friday and was able to take it for a walk this weekend... no bears seen still, but I did get a bobcat to come into my first set.

Sounds like a hell of a week though, keep us updated!

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

Let’s see your best Washington buck by jjhunter
[Today at 07:02:34 AM]


World Record Archery Blacktail by blackveltbowhunter
[Today at 06:44:48 AM]


Pairs by nwwanderer
[Today at 06:33:38 AM]


1x scopes vs open sights by nwhunter
[Today at 03:54:47 AM]


10th Annual - 2024 YOUTH TURKEY HUNT CONTEST (enter by Mar 14) by bearpaw
[Yesterday at 11:27:12 PM]


Let’s see your best Washington bull by huntnnw
[Yesterday at 10:06:34 PM]


Fishing with kids in Wenatchee by HardCorpsHuntr
[Yesterday at 10:03:34 PM]


Hunting Dog Memorial by ghosthunter
[Yesterday at 08:55:30 PM]


Springer 2024 Columbia River by Blacklab
[Yesterday at 06:50:06 PM]


Holster for FNS 40C by bb76
[Yesterday at 06:37:56 PM]


Bangers and mash by elkrack
[Yesterday at 04:32:06 PM]


Wenatchee Hydro Park Fishing by Jake Dogfish
[Yesterday at 03:40:17 PM]


Owners of Ireland Farms Dogs by ASHQUACK
[Yesterday at 12:24:39 PM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal