1st Spring Bear Hunt Advise - Blue Creek

[hardcorecarnivore]

My 14 year old is looking for his first shot at a bear and I'm going for #2.  We got drawn for Blue Creek and would appreciate any advise anyone is willing to offer on the following:

1.  I found a map showing some state ground at the top end of N FK Coppei Creek Rd.  Is public land as hard to find in that GMU as I've heard?
2.  Is it hard to get permission to hunt private ground. 
3.  We normally hunt north of Yakima and Ellensburg, is there an elevation we should focus on and when can we expect to be able to access that elevation?
4.  I normally think of animals hanging the south slopes in the spring...is this a good place to start for bear?

Anything else you care to share would be much appreciated!

[hardcorecarnivore]

Thanks. Sounds like open land isn't as hard to access as I've heard.

[idahohuntr]

It is virtually all private...if you don't already have access i would be a little concerned.  I see guys glassing bears from roads every year...but thats all most of them can do because the bear is on private land.  Very little public land and very little ffth has been my observation.

[Woodchuck]

S. Fork of the Coppei has some FFTH and there are a ton of bear in there, not a huge area and not much hiking to be done but it produces.
X2 on looking for the "brown" stumps that move.
Coppei bear. 

[trophyhunt]

elevation has seemed to be important when I've hunted bears in the blues during the spring time. Just below the snow line seems to be the place to be, there should be good green up at that location and those wild onions are there favorite green that time of year. I've seen the biggest bear in the state a few years ago and he was just walking down the road. Never shot him, I had one already in the truck, much,much smaller. Good luck, spring bear hunting is my second favorite hunt.

[hardcorecarnivore]

Thanks for all the input!

[RubblesPH]

Thought I seen that you were going to be up hunting a couple weekends ago, any luck?

[stew pidasso]

Hardcore did you get things figured out.

[Daytonite]

Actually, most of the South Fork Coppei is posted now.  A lot of the land has changed hands the last couple of years.  Enforcement has been hitting this area hard for trespassers, people assumed that since they had hunted it in the past, they could ignore the signs.

[hardcorecarnivore]

Thought I seen that you were going to be up hunting a couple weekends ago, any luck?

It's not letting me send the live pics but in 5 days we've been out, we've seen 1 good sized cinnamon that I located 3 times between the 10Th and 11Th and I missed at 530 yards.  I thought he was less than 10 degrees down angle but after reevaluating from a side view, it was more like 15+.  I should've held for about 480.

We've barely put our binos down, tried fawn and rabbit calls and the only sign we've seen is some large rocks rolled near a log road.  None of the onions seem to be getting touched including the private ground I'm hunting that is virtually undisturbed and they have been up since the opener.  We've spent a lot of time from Whiskey to N. Fork Coppei. A couple of mid day trips to Lewis, S. Fork Coppei and Black Snake proved that sign sales are up!!!

I'm trading camping with the family to hunt this weekend if anyone has any advise.  From other hunt experience I kind of think I'm on the right track and plan on more of the same???  Hopefully persistence will get us a couple of bruins!

[stew pidasso]

I might be wrong but the more angle the shot whether it be up or down you have to hold higher. If it was 530 yds. 15 degrees would have made it like 600+.

[Pathfinder101]

I might be wrong but the more angle the shot whether it be up or down you have to hold higher. If it was 530 yds. 15 degrees would have made it like 600+.

No, he's right.  At steep angles, hold low.

[stew pidasso]

Your right. Hold low shooting up or down. That's what I ment. 

[xXLojackXx]

I grazed the hair off a big cinnamons back last year because I held high shoulder on it at 360 yards shooting uphill about 100 yards in elevation. Not a drop of blood anywhere just a couple hairs 

[RubblesPH]

Good to hear that you found some places to hunt and that you got a poke at a good bear.  This should be a good weekend for you.  Don't give up on the wild onions yet.

[Pathfinder101]

I grazed the hair off a big cinnamons back last year because I held high shoulder on it at 360 yards shooting uphill about 100 yards in elevation. Not a drop of blood anywhere just a couple hairs 

PathfinderJR learned this lesson 2 years ago (he was 12) when he whiffed over a whitetail doe's back twice at 250 yards by aiming center-mass.  Finally on the 3rd shot he listened to me when I said "hold low".  He thought I meant to hold an inch or two low, not at the bottom of her brisket.  Third shot pinwheeled her.  Luckily, the angle was so steep that she had no idea what was shooting at her and she just kept looking around.
He learned his lesson though.  3 hours later he filled his late season buck tag on a 147" whitey that was 290 yards, steep uphill and facing straight towards us.  One shot, bullet went into the center of his chest and out behind his ribs.  He fired, got up and said "He's dead.  I knew to hold low that time...."