Trail cam to hunting strategy. Tell me what I can learn.

[yakimanoob]

Hey folks!  This is my first time holding a bear permit, and also my first time capturing bears on a cam.  These are from a well-worn elk crossroads in unit 360 that I hadn't considered as a bear-hunting area until I picked up my cam yesterday. 

What should my take-aways from these photos be?  I count one young chocolate, one young jet black, and one (medium? small?) adult chocolate.  Is this a mom and two cubs?  Can cubs from the same litter be different color phases?  Can you tell from these photos what the sex of any of these bears are?  How about shootability of the larger chocolate?  (I'm hunting for meat more than the hide, just FYI).  How do I translate the info here into a hunting strategy?  The camera was out for about 3.5 weeks, and I got 1 bobcat, 2 bulls (I included one of them for a size/scale reference), and 3 bears.  No deer and (magically) no people. 

What do you think?

[Elkcollector82]

Find the nearest food source and wait.

[Skunk Trapper]

What should my take-aways from these photos be?

Take-away...u got bears there and u should hunt them hard if u wanna kill one...

Is this a mom and two cubs? 

 


Can cubs from the same litter be different color phases?

Yes

Can you tell from these photos what the sex of any of these bears are? 

No, it can be hard to tell even when they're right in front of you.

How about shootability of the larger chocolate?

  First bear? 

How do I translate the info here into a hunting strategy? 

Get out there and get it done!

What do you think?

Nice lookin' bears. Kill one

[tchoutacabouffa]

Trail cams have been a double edged sword. Three WEEKS in the woods are boiled down to a few pictures. Makes a person think if they sit there for three weeks the same amount of animals will come by. But that reality is near impossible. You are not going to sit there for three WEEKS without moving.

Don't tie yourself to that tree. You found great habitat and you found animals. The pics are the proof of that.

Keep practicing those skills as a hunting strategy. That is what worked. Don't let your pics dictate a strategy of just sitting in that spot.




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[luckyman]

If that's on private land then that's the kind of spot I set up at. If I get several animals come threw now and again. That bush behind the two trees I would my a trail into the back side to keep from walking down the game trail. then make a couple shooting lanes, add a comfortable chair to sit on. You can still hunt or go sit in the blind to rest.
I never see anything but chipmunk early morning it seems. Most animals I see while sitting in a blind is mid day or right at dark.

[yakimanoob]

A) I am FAR to impatient for still hunting, so you have no reason to worry about me wasting my days watching one spot because of this cam 

B) Thanks for the feedback -- this is what I'm wondering: how far will these bears range?  I'll check the camera again mid/late september but I may combine that trip with a more intentional bear hunt.  I guess I'm wondering whether or not to assume these bears live within a few miles of this spot, or if they wander widely and the fact that I got them on this camera doesn't tell me much about where they'll be. 

This is a pocket of forest in a saddle in a mostly open/mix area, FYI.  I have a couple vantage points where I could watch at least one of the draws leading up to this spot, and plenty of glassing spots to watch surrounding area.  My plan for elk is to watch those spots and try to locate the herd once season hits.  Maybe a similar plan for bears? 

[Machias]

I would try predator calling for them.  It all depends on the food.  Plenty of food in the area and they can be concentrated in a small area.  But you could have several bears in an area and the food sources dries up and they can all be miles away the next day.  Find the food source and you'll most likely be into the bears.  Good luck!!

[yakimanoob]

I would try predator calling for them.  It all depends on the food.  Plenty of food in the area and they can be concentrated in a small area.  But you could have several bears in an area and the food sources dries up and they can all be miles away the next day.  Find the food source and you'll most likely be into the bears.  Good luck!!

Thanks!  What do bears eat in this kind of area?  There are no huckleberries around, and I'm not well acquainted with what else they eat.  I mean they obviously prey on elk calves and the like, but they don't follow a herd around, do they?

[Machias]

They do in the spring, they will go to known calving areas.  I have killed a couple in the Manastash Unit, not sure how close to there you are, but the two I killed over there were full of blueberries when I gutted them.  In this hot weather I would also concentrate on creek areas, they tend to be a little cooler.  Find scat and see if there are seeds in the scat, that can give you an idea on what they are eating as well.  If you find lots of fresh scat, try calling in those areas, I have had better luck calling in areas I have found a lot of fresh sign.  Good luck!! 

[yakimanoob]

They do in the spring, they will go to known calving areas.  I have killed a couple in the Manastash Unit, not sure how close to there you are, but the two I killed over there were full of blueberries when I gutted them.  In this hot weather I would also concentrate on creek areas, they tend to be a little cooler.  Find scat and see if there are seeds in the scat, that can give you an idea on what they are eating as well.  If you find lots of fresh scat, try calling in those areas, I have had better luck calling in areas I have found a lot of fresh sign.  Good luck!!

Thanks!  Hopefully I can find time to get out there and do some proper bear-focused scouting.  I'm pretty distracted by my first attempt at the High Buck hunt though .

[Machias]

 

[fillthefreezer]

bears move, and fast. we just killed one almost 30 miles from where it was collared in june the year before. at the same time, once theyve found abundant feed, they might not move more than a few hundred yards for weeks.

[OutHouse]

They do in the spring, they will go to known calving areas.  I have killed a couple in the Manastash Unit, not sure how close to there you are, but the two I killed over there were full of blueberries when I gutted them.  In this hot weather I would also concentrate on creek areas, they tend to be a little cooler.  Find scat and see if there are seeds in the scat, that can give you an idea on what they are eating as well.  If you find lots of fresh scat, try calling in those areas, I have had better luck calling in areas I have found a lot of fresh sign.  Good luck!!

Machias do you always cut open the stomach to see what's inside? Last time that happened to me I about upchucked   

[Machias]

I do, I like to check and see what they are munching on, I have not had the misfortune of opening one that has been eating carrion....yet! 

[OutHouse]

I do, I like to check and see what they are munching on, I have not had the misfortune of opening one that has been eating carrion....yet! 

Right on. I remember the first deer I killed and how I poked the stomach right after it had a large meal and man oh man the smell made me light headed. I was with some people and I remember trying to act like it didn't bother me but it did. I suppose berries may not be too bad