Bears has cubs? yes? no?

[wints13]

How long do you watch bears before assuming no cubs are present? I have missed multi opportunity now from waiting to long.

[HillHound]

 If I am pretty positive it’s a bore when I see it I don’t wait long at all. And all but one of my bears have been boars.  The one sow I  shot I still only had enough time to let her get to the far side of the grassy road she was crossing and just watched her demeanor didn’t seem like she was waiting for anything and didn’t see anything coming out of the bushes so I shot her. Guess there could’ve been cubs hanging back, which there wasn’t. But like you said most of the time you’re not going home with a bear if  you sit there and watch them all day long to be sure. I guess if they wanted us to  be 100% positive before shooting they would say it is against the law to shoot a sow with cubs  not that they recommend you not shoot a sow with cubs. I think they use that wording because they recognize how hard it can be especially when hunting in the thick brush. As with everything and hunting use your best judgment.

[X-Force]

On the west side in thick stuff I typically hear bears before I see them and this time of year the cubs are pretty active so I’ll hear more then 1 animal coming through so I’ll sit on it to confirm.

[Stein]

I don't wait all that long, I'll probably get flamed.

[logola512c]

I watched a bear in a power line cut about 4 weeks ago for about 15 minutes.  I always check my watch because adrenaline has a funny way of messing up my sense of time.  it  was just lazily feeding the whole time but had a funny paranoia to it and kept looking in all directions.  Anyway, 15 minutes go by, and there was no sign of cubs, so I rotate the safety off, line him up in the scope, get the breathing right, and out walked 2 cubs.  He was a she and I'm glad I waited a long time.  Seemed like an eternity but her funny manner must have been telling me something was amiss.  But it felt like I waited a long time.

[dilleytech]

If there not in plain site mommas going down. They could 50 yards away and bear opportunities  seem to be very short in my experience.

[bkaech]

If I feel like I’ll have time I might wait 5-10 min, but if I likely won’t get another good shot I’ll usually take it without as much wait time as maybe I should. Of course I’ve only killed a couple bears so with experience and meat on the freezer wait time increases.

[lewy]

In the spring the cubs seem to be closer by but by fall they can be a ways off and I usually watch for longer. It is a tough call but I promise missing an opportunity is easier to swallow than shooting a sow with young. Another great reason to bring baiting/hound hunting back 

[CackleBird98]

I'm gonna get roasted for this, but really, this is why you buy both bear tags.  Then if you shoot mama, then you can pop a cub. Bonus bears!!  Less predators in the field means more fawns and calves are surviving.  Sounds like a win to me.   

[dilleytech]

I'm gonna get roasted for this, but really, this is why you buy both bear tags.  Then if you shoot mama, then you can pop a cub. Bonus bears!!  Less predators in the field means more fawns and calves are surviving.  Sounds like a win to me.   

Wasn’t sure can you buy both tags up front? I’ve bought a second a few times but never before filling the first.

[lewy]

Yes bears are predators and they need to be managed but intentionally killing a sow with cubs guarantees a struggle almost certain to end in death for the cubs and that shouldn’t sit well on any sportsman’s conscious

[Bango skank]

I'm gonna get roasted for this, but really, this is why you buy both bear tags.  Then if you shoot mama, then you can pop a cub. Bonus bears!!  Less predators in the field means more fawns and calves are surviving.  Sounds like a win to me.   

Wasn’t sure can you buy both tags up front? I’ve bought a second a few times but never before filling the first.

I bought my second tag before the season even started.

[dilleytech]

I'm gonna get roasted for this, but really, this is why you buy both bear tags.  Then if you shoot mama, then you can pop a cub. Bonus bears!!  Less predators in the field means more fawns and calves are surviving.  Sounds like a win to me.   

I’ll remember that for next year. Bear seems to be the best oppuratunity in Washington anymore.

Wasn’t sure can you buy both tags up front? I’ve bought a second a few times but never before filling the first.

I bought my second tag before the season even started.

[mountainman]

Yes bears are predators and they need to be managed but intentionally killing a sow with cubs guarantees a struggle almost certain to end in death for the cubs and that shouldn’t sit well on any sportsman’s conscious

👆

[boneaddict]

Thank you for your patience and for not being a slob hunter.    Somewhere along the line I hope all folks realize there is way more to hunting than notching a tag.