Jrebel:
Have you killed the majority of your bears on North Facing Slopes?
Just curious and don’t mean to thread jack, but most if not all that I’ve seen/taken are on South Facing Slopes.
Thanks,
I'm no bear expert by any means.....but.....in that specific area the berry fields (huckleberry to be specific) I know of are all on north / north east facing slopes. I've hunting that area off and on for the last 15 years and have had multiple trail cameras with bear all over them during August / Sept. It is very thick and dense vegetation which likely contributes to the smaller bear harvest numbers.
The area we kill most of our bears (NE corner) is on private land and is almost exclusively on north facing slopes. It is sub 5K feet and the south facing slopes get sun baked this time of year leading to absolutely no berries. We hunt thick draws that have wild plumbs in them as well as water and overall do very well. I have only been (actively) hunting bears since 2012. In that time my family and friends have killed 15-20 bears. I have never hunted the alpine / above tree line bears, so I can't speak to that style of hunting. I imagine in that country the south facing slopes do very well with berries. I have also never hunted the west side so can't speak to that.
Last week a buddy / first time bear killer, killed his nice boar on a north west facing slope. The bear was traveling on a more open hillside moving down to the service berries and water lower in the draw. First time I have seen a bear on that specific hill, though I know they work the draws below it.
The bears you are finding on the south slopes, are they at higher elevation in the berry fields? I would imagine wherever the food is, the bears will be there.....at least that's my experience.
