Finding Bears in the Fall

[BearGuy1]

Hi everyone,
 
I am over in the NE side of the state and am a first-time bear hunter this year. Since the weather has gotten cooler, I have started to go out longer for bears. My problem is finding their food source and sign of where they are. Hucks are mostly shriveled up down low (<4000 ft) and the majority of berries still ripe are thimbleberry and elderberry, which I see a lot of. Anybody have any tips on finding them this time year and going forward into the fall? It felt like I was seeing bear sign all of July, but then the berries came in and they scattered!

[jrebel]

May be an excellent time of year to start calling. 

Also, if you have wild plums near buy they will be hitting those hard.  Our wild plums this are super crazy this year.....two weeks ago we had some that were ripe and ready while other trees were still green and hard.   This tells me the plum season will be extended this year the bears will be hitting hem very hard for a long time.  rose hips should be coming on too so make sure you know what they look like.  If you have some old clear cuts they will always stop to peel a log / stump that has ants, grubs or bees in it.  They will also eat the elderberries so if you have a large patch of them....there will likely be a bear on them at some point. 

Stay persistent and know that the bears will be moving all day long in this weather.  Go early and stay late......good karma comes to those who put in the time.   

[KFhunter]

Old homesteads with apples

[YellowShells]

They'll hammer elderberries. The problem, as you said, is that those are everywhere. Look for elderberry near where you were seeing sign before, and especially look for broken/thrashed elderberry bushes.

[hunter399]

They'll hammer elderberries. The problem, as you said, is that those are everywhere. Look for elderberry near where you were seeing sign before, and especially look for broken/thrashed elderberry bushes.

Yup the'll be droping the hammer on those.
They "should" be on the move ,with colder nights,
This nasty haze has it shaded all day long.
But what do I know ,I haven't found one yet.

[mcrawfordaf]

These are from a scouting trip this weekend.

[mcrawfordaf]

Do they eat these? Not sure what they are.

[jrebel]

Those are Oregon grape.  I see a lot of them in my bear area and have never seen a bear eat them.  I have been told they do but I have never seen evidence of them being eaten. 

[hunter399]

My luck for finding a bear this year is rotting.
I'm definitely not in a good place.
Hunting that is.

[boneaddict]

IMO,  too early for them to be hitting elderberries.

[jstone]

What area of the mountains do the Berries grow the best?

[Ntbutcher]

Those are Oregon grape.  I see a lot of them in my bear area and have never seen a bear eat them.  I have been told they do but I have never seen evidence of them being eaten.

I've found a pile full of the seeds before but it's not their preferred from my experience. Has anyone noticed bears are hitting logs heavily this year?

[duckmen1]

Those are Oregon grape.  I see a lot of them in my bear area and have never seen a bear eat them.  I have been told they do but I have never seen evidence of them being eaten.

I've found a pile full of the seeds before but it's not their preferred from my experience. Has anyone noticed bears are hitting logs heavily this year?

Last year I noticed stumps and logs being torn apart more than any other year. This year with my limited time afield but also group spending some time afield it was a bangor berry crop and main focus we saw was activity on the berries. Some stumps and logs but the berries were definetely key. Bellies were full of berries on all the bears from my group. And average wait to get a shot was 45 minutes to 1 hour for each persons bear after spotting due to bears standing in a berry patch and not moving 5 feet due to being so content eating berries. If I had been a shooter too this season I am sure we would have had another bear. But the group did awesome.

[hunter399]

I need pray more .

[KFhunter]

about hit a cub omw home from work this evening

[jrebel]

Lots and lots of cubs this year.....we have three sows that all had triplets.  Had pics of other sows with the normal twins and singles.  More cubs than I have ever seen on trail cameras.  Wish out deer and elk reproduced like these darn bears. 



I do find that stumps get hammered in the spring and then again later in the fall. 

[boss24dogara]

Good morning, I planned on going up to rimrock for a bear scouting trip any advice on where I should go? I don't need anybody's sweet spots just some advice feel free to respond here or pm me

[jstone]

Have the bears been staying out feeding longer in the morning? Still warm but they should be getting ready for winter??

[boneaddict]

Pretty much eating 24/7 now. 

[jstone]

Good to know. thank You

[JakeLand]

I called this boar in with a cow call while muzzy elk hunting today

[boneaddict]

Its fun when you do that sort of stuff and you arent paying attention.  I called a grizz in to less than 10 yards while calling moose.  Never heard him until "snap".  Longbow in hand, makes you pucker a little. 
Now you are more than likely to call in a wolf than anything

[pickardjw]

Haven't found any bears in the open the last couple of weekends. Is it a safe bet that they're timbered up with the heat and staying closer to water sources? Maybe time to put the bino's away and focus on calling?

And what food sources are they focusing on now that berries are gone? (at least they are in the areas I've been).

[pickardjw]

Bump. Just ordered an Icotec night stalker. I like @saylean 's app but with plans to call in the thick stuff, I think an addition 50db will be nice to have (80db speaker vs 130db with the Icotec).

The real question is...do I take the rifle or the muzzy...