Bear hunting tips

[Rufous]

I was asked via PM to share some bear hunting tips, especially related to spring bear hunts. I am happy to share what I have learned. I am by no means an expert but I have had pretty good success hunting bears in the spring as well as in the fall. I have only hunted bears in the Blue Mountains in WA state (I also did a spring bear hunt in Idaho and in SE AK- both were successful hunts) so I do not know what some of the other areas might be like, especially the west side but I think most of my tips will be useful there in the spring time too. In general you will want to focus your efforts on areas that green up first. That is typically south facing slopes and some west facing slopes. Certainly east facing slopes get some morning sun and will start to green up, just not as soon as the south and west. With this past mild winter the south facing slopes may be dried out some by the end of the spring bear season. You will just have to watch the progression.

Sometimes you can find green grass along gaited off roads so those can be good places to hunt as well. You can find bears out at all times of the day during the spring but far and away the best time is the last couple hours of daylight. I suggest you hunt as much of the day as you possibly can but for sure do not sacrifice the last couple hours. In the spring bears will be mostly eating grass. They also tear apart stumps looking for bugs to eat. They will also eat winter killed deer and elk (or carcasses that a lion has killed).

Look for areas where the ground has been torn up by the bears. They really dig up the turf. If you find freshly dug up ground then focus your efforts there as a bear is feeding on grasses and roots in that area. They also like to eat the wild onions. I am not sure if they eat the fresh green shoots or if they wait for the bulb to swell and ripen and then eat the bulbs but they definitely go after the onions.

Sometimes a bear will be out feeding for an hour or more, giving you time to stalk in closer for a shot and sometimes they will fade into the thick stuff before you can get close enough. It is certainly nice if one can make a killing shot from across the canyon instead of needing to try to stalk over to the bear first. Obviously though the closer you are the more likely you will be able to place the bullet where it needs to go and that you will make a good assessment of the bear's size. A laser rangefinder is a big help as is a bipod. 

Bears can be very difficult to recover once hit. They do not have hooves so they do not leave much in the way of foot prints. They also have more hair that absorbs the blood somewhat and they tend to have more fat which can plug up the bullet hole. So it is fairly easy to lose a wounded bear. To minimize that sad occurrence the bear must be hit well with a good bullet from a fairly powerful cartridge. I very much want an exit wound since they tend to be bigger in size than the entrance wound and two holes usually leave more blood on the ground than one. That is a big part of why I use Barnes bullets. They exit more often than most other bullets. I also really like to break a shoulder. My favorite shot is quartering away, bullet through the lungs and then breaking the offside shoulder. If you can put more than one bullet into the bear then do so. Better to lose a bit of blood shot meat than to lose the entire animal.

Mature boars in the Blue Mountains go 250# and up from my experience. The biggest one I have shot was about 400#. What you want to look for is a bear by itself or later in the season you might find a boar trailing a sow. A sow might have a cub or cubs that you cannot see initially so it is good to spend some time watching the bear before shooting as boars and sows can be difficult to differentiate, especially at longer distances. Big boars walk with somewhat of a waddle and they are not as skittish as younger bears. They act like they own their territory.

Look for a bear with a rounded head, not one that seems really narrow and pointy nosed (often somewhat triangular shaped on young bears). Ears should be smaller looking relative to the head and off to the sides of the head, not tall and pointing up. Noses on big boars look short and blunt and squared off to me. Also if you get a good look at the head from the front if you see a furrowed channel running down the face from the top of the head toward the nose that to me is a sign of a good boar. See the photo of the live boar I took in my post about my pending Dayton Unit spring bear hunt. It has that furrow.


I have called in several bears over the years. Some of them I was just messing around as I did not have a spring bear tag and some of those called in were too small or turned out to have cubs and some of them just gave me the slip. I have called bears in just with my own voice and I have used various mouth blown calls. Call often when calling, to the point that it is somewhat exhausting. I do not have much experience with the electronic calls but I sure like the ability to really vary the intensity as well as the sounds coming out of a mouth blown call. I called a bear in for a buddy fall of 2008 that he killed with his 7mm Rem Mag at about 20 yards and I called in a sow with cubs for him a couple years prior to about 10 yards away (we did not know a bear was coming until it was quite close and then when we saw it we discovered it had cubs so we let it go). I called one in for myself last fall to about 15 yards away but I just was not sure it was the monster I was after. It got nervous and ran off but I stopped it again by calling at 80 yards away and decided it was big enough and I killed with my 45 Colt revolver. Calling is quite exciting and can be effective. You must be sensible though because it certainly can be dangerous. It works best if you see the bear first and then get set up and call but I have called some in blind too. Sometimes you can hear a bear feeding (that was the case when I called in the bear that my buddy shot) and then set up to call but that usually is more the case during the fall.

Be very careful about wind (even thermal drift) direction because bears have amazing noses. Also my experience is that bears see much better than most people give them credit for. Even so one can sneak up on a bear if you have the wind in your favor and the bear is busy feeding and then you move cautiously. May of 2007 I snuck in to about 25 yards from a bear that was busily feeding on an open slope and I was able to shoot him with my 45 Colt revolver.

I hope this helps. I have no doubt that I have missed some good tips and I know that there are other very successful bear hunters here on our great sight so please chime in. This is not my thread but one for all with tips or questions.

[whacker1]

Thank you for posting that.   Some good info, and served as a great refresher.

[Typical8]

Yes! Thank you very much for that post, doesnt matter if we needed the info or not ,thats the kind of stuff this site could use more of.
Thanks again for your time.

[Snowman]

Rufous good job. Remember too learn what they eat, when they eat it and at what elevation it grows. Also a lot of scouting. If a bear finds a significance amount of food in one area, they will stay till the food is gone. Never called for them, but I know calling in the spring works better than in the fall. An like Rufous said MAKE A GOOD SHOT!!! Many of bears a year are wounded an it hurts when you can't recover them. Also the same shot Rufous likes is what I like too. I shot a 7mm rem mag with 175grain Fusion rounds from federal. Love the exit hole an don't be afraid to shot them more than once. The taxidermist can fix just about anything. Also have fun an good luck to you guys who got the spring tag should be a great year for them. Starting to see signs of them around my place on the river.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

How about some tips from you guys with wet-side experience ?
I have been out looking and it is green everywhere ! the swamps are growing skunk cabbage, the clear-cuts are huge, it is hard to find a place to start!
I did find two piles of bear "sign" last time out, but it was at least a week old and in the middle of some thick reprod, I mean the stuff with 10 foot tall trees and Salal growing up about 3 feet, visibility 0......

[rasbo]

How about some tips from you guys with wet-side experience ?
I have been out looking and it is green everywhere ! the swamps are growing skunk cabbage, the clear-cuts are huge, it is hard to find a place to start!
I did find two piles of bear "sign" last time out, but it was at least a week old and in the middle of some thick reprod, I mean the stuff with 10 foot tall trees and Salal growing up about 3 feet, visibility 0......

the size trees you can just walk under is good stalking,,,dark quiet and they love to girdle that size tree...add a little salmon berry brush and devil clubs,yeah boy

[Snowman]

How about some tips from you guys with wet-side experience ?
I have been out looking and it is green everywhere ! the swamps are growing skunk cabbage, the clear-cuts are huge, it is hard to find a place to start!
I did find two piles of bear "sign" last time out, but it was at least a week old and in the middle of some thick reprod, I mean the stuff with 10 foot tall trees and Salal growing up about 3 feet, visibility 0......

the size trees you can just walk under is good stalking,,,dark quiet and they love to girdle that size tree...add a little salmon berry brush and devil clubs,yeah boy

 Good call rasbo. Hunting on the wetside is about scouting. Right now they will be into peeling trees, the swamps, an old logging roads.

[JackOfAllTrades]

Good post Rufous!

In general you will want to focus your efforts on areas that green up first.

Uh, it's always green on the wet side!

With this past mild winter the south facing slopes may be dried out some by the end of the spring bear season.

Stay just below or at the snow line, looking for tracks/trails in the snow. Determining the routes from bedding and feeding areas will give you the upper hand.

I did find two piles of bear "sign" last time out, but it was at least a week old and in the middle of some thick reprod, I mean the stuff with 10 foot tall trees and Salal growing up about 3 feet, visibility 0......

Circle that thick stuff. You'll probably find a trail in/out to the next area of vegitation. Look in that thick stuff for signs of bedding or feeding on mushrooms. Stay outside that thick stuff and let your ears do the hunting while on stand. If that area is next to an old rotted clear cut, then look for slightly concealed transition routes between the two areas.

-Steve

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Stay just below or at the snow line, looking for tracks/trails in the snow. Determining the routes from bedding and feeding areas will give you the upper hand.

Snow line...
unless it snows, we dont have one....
In 501 it will probably be more glassing than stalking, unless you have a spot  (like I do) where you plan on hunting, although I am hunting my spot because of the turkeys......

[JackOfAllTrades]

Oh.. There's some snow up here. 3000 feet-ish and a little lower on the north/east slopes.

-Steve

[billythekidrock]

Definately play to a bears stomach when calling. Rabbit distress works well, but in the spring you will be better off with fawn distress.

I like to call in old cuts (that contain deer) that are near drainages or thick reprod where a bear can feel comfortable.

Try to make it as easy as possible for a bear to come in. Don't call across a canyon and expect it to come down one side and up the other, or for it to cross a swift stream.

[high country]

look for longer legged and necked bears, short legs and big butts are almost always a sow. sows will look big if there is no landmarks to the untrained eye. as roufous said.....look at the head, small ears on the side of the head are the begining signs of a shooter. keep your eyes peeled all the time. I have seen big bears in every hour during the spring. gated overgrown roads are great places to find bears. if you spot a big bear and want to take it, be dang aware of the wind. a boar can disappear so fast it is scary. expect a hit bear to end up in the nastiest thick cover to be found. my longest trail was about 75 yards, but it was all pure hell.

take more pics then you think you need to.

[Rufous]

Take more pics than you need to. Boy is that ever good advice. I was sure disappointed with the pics I got of my last bear taken mid September of '09. I was by myself (I have killed 4 of my 10 bears while out hunting on my own) and had an afternoon appointment so I was really hustling to get the bear broken apart and packed up the hill to the road and only got a few shots of it, none of them with me and the bear. But I will post a pic of that bear here to illustrate what I mean by the round head and ears off to the side. This bear had an 18 and 10/16" green skull and is the one I called in and shot with my revolver.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Oh.. There's some snow up here. 3000 feet-ish and a little lower on the north/east slopes.

-Steve

Thats O.K. where you are, unit 501 rarely gets over 1500 feet...But last two years in a row, it snowed during turkey season...

[JackOfAllTrades]

Funny you say that.. Snow level for the next few days with this series of storms rolling through has the snow level less than 1500ft. It's chilly now and will be for the next week or so. There are bruins out scavenging, have been all winter. With the cold, they'll be ravenous. Anyone calling yotes with injured rabbit, grouse or other call should be alert for a bear also coming in.

-Steve