bear hunting 101

[haus]

So my cousin and I are taking a crack at bear hunting this year. I've seen several over the years, never during bear season, had some damn close encounters too. Back in my Pullman days I spent some time using a bear call down in the Tucannon, we were at the X, just never saw any. Boy that bear callin's some unnerving sheet   My cousin has yet to see one in the wild, which I've taken as opportunity to scare the hell out of him with crazy bear stories  
That's the extent of our experience.

Started off our scouting last weekend up near Mineral. Saw some deer and snuck up on two nice bulls, 5x5 and a 6x6. As for bears, nada.

Our plan is to scout the high elevation areas in the NF land around Mineral/Ashford. What sort of habitat should we be looking for? Should we try to find open space where we have a view into creek drainages, sit 'em out and see what comes of it?

Side note, I'm using a bow and he's using a cannon. Figure he can cover me when I try to sneak up on one  

Any suggestions for a couple bear huntin newbies?

We're hoping to get out and do some scouting once a week right up to opener.

[bearpaw]

Berries

hunt the ripe berry patches

[billythekidrock]

Learn bear sign and follow the food.

[kbdavear]

As a newbie myself to WA and to Bear hunting. I would STRONGLY recommend reading everything you can in this Bear forum. There is a HUGE amount of information in here. I have gained a lot of knowledge from the individuals on this site just from reading the posts. IMO.

[rasbo]

right now boars are on the prowl for love,I found several trees today marked...owell,,,,come fall its about the belly and staying cool

[machine]

Read everthing you can about bear hunting.This site is really good because you don't have to skin over the baiting and dog topics :bash:Spend as much time as you can in the woods the farther from other people the better.When I started to think I wouldn't see any bears is when I did.

[WASHBCBOOK]

why hunt high tons and tons of lowland bears
look for berry patches choke cherry black berries this bear is about 100 yard of the road

[Winchester670]

Hehe thats the same general area me and a friend are hunting for our first bear seems to be a decent area lots of signs

[haus]

Pleasant Valley/74 line. Anyone know the status of the roads that enter the NF from the south? Obviously the norths a no go, I'm all for hoofing it in, but holly sheet that'd be a long way to pack an animal out in the August heat.  pm me if ya want.

[Winchester670]

Let me ask a buddy of mine he might know

[bearkautz]

 I love bear hunting  I have taken 24 bear my self . these tips will help the higher evaluation is easier to spot bears i do not hunt low land it is to thick . I like to hunt  the middle of the week less people in the woods. over cast days are much more active . on hot days bears don't come out until an hour be for dark . if they come out it will be on a shadow side of a hill first. listen  you can hear them before you see them alot of the time.the south facing slopes ripen first  then north later in the year. early in the year you will want to look for a draw with salmon berries watch for movement the bush might be 6' tall and the bear 3'.  well that should help . and the bigest thing get the bear skinned out soon as possible ! take a ice chest with 6 bags of ice with you . alot of people shoot a bear and get scared and leave it over night it will spoil in 5hrs with the guts in it and will have a Oder with the hide left on over night even if it is gutted bear meat is excellent if properly cared for

[haus]

Let me ask a buddy of mine he might know

Talked to the supervisor(chief, head honcho, etc) of the Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest last Thursday, said the Fed is sending them some money that will be spent on fixing the main road wash outs........why not just chop down some tree's?  I figured I should be a little formal when I met him so I didn't ask that, but I wanted to 

[gasman]

PM sent.

[tony04]

i hunt in between mineral and and randle for my bears. your best bet is high as you can go and get in to the huckle berries. look for tore up stumps too. if your driving a logging road and see peices of rotten logs/stumps that have rolled off bank hill and into the road, definatly hang around there. ive found a few bears that way.

[ML_Hunter]

Hunt the berry patches and clear-cuts!  The easiest way to a bear is his stomach.  Also a good time to start scouting is mid may through mid June, this is when the deer and elk drop fawns and calves which is really the first source of protein that bears will feed on.  If you can find a high fawn or calf population you will be sure that bears will be there too!!  Although they will travel, this is a great time to not only see bears but find out how many are in the area. 

Many bears I see are a little bit away (200 to 500 yards) the rifle hunter can easily take this shot, but as for you with the bow, as soon as you see a bear start calling!  80 percent of the time, they will start coming in, and if they stop, change the call.  You can almost never over call a bear.  I use a fawn in distress the most which works very well.  I have found that bears are hard to blind call, and this is a good way for a bear to come up on your six looking for food; not where you want to be .

I hope this helps!  And if your fishing...carry your bow!  I've missed out on several bear wile drifting down the river and saw a bear just cruising the banks.