BuzzH
Well-known member
Decided to try hunting spring bears in WY for the first time this year. I'm not a bear hunter by any stretch...although I'm starting to change my mind on that.
I got some great advice and help from Greenhorn on where I may be able to stumble into some bears, and I really appreciate the help. All I have to say is that Greenhorn knows his stuff on where bears like to live.
I hunted too high the first morning, spending more time falling through a couple feet of snow than looking for bears. I tried another spot, hiked 6.5 miles into a place that looked good. Not sure if it was the 86 degree weather, time of day or what but no bears. I hiked out and toward evening hiked into another one of the spots that Greenhorn mentioned as a good bet. I climbed a few hundred feet in elevation and sat down and started glassing. I saw 2 bears, but didnt have time to get to the bigger one and passed killing the other one.
The next morning I hiked into the same area in the dark, got set up and almost immediately saw 2 bears. One decent one and one that was smaller. I continued to look and found another bear. I hiked further up the drainage, saw one down by the creek eating grass, passed on it. Then glassed another on top of a ridge. I decided to try for that one and after an hour climb I was within 50 yards of the bear. It was a simple shot and the bear only ran about fifteen yards and piled up. Turned out to be just an average bear, but didnt have a single rub on it anywhere and a nice brown color. I'm pretty happy, but I cant wait until next spring to try it again. All total in 2 days I saw 12 bears, ten on the second day (by noon}...all lone bears, except for one sow/cub. I saw 4 bears on the hike back to the truck...they better wise up by next year.
Dont have pictures yet, still getting developed. Good thing I had the back-up camera as my freaking batteries went dead on the digital.
I got some great advice and help from Greenhorn on where I may be able to stumble into some bears, and I really appreciate the help. All I have to say is that Greenhorn knows his stuff on where bears like to live.
I hunted too high the first morning, spending more time falling through a couple feet of snow than looking for bears. I tried another spot, hiked 6.5 miles into a place that looked good. Not sure if it was the 86 degree weather, time of day or what but no bears. I hiked out and toward evening hiked into another one of the spots that Greenhorn mentioned as a good bet. I climbed a few hundred feet in elevation and sat down and started glassing. I saw 2 bears, but didnt have time to get to the bigger one and passed killing the other one.
The next morning I hiked into the same area in the dark, got set up and almost immediately saw 2 bears. One decent one and one that was smaller. I continued to look and found another bear. I hiked further up the drainage, saw one down by the creek eating grass, passed on it. Then glassed another on top of a ridge. I decided to try for that one and after an hour climb I was within 50 yards of the bear. It was a simple shot and the bear only ran about fifteen yards and piled up. Turned out to be just an average bear, but didnt have a single rub on it anywhere and a nice brown color. I'm pretty happy, but I cant wait until next spring to try it again. All total in 2 days I saw 12 bears, ten on the second day (by noon}...all lone bears, except for one sow/cub. I saw 4 bears on the hike back to the truck...they better wise up by next year.
Dont have pictures yet, still getting developed. Good thing I had the back-up camera as my freaking batteries went dead on the digital.
