Beginner Bear hunting tips

[MThuntr]

As much as I hate internet scouting, I'm in a bit of a pickle this year. My father will be undergoing some pretty severe cancer treatments (chemo, bone marrow, and stem cell therapy) this summer which likely means that I will use a lot of my sick time and vacation time helping with take care of him. So my hunting season will be very compressed or more likely nonexistent. Luckily he is doing very well right now and spring bear season is before this nasty mess. He encouraged me to do a bit of hunting and take a few days of vacation just in case things get bad.

I've never hunted bears on purpose (i've bought tags) so I desperately need your help. I'm looking for tips on just about everything from finding them to cleaning one after a kill. I've run into bears on very rare occasions and never while hunting so general locations would be great help also (your honey hole would be even better ...just kidding.

Also if you guys want to get together to hunt, I'd be game for that too because the experience is as good as the kill.

Thanks for your help guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[mtlion]

mthuntr, pm sent.

 

[Gerald Martin]

What part of the state do you want to hunt?

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

not sure how the bears are in montana,but in oregon the mid to later part of the season seems to be the most productive,,,generally 2nd week in may,,,wait untill skunk cabbage or wild onions start coming up and concentrate on those areas,,,bears will work the grass just below snowline as new forbs,ect are just coming up.good luck.glass the open hillsides as there hard to spot in the timber.

 

[MThuntr]

I'm in Lewistown but willing to travel within Montana. However I'm definitely not prepared for a pack in hunt quite yet.

 

[DreaminofMT6X6s]

Check your PM!

 

[Backcountryhunter]

I'm in the same boat but looking at ID for my hunt. From what I've gathered its generally better to wait till later in the season. The key I think is to find where the fresh grass is really growing and focus on those areas.

 

[Gerald Martin]

As a general rule I 'd suggest you head at least three to four hours west of you, if you are willing to travel. Pick any of the units that are open until at least May 31. My choice of best hunting dates are from May 10-25th. approximately. From the looks of things so far it appears we may have an early spring. IMO the northwest part of the state is best.

There's a lot of good information found here. http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=244771

 

[MThuntr]

Great stuff here guys...I appreciate your help

 

[----]

There's some areas right outside of Lewistown that I would think can be really good too. If you had a week to go hunt i'd maybe head west, but no reason you couldn't get it done hunting evenings right of town there.

 

[----]

Biggest MT bear in Boone and Crockett is from Fergus County...

 

[MThuntr]

Biggest MT bear in Boone and Crockett is from Fergus County...

Yup...The guy that shot it was an outfitter/rancher on his ranch.

 

[TLC]

"Beginner Bear hunting tips"

always be faster than the slowest person you are hunting with.........

 

[Breaks Runner]

Give yourself lots of time....bears can be fickle in the spring. Be persistent. May 10th through May 20th is the best. Lastly, lose the crowd. Bears, especially old boars stay away from human activity and are really shy.

Have fun....it's one of Montana's best and most underrated hunts.

 

[pseshooter300]

Is the bear tag good for the hole state not specific area? It's a over the counter tag for non resident right?

 

[theat]

pseshooter- it is an over the counter tag but you must buy it at least 5 days before you plan to start hunting. If you are hunting region 1 during the spring season you must designate which hunting districts you want to hunt. Off the top of my head I cant remember the district #s, but if you want to hunt the areas around Kalispell you pick those units when you purchase your tag and may not hunt the rest of region 1 and vise versa.

I used to hunt the north end of the Judith Mnts a few years ago and saw some nice bears in the fall. I have also seen some good bears while shed hunting in the little belts. The key to spring bear hunting is finding the highest elevation fresh greens. Typically avalache chutes and steeper southish facing slopes is where I look, but decommissioned roads and isolated brushy creek bottoms can be good as well.

 

[----]

pseshooter- it is an over the counter tag but you must buy it at least 5 days before you plan to start hunting. If you are hunting region 1 during the spring season you must designate which hunting districts you want to hunt. Off the top of my head I cant remember the district #s, but if you want to hunt the areas around Kalispell you pick those units when you purchase your tag and may not hunt the rest of region 1 and vise versa.

They were talking about scrapping the unit designation in Region 1 this year. Not sure if it went through or not.

 

[pseshooter300]

Thanks for the tag info

 

[Kneetopia]

Reviving an old thread in hopes of some more tips. I've booked a FS cabin E of Dillon over Mother's Day weekend. I've hunted the area for elk quite a bit and have not laid eyes on black bears (only griz). Plenty of scat seen in my travels. The area's I frequent don't have many old roads, but do decent glassing spots.

Does a guy sit and glass near the "scat zones"? Glass the green up areas (presuming that the hole area isn't green). I'll have mama and some kids in tow, so I won't be able to go too deep.