MT Spring Bear Hunt

[Whiskey3]

New to the site, thanks to all for the good info.

I am planning a spring bear hunt for my predeployment leave, spot and stalk with a bow seems like any awesome adventure before a year overseas. I have scoured this forum as well as several others and got some pretty good info so far. Here is my plan so far, please feel free to critique.

I will be hunting the NW portion of Montana in mid-late May(went with Montana over Idaho for better spot and stalk opportunities). Plan is to hike/bike on gated NF roads and glass the south facing slopes, avalanche chutes, and parks with fresh green grass. I will be packing my bivy gear with me so I can wake up and glass as well as glass right up until dark and not have to hike all the way back to a campsite in the dark.

Is it worth my time to try to get back into the wilderness areas or can I be just as productive on national forest areas with logging roads? I figure it would be best to stay mobile and do short day hikes and over nights as opposed to a deep wilderness excursion.

Key gear that I have seen so far is rain gear, permethrine to keep ticks off, gaiters, spotting scope/tripod, as well as my standard backpack hunting kit.

Once again any input/advice is appreciated. Thanks, Ryan

 

[Carrion Carrier]

NW MT has loads of bears and you will not need to go into wilderness to find them. It is very thick though, so spotting, and especially stalking, can be difficult. If you really want a bear consider stowing a rifle away in your vehicle, just in case.

 

[Whiskey3]

Thanks for the tip, I plan on bringing a 300 win mag to use if getting into bow range becomes too difficult. Are there any areas that would be better suited for a bow hunt?

 

[Carrion Carrier]

I would call the Forest that you are looking at and find recently logged areas.

 

[theat]

I do the vast majority of my bear hunting in the NW part of Montana. I don't spend much time walking logging roads and glassing clearcuts. I know some guys have a lot of success doing this, but I much prefer hunting steep canyons where I can glass country that is a little more wild. I like to glass steep cliffy south or southeast facing slopes that green up first. I do hunt wilderness areas quite often, but during the spring I usually don't have to go too far back into them to find bears. I often have to cross creeks filled with spring runoff. A pair of lightweight waders, such as wiggys waders, come in very handy for this.

If you are interested, send me a PM with a general area you are planning to hunt and if I am familiar with the area I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Here are a few pics of the type of terrain I usually hunt around here.

 

[----]

Logging roads might be helpful archery hunting. You could set up an ambush if you see one feeding down a road, and they're generally pretty quiet walking. I've stalked up really close to bears a couple times just by walking in downwind on the same road they're feeding. Once a bear gets on a road it likes, it'll stay there until it's full or pushed.

 

[Whiskey3]

theat,

Thanks for posting the pics, that looks like some awesome terrain. I will look into the waders too, I hadn't even thought of creek crossings. I will send you a PM later tonight when I get off of work.

Ryan

 

[7MAG]

When you find a heavy amnt. of sign in an area locate the nearby prime feeding areas (water source nearby etc.) and spot those areas in prime feeding hours (around dusk). I'm no expert but this worked for me after I read it last year. Good luck

 

[Gerald Martin]

Theat, where was the bear? Oh thats right its right here. (I was with Travis on that hunt, it got exciting.) You might run into these kinds of bears in the wilderness.

Ryan, sounds like you've got it covered. Afternoons seem to be when the bears are most active. Good luck!

https://vimeo.com/43375276

 

[Whiskey3]

Thanks again for all the info guys. Starting to get pretty pumped for this hunt. Do you guys recommend a full tent or is a floor-less shelter good during mid to late may?

 

[Gerald Martin]

There's going to be a lot of moisture in the ground during May. I would go with a tent personally.

 

[Mato]

Absolutely a tent, we can get plenty of white and wet during May

 

[theat]

About four years ago I made the switch to floorless teepee style tents and haven't looked back since. I love how lightweight they are especially since I usually just use a branch for the center pole. The only issues I have had with these tents is occasional moisture buildup on the inside walls, and it can often be difficult to find a flat spot big enough on the steep mountains around here. I also use a Ti Goat stove in it if the weather is cold or rainy. I can't express with words how nice it is to be able to get into my bag at night in a warm tent and dry my wet clothes and gear while I eat dinner.

It is very wet here in NW MT, but I have had no problems so far using this type of tent, even after multiple days in heavy rain. I have two sheets of tyvek that I use for a floor in the tent. If it is dry, I use one that I cut about a foot longer and wider than my sleeping pad. If it is wet, or I have someone else along, I bring the one that I cut a bit bigger than the inside of the tent. It is bigger so I can fold it up along the walls of the tent to cut down on air flow into the tent.

 

[CabinFever]

I'd lean towards a full tent as well, but I've been thinking about switching to a set up like Theat. Here's a few more bear hunting pics from MT spring 2012. Plan on seeing and hearing lots of grouse.

 

[Mato]

Nice pics Cabin! I can't wait I can't wait...

 

[Whiskey3]

Awesome pics, thanks for sharing. I have been going back and forth about what my clothing set up should be, but if it is gonna be pretty wet, I am guessing rain gear is gonna be pretty important. Here is what I am planning, any insight is appreciated.

-kuiu guide jacket
-kuiu 185 long sleeve shirt
-kuiu 230 long sleeve shirt
-eddie bauer down jacket(for glassing or extreme cold)
-polartec grid fleece bottoms (for extreme cold weather)
-north face venture rain jacket
-kuiu attack pants
-core 4 element boxers
-ragg wool glove mits
-gaiters
-zamberlan vioz boots

Other gear I have that could be used:
-military issue gore-tex jacket and pants
-sitka celsius vest
-cabelas dry plus rain suede jacket

Maybe I should drop the guide jacket, not sure. It is pretty good for blocking wind, breathes when hiking, and is quiet, but probably won't hold up in a major down pour. Do you guys bring rain pants in the spring?

 

[sethkuhl]

Don't forget your orange steep little ticket these days. but probably better than taking a bullet

 

[Whiskey3]

Good call, got my orange vest.

 

[CabinFever]

That looks like it should be plenty. One tip I learned from Mato is to bring something to sit on. I cut out a small piece(just big enough to sit on) of 1/2" thick foam pad to keep my butt dry and pants from tearing on rock. Makes sitting and glassing for hours much more comfortable since your often on wet ground or snow.

 

[174in]

NW Montana has some great bear country.I hunted it a few years back.I ended up haveing a small health issue and ended my hunt early and came home empty handed. The country is thick as heck and is hard to see any distance if you dont know of a few spots before hand.When I went there was record snowfalls that winter and there was 3 ft of snow once you got to about 4,000ft elevation and that was in may.I did see 1 bear but it was only for a few seconds on a logging road before it dissaperd into the thick brush the bear didnt look very big anyway even if I could have gotten a shot off.Lots of bear scat on the logging roads but the roads go for miles.I think hunting some open country (if the snow isnt to deep) would be your best luck.Also all the locals were very helpfull in recomending spots to go. I would really love to go back a year when the snow pack isnt so low.