Spring bears, Wyoming or Montana ?

[BrentD]

If you were planning a spring bear hunt and were choosing between Montana and Wyoming, which would you pick?

What would be wrong with the Beartooth Mts versus driving considerably further to western Montana?

We are in the thinking-out-loud stage, and not really sure where to begin other than plotting out the highway miles for starters

 

[IlliniFIre]

I haven't done it, but I have gone through the thinking out lout stage as well. I looked fairly hard at the Montana option. The reason I did was, if I didn't manage to snag one in the spring the tag will be good still in the fall. At least that is what I recall from one of Randy's videos. So If I were to take a run at a spring bear, I would try to line it up with a fall elk or deer hunt in Montana. Seemed to be a good buy as far as the licence and tags.

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

Spring Bear in Montana Non Res. Is $ 350.00 I believe with a chance to fill your tag in the fall to . They are not around every corner but if your willing to put the boots to work you just might be rewarded !! We have color phase here too.
Best of Luck !

 

[Deleted member 28227]

You can’t hunt WY wilderness areas without a guide as a non-resident... although there are lots of other places to hunt.

 

[BrentD]

You can’t hunt WY wilderness areas without a guide as a non-resident... although there are lots of other places to hunt.

Yes, we know about that and may have ways around it, or not. It would be a consideration.

 

[wytex]

Baiting in Wyoming, but a sow quota. We have decent bears around, some color phase too.
Montana sounds like a good option with the tag good for spring and fall.
No need for wilderness to find a bear.

 

[mthillrunner]

I don’t have the regs in front of me right now. The Beartooths, east of big timber used to have a quota I believe. This may or may not be the case anymore. There’s better bear hunting than the Beartooths offer.

 

[bigsky2]

If you were planning a spring bear hunt and were choosing between Montana and Wyoming, which would you pick?

What would be wrong with the Beartooth Mts versus driving considerably further to western Montana?

We are in the thinking-out-loud stage, and not really sure where to begin other than plotting out the highway miles for starters

I am not sure about the bear population in the Beartooths, but typically the bear numbers are better west of the Continental Divide. There is still good hunting to be had east of the Divide, that's just a general rule.

 

[PrairieHunter]

From a NR perspective doing a spot and stalk hunt I would lean toward MT due to no baiting allowed and wilderness issue.

 

[Jape]

Wytex makes some great points. I've seem some big boars outside wilderness areas, but I'm sure you can find them in either state. Good luck!

 

[JLS]

I don’t have the regs in front of me right now. The Beartooths, east of big timber used to have a quota I believe. This may or may not be the case anymore. There’s better bear hunting than the Beartooths offer.

Yep, quota areas. I don’t know anything about bear hunting in Wyoming , but there are some pretty good units in MT.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Wyoming would be my pick. Some unreal bear hunting and less pressure than what I’ve seen .

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Wyoming would be my pick. Some unreal bear hunting and less pressure than what I’ve seen .

One of the issues in the spring at least in the Wyoming Range is access via roads with snow. It can be June before you can get up to a trailhead in the alpine in some areas depending on the year.

The Seirra Madres and the Bighorns seem to get their quotas hit fairly quickly on some years, which is one thing to look out for when planning a hunt.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Snow is definitely something to consider... might be worth it to make a flexible plan and then decide in April when you have a better sense of conditions.

 

[Twolftg]

I cannot speak for Wyoming but I did Montana this year, wllm1313 has some good advice. We saw bears and had opportunities, choose to pass, but snow was definitely an issue. I had never stepped foot where we hunting and I had never spot and stalked bears and we were not in what is considered the creme of the crop for spots. I plan to take advantage of my tag still being good and going back this fall.

 

[ccc23454]

Go to montana!
Signed guy drinking beer looking at beartooths...lol

 

[shaffe48]

I cannot speak for Wyoming but I did Montana this year, wllm1313 has some good advice. We saw bears and had opportunities, choose to pass, but snow was definitely an issue. I had never stepped foot where we hunting and I had never spot and stalked bears and we were not in what is considered the creme of the crop for spots. I plan to take advantage of my tag still being good and going back this fall.

Not to thread highjack but let us know how you do in the fall.

I hunted Alaska in the fall but didn't stumble across any famed berry patches. We could only stumble so much straight up through the alders.

My guess if you go somewhere with a good trail system and travel them until you find a good berry patches next to cover, water, and some sign then you might not be dreaming about what could've been after this trip.

 

[BrentD]

Snow is definitely something to consider... might be worth it to make a flexible plan and then decide in April when you have a better sense of conditions.

Some good points. Thanks.

 

[Twolftg]

Shaffe that will be the biggest challenge trying to find the food sources for the fall with never having been there that time of year. Too be honest when I was there in the spring I wasn't even looking much at the plants life other than looking for green up. Obviously poor planning on my part. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[shaffe48]

Shaffe that will be the biggest challenge trying to find the food sources for the fall with never having been there that time of year. Too be honest when I was there in the spring I wasn't even looking much at the plants life other than looking for green up. Obviously poor planning on my part. I will let you know how it goes.

If you haven't stumbled across Douglas Boze's books his main focus is on hunting in the fall and he is from Washington. If berry patches are that hard to stumble in then my guess is when you find them you will have really found something. If they are common then you would want to isolate the patches next to security and water I guess.

Also as far as spring u was just reading that it is indeed the newest green plants that have the higher protein levels. And higher elevations have higher protein levels once these green up.

http://www.mountainnature.com/wildlife/bears/beardiet.htm