psinclair
Well-known member
I usually go around mid May, when the green grass gets good. This past year I decided to go in late May and early June and try a different tactic. Where I hunt bears, a lot of elk winter there and stay through calving season. Black bears are pretty good at finding calves in these places, plus those sows start going into estrous as well.
The first afternoon from my glassing spot I saw a beautiful reddish colored bear with dark legs working a circle around 30-40 cow elk about 1.5 miles to the south. I decided I needed a closer look. After cutting the distance to 1/2 mile, I found the bear again not far from where I first spotted it. As I was watching through the spotter, a bear almost twice as big as the one I was stalking appeared only a few hundred yards from it. Right away I realized I was stalking a sow, that this large boar wanted to hook up with. I had about 1/2 mile to cut off and try to get within range. The wind was steady out of the west, so I made a big loop to try and keep the wind angle correct as I approached. The cows were mostly in scattered timber above a large open park, my concern other than the wind, was spooking the elk. As it turned out, the bears disappeared in the timber above the elk.
I waited and watched for about two hours without seeing them again. I thought about going into the timber above where I last saw them and still hunt through there, but decided that was risky move. I backed out and went back to camp. It’s day one, I’ve got time to do this right…
With an hour of daylight left I spotted them again. This time the sow was on the move, heading west on a steady clip. The boar was about 50 yards behind her. I knew they were headed towards the drainage about a mile away to the west. I had to cut them off before they started dropping down into the canyon. They were in a large open park with little or no cover nearby. Hindered by poor eyesight, black bears don’t like to spend much time in the open and usually move through places like that without stopping here and there on the way. It was a foot race to see if I could get there in time for a shot. When I got to the spot I had picked, they were right in front of me still moving to my right. I set up for the shot, resting my rifle on my pack and shooting uphill. I did a voice howl to get them to stop. On the third try they did and I fired instantly.
Right after I fired I saw him roll about twice with all four feet in the air. I watched the sow run full bore for 1/2 mile before going into the timber. I got to the bear as the sun was setting. I decided to tag him and come back in the morning for pictures, skinning, and break down. Turns out to be one of the best black bears I’ve ever killed. When I fired the rifle I took a pretty shot from the recoil and received a pretty good scope cut….
well worth it!
The first afternoon from my glassing spot I saw a beautiful reddish colored bear with dark legs working a circle around 30-40 cow elk about 1.5 miles to the south. I decided I needed a closer look. After cutting the distance to 1/2 mile, I found the bear again not far from where I first spotted it. As I was watching through the spotter, a bear almost twice as big as the one I was stalking appeared only a few hundred yards from it. Right away I realized I was stalking a sow, that this large boar wanted to hook up with. I had about 1/2 mile to cut off and try to get within range. The wind was steady out of the west, so I made a big loop to try and keep the wind angle correct as I approached. The cows were mostly in scattered timber above a large open park, my concern other than the wind, was spooking the elk. As it turned out, the bears disappeared in the timber above the elk.
I waited and watched for about two hours without seeing them again. I thought about going into the timber above where I last saw them and still hunt through there, but decided that was risky move. I backed out and went back to camp. It’s day one, I’ve got time to do this right…
With an hour of daylight left I spotted them again. This time the sow was on the move, heading west on a steady clip. The boar was about 50 yards behind her. I knew they were headed towards the drainage about a mile away to the west. I had to cut them off before they started dropping down into the canyon. They were in a large open park with little or no cover nearby. Hindered by poor eyesight, black bears don’t like to spend much time in the open and usually move through places like that without stopping here and there on the way. It was a foot race to see if I could get there in time for a shot. When I got to the spot I had picked, they were right in front of me still moving to my right. I set up for the shot, resting my rifle on my pack and shooting uphill. I did a voice howl to get them to stop. On the third try they did and I fired instantly.
Right after I fired I saw him roll about twice with all four feet in the air. I watched the sow run full bore for 1/2 mile before going into the timber. I got to the bear as the sun was setting. I decided to tag him and come back in the morning for pictures, skinning, and break down. Turns out to be one of the best black bears I’ve ever killed. When I fired the rifle I took a pretty shot from the recoil and received a pretty good scope cut….
well worth it!
