Black Bear hunting

[jsolares01]

Hey everybody just got a bear tag for this years hunting season, but I have never been bear hunting before. So my questions are what calls if any should i use? Is spot and stalk the best way to approach this hunt? is is as difficult as deer hunting? What kind of gear should I pack? I bought the tag for zone D14. Ive been using the OnX hunting maps to find locations, but its been difficult as I am confused on where I can and can't go. Any information on this will be lots of help. Thanks!

 

[Snake Charmer]

Homework, homework, homework, No one here or anywhere is going to give you this stuff. You have to figure this out on your own. I know nothing about d-14 but I would suggest that you get hold of the biologist for that unit and have a conversation or two or three and then get boots on the ground as much as possible between now and the hunt date, No big game comes easy in Ca

 

[Kellendv]

In general, you can hunt BLM and National Forest land. There are exceptions. You’ll have to figure out what the exceptions are in your area.

 

[Bowman]

X2 , start hiking the areas that are NF, and BLM, get to know the hunting grounds.

 

[jsolares01]

thanks everybody

 

[TRICER]

Good luck on your hunt make sure you have a deer tag in your pocket because your odds of seeing a deer will be much higher.
PS I know where bears are on public land D14 with decent access if you are willing to make a death hike. I just have to many other hunts to screw with. I wouldn’t ever share that info. That’s what makes hunting fun.

 

[TrapLine]

I was escouting spots for bear today in D14, going to get my tag also. I will go check it out with you if you want a battle buddy. Send me a DM if interested.

 

[TheGDog]

While you're out and about... definitely keep an eye out for the Choke-cherry Trees. Especially with this years good rains! Around end of August is around when you start to notice a bunch of scats chocked full of the pits of those choke-cherries (which coincidently is generally around the beginning of bow season for bears).

Get familiar with all the places that are likely to have water even during the summer. And definitely make note of any place where a water way happens to widen out a lil bit and provides a wide enough and deep enough lil pool for them to dip in and bath in. If you find a place like that... if you look around it. Betcha soon enough you're likely to find sign they've been around.

Sometimes you might notice along a tight and narrow trail where like there is a log that's fallen over and is blocking the trail and ya can't really go under such a log... sometimes you might notice a relatively wide and sorta deep indentation in the dirt on the downhill side of that log... an indication that the bears have had to crawl over that log there at that choke-point along that trail.

Morning dew on grasses is a great tattle-tale give-away in an area that's shaded in the morning at the base of a slope and is near or alongside a place with a lil water they can grab a drink from.

Also along water ways... even after they're mostly dried up... sometimes the soil may continue to be moist and cool at the edges where saplings are hugging the edge of such a water way beside a slope. Their shade, together with that nice cool ground from the moisture, can attract them into taking naps there during the hot parts of the summer.

So get familiar with water-ways, and especially get familiar with more shady secluded parts along those water ways (which a lot of the times will have raspberry/blackberry patches). Make note of places where the breeze feels good and helpful during the hot parts of the day. A place like that... that also offers one of those shaded pieces of cool slightly moist ground. And it's in a place where hiker people are normally not going to be passing by? That's a good place to look.

 

[BOWUNTR]

Larry nailed it... boom. Ed F

 

[Sdhunt17]

i cant wait to go up to the sierras this year. might hunt bear in wash. i got a bother in law who has a cabin in Leavenworth, wash. well see what the best opportunity is. apparently theres alot of apple orchards those bear like to eat at night and are spotted going home in the morning. so i might have to pattern them and find an ambush point. might be tricky with the morning thermos. oh and its bow hunting. haha. exciting.

 

[penak]

Following!this seems like a very interesting thread

 

[KThor]

Hey everybody just got a bear tag for this years hunting season, but I have never been bear hunting before. So my questions are what calls if any should i use? Is spot and stalk the best way to approach this hunt? is is as difficult as deer hunting? What kind of gear should I pack? I bought the tag for zone D14. Ive been using the OnX hunting maps to find locations, but its been difficult as I am confused on where I can and can't go. Any information on this will be lots of help. Thanks!

Hey, in a similar boat as well. I intend to heavily scout D14 myself this summer into fall. Let me know if you want to hike

 

[TheGDog]

Roger that. Tap me on the shoulder in PM's about possible dates for scouting into D14. I picked up a Bear Tag this year to force myself into doing more scouting outside of D15.

 

[TrapLine]

Call a few camp grounds and ask about any bears coming in to raid coolers recently. Those are usually repeat offenders and not much of a hike to get to them.

 

[TheGDog]

Just to mention it... the Regs say you gotta be 400yds from a campground.

 

[TrapLine]

Just to mention it... the Regs say you gotta be 400yds from a campground.

Thats better than 3 miles into the wilderness packing it out.

 

[TheGDog]

Or 7 miles... all uphill coming back out, ugh.

 

[ilovesprig]

Just to mention it... the Regs say you gotta be 400yds from a campground.

What regs?....Lots of kinds of campgrounds....For instance, when Fry Creek campground (CNF) is closed....You can actually shoot right in the campground.

 

[TheGDog]

I'm just saying out loud that I specifically remember reading in the Regulations that it said you cannot hunt bear within 400yds of a campground (and I *think* it also said "or waste bin site" as well or something of that nature). Do with that information what you may.

 

[HATCHET1]

You gotta actually kill one first ..them bastards aint as dumb as a dog..jus sayin..