Tips for Spot and Stalk Black Bears?

[Alberta Bigbore]

I am a fairly new bear hunter. Tried to " actually hunt them" last season in fall. I have no experience baiting them nor do i have intentions of doing that...this...year.

Any important tips or advise a fairly new bear hunter can use to his advantage on finding black bears and then stalking them, instead of having them come to you?

Anything a bear hunter wants to pack if intending on getting a rug done?

Havent taken a bear since my early 20's and Im 36 now. So im pretty excited and hope to do it with a bow over rifle if I can.

[huntin]

the wind is the most important. their eye sight is poor but they can still see you. slow and steady. and some times a fawn in distress will bring them right to you

[elkdump]

check side roads and old logging/oil and gas roads, bears will travel great distance using easiest route, good places to find tracks, to tell if single/boar or sow with cubs using tracks for ID
frequent ares with willows,***** willows and marshes with frogs and tender young growth, bears love all these treats,

frequent areas with lots of rotting logs and sandy soil with LOTS of anthills,

frequent areas with lots of Dandelions and Clover ,

take along a caping knife /scalpel and 2 x 5 pound bags of coarse pickling salt to rub the bear hide once off carcass, cape head and be very careful to do around eyes and lips and ears, (flesh trim fat from hide (asp) and rub skinned/fleshed hide with liberal amounts of salt, fold and roll hide, never place inside plastic bag or tarp,
get to taxidermy or freezer (ASP)


hahaha this forum wont allow spelling of Pu ss y willow, lmao

[ACKLEY ABE]

Cover lots of miles, watch newly seeeded green lines, dandilions, clover, beaver ponds.... Wind of course is a factor but...even if a bear does wind you and looks up, just freeze...he probably will go back to feeding.

If he does run into the bush...have a seat and wait for a while, he'll more than likely be back shortly.

I won't even bother until at least the 15th of May any more. Spot and stalk is the way to "hunt" bears imo. Good luck with the bow..A little tougher but I can't remember how many bears I've shot within bow-range...or been in on......lots. Not with a bow, but all spot and stalk.

No real secrets except you gotta be where the bears are...when they're there. Ergo.....lots of miles. You can get up at the crack of dawn and hunt all day and be half asleep by the evening when the bears are most active, or have a nice breakfast/brunch, clean up camp and be gone by noon or 2.00 and you will do just as well.

Have fun. We're heading out on our anual bear trip on the long weekend..I think its year 28 or 29.......

[brohymn2]

best advice I ever go was "if its nice enough out to be on a patio drinkin beers you should be out bear hunting" and don't bother going out until 2 or 3 oclock its much different from a whitetail hunt

[Alberta Bigbore]

Good stuff to read. Thanks. More is welcome.

[Hogie135]

If you are stalking one and spook it and he runs off. Stay where you are and he will eventually come back out. Thats what happened with the one and only I shot couple years ago.

it was probably a good 4-5 hours before my bear was skinned and in the freezer. I didn't have salt with me and my hide turned out great. I dont know if that is as necessary as some may say unless you wont be able to freeze it for longer than that.

[Predator]

check side roads and old logging/oil and gas roads, bears will travel great distance using easiest route, good places to find tracks, to tell if single/boar or sow with cubs using tracks for ID
frequent ares with willows,***** willows and marshes with frogs and tender young growth, bears love all these treats,

frequent areas with lots of rotting logs and sandy soil with LOTS of anthills,

frequent areas with lots of Dandelions and Clover ,

take along a caping knife /scalpel and 2 x 5 pound bags of coarse pickling salt to rub the bear hide once off carcass, cape head and be very careful to do around eyes and lips and ears, (flesh trim fat from hide (asp) and rub skinned/fleshed hide with liberal amounts of salt, fold and roll hide, never place inside plastic bag or tarp,
get to taxidermy or freezer (ASP)


hahaha this forum wont allow spelling of Pu ss y willow, lmao

Just make sure to remove the salt before it hits the freezer if that's where it's going. It won't freeze otherwise.

[pickrel pat]

ABB... bears will be where it starts to green up first. Best places at this time will always be south facing slopes( they get the sun all day) and wide pipelines that run east/west. Start checking out those places first.

[KegRiver]

Lots of real good suggestions here.

The only thing I can think to add is this;

If you are hunting a field or cutline,anything with a tree line, stay as close as possible to the trees while keeping a clear line of sight.

They may not have great eye sight but even a bear will spot a man in the open from a long ways off.

I would expand on one suggestion. They do like Clover and Alfalfa; And beaver.
No kidding, I think they hunt the kits, whatever, they do like to prowl around beaver ponds.

[Grizzly Adams]

And don't slam on the brakes if you spot one driving. :lol: Good hearing and they know what that sound means.

Grizz

[KegRiver]

And don't slam on the brakes if you spot one driving. :lol: Good hearing and they know what that sound means.

Grizz

If I spotted one driving I'd get the heck off the road, you ever seen one of them drive!! Seen one driving in a circus, reminded me of my grandpa's driving!

[timsesink]

If I spotted one driving I'd get the heck off the road, you ever seen one of them drive!! Seen one driving in a circus, reminded me of my grandpa's driving!

Sitting in my truck laughing like an idiot. BTW Great thread, looking to get out a couple days myself.

[sheepstalker]

if you are within a day of a freezer DO NOT salt the hide......it just creates more work for us taxidermists!

If you are unsure about caping the head, turning the ears and lips and skinning the feet, just leave the head and feet attached, if this is done poorly your rug will not turn out as good!

Skin it, let it cool for 20 mins, put in a game bag and freeze it asap!
Take it to the taxidermist frozen....he'll take care of it from there

[Alberta Bigbore]

if you are within a day of a freezer DO NOT salt the hide......it just creates more work for us taxidermists!

If you are unsure about caping the head, turning the ears and lips and skinning the feet, just leave the head and feet attached, if this is done poorly your rug will not turn out as good!

Skin it, let it cool for 20 mins, put in a game bag and freeze it asap!
Take it to the taxidermist frozen....he'll take care of it from there

Awesome tip thanks.

[Alberta Bigbore]

If I spotted one driving I'd get the heck off the road, you ever seen one of them drive!! Seen one driving in a circus, reminded me of my grandpa's driving!

Lol!!

[Alberta Bigbore]

ABB... bears will be where it starts to green up first. Best places at this time will always be south facing slopes( they get the sun all day) and wide pipelines that run east/west. Start checking out those places first.

Awesome. I remembered reading info like this from last year I just didn't remember. I bet bring the binos and spotting scope

[wwbirds]

Had taken a really big boar in northern Ontario before I moved to Calgary and the rug lay undisturbed for many years in the rec room. About 12 years ago we had the yellow female whelp down there in winter and for some reason she felt the bear rug was a threat to her pups so destroyed it in an hour.
have been thinking about replacing it on a spot and stalk kind of hunt but was unsure from Calgary how far north I would have to go and for how long to have a reasonable chance at a good boar. (6 feet)

[stemorholake]

If I spotted one driving I'd get the heck off the road, you ever seen one of them drive!! Seen one driving in a circus, reminded me of my grandpa's driving!

Man your quick...that's freakin funny. I had To show the guys in my warehouse your answer

[elkdump]

if you see a bear riding a bicycle ? do not shoot it !,
















you will make all the kids at the Circus CRY ! :scared0018:

[cowmanbob]

A few years ago I watched for several days a big bear come out in the evening feeding on a stubble field. One day I seen him take off into the bush in high gear. Shortly after along comes a quad with two hunters. They did not know the bear had been there.
Anyway that bear just changed the hours he would feed,as I would see him everyday,just not in the evening. After a week or so the hunters left without the bear.
I have two bears over 21 and 8 over 20 so I really did not need another bear.
Have patience and I hope you get your bear.

[elkdump]

if you are within a day of a freezer DO NOT salt the hide......it just creates more work for us taxidermists!

If you are unsure about caping the head, turning the ears and lips and skinning the feet, just leave the head and feet attached, if this is done poorly your rug will not turn out as good!

Skin it, let it cool for 20 mins, put in a game bag and freeze it asap!
Take it to the taxidermist frozen....he'll take care of it from there

20 years a licensed guide,I never lost a bear skin to hair slippage by fleshing and salting,99% of my guided trophies ended up going home to USA or Europe, I was responsible for their quality, guess I was doing it all wrong ,,,,,,

but I have seen bear hide slip hair in 12 or 14 hours if not salted or frozen quickly in warm spring and fall conditions !!!

[Lefty-Canuck]

Check lease roads and leases that have been planted in clover....they tend to green up first....where you find green you find bears.

LC

[philintheblank]

Stop-rot is a good product instead of salt, and you can freeze the hide after. Weighs less than a bag of salt also, you can order it from taxidermy supply stores, it is pretty cheap from what I remember also

[north american hunter]

I have had great success seeing bears driving lease roads and pipe lines.

[bdub]

We used to float a couple rivers in BC in the spring and we usually spotted piles of black bears. What a nice way to hunt as well, very enjoyable. Not sure what it would be like in Alberta or how the rivers are. Perhaps you could do a float trip on the Peace, Smokey or Athabasca.

[Red Bullets]

Active beaver areas attract bears in the spring too. check dams for bear tracks.

Not a real wilderness hunt but in some areas bears may be frequent to a land fill location in spring too. Check the with adjoining landowners in prospective area.

:) You don't have to bait them either, a well placed couch along the trail is all you need. :)

[Ranch11]

I've had some luck in creek bottoms, shallow coulees with lots of cover, and not a lot of water running. I just walk these areas, cause your not really gonna spot em. You'll probably surprise each other when you do finally meet. But go as slow as possible. I came across six one time all around me within about 75 yards. All feeding in the same area, a little creek/pond in some heavy pine. I was definitely under gunned that day.

[-JR-]

Bears feeding time is like humans,morning ,noon and evening .

90% of the bears i have seen and killed have been between 11:30 -1:30

May long weekend is the best.

Week before grass is just not green enough in cut lines for them to come to the same spot every day .

Week after the grass is green in the bush and they feed in the bush and their hides are showing rub spots.

I like to travel and just look for fresh bear droppings, then return when its feeding time.

A five inch wide foot print will be a 6 foot bear and a 6 inch print will be a 7 ft bear. anything smaller is not worth shooting .

Good luck

PS .bears are blind but have a good nose, try not to wear any bug repellent.
mosquito coils are a must when its skinning time.

[.257Weatherby]

Port of San Juan on Southern Vancouver Island...
Oh , My Bad you guys are in Alberta ;)
Good Hunting and cut tags !
Rob