Bear hunting: Tips For A Beginner?

Jake1798

Jake1798

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I've never hunted a bear before but this spring I think I will go out for a black bear with a buddy of mine who has once or twice. Just wondering what some of the experienced bear hunters would tell someone who has never done it before? I will be hunting in the East Kootenays of BC if it makes any sort of difference. Any input will be appreciated and thanks in advance!

-Jake
 
In your part of thr country the key will be to zero in on greens. Since you can't bait in B.C the best feeding areas will be the ones where the vegetation greens up first. Bears coming out of hibernation will key on these areas early in the season. I spent most of 2007 working in the Terrace area and although I didn't hunt I spent lots of time photographing. It was nothing to see 20+ bears some evenings and older cutovers with new vegetation seemed to produce the most sightings. From there it's a matter of choosing an animal and trying to put on a successful stalk. Good Luck.
 
Green spaces - south facing slopes. They are hungry and will be very visible in areas like this. Floating a river / then spot and stalk is a sure fire way to bag a bruin.
 
Also remember, if it has big ears its a small bear, small ear is a big bear. This does matter when the age of the bear dictates if it can be shot or not.
Take enough gun, but dont listen to the guys here that say anything less than a .375 H & H will do. A sensible .308, .30-06, .30-30, .270 with good bullets would be sufficient. Now, if you have a powerful gun, dont be afraid to use it, its just that black bears are easily killed with a decent bullet and medium powered rifle.
 
- if the ears are coming out on the top (like a dog) it is a young bear,
- if the ears are on the side of the head (almost invisible) it is a large bear,
- if there is not much day light between the bellie and the ground = large,
- shoot low behind the shoulder or break his spine,
- be as close as possible when shooting,
- any gun from a .270 on will do.
good luck!
 
This has been discussed a lot and you can find saved threads on in at:

huntingbc.ca
 
Thanks for the tips guys, they'll help me this spring too :)

First time!

I'll be taking a Remington 700 SPS DM (.300 Winchester Magnum) and a 12ga HP9-1 with slugs. Should work just fine!
 
In the Kootenies you have an advantage, walk the gas lines and hydro clearings, find yourself the freshest scat you can and set up on the area for last light and day break. Otherwise do what most others do, drive around and spot one. ;)
 
there are no bears in the kootenays just kidding the best way to hunt them is in the higher elevations back end of the drainages the lower areas especially around the south country west highway and lower bull river are heavily h unted by hounds my good advice is stick around the upper creston valley and on powerlines look for the green patches get out and look for scats and tracks and keep an eye on the area Good Luck
 
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bring extra underwear,


no really, when you have to track the bear in the thick woods, with a rifle like an enfield, because the little shotty is still in mail..........ahh the memories
 
bone-collector said:
wow I guess you dont have to watch for cubs that can and will hide in tall grass forever, its much more important to watch there ears for size definition lmao :rolleyes:
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Fine sarcasm and a critical point. ALWAYS look for cubs and take as much time as you need to do so. Apart from that, bear hunting is actually pretty easy and forgiving; it's a great starter for new big game hunters as far as I'm concerned. As noted earlier, don't think you need a huge rifle to get the job done either, I've flattened bears with lots of calibers from .270 to .375 H&H and when they're hit right you can't tell the difference what they were hit with.
 
here is what you do, first before you head out there, secure yourself one beaver carcuss. every morning when you take the quads out to your get off and walk location, drag that carcuss behind your bike on a rope. leave it in that position for your entire trip. one day when you are heading back to camp for the night you will come onto a bear with his nose to the ground on your route. you will drop him in his tracks (providing that you got your #### together). p.s. beaver carcuss to a bear is like lobster to us guys.
 
best bear hunting advice I was given many years ago, by an expert hunter, who had many many years of experience.

When hunting bears...

Don't get eaten.

L
 
WOW the advice just keeps getting better:

zthou said:
here is what you do, first before you head out there, secure yourself one beaver carcuss. every morning when you take the quads out to your get off and walk location, drag that carcuss behind your bike on a rope. leave it in that position for your entire trip. one day when you are heading back to camp for the night you will come onto a bear with his nose to the ground on your route. you will drop him in his tracks (providing that you got your s**t together). p.s. beaver carcuss to a bear is like lobster to us guys.
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PSSSSSSST its illegal to bait bear in BC ;)

bear hunting is not rocket science, I relise some think it is but its NOT!

make sure the bears not in a family unit, watch it for a while and pay attention to suroundings for movment in grass or trees, watch the bear and make sure its not pre-occupied looking at certain spots could be a cub

make sure the bear is over 4 feet, not hard to do if you dont panic or get excited, find something around the animal to use as a size reference.

there are lots of bears you dont have to shoot the first 1 you see.

if you want a rug or mount, watch the bear and get a good look at all sides, many bears will be rubbed and have crappy hides.

no bears arent terribly hard to kill but they are just as easily wounded, and can travel great distances with a hole in them , pick your shot take your time if you dont get it, walk away there will be more bears don the road.

watch for other bears in the same area especialy on cutlines and such that could become problems, many bears will gather in small areas in the early spring until food supplies get better everywere.

HAVE FUN!
 
zthou said:
here is what you do, first before you head out there, secure yourself one beaver carcuss. every morning when you take the quads out to your get off and walk location, drag that carcuss behind your bike on a rope. leave it in that position for your entire trip. one day when you are heading back to camp for the night you will come onto a bear with his nose to the ground on your route. you will drop him in his tracks (providing that you got your s**t together). p.s. beaver carcuss to a bear is like lobster to us guys.
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Dude, he is in BC, where bear baiting is illegal. And there is no use telling me that is not bear baiting, because it is the CO, or a judge, you will have to convince.
 
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