Black Bear ( Ursus americanus ) for Rug ?

[Jelvis]

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[BearSniper]

For the Island or southern mainlnd I've had luck in mid April and later.

Perhaps further up north, may be 2 weeks behind in temperatures

Good luck, hope you get a nice one.

Grassy areas are best as the tummies are still sore from winter

[mntman]

for reg 3 may will be good, watch the blocks and green grass, the skinning of the hide will be important, you have to think upside down

[Jelvis]

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[Phil]

I tried the smoked black bear jerky and would advise against it. It was the only part of the bear products I didn't like. Phil, no smoke

[moosinaround]

I would think that th e grassy areas greening up first would be the target areas. Look for pumpkin heads, and glass for a while before deciding to take em. Bears, I find are hard to judge size on when you first see them, unless they are pretty close. I like to get out to areas less populated by humans so there is a lesser chance of the bear being in human garbage, specially if you are going to eat them!! We hunted in the Tumuch Bowron area last year for blackies, seen tons, and we took a little blackie as we were looking for a sausage bear, not a rug. Seen a Huge blackie on the side of the road, well worthy of a rug. It is a hoot to get out in may and shake the cob webs out!! It is an awesome time of the year to be in the outdoors, no bugs, not too hot, and usually not too many people!! Good luck!! Moosin

[Jelvis]

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[Will]

Earlier the better...right outta the den they have nice thick hides and long and sharp claws too !

They do start rubbing later in spring but I have taken some late spring blackies with great coats so that's not always the golden rule ?

Region 3 huh ?
Cuts are a start but find some of those little quiet outta the way FSR's with lottsa greenery on the edges.....park and walk em.

Look for a head that seems too small for the body, not so much small ears but not big mickey mouse looking ones.....a BIG round a$$ and not too much air space under the belly.....of course a spring bear will be at it's lowest weight of the year, so consider that.
You will Know a BIG Bear when you see it

Here's a Reg 3 Bear I almost took a couple springs ago.....stalked in to about 15 meters but he's only about a 6 footer and the pack out would have been much more worthwhile had he been a tad bigger, so he walked



Plenty of Bears in Reg 3...........look to your Muley grounds, some Good Bears out thataway

[Gateholio]

For spring, early is always better/...

Pluses of early:

Good fur

Mostly larger boars

Negatives to early:

Less action. You will see more bears later the season goes, but they arent' all quality.

Key to early bear hunting:

keep at it.

(Like most hunting)

To begin, drive around a bit, look for scat.

THEN, I like to find old FSR;s, park the truck and walk up and down the, glassing at every bend of the road.

Swamps are nice, too. Get in there and go SLOOOOOW like still hunting blacktails or whitetails.

Once the rut is on, keep checking those roads. Look for sign.

There is good bear hunting all over BC, just make sure it is what you want befroe you pull the trigger...

[Jelvis]

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