First Black Bear Hunt - Advice

[Western Hunter]

Hi All, a buddy and I are looking to hunt our first Black Bear this spring. We are located in Region 8 (Kelowna). Ideally we can stay in region 8 or 3, but are willing to also travel north to Caribou or east to the West Kootenays. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially areas we should be exploring first (feel free to PM).

[Fella]

Look for fresh grass On the side of the fsr. Find a swampyish area with horsetails, clover, strawberries etc. Sunny clearings with lots of green, or cut blocks where grasses and shrubs have started to regrow. If you see piles of scat along the road you're in the right area, it's just a matter of figuring out where they are at whichever time of day your hunting. Some areas they'll go high during the day and then hit the valley bottom in the afternoon/evening.

[guest]

Look for greened up grassy areas, clover is a preferred go to for them too. Find lots of turds in an area, lots of grassy foods and vavoom. They are all around you there. Just get out more after they start to come out more. Mid to late May and into June they will be all out of their dens and active. Always use the wind in your favour, move slow, some times predator calls work too. Some have been seen already but gets better later. Good luck to you.

[stevo911_]

Only hunt uphill of roads (unless you have a winch)

[Fella]

Only hunt uphill of roads (unless you have a winch)
This is the best advice given so far. Bears are not easy to move unless you quarter them.

[.308SLAYER]

I take that into consideration all the time not just with bears always nice when you can slide them right into the truck

[Western Hunter]

Thanks guys! Keep it comin!

[monasheemountainman]

no need to travel far, my man. go up near big white, Christian valley, beaverdell, bear creek, there are bears in any direction you point

[takla1]

If hunting in the southern part of B.C {2-8 ect} get up high into the snow on south faceing mnt saddles and look for bear tracks comeing from N,NE mnt sides.bears like to den up on the north and north east sides of mnts ive found and upon waking will head over to the south faceing sides and move down in elevation for fresh eats.You will see their tracks in the snow heading down and will give you an indication of area's their working for food

takla

[GoatGuy]

lots around kelowna and the okanagan. Low elevations/grasslands and on the side of south facing FSRs is where you will find them first.

Find the grass, find the bears.

[walks with deer]

Stevo911

I completely agree to your comment ahh the memories of drink to move 350 blob up hill..

Out comes the knife..

Bring lots of water those sunny afternoon recoveries make you real thirsty..

Avoid residential and farm areas and areas where fish spawned in the fall.

[tigrr]

Most of my sightings are early morning and late afternoon. Watch the bear for 30 minutes if you can, to insure it is a boar. Don't want to shoot a sow with cubs. A bears sense of smell is 400 times better than yours, walk into the wind. If you are going to use a predator call in grizzly country, have 2 people ready with loaded guns capable of taking out a grizzly. Bear hunting is great because they do taste great.

[HarryToolips]

Most of my sightings are early morning and late afternoon. Watch the bear for 30 minutes if you can, to insure it is a boar. Don't want to shoot a sow with cubs. A bears sense of smell is 400 times better than yours, walk into the wind. If you are going to use a predator call in grizzly country, have 2 people ready with loaded guns capable of taking out a grizzly. Bear hunting is great because they do taste great.
Good advice here, don't want to shoot a mama with cubs...I will also add that I see most bears mid May til the season closes, but a lot of those days are really hot out (especially last year), so really try to pick rainy or overcast days to hunt to avoid meat spoilage if ya get one...and if your hunting earlier season, you may not see scat for a while, as for the first bit of spring they have a fecal plug..grassy powerline areas are also good areas to find em..

[stevo911_]

Good advice here, don't want to shoot a mama with cubs...I will also add that I see most bears mid May til the season closes, but a lot of those days are really hot out (especially last year), so really try to pick rainy or overcast days to hunt to avoid meat spoilage if ya get one...and if your hunting earlier season, you may not see scat for a while, as for the first bit of spring they have a fecal plug..grassy powerline areas are also good areas to find em..
I'd consider taking a pass on the hot days as well. Both of the bears we dropped last year were on 30 degree days. So much scrambling and stress to get it dealt with fast to avoid spoilage. I don't think I'll ever go bear hunting again if its over 20 degrees.


Stevo911

I completely agree to your comment ahh the memories of drink to move 350 blob up hill..

Bring lots of water those sunny afternoon recoveries make you real thirsty..

It's like trying to move a 300lb bag of jello!

[Fella]

If hunting on a hot day, at minimum you gotta peel the hide back as fast as possible. My buddy shot one last May in 25+ heat and we skinned and quartered it in under an hour and hung it by a lake to cool. The meat turned out ok but I was really concerned that the meat would sour.

[Saskhunter]

I don't know the area you are hunting but from what I read on here it looks like the population is quite favourable. A couple rule of thumb things I used to say when I was outfitting,
1. Wicked sense of smell, but nearly blind. You can use that to your advantage.
2. Big ears and long legs= small bear, look for almost no ears( block head) and belly close to the ground= big bear
3. Like mentioned earlier, if you can, watch for as long as possible, sometimes Cubs are close but don't show up until It's too late. Sucks to shoot a sow, no worse feeling.

very satisfying to down a huge bear, good luck!!!

[WestbankRye]

One of the first things I learned hunting bear is that they are hard to size up especially on your first couple hunts. Like Saskhunter said above "big ears and long legs = small bear, small ears and big belly = big bear". Lots of areas around Kelowna, good luck!

[walks with deer]

The bigger the bear the worst it tastes...

[ROY-alty33]

Ground shrinkage is real and horrible. Expect to find a dink lying where a monster once stood.

[walks with deer]

Once you hit him even with a stellar hit a couple more insurance don't hurt especially on spring bears when there heart beat is slow.

Break some bone...

[two-feet]

The bigger the bear the worst it tastes...

nothing wrong with a 150lb meat bear. Or two...

[ACB]

If hunting on a hot day, at minimum you gotta peel the hide back as fast as possible. My buddy shot one last May in 25+ heat and we skinned and quartered it in under an hour and hung it by a lake to cool. The meat turned out ok but I was really concerned that the meat would sour.
In warm weather if you can find a creek with a bridge over it, hang it on the shady side under the bridge (off the the bridge). It will stay cool and go get another one.

[Western Hunter]

Thanks again folks. Good information here.

[Boner]

Ground shrinkage is real and horrible. Expect to find a dink lying where a monster once stood.

Kinda what I was going to say.

Have fun! You'd be surprised how close you can get with a spot and stalk. Don't be afraid to walk away from a smallish bear, there's enough bigger ones for us all.

[Rhyno]

Ground shrinkage is real and horrible. Expect to find a dink lying where a monster once stood.

Very true! When my wife walked up to her first bear she actually turn to me and asked "is this MY bear":D

[greenhornhunter]

I am going out for the first time too in April. All of this is very valuable. I am in the lower mainland though. Is it better higher alpine or lower down? I am so hoping to have a successful hunt this year.

[Bigd74]

Also following this thread. Going out middle of April. Going up west Harrison area