ekul246
05-16-2016, 10:50 PM
Thanks for the responses. After posting this thread http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?127723-Trying-really-hard-for-spring-bear! , we made some good progress last night.
We headed out after consulting google maps and decided that, after putting in a day and half in the spot where we had seen the two bears, we should maybe try to find some new ground. Again, my friend has never hunted bear. I have hunted spring bear, but with no success at all. Bagged a fall bear 3.5 years ago but that's another story that I have posted a while ago. So we headed south of where we were. Drove down a road that seemed to lead to thick bush. Kms down the road, it turned up and then split in a few directions. Found a very old and dried up turd. My friend asked if we should turn around because of all the thick bush. I said I had no idea. I have felt at a loss as what to do when hunting bear because I have read on HBC, done my research, tried to find grass and green, either gone too early in the season or missed the season completely or have just been choosing the wrong places to hunt. So I said," Let's go left to that clearing. If we don't see a turd, then we'll get out of here." Drove to the edge of the clearing and at the entrance found a turd. Seemed fresh, but with no experience with bear s**t, had no clue. Didn't crunch when I poked it with a stick, so figured it was somewhat fresh?
Headed into the clearing, found maybe one old turd. So turned around at the dead end and headed out. The cut looked more promising than the one we had been hunting the couple days before; tons of green, clover and secluded. Headed down the opposite clearing to the east. Found a little meadow and spotted a turd. Soft. Turned. Another turd, old and dry. Then another black turd. And another. 5-6 within 50ft of each other. Half old and grey, half black. So kept driving. Came to another meadow. More poop. Then found the clearing. Large and green. Found a turd but then no more for a ways. Almost at the 3/4 mark of the clearing found another old one. Came to the end of the clearing but could see another one. Drove in and began to find more and more poop. The last one I saw seemed very fresh but again, how fresh? I don't know! Got back into the truck. My friend and I were quite excited at this point since we had, until that afternoon, had only come across 5 randomly spaced turds over a huge area. We figured that maybe we had found our spot. Then I said," I think its just a matter of time now before we bump into this bear". 30 seconds later we were proved correct. His cinnamon coat made him look like a stump. Mixed with our massive inexperience and surprise, we saw him too late. He was maybe 60-80 yards away (no time to even grab the range finder) and staring at us sitting on his haunches. He turned and took off towards the centre of the cut. Decided to get out and take a shot. Had my earmuffs on in a millisecond and out with my gun......WHERE IS MY MAGAZINE?! It is ALWAYS between my legs or in the cup holder and it is nowhere to be seen. Turned out, it had magically made its way into my pocket. Looked up and the bear was far away and then gone. Got out to try and find tracks. Then found the freshest bear crap I have seen right where he was sitting. Finally I know what fresh crap looks like and now we understand that almost all the black crap we had found on the way to the clearing was from the last 24hrs and that afternoon.
Passed back and forth through the area a few more times, then decided to give it a rest and head back since dark was coming. Next morning after accidentally sleeping in, got to the clearing and glassed, drove, walked and sat. Then left for a while to give it a rest and check out some near by areas. They also looked promising, but no bear crap. Headed back to "the spot" and bumped a little blackie, too small to take.
All in all, this was the most productive spring hunt I have had. We found a good area, learned when to keep our eyes open and to cover more area to find the turds. We also found lots of whitetail, some mulies. Spotted 7 cow elk and saw our first porcupine. I especially feel some success at finally progressing in our knowledge, seeing as we have to teach ourselves how to do it.
Now a couple questions:
How long to wait after bumping a bear and he takes off should we wait to pursue or walk through to try and catch him?
Will a bear, that hightails it out and doesn't look back, return that morning or evening?
Should we wait him out or leave and give the area a rest?
Any idea how far they will typically run and is it worth it to go after them?
How long will they stay away from the area before returning?
Thanks again for the input. All the experience and insight are very helpful to us inexperienced and fumbling newbies.
ekul246
We headed out after consulting google maps and decided that, after putting in a day and half in the spot where we had seen the two bears, we should maybe try to find some new ground. Again, my friend has never hunted bear. I have hunted spring bear, but with no success at all. Bagged a fall bear 3.5 years ago but that's another story that I have posted a while ago. So we headed south of where we were. Drove down a road that seemed to lead to thick bush. Kms down the road, it turned up and then split in a few directions. Found a very old and dried up turd. My friend asked if we should turn around because of all the thick bush. I said I had no idea. I have felt at a loss as what to do when hunting bear because I have read on HBC, done my research, tried to find grass and green, either gone too early in the season or missed the season completely or have just been choosing the wrong places to hunt. So I said," Let's go left to that clearing. If we don't see a turd, then we'll get out of here." Drove to the edge of the clearing and at the entrance found a turd. Seemed fresh, but with no experience with bear s**t, had no clue. Didn't crunch when I poked it with a stick, so figured it was somewhat fresh?
Headed into the clearing, found maybe one old turd. So turned around at the dead end and headed out. The cut looked more promising than the one we had been hunting the couple days before; tons of green, clover and secluded. Headed down the opposite clearing to the east. Found a little meadow and spotted a turd. Soft. Turned. Another turd, old and dry. Then another black turd. And another. 5-6 within 50ft of each other. Half old and grey, half black. So kept driving. Came to another meadow. More poop. Then found the clearing. Large and green. Found a turd but then no more for a ways. Almost at the 3/4 mark of the clearing found another old one. Came to the end of the clearing but could see another one. Drove in and began to find more and more poop. The last one I saw seemed very fresh but again, how fresh? I don't know! Got back into the truck. My friend and I were quite excited at this point since we had, until that afternoon, had only come across 5 randomly spaced turds over a huge area. We figured that maybe we had found our spot. Then I said," I think its just a matter of time now before we bump into this bear". 30 seconds later we were proved correct. His cinnamon coat made him look like a stump. Mixed with our massive inexperience and surprise, we saw him too late. He was maybe 60-80 yards away (no time to even grab the range finder) and staring at us sitting on his haunches. He turned and took off towards the centre of the cut. Decided to get out and take a shot. Had my earmuffs on in a millisecond and out with my gun......WHERE IS MY MAGAZINE?! It is ALWAYS between my legs or in the cup holder and it is nowhere to be seen. Turned out, it had magically made its way into my pocket. Looked up and the bear was far away and then gone. Got out to try and find tracks. Then found the freshest bear crap I have seen right where he was sitting. Finally I know what fresh crap looks like and now we understand that almost all the black crap we had found on the way to the clearing was from the last 24hrs and that afternoon.
Passed back and forth through the area a few more times, then decided to give it a rest and head back since dark was coming. Next morning after accidentally sleeping in, got to the clearing and glassed, drove, walked and sat. Then left for a while to give it a rest and check out some near by areas. They also looked promising, but no bear crap. Headed back to "the spot" and bumped a little blackie, too small to take.
All in all, this was the most productive spring hunt I have had. We found a good area, learned when to keep our eyes open and to cover more area to find the turds. We also found lots of whitetail, some mulies. Spotted 7 cow elk and saw our first porcupine. I especially feel some success at finally progressing in our knowledge, seeing as we have to teach ourselves how to do it.
Now a couple questions:
How long to wait after bumping a bear and he takes off should we wait to pursue or walk through to try and catch him?
Will a bear, that hightails it out and doesn't look back, return that morning or evening?
Should we wait him out or leave and give the area a rest?
Any idea how far they will typically run and is it worth it to go after them?
How long will they stay away from the area before returning?
Thanks again for the input. All the experience and insight are very helpful to us inexperienced and fumbling newbies.
ekul246