Rubbed Hides!

[.308win]

Just wondering, maybe some seasoned Black Bear hunters might know the answer to this one, When do spring bears start to get rubbed? Living in the interior(North of Loops and South of PG) It's only in the last week that our Bears have started to get on the go. I'm asking because in ~2 weeks my parents are coming up from Newfie, and in 30+ years of hunting my Dad as never hunted Bear, so needless to say I'll have a red hot tag burning to be punched when they get here! I'm hoping that the bears will still have nice coats around that time(end of May begining of June) Do you think they will still be fine? Thanks any info will be greatly appreciated!!

Perry

[horshur]

Perry. I doubt you will have any problems but somtimes a bear will be rubbed right from the den

[Archer]

As long as you can observe a bear for a few minutes before the shot, you should have no worries of shooting a badly rubbed animal. Small rubs are no big deal as usually a taxidermist can spray-dye the areas of skin where fur is sparse. About bears coming out of the den rubbed, I've heard that this is caused by wood mice giving the bears a "haircut" while they sleep, as the underfur makes for great mouse beds. Not sure about that one, but it makes sense to me.
On another note, I just arrowed my first bear on wednesday, a blonde and the fur is by far the thickest that I've ever seen, and I've skinned quite a few bears and spent many hours hanging around an Island taxidermy shop. The fur on this bear is unreal. Like sheeps wool. Sorry, I ramble. Good luck on your hunt:biggrin:

[pupper]

In the interior when I usually go on the may long weekend they have great hides, I herd that in june they start to rub.

[Wildfoot]

my guess is when it starts to really warm up the bears will be rubbing.

[hunter1947]

From my past experience on bears rub there hide as soon as they exit there den ,but not that frequent ,as time goes on they rub there hides more. They really start rubbing them hard near the end of may. You really have to take a good look at a bear in the latter part of may to make sure that it has not rubbed the hide to a point that there is very little hair left on the hind quarters ,thats if you want a bear for a rug. My experience at seeing bears that are still carring a good looking hide would be anytime from when they come out of the den and that is usually around the first week of April. In most cases the hide will be in good shape till around the third week of may.

[Pete]

Bears rub!!!!. They pack that big heavy hide around as as soon as it starts to warm up they start to scratch. There are a few clues as to the rub on a bear but by far in making sure that a Bear is not rubbed is to take your time and really have a good look with good optics. Look to see if there is any discoloration. Meaning a black with what appears to have a dusty rump or shoulder.....rubbed. If viewed from the side and the hair line has a visable break in in especailly on the rump it is usually rubbed. If the top of the head appears to lighter in color there is a good chance it is rubbed, especially on older Bears. Later in the season if it has been warm out and viewed in the sun the Bears will seem to have an aura about them. This is the hair starting to shed out. Take your time, use your glasses and when in doubt.....pass.

[Mr. Dean]

I posted a pic of a Mom and her cub, last week. Mom had a small patch rubbed off her hiney.

[showtimebc]

I was out hunting north of Smithers a couple days ago, and I saw a big boar that had no hair left on his legs from his feet to his knees. almost shot him till i noticed how badly rubbed he was.