Just wondering how the season is going for the bear hunters out there. I'm new to bear hunting and drew a coveted tag this year, wondering if anyone could me out with a few pointers?!

If you fence in 40 acres of land and put a black bear and a hunter inside, the bear will see the hunter every day and the hunter will never see the bear.

If legal, bait works best, combined with lots of patience.

A "honey burn" usually gets their attention, but be very careful not to start a wildfire. This is often used in the east and in Canada, but I'm not sure as to the legality out west. It's just like it sounds - you burn honey in a can or pan over a can of sterno.

Maple syrup mixed half and half with water in a spray bottle is good for liberally spraying vegetation in the area of a bait station.

A dying rabbit varmint call can be used to draw bears, but they come in fast and in predator mode. It's hard to pick and choose a bear to shoot this way.

A freshly killed beaver makes the very best bait.

A bait station should contain a mix of meat, cracked corn and jelly donuts according to one hunter I know who is often successful.

The Radical Bear Hunter is probably the best book written on hunting black bear.
EDIT: This was written by Dick Scorzafava - A truly GREAT read.

Hunting with dogs will kill any hunter who is not in the best of physical shape.

Bring enough gun! And, a side arm for the coup de grace.

I've noticed they hide really well! Thanks for the info. Went once and found plenty of sign on the roads but never could spot one. Got a 300 WSM, so i think that should do the trick, just gotta find the damn things! My problem is the hunt is 7hrs away and few hundered dollars in gas, got one trip left and gotta make it count. baiting is prohibited and i dont have dogs. I've been very curious about trying to call them in though. any recomendations on a call/calling technique? Any patterns i can look for in their behavoir? They're a pretty interesting critter and got me scratching my head!

A nice ripe salmon sammich in yer pack oughta generate some interest! Cooking up a big pan of bacon works too.
Might generate more interest than ya bargained for though.
So bring a side arm!

Local knowladge is a plus, might make some callls and see if someone can give you a general idea or get a guide? Too bad ya cant bait, their nose is hardwired to their tummy. In parts of Monanta where I hang they love campsites and dumps. Not sure if they are starting to move up the hills yet, depends on the food. Once food goes, they go to sleep. Hibernation hinges on the food supply, not the weather, so I've heard. They don't like dogs, noise, people. Love food, quiet, etc. And bacon!

I don't know what part of Idaho you are hunting for bear. Northern Idaho is by far the best area to hunt. This time of the, in my opinion, high elevation is the best to hunt. Most generally the bears are after the high elevation huckleberries this time of the year. I would spent alot of time glassing huckleberry patches and old logging units. The brush should all be turning color by now and the bears pretty much stick out. The cutting units contain alot of down rotting logs that the bears will be ripping up looking for grubs. A very great time of the year to be out in the high country of Idaho. Have a Great Hunt.

I would have to say that hanging around the huckleberry patches would probably be your best bet, especially up north, I used to live a little north of Orifino, used to see them a lot out in the huckleberry patches.

johnbra wrote:

I've noticed they hide really well! Thanks for the info. Went once and found plenty of sign on the roads but never could spot one. Got a 300 WSM, so i think that should do the trick, just gotta find the damn things! My problem is the hunt is 7hrs away and few hundered dollars in gas, got one trip left and gotta make it count. baiting is prohibited and i dont have dogs. I've been very curious about trying to call them in though. any recomendations on a call/calling technique? Any patterns i can look for in their behavoir? They're a pretty interesting critter and got me scratching my head!

Maple syrup mixed half and half with water in a spray bottle is good for liberally spraying vegetation in the area you will be shooting. - Technically, I don't think this counts as baiting

A dying rabbit varmint call can be used to draw bears, but they come in fast and in predator mode. It's hard to pick and choose a bear to shoot this way. Squall away, same as calling in coyotes. It's a very good idea to have a second hunter so you can sit back-to-back. A called bear is NOT the same as a stalked bear.

I forgot to mention - bears have the best sense of smell of any mammals. Estimates range from 100 to 500 times better than a bloodhound. Bears will come to a honey or bacon burn from over 10 miles away. Cooking up some BLT's for lunch while in the woods isn't baiting. Just leave a piece or two of bacon and the grease in the pan and "forget" to turn off the burner.

The flipside of this is that they can smell YOU very well also. Constantly monitor the wind. Don't handle anything in the shooting area without clean gloves.
Eating a can or two of sardines while sitting on stand seems to help.

I know I will get some comments about cheating when I talk of "technically not baiting" but I have learned that the regulations of stalking only pretty much mean that almost all bears taken in these areas are strictly by chance and result in smaller bears being harvested, mature bears rarely taken. This, to me, is NOT the way to manage the bear population.

Such good info everyone, thanks! my hunt is in council, near the idaho oregon border what we discovered verifies what has been said. all the bear sign we came across was in draws that had berries running up through it. We also learne that bears dont crap in the woods, they crap on the road! (just never when we are there) i do have a rabbit in distress call, i believe its a jackrabbit. I tend to beleive more cottontails exist up there than jackrabbits but not sure. Will that make a difference? Is there a good time of day to call/not call? There are trees everywhere, contemplating setting up a call station near a CRP field that meets the timberline, yay/nay? I'll be sure to put a tasty, smelly lunch in my pack too...

keep us posted. really hope it goes well for you so we get some good photos.

Well we made the trip back up to bear country and sadly I have to say we didnt bring one back home with us. Tried calling them in and spctting them in eve and morn but i think the 85 deg weather was just too hot for them to want to come out. We did see PLENTY of sign down in the brush however; tried the ole deer hunting method and brushed one out but ran into the trees before i could shoot, and of course never saw him again. Had a good time though, it was my wifes first hunting trip and we had a blast. Looks like I'll be sticking to the local bears until we save up for another trip in a year or two. I wont accept defeat! Thanks for everyones tips and help!

Remember, if you enjoyed it it was a successful hunt!