|
Bear hunting requires some knowledge of bears. We try our best to educate our hunters about judging bears for size, fur quality and sex. When you arrive we have "Bear School" where we discuss methods of baiting, hunting, recovering bears, our routine and the reasons for it, usual bear activity, how to judge bears and most important the killing shot.
Spring or Fall Bear Hunt
We hunt from mid May to Mid June then again end of August to mid September. When is the best time? Depends on your schedule & what you want in a bear. There is no size difference between a Spring bear skull and a Fall bear skull. However, there are major seasonal differences in weight and fur conditions. A bear can emerge in the Spring from its winter den weighing 30% less than it did in the Fall. While a bear dens he is living off his fat reserve. It is essential that during the Fall prior to denning a bear must gorge himself to put on all this extra weight. Therefore, that Fall bear can be huge due to this massive weight gain. Fur conditions also vary from season to season. Most hunters believe a bear’s fur is finest soon after den emergence in the Spring. That is when the guard hairs are the longest & the under fur the thickest. It is during the Spring that hunters must look at the condition of the fur carefully before shooting. Bears will scratch & rub themselves to help shed this heavy coat of fur leaving rubbed marks. A hunter may see a bear that has bare patches on their hind quarters or behind their front shoulders. A Fall bear fur will be sleek, dense, & shiny with no rubs. The benefit of being able to "look a bear over" while on a bait is that you can observe for the quality of the fur.
Bear Hunt Wounding Policy
If you wound a bear and it is not recovered you can continue your hunt but you will remain at the same bait on which you wounded your bear. If you wound a second bear, sorry your hunt is over. After you shoot the bear watch the path he takes and listen. This makes our tracking of the bear much easier and safer.
Hunting Itinerary
Typical routine is breakfast anytime, then the work of the hunt (recovering bears, skinning bears, preparing baits). Lunch may vary from meal at camp or bag lunch to take with you to the stand, leave camp around 2-4 pm to have all hunters settled into their stands by about 4-5 pm. We hunt until dark which is about 10-11 pm Then back to camp and a meal about midnight. We access our areas by truck, quads and walking. Our stands are about 12-16 feet off the ground, or ground blinds that are between 10-75 yards from the bait depending upon what weapon you are shooting; gun or bow.
Try to obey good hunting principles of keeping scent to a minimum. Our wilderness tent camp is at the base of the North slope of the Duck Mts. We utilize canvas tents with hard floors & walls, bunk beds with good mattresses, rifle and archery range with meals in the main tent cabin.
|
