Strategys and technics for spring Black Bear

[super-7]

Well only 2 more months of winter here in my neck of the woods, but hey spring will be here before we know it. So when does spring bear open in your area? what style do you use when hunting ?
In the WMU ( wildlife management unit) I hunt it opens for rifle second week of may. We ussually spot and stalk looking for south facing slopes with springs first greenery coming up. I may switch it up this year and throw in some deer in distress calls and see what happens. I have not used a bait site although legal here for the simple fact I just don't have the time to take proper care of and re bait the site as it should be. I do have a customer that traps beaver for the county , I could get a few carcasses for free, may be an option for quick impromptu baiting ( over a week end). My success rate is not overly great with one small bear a 7 years ago, I ussually use it for an excuse to get out and hike and scout . Good news is the lease I hunt has a high percentage of color phase bears, and another guy I know seen a pack of 5 timber wolves while moose hunting. So deer in distress may bring in more then bear.

Fill us in on your spring plans.

 

[DrMike]

Bear opens April 15. We may have an early spring if the weather continues warm as it has. I've used distressed rabbit calls to call bears and wolves in the spring. However, most of my hunts are spot and stalk as we survey south-facing slopes or walk gas lines, which green up early in the warmth of the spring sun.

 

[Kodiak]

Good article in April issue of Handloader Magazine about bear hunting with .45LC revolver. Mostly about how the loads were worked-up, though.

My only blackie was taken with the ol' 71 Winchester and a 250 gr. factory loaded round.

Good luck up there guys!

 

[JD338]

We do not have a spring bear season here in MI.
Fall season is mid Sept through mid Oct only. Common methods are bait and hounds here.

JD338

 

[akhunter]

Season is open year around with bag limit of three bears in my part of the state. Blackies usually don't start coming out until early May or so and I'll be in the mountains doing a bunch of glassing. I'll be bear baiting this year as well for black bears. But early April is when the big brown bears start coming out and I already have a week+ off from work to look for one.

 

[Elkman]

Do to other conflicts I missed an opportunity for a spring bear hunt this spring. I am thinking about a spring hunt in SW Oregon, "next" spring. Maybe, maybe not, time will tell.

 

[jmad_81]

Spring season for the unit that I like to hunt opens April 1st. We are not allowed to bait or use dogs, so it is all spot and stalk. I really, really enjoy spot and stalk spring bear hunting. I'm starting to look at other states just because it can take up to five or six years to draw my tag in Oregon. One of these years I might just have to head north a ways and try it out up there. We can get some really nice big bears here (and all sorts of color phases, I have not shot a black bear yet), I just think it would be different hunting along the coast or streams.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I've seen numerous bears in the spring while dirt bike riding but never shot one by spot and stalk. I like to bait them. I also like to shoot rock chucks so the two conflict with each other and that may be why I don't spend the time to spot and stalk bears. It's pretty fun to see what a bear will eat on a bait and what they like the most. It's also pretty neat to catch them on trail cameras. Our season here starts April15th but it's rare to be able to have a bait out that early unless you bait in low elevations. Last year we didn't get our bait out until May 15th and had 14 bears on our bait before the end of season which was June 15th.