Black bear this year?

My youngest son (26) joined us for dinner this evening. Talk turned to hunting. Amazing eh?

He didn't draw any special tags, so just has the regular bear/deer/elk/cougar and small game license & tags for the regular seasons. No problem. We've done that most years. He's quite a bear hunter. We can't use dogs or bait here in Washington. Normally we do spot & stalk, but last year I managed to call a bear within 15 - 20 yards!

We talked about that, and he'd like to try! So I asked him his choice of rifles & scopes, and offered to replace the 6x scope on his trusty 100 year old .30-06 with a 2.5x compact Leupold or he could use any of my rifles. He asked about the .30-30 Glenfield which is ever so easy to carry and use, and is topped by that 2.5x scope. Cool. I'll get him some range time with the Glenny, and we should be good to go.

John likes to carry his .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk, 4 5/8" barrel, when we go bear hunting, and I'll likely have both my S&W 629, and a rifle. Maybe the .375 Number One with some 270 grain round nose Hornady bullets at modest velocity. I've got an old 3x Leupold on that rifle. I really don't want to take another bear this year, but I sure hope he gets one.

Sure hope it works out. Been a couple of years since the young man tagged a bear!

Guy

Sounds as if it promises to be a special hunt, Guy. Should be good. The fact that you can carry handguns for hunting is a real plus.

Ya, I don't usually carry a handgun while hunting, but sometimes it's fun to do so. This time I might only carry a handgun and not bother with a rifle as this is his hunt. I'm just using the predator call, and helping him deal with the bear afterwards.

Guy

That's a great picture. I do enjoy calling bears. They can be very responsive and surprisingly cagey at times.

Thanks. Using the predator call for bear was new to me last year. And it worked!

I want to try again, and my son is pretty pumped about the prospect of a short range shot at the bear. We often hunt them in more open country and our shots are usually 150 - 300ish yards. Except for some that were wounded and we had to follow into the brush.

I noted that the bear I called in last year came in with a whole different demeanor than when I see bears feeding in the berry bushes. He was focused on finding an easy meal, and killing it.

This should be interesting for both of us.

Guy

Sounds like great fun!

I've shied away from predator calls in Michigan for fear of a coyote interrupting my bear hunt. We generally hunt over bait or dogs. Spot and stalk looks fun!


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Guy,

Should be another great hunt. Best of luck to the both of you.

JD338

It's always fun getting out after black bears. Best of luck.