• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Hunting & Fishing black bear hunting

psinclair

Gunny Sergeant
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 11, 2008
3,394
538
66
Glasgow, Montana
scan0018.jpg


hey everyone its right around the corner post up some photos and lets get fired up!

ill start with this one i shot on the upper yellowstone north of yellowstone park. shot with a .280 remington at 250 yards. 150 grain nosler partition.
 
Re: black bear hunting

North of Ft. Mac, Alberta.
11jtb2v.jpg


also one of "Problem Child" seconds before using pepper spray point blank to get him off my tree. In answer to the next question "too small".
331zviv.jpg

(edited for pic size)
 
Re: black bear hunting

man, you guys have some really nice bears in your country!

looks like a nice bow kill. well done!!
 
Re: black bear hunting

scan0025.jpg



this one is my best bow kill. got really lucky on a spot and stalk deal. 20 yard shot. he went 19 2/16 pope.

how do you like my circa 1980s pse bow?

montanas bridger mountains in the background.
 
Re: black bear hunting

Here is one most have never seen. Not my bear, but killed on the same trip above. Northern Alberta. Probably the most elusive color phase out there for black bears. Silver (grey?) color phase. The outfitter calls them glacier bears. Not to be confused with the white (black) bears on the B.C. coast.

2qnnpkx.jpg
 
Re: black bear hunting

that is unreal! i saw a glacier bear in the anchorage zoo. it looked exactly like the one in your photo. in montana we have 5 color phases, black, brown, blond, cinnamon, and chocolate brown.

blonds are probably the rarest, as most blond bears are usually sows. id say 60% of all the black bears here are black....still my favorite. theres nothing like a giant coal black black bear!

thanks for sharing and keep them coming!!
 
Re: black bear hunting

scan0023.jpg


heres a blondie. not a big bear but i wanted it for the color and the meat!

shot in the gallatin range in southwestern montana.
 
Re: black bear hunting



scan0020.jpg


pic of a cinnamon killed in the bridger mountains north of bozeman montana. this bear was 14 years old.






 
Re: black bear hunting

PGS, +1 on the solid blacks. Nothing like it when the fur is in good shape before they start rubbing.

Well done on the Pope bear as well. Still working on that one myself.
WR
 
Re: black bear hunting

keep at it and you will connect. northern canada has some of the largest black bears in north america. some of that "bush" up there has probably never been hunted. ive hunted black bears for 30 plus years and have never killed a 20" bear. ive been close but no cigar! IMO an ancient old black bear boar is under rated and one of the top trophies in north america.
 
Re: black bear hunting

PGS,
That bear had some real nice fur!! I was stationed up in Alaska in the late 70's. We used to have about 30 bears chowing down in our dump. None of them had fur like the one you shot. They were all pretty shabby looking.
 
Re: black bear hunting

scan0061.jpg


sormi, heres a black bear i shot near prince william sound not too far from cordova, alaska. there was a ton of bears in this region. we had a sea plane drop us off near fidalgo bay at high tide. we hunted in there for 5 or 6 days and saw over 30 different black bears! it was a really fun hunt. some of the most awesome country ive ever hunted in. great do it yourself hunt. at that time a non resident could buy 3 black bear tags. i believe residents were allowed 5 tags each. i huntd with a friend from anchorage who also had a tag for brown bear. we saw a few of those but none large enough to shoot. we were in there about the 10th of may and there was still a crap load of snow in there.
 
Re: black bear hunting

Great pictures. This past year I have been talking with some buddies about trying to go on a bear hunt, these pictures are making it hard to delay such a hunt much longer
 
Re: black bear hunting

s178928, thanks. more than 20 but ive been at it a long time.

ive hunted black bears in montana, idaho, alaska, canadas nwt,and
new mexico.

ive never hunted over bait. (not that im against it.) im not a tree stand guy. i like the spot and stalk method. also baiting isnt legal here in montana.

black bears are a blast! they really get in your blood!
 
Re: black bear hunting

I just started hunting black bears two seasons ago when I failed to draw an elk tag. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, initially I was just looking for an excuse to tramp around my favorite elk country. I hunted them the same way I hunt elk by sneaking through the timber and tracking if the occasion presents itself. I came to the conclusion that the bear has a lot stacked in its favor when you still hunt for them. Of course they have an exceptional sense of smell. I suspect they are very much individuals too. Some seem kind of lazy or even cocky. The area I hunt has grizzlies so I had to make real sure not to shoot the wrong bear. In the last two seasons I saw both black and grizzlies. Wasn't able to take a black, partly out of an abundance of caution on making sure I had the right bear, don't get long to make a decision sometimes just a split second. Last grizzly I saw was on a fresh cattle carcass, which I had seen a few days prior. I approached it very carefully from upwind and out of sight hoping to find a black bear on it. Since it was a grizz I quietly put it in reverse and left it alone with its meal. Any how better safe than sorry. I had one big black I was tracking double back on me and pop his head up over a log at about 20 yards. I hesitated on the ID and the bear took off through the timber, I had another chance at a quick shot but passed it up. Last year I spotted a cub in a tree and then saw mom at the base of the tree. Can't shoot Ma w/ cubs, too bad cause it was beautiful Cinammon colored bear. Oh well had a great time and got my feet wet as a bear hunter. I'm counting on drawing an elk tag this year but I'll go back to the bear huting if I don't.

Joe
 
Re: black bear hunting

I took this one on Kodiak Island. I baited him with a picnic basket.

Yogi-portrait.jpg


Guys, Im seriously jealous. Ive always wanted to hunt bear. Looks like a load of fun.
 
Re: black bear hunting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Western Ronin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here is one most have never seen. Not my bear, but killed on the same trip above. Northern Alberta. Probably the most elusive color phase out there for black bears. Silver (grey?) color phase. The outfitter calls them glacier bears. Not to be confused with the white (black) bears on the B.C. coast.

2qnnpkx.jpg
</div></div>


That is by far the neatest color bear I have ever seen and I have seen a BUNCH!

This is the only bear pic I have, shot this one awhile back. Point blanked him as a freind and I rounded the corner on a heavy timbered trail. A 300gr Hornady BTSP out of a .375 H&H made fairly short work of him. When I picked the rug up, the taxidermist smirked and said "Don't let this go to your head but in 17 years of taxidermy work that was the biggest hole I have had to work with" Puts a smile on my face every time I think about it.


DSC00632.jpg


 
Re: black bear hunting

SMACK: Nice one! Great looking rug. The .375 H&H is a great classic....well done!
 
Re: black bear hunting

scan0059.jpg


I shot this one in the upper Gallatin range back in the day.
19"+ skull. 6 1/2 footer.
 
Re: black bear hunting

Only been on one Bear hunt so far, but I'd hope to get on a few more. This one was taken in Central California, about 100miles south of Yosemite just above Kings Canyon. The guide said it was the biggest he'd seen in a long long time. It was a dog-hunt, and the dogs pushed that bear for 7.5 hours before we could get a shot off at him. He wouldn't tree, and they wouldn't stand and fight him, so they just chased him all around the country for all that time, with us trying to keep up or figure out where to cut them off. When it did finally pay off, it paid big. Great trip.
BearHunt022-1.jpg

pic has blurred face of my hunting buddy - he doesn't want PETA to know it was him.
 
Re: black bear hunting

That is a stud black bear!

Whoever said hunting bears with dogs is easy has never done it.

Congrats on a great trophy!!!