My First Bear Hunt

by: Sandy Banks

Idaho offers hunters a number of choices when hunting for bears.  They allow baiting, hounds, and spot and stalk.  Some units in Idaho allow 2 bears per unit, and also have reduced bear tags for sale. Baiting bears allows the hunter to be very selective in his harvest of a mature male bear.  While sitting on bait you have the time, and opportunity, to look a bear over before deciding if it’s the right bear to harvest; and most importantly, you can tell if it’s a sow with cubs, which is illegal to shoot in most states. When hunting spot and stalk, the average hunter is more inclined to shoot the first bear they come across, which can result in the harvest of small bears, cubs, and even sows with cubs.  Idaho is also a desirable location because color phase bears are very common. Shooting a brown, cinnamon, or even blond colored bear is highly probable.  All in all, these factors make Idaho a must hunt state for any hunter serious about harvesting a bear.

I had always wanted to hunt black bears with a bow – you know, try to satisfy that deep seeded caveman instinct to chase down an apex predator with a pointy stick.  I’d never shot a bear with a gun, but the idea of shooting one with my bow, on the ground, seemed like a real adventure to me. I happen to live in a state where you cannot bait bears; and unless you’re fortunate enough for one to walk by during the season, while you’re hunting them, it is very difficult to get close enough to size up a nice bear to harvest.  Where I’m from, bears can be hunted spot and stalk, but this method is not ideal for harvesting a bear with a bow.  I decided to book a guided hunt in Idaho with M2D CAMO Properties, so that I could hunt over baits, and improve my chances of harvesting a nice mature black bear.

A buddy Tom, and I arrived for our 5-day hunt in the middle of May, when bears are out from their winter dens and looking for food.  The outfitter had multiple baits to choose from, and was able to show us pictures and video from trail cameras, of the many bears coming in to each location.  Hunting Spring bears over bait requires lots of patience.  You have to spend a lot of time sitting in a stand or ground blind, if you’re looking to harvest a great bear. Most bait generally has a sow or two, with her cubs, as well as smaller bears sniffing around it.

Tom and I were both in pursuit of a large mature boar.  After looking over the pictures the outfitter had, we both chose bait locations to hunt, in hopes that any one of the big boars we’d seen in those pictures would show up.

I chose to sit on the ground 25 yards away from bait, high in the hills and timber where a huge black bear had been frequenting.   Tom chose to sit in a stand high off the ground where two nice mature bears had been coming in.  It was nice too see photos of the bears we were actually after, knowing that they were hitting those baits.  On the first night I had a sow with cub come in and eat for about 15 minutes.  As the light faded the sow and cub became nervous and left.  I figured a bigger bear was coming in.  I ran out of light before it appeared, and walking out that evening was a rush, knowing a big bear may be close and I was walking out under the moonlight.

Day 2 we spent the middle of the day shooting ground squirrels.  If you have never done this, it’s simply a great day with lots of shooting.  You can shoot 100’s of rounds a day.  If you decide to do this bring lots of ammo.  I highly recommend it.  Evening 2 found me in the same blind where the same sow and cub came in along with a smaller boar.  Although I considered shooting the smaller boar, in my mind I knew the big one may appear.  I have always heard you can’t shoot the big ones if you shoot the small ones.  Evening 2 ended with me seeing 3 bears in all and shooting at none.

Day 3 more squirrels go down, what a blast!  The same 3 bears come into my stand with no shots.  Tom on the other hand was able to harvest a nice boar that had been coming in just after he had been leaving.  This time the bear came in 30 minutes before the legal end of shooting hour and Tom was able to place his arrow through both lungs of a nice big black bear.  Tom was super excited and we spent the next morning taking care of Tom’s beautiful bear.

Day 4 I decide to go in at midday.  According to the outfitter, bears predominantly frequent the baits early morning and late evening, a lot like many other animals.  Bears however in the spring can frequent bait during the day at all times.  The big boars however tend to be a lot less frequent during daytime hours. As I only had one day left I was willing to sit all day.  Once again I saw the same chocolate sow and cub and smaller black boar.  On this day another loan sow came in black in color and with no cubs.  I drew back on her twice thinking she would be a great first bear.  Both times at full draw I talked myself out of shooting this new bear, as I really wanted the big boar that had been coming in.  The big boar I had been chasing made his first appearance.  I could see him scenting the area as he approached the bait.  He was 10 x more cautious than any of the other bears I had watched come in over the weeks time.  He was very methodical in his approach and I could understand now why this bear was a big bear.  He was not stupid!  The big boar did not come in close enough for a shot with my bow, but I was excited and pleased with being able to see him for the first time and watching and learning some big bear behavior.  

On the last day of my hunt I decide to sit all day again.  The big bear sighting the evening before had me excited with anticipation.  The outfitter had asked if I wanted to take a gun in case the bear came in late again but not close enough for a bowshot.  I chose to stick to my guns, no pun intended and harvest this bear with my bow, or not take him at all.  Day 5 pretty much played out like day 4.  The big bear once again did make his appearance in the last 15 minutes, but I could sense that he knew he was being hunted.  He stayed out of range making a half circle trail back and forth about 40 yards from the bait.  He did not want to commit.  As the light faded I watched this big boar stay just outside the perimeter of my bow hunting range.  Another exciting day on a bear bait.  

Although I did not harvest my first black bear this trip, I did see bears on every outing and had a great time.  The outfitter M2D CAMO Properties had put both Tom and I on baits with bears.  They had plenty of photos of bears for us to choose from and ran a good operation.  I was pleased with my first experience of bear hunting.  We all hunt for many different reasons.  Some of us hunt for meat, some for time in the woods with friends and family.  I love to hunt with my friends and for the thrill and rush of what the great outdoors has to offer.  This was a great experience for Tom and I, we will be going back to hunt with M2D CAMO Properties, hopefully putting my arrow through a big mature boar very soon.

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