While I have to admit I am still somewhat of a beginner black bear hunter. This year was my first bear harvest ever. I did put over 140 hours hunting for my black bear this year. If anything other then the great mature boar that I harvested I gained some valuable experience and some advice given to me previously was definitely understood now!
So if you’re heading out for spring bear on Vancouver Island you may find a tip or two in here useful.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #1 – Don’t sell yourself short by only hunting the later part of the day. If you have the time spend it in the field. You never what can happen and it’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I saw and stalked several bears this year at all hours of hunting light.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #2 – When looking for spots to glass I have found more bears on recontoured roads than anything else. The recontoured roads have grass and clover planted on them and they are like a mini-oasis for black bears in the middle of clear cuts and surrounding areas. Look for green grassy hillsides in and around the clearcuts and you’re sure to spot a few bears.
Black Bear Hunting Tip#3 – Bears are not easy to judge in the field. Especially for beginners. And I was no exception. I glassed dozens of bears and got as close as I could to as many of them as possible only to find they were not nearly as big as I originally had thought. After studying so many bears and their behavior it’s going to be very obvious when you are onto a mature male trophy black bear.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #4 – Unless you’re a dummy you’ll already know this one… Work the wind. I know and have seen many a stinky, sweaty grubby guide who has never worn camo or anything of the sort to give them an advantage over game and they remain highly succesful hunters because they “work the wind” and use the terrain to their advantage.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #5 – Don’t believe the hype that bears have poor eyesight… Sure it’s not the greatest but between their hearing and sense of smell a bear can put two and two together pretty quickly without even having to see you. Always make your final approach on a bear from the downwind side if possible. You’ll see them try and wind you with their nose in the air and when they do they bugger off pretty quick usually.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #6 – Don’t ever rush your shot on a Black Bear. These big game animals are abundant and you’ll pretty much always have another chance on another bear. There is no need to make a rushed shot which may miss and spook the bear or even worse wound the bear and you may not recover him without the help of tracking dogs. If the decision has to be rushed and you have not a good chance to analyze the animal a shot should not be taken.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #7 – Don’t try and see how far of a shot you can make on a Black Bear. If you can use the wind and terrain in your favor there is no reason you shouldn’t be able to get within 100 yards of a black bear. I stalked and have on video over 5 different bears I stalked to within 100 yards of. The black bear I harvested was only a 70 yard shot. When I hear of guys taking 250 or 300 yard shots on a black bear it makes me shudder. Yeah you may very well be capable of hitting something at that range it’s not demonstrating any skills as a hunter in my own opinion.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #8 – You’ve probably heard this one before too and I know I did as well but it really didn’t mean anything to me until it happened. Try and find a bear that is going to be UPHILL from where you’re shooting and is a spot that is going to be easy to access. These are big, heavy animals and moving them around in a clearcut is next to impossible if you have to go anywhere uphill or even on flat ground for that matter. It took two of us two hours to move my bear from where he was shot to the decommissioned road and into my truck less than 100 yards away this includes skinning and quartering!
Black Bear Hunting Tip #9 – TAKE MEASUREMENTS! – My taxidermist wants to kick my ass everytime I come in there with something because I forget to measure the animal. In order to do the best job possible your taxidermist may need to have some measurements of your animal. For a bear my taxidermist wanted Nose to tail (Hide On), Circumference of neck (Hide On), Circumference of chest (Hide On). These measurements help the taxidermist when ordering your forms so that your bear can look exactly as he did before.
Black Bear Hunting Tip #10 – Try to cool the meat as quickly as possible. Black bears are a very dense muscular animal. The meat actually takes longer to cool then smaller species such as deer or calf moose and elk. We cooled my meat down in the river for about an hour before hanging it. It makes a difference in how the meat turns out. Bear meat isn’t known for it’s great taste so every little thing you can do to maintain or enhance the quality of meat will be beneficial.
Hopefully this small selection of tips will help one or two of the BC Bear Hunters out there!
Happy Hunting!
Carl
I live on southern Vancouver island and am interested in harvesting a black bear this spring. I am looking for an area to start to scout and hunt do you have any suggestions to get me started. Thankyou for your time and any tips. JB
Hey JB,
Thanks for your comment! If you’re interested in getting a bear (or two) this spring, April 1st is the season opener, and the bear activity is generally pretty low at that time, so it’s a good time to do a little scouting and if you do come across a bear there is a good chance it’s going to be a good one, and likely have a good hide too.
May is when things really start heating up with the bears. Cowichan/Nitinat areas have always been good to me, Franklin Camp area, Bamfield area… There is LOTS of bear country in there and LOTS of bears. A quad, or dirtbike would be beneficial so you don’t beat the crap out of your vehicle on the logging roads.
Look for recontoured logging roads, where they have re-seeded sections with Grass and Clover. These are favorite meal spots for blackies.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Carl
Where would you consider hunting bear around the Alberni Valley?
Hey Mike,
Thanks for comment… Anywhere really…! Get a Backroads Mapbook and you’ll see all the logging road access. There is miles of area around Port Alberni. I like to look for grassy, recontoured roads.
Carl