Montana Spring Bear

So fellas,

I have a good problem of having 5 weeks vacation starting 2019. With my wife being a teacher she will not likely ever go on an elk hunt with me, but can do a spring bear hunt in Montana. She will be out of school May 30th and wants to go hunting in the mountains (she is pushing the trip not me "shes a wonderful wife").

I am basically shooting in the dark here but I'm really looking at units 450, and 106 for 2 reasons

1. Ill' hit those mountains before I get the the west side of the state saving time and a little $$$

2. I'm thinking that since we wont go until the end of May beginning of June the snow melt will be good timing on our part in that region.

I have read that units 510, 520 tend to close early due to quota limits. Do I have to worry about it with these units I'm looking at or not?

Also is their a reason I should avoid those units?

Anything helps,

Thanks

I'm not sure about the 2019 seasons yet but a lot of the districts you mentioned the spring season ends May 31st. Some others stay open until June 15th. The other thing you have to watch close for that late in the spring is to make sure the bear hasn't rubbed much of its coat off.

Take a look at the guide for dates.

http://fwp.mt.gov/eBook/hunting/regulations/2018/blackBear/index.html

Also, if I was planning a back country hunt/ trip with my wife I would steer us away from the units in the state that have the highest grizzly densities. I would focus on these units if I was in your shoes 216, 316, 317

Thank you both for the reminder! I did a bunch of research earlier this year and forgot that some do close on that date! Quite honestly I completely forgot about spring bear hunting until my wife brought it up last night.

I see that I will not be going to those units because of the May 31st closing.

As far as the coat rub off are we talking specifically for mounting/bear rug? Or is that an indication for disease?

I'm as green as greenhorns come when it comes to Western hunting. I'm not worried about being in grizzly country as we have done many day hikes in Yellowstone and the Tetons region, though I understand this is a very different experience.

For those who are wondering we will both have bear spray and a sidearm. We are not backpacking in, I plan on setting up a camp at a trail head and doing day hikes. I have taken and passed the black bear identification test.

Back to the drawing board... When it comes to calling local biologists is there a department in the state that will quickly hook me up with them? Assuming their numbers aren't posted online?

I would steer clear from griz area for another reason: accidentally shooting a griz. If you don't spend a lot of time with them, you can easily mistake them for each other. I've mistaken both for each until I studied them for a good while, and I am from here. We have a bear ID course that is required, if you weren't aware.

Is backcountry a requirement? there are plenty of places to chase bears if not.

If you wanted to increase your chances at harvest, I would look to R1.

Montana does post all it's biologist's contact info
http://fwp.mt.gov/regions/r2/directory.html?lastName=&fwpRegion=2&fwpDivision=ANY

Yes the rubbing comment is in reference to mounting a bear. I have killed 2 bears on the last weekend of the season and neither had a rubbed coat. Kinda depends on the elevation, the area and the bear.

"done many day hikes in Yellowstone and the Tetons region"... lol... you do realize that most of the regions of Yellowstone that have high bear densities are specifically closed during the time period you will be hunting to limit bear human interaction. I'm not saying there is a grizzly around every corner that is going to maul you, but hiking Cascade Canyon in August is not the same thing as hunting bears in 450 in June. Just make good decisions, and maybe avoid a couple of the high density units.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/bear-management-areas.htm

To maximize opportunities to see bears and get within harvest distance in big mountain units, you'd want to be prepared to comfortably:
-Walk 5-15 miles in a day, sometimes through intermittent snow drifts
-Cross deep, fast water
-Know the difference between species from a distance, sometimes in pretty thick habitat
-Adjust your plan based on current snowpack conditions
-Hike all night long with a dead animal on your back...if you hunt till dark, butcher, and have a bunch of miles to go, this is how it works out
-Deal with being wet a lot

The last two are as much mental as physical. You absolutely don't have to be ready to do all of those things to be successful or a really good bear hunter, but if you can then the only limitation is basically time. Again this is more geared toward the mountainous, wilderness type settings. Good luck, have fun, and always stash yourself a beer in the creek for the walk back to the car.

^^^ that!

You're doing yourself a huge disservice if you rule out hunting grizzly areas.

1st of all thank you all for the great information so far.

2nd I apologize because this is going to be a lengthy response.

To. 406LIFE, Does R1 mean Region 1?

Randy11,Are you saying that you would hunt high population grizzly areas?

wllm1313, The hiking in Yellowstone, Tetons, and Shoshone national forest were all done in 2 weeks in June 2015. There were trails closed due to high bear activity. I'm trying to be level headed here, "Not trying to come across as a know it all". We never saw a single bear in those 2 weeks, saw over a dozen moose that a local told me I was mistaken for a different species. I'm not big tuff guy afraid of nothing... I would actually be scared to have a grizz encounter. I honestly thought grizzlies were thick in all the west half of Montana. I do appreciate you looking out for me and sorry if I come across at the type to throw a baby bison in my vehicle because it looks cold. LOL

I grew up in Northern Wisconsin and have seen over a dozen black bear in the 1st 23 years of my life and would say I would comfortably know the difference between the two species but 406LIFE is making me think otherwise. I'll have to go by the rule of if I even have to question if its a black bear then pass it up.

SnowyMountaineer, Your list got my blood pumping. Though I'm glad you mentioned that because I'm starting to think my wife will be expecting it to be as easy ask hiking trails in the National Parks. We will see how tough a cookie she is though. I have watched the Hushin crews YouTube hunt for spring black bear and it looked like they were hiking closed logging roads and glassing valleys. Maybe I should look in that direction for the sake of the wife.

So hunting in June looks like mostly the SW part of the state. At that time will there even be snow? If not should looking for avalanche chutes worth it at this time or mostly glassing?

Thank you all for the info guys/gals I really appreciate it.

It can be as chill or adventurous as you want it to be, just depends on how and what terrain you want to hunt.

Hey good luck.

Look up the Randy Newberg day by day videos on bear hunting.

I started a thread on here on bear books.

Without a guide, you might not be successful at first. But if you go more than one year you can learn by doing.

Don't worry about getting eaten by a bear.

Thanks, Ill try not to worry about being eaten... Grizzlys will always be on my mind out their, I really thought they were thick out in western Montana. Ill have to check out Randy's videos, I have seen his season 1 bear hunt and thats it so far.

I have looked at wllm1313's units he recommended and if bear hunting is similar to elk hunting the burns then unit 216 is where were going. Many burns in that unit... So, Is it much the same? Are burns a good place to hunt bears?

midwesterncrosshir said:

At that time will there even be snow? If not should looking for avalanche chutes worth it at this time or mostly glassing? Thank you all for the info guys/gals I really appreciate it.

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Lee Metcalf June 5, 2016

Guys I thought I read this in another thread and am looking for confirmation. When hunting spring bear in Montana is your tag good for only a certain unit or region or is it OK to jump ship in one unit and move to another if you want to switch spots?

midwesterncrosshair said:

Guys I thought I read this in another thread and am looking for confirmation. When hunting spring bear in Montana is your tag good for only a certain unit or region or is it OK to jump ship in one unit and move to another if you want to switch spots?

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They're not unit specific, but different areas can have different season dates and some are on a quota, so just make sure the area you're hunting is open.