By: Brian K. Strickland

I really wasn’t expecting much as I began making my way down the steep slope towards the remote bait site. After eight days of checking three different setups that I positioned in one of Idaho’s national forests, activity was slow to say the least. Although I would like to blame the inactivity on something tangible like the weather, hunting pressure or a regional downturn in overall bear numbers, there was just no evidence of that.

By Josh Kirchner @dialedinhunter

Aside from many not knowing about the spring seasons that Arizona has to offer, many don't even know there are bears here. When one thinks of Arizona, they probably are just thinking "dry desert" with bears being far from their mind. I've talked to more than a handful of folks who were surprised when they found out Arizona offers some great black bear hunting opportunities. In fact, when it comes to the lower 48, Arizona actually comes in 3rd in top record book black bear locations, right under Colorado, with California holding the torch and standing on top.

By Brian Strickland

After blowing a predator call for nearly 15 minutes, I was beginning to question my sanity. Not that I have anything against predator calls, but producing some tunes from one of them usually means you’re looking for trouble. When I caught movement out of the corner of my eye a few minutes later, I knew I had found it; or better yet, it had found me, and in an instant I knew what it was! I strained my eyes to the side to confirm my suspicions—it was a bear. His coal-black hide glistened in the pool of September light, as he stood motionless trying to find the easy meal; I just hoped he wouldn’t mistake me for one.

By Hugh Bevan

"How will we ever stalk that far without being seen?", my friend Will Eason said as we watched a big Alaskan brown bear through binoculars. The bear was at least a mile away, on the other side of the bay, and as an added challenge the animal was eating grass in the middle of a large open area with no cover nearby.