By Bernie Barringer

I wasn’t really sure what to expect on my first bear spot & stalk bear hunt in British Columbia a few years ago. The first action of the first day with the outfitter was a walk up a hill. Let’s just say we don’t have much for hills like this in the Midwest. My young, long-legged guide and I headed up a steep skidder trail for the better part of a mile to an area where we could look over some clear-cuts.

By Brian Strickland

As we rounded the hairpin turn on the closed logging road, a patch of chocolate hide caught our attention. He was barely a 100 yards away, and after hiking countless unnamed roads the past few days, I had gotten pretty good at spotting flashes of dark hide mixed in with the emerald-green foliage. Although this particular bear was not the biggest we had encountered, the after-noon sun had his dark chocolate-colored hide perfectly lit, causing it to glow with a reddish hue. Needless to say, I didn’t need a green light from the outfitter on this one and quickly developed a plan of attack.

By Josh Kirchner

Since I was a boy, I’ve had a curiosity about hunting bears. From their elusiveness and sheer power, to the iconic presence they have in all things wild, my eyes and ears were wide open to them. At the time, it sounded like one of those things that I would dream about, but never actually do. That curiosity never waned, and by the time my mid twenties came about, I just couldn’t handle it anymore. Within a few months, my first bear hunt was upon me. I had no clue what I was doing, but knew that I wanted to learn. That was about 7 years ago. Since then, I’ve hunted bears in the West every spring and fall. Each season that went by, I’d collect another piece of the puzzle that was, and is, bear hunting. The learning curve can be a great one for a first timer in the West pursuing black bears. Preparation is key and can go a long ways once in the field. Here are some ways to help you prepare for your first western black bear hunt.

As seen in the Jan/Feb 2018 Issue of Bear Hunting Magazine!

The Alaska Peninsula had a record salmon run that summer. In turn, the commercial fishermen went home with fat wallets, and the bears lounged in the alder thickets with fat bellies. In 20 years of guiding, I’d only seen it this bad on one other occasion. Simply put, the bears had plenty of fat for hibernation and they knew it. The mature boars were feeding only at night and holed-up in the thick stuff during the day. Hunting was so tough many hunters quit early and went home, but not David. “I’m gonna hunt until I get a bear, or the season ends,” he vowed.