With the 2022 spring bear season finally over I wanted to reflect on some of the lessons learned. I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the field and see a lot of bears. Spring bear hunting is one of my favorite times of year to be in the field. Additionally, I had one of those hunting experiences that changes my philosophy on certain gear choices going forwards and taught me an important lesson.
Early Season
As I covered in my tactics for spring bear hunting article, I like to spend the early season doing a lot of hiking. I typically focus on south facing slopes as the snow melts. This season was no different, covering many clicks to identify where the first prime feeding spots were appearing before the bears really started to hit the new growth. This paid dividends in April where I began to see a lot of bears. After passing on a few smaller bears I finally took a nice boar near the end of the month with a Browning BAR.
Throughout the early season I also tried a new tactic of still hunting in the alder flats. This has been an effective tactic for the moose that live there during the winter. There was sign indicating bears were hitting the first growth of skunk cabbage in the valley bottoms. However, I found it difficult to have enough visibility while remaining quiet as I moved through the flats. The undergrowth that could be walked on top of during the winter because of the snow greatly decreased visibility. In addition, small creeks that had been frozen had melted, making travel more difficult. Ultimately, I decided that hunting the mountain slopes was more productive.
Later Season
Throughout May I returned to the mountains for spot and stalk style hunting. I saw lots of bears but passed on a number of legal boars holding out for a big one. Glassing and hiking into logging cuts that had had their bridges washed out proved successful in locating bears. Most of the snow had melted so the bears weren’t as concentrated on areas of new growth. I also completed my custom Tikka so a lot of my spare time was testing and load development for that rifle instead of hunting.
My work schedule in June meant I was doing a lot of short 2-3 hour hunts before work. This forced me to be more aggressive than normal and lead to a few close opportunities that taught me some good lessons. The hot weather also gave me an opportunity to use a few new tactics effectively.
Lessons Learned
I had the ability to spend a ton of time in the field this year which allowed me to be selective and watch a lot of bears acting naturally in the wild. Continuing to improve my understanding left me with a few takeaways:
Hunt When the Conditions are Right
The first thing I noticed is that bears are exponentially more active when the weather is optimal. Getting out mid-morning as well as later in the evenings is significantly more productive. If you can get out on a warm day with no rain during these peak periods you will see many more bears than otherwise. I have killed bears at 2pm and I have killed bears in the rain. However, by focusing during key periods of good weather and times of day, you can drastically increase your success rate.
Beat the Heat
During the heat waves we had in May and June temperatures got up to 20 Cecius (68 Fahrenheit). During these periods, bears were staying close to swamps and creeks where they could cool off. By focusing on cuts and river systems that had marshes nearby I found pockets of high density bear habitat. Several times I was able to find a bear by finding an area with lots of sign and sitting over the water source until the bear inevitably came to get out of the heat.
Use Optics with Locking Turrets
Spot and stalk spring bear hunting involves covering ground. One day I was hunting with a Bergara B14 topped with a Vortex Diamondback Tactical. I executed a stalk on a nice boar and had a shot opportunity for a 200 yard chip shot. I executed a solid shot and to my surprise the bear acted confused by not injured. The follow up shot had an identical lack of effect. A quick look at my optic showed that my turret had rotated 0.2 Mils during the hike, which shouldn’t cause a miss at that distance.
After the bear escaped up a creek draw I took a shot at a knot on a downed log at 40 yards to try to diagnose my misses. To my surprise, I discovered my scope was not firing 0.2 Mils off. Instead, the turret had completed a full rotation, putting me 6.2 Mils to the right. This would have put me 44 inches to the right at 200 yards. While I still am very happy with the Diamondback tactical, I will only be using optics with capped or locking turrets on my hunting rifles going forwards.
Closing Thoughts
Hunting is a constant process of learning and refining your skills and techniques for different prey and conditions. Taking the time to reflect and record helps avoid becoming complacent and promotes continuous improvement. Hopefully the lessons I learned this season can help you become a more effective hunter whether it is your first season or your fiftieth.