***OFFICIAL*** 2023 SPRING BEAR THREAD

[mtmuley]

Where's Greenhorn? He digging out that bear he followed to it's den in 5 feet of snow? mtmuley

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Just finished putting my gear away for the summer and cleaning my skull. I hunted a decent amount this year and saw tons of bears, including some medium sized bears that I was happy to pass.



I was extremely lucky to get my bear this year, I called it a season last weekend after a lot of action at the bait. My wife argued that I should give it one more go before calling it quits so I decided to give it another try this weekend. I packed up my stuff and headed back out after work this past Friday. I left a little later than I wanted and ended up getting to my bait around 5 PM and as expected, there was a bear at the bait. I could tell it was a good sized bear but he kept coming in and out of the bait as he was with a sow. I quickly settled near a tree where I could stay and watch without spooking him. I could see him run around the bait chasing the sow but never could get a shot. I was getting eaten alive by the worst swarm of mosquitoes I've ever been in. He eventually came back to the bait and it didn't take me long to figure out it was a shooter. All and all, probably "hunted" 10 minutes that evening. I was out of the bush by 7 PM and headed back to the RV!

Conservatively measured him at 19 4/16 so that makes him my second biggest and I couldn't be any happier.For those wondering what a 19 inch bear looks like next to a 21 incher...



Crazy the difference two Inches make!

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Gentleman, days 4 through 6 in New Brunswick took a turn...

Day 4: We started with some decent fish catching but hunting ended up again with no bears . Something relatively notable was one of our guys had a truck park near them with people getting in and out, talking, slamming tailgates etc. Assuming they were setting up a bait site. The hunter told the guide what happened and he said that no one should be in there as it was leased property. A few minutes later a truck came down the road with 3 hunters in it, presumably the trespassers we heard. The guide and the hunters exchanged words in French, but was translated later on that he asked them to leave and not come back.

Day 5: Temps dropped approximately 25 degrees and a mid-day thunderstorm rolled through. We hit the baits around 3pm for the evening sit. Around 6pm I heard 2 gunshots in quick succession, a break of about 10 minutes, then a third shot. I get excited that one of our guys managed to get another bear! About another hour later I hear a car horn blaring, held for 30 seconds or so. A few shorter blasts, then another 30 second hold. 20 minutes after that multiple vehicles come tearing by back and forth.

It gets quiet and dark, no bears for me. After I walked back to the guide waiting at the end of the road I asked, "Who got one tonight?". He shakes his head and says no one, some locals were messing with you guys. Turns out the vehicles I heard were the guide and locals in a high speed chase... the same trespassers from the night before.

They walked into the baits, hassled one of the hunters, drove around laying on the car horn to scare off any bears, and took all 3 of the shots I had heard. We come to find out this guy is a local hunter, works for another guide, and is participating in a local high dollar bear hunting tournament. All or one of those things apparently made him come out and ruin our hunt. Working theory is that they'd been messing with the outfitters baits, deleting pictures of cameras, stealing cameras, etc.

Day 6: We hunted a completely different area than the previous 5. A much better looking area than we had been hunting. I believe the outfitter intended to save these spots for the regulars coming in next week. One of the guys had a bear come in but couldn't get a shot with the bow.

The hunt ended 1 for 6.

I expressed my displeasure with the experience and the outfitter offered to have us back out in the fall for free. I won't be going back but some of the group may take him up on it.

Great company, adequate accommodations, excellent fishing, but terrible bear hunting.

Edit: If anyone now, or in the future, is looking for a recommendation on what outfitters to not use near Edmundston, NB send me a PM

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That sucks donkeys. Looks like you at least enjoyed parts of your trip. Tons of douche bags out East and it can get pretty territorial, especially during fall deer and moose seasons where guys get shot at, intimidated by other groups of hunters, tires slashed, camps burnt, etc.

I highly recommend coming to Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan if you want to spend your hard earned money on another Canadian black bear hunt. I can definitely recommend guys here in Saskatchewan and give you tips on travel/lodging/etc.

 

[EYJONAS!]

That sucks donkeys. Looks like you at least enjoyed parts of your trip. Tons of douche bags out East and it can get pretty territorial, especially during fall deer and moose seasons where guys get shot at, intimidated by other groups of hunters, tires slashed, camps burnt, etc.

I highly recommend coming to Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan if you want to spend your hard earned money on another Canadian black bear hunt. I can definitely recommend guys here in Saskatchewan and give you tips on travel/lodging/etc.

 

[Sask hunter]

Hunting close to town tonight. Wouldn’t mind a look at this guy. Saw this nice colour tonight

 

[jt13]

That sucks donkeys. Looks like you at least enjoyed parts of your trip. Tons of douche bags out East and it can get pretty territorial, especially during fall deer and moose seasons where guys get shot at, intimidated by other groups of hunters, tires slashed, camps burnt, etc.

I highly recommend coming to Alberta, Manitoba or Saskatchewan if you want to spend your hard earned money on another Canadian black bear hunt. I can definitely recommend guys here in Saskatchewan and give you tips on travel/lodging/etc.

From what my younger guide (not the owner) was telling us, this bear hunting competition has blown up the local bear hunting scene. He said no one used to care about bear hunting that area much at all until recently.

Subtract the hunter harassment, the owner making wild excuses/accusations for lack of success, and add some more bears it would been an excellent trip. I'm going to be giving the outfit we used the opportunity to make it right in the fall before I leave any negative reviews on his website/Facebook.

Will definitely be looking elsewhere in the future. I'll certainly send you some messages if we plan on trying it again. Thanks

While trying to fight off slipping slowly into insanity after more than 30 hours in the ground blind I worked out some statistics for our gang. Most of us must be bad luck on Canadian bear hunts, certainly bucking the average success rates.

6 guys, 13 total outfitted hunts, 56 cumulative days, 7 bear sightings, and killed 5.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Where's Greenhorn? He digging out that bear he followed to it's den in 5 feet of snow? mtmuley

He's busy watching YT "movies"....lol

 

[Sasquatchewan]

Hit me with your best Canuck accent, bud. I'm sure we could fool the COs!

Repeat after me: "I'm Jonas from Swift Current"

 

[EYJONAS!]

Hit me with your best Canuck accent, bud. I'm sure we could fool the COs!

Repeat after me: "I'm Jonas from Swift Current"

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Hey derh my name is Rutt frum da Swift Current, this is my bruther Tukke.

How boyut those Las Vegas Knights eh?

 

[BackofBeyond]

Hey derh my name is Rutt frum da Swift Current, this is my bruther Tukke.

How boyut those Las Vegas Knights eh?

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Yada yada yada, those degens from up country…

 

[Trial153]

Bear capicola

 

[BAKPAKR]

Four days of getting absolutely soaked, drying gear out and trying to glass through the fog. I loved every Gawd Damn second of it too. No shots fired passed a few up looking for Mr Right. Great weekend!

I'll officially turn the reins over for next year @BAKPAKR. Due to lack of production. Still time though....

One of my favorite trips in a long time, love exploring some new stuff!

I am confident that there will be some good bears killed in the next week or so.

 

[ccc23454]

I am confident that there will be some good bears killed in the next week or so.

I have found myself working to much to get out, wtf! I have justified it with this daily rain storm but running out of days here (remember our season ends on 15th). Hope to get out for 3/4 days of camping and hunting before it ends... not the spring i envisioned!

 

[Henry22]

Day 1 was pretty good. My buddy found a mule deer shed. Saw a ton of elk and then had a chocolate bear give us the slip just before dark. Hopefully it swings back by the meadow in the morning.

 

[Sask hunter]

Unless something crazy happens I plan to wrap up this weekend. Guess I’ll be contributing to the summer bear thread and the sows and bo boos bear thread. Fall bear is some of my favourite table fare so I will have no standards lol

 

[MT Bound]

Where's Greenhorn? He digging out that bear he followed to it's den in 5 feet of snow? mtmuley

I was wondering the same thing for a follow up on that bear-den-dive-in-head-first-with-my-knife-in-my-mouth and see what happens.....

 

[MNHunter67]

It took me 22 days of hunting this bear season, but last week, I finally notched my tag on this Montana sow. Not a giant bear, but it’s my biggest to date and I’m super happy to have gotten it.

 

[Henry22]

We didn’t have any more bear sightings after the first evening but had a good time exploring a new area. Saw plenty of deer, elk, and moose and even a few foxes. The fishing crew had some success but not much variety. This was only our second time bear hunting and learned more than we can probably retain. Now it’s time to craft a way to make it back next year. Onward.

 

[Fishnride]

After several springs seasons in several Western states it all came together just before the close of the season. Awesome solo hunt in new terrain, spot and stalk, soaking wet most the time.
Keith

 

[Foxtrot1]

100s of hours of watching bear hunts to get better at field judging payed off, with me shooting the 1st average bear I saw. Haha. But it had a beautiful hide. Hot temps made things tough, but the group went 3/3. My wife schooled all of us catching big fish. Overall a great trip, can't wait to go again.