spring bear easier before or during rut?

[rufous]

If I do not get drawn for spring bear in Washington I will likely do a spring bear hunt with my brother in Idaho. We had a good hunt there in May of 2003 and have a hankering to go back. I am curious though if there is any consensus as to whether or not the hunting would be any better or easier during the rut or before the rut? By easier I mean easier to locate and hunt the boars by spot and stalk methods. My spring bear hunting thus far has occurred before the rut, though I have observed bears mating later in May. I tend to think that it probably does not matter much if I were to hunt in mid May to mid June but I kind of wonder if during the rut the boars might be harder to find because they are not just out feeding, they are on the move looking for receptive sows. Or maybe they would be easier to spot because they are on the move more? What do you all think? I am trying to determine when we would do our hunt in Idaho if we end up going there. Thanks, Rufous

 

[Idaho_Smiley]

Go for

go for the earlier one

 

[carbonarcher]

Depends on what you want. During the rut for spot and stalk, I would say you see more bears later in may/june than you do earlier. But the later in may you get the greater chance of having a rubbed hide not worth making a rug. If your after a bigger bear it seems that in the rut the males are more active and moving more which could mean more sightings, but not a s good of hide.