a basic black bear hunting question

[Bard1]

I am just now cutting my teeth on hunting bears.  My question is this...Is it worth hunting bears in the early morning hours like we do deer?  So far I have only ever seen bears just after the sun goes down behind the hills but not yet dark.  Am I wasting my time getting up before first light to sneak out into a cold blind in the morning?  

Derek

[StanM]

Hey Derek,

Yes it is worth your time to hunt bear in the morning.  I've done quite a bit of bear hunting both on the east side and the west side.  Over east for me it's been about 50-50 on morning and evening hunts.  West side it's probably 35-65 for morning versus evening sightings.

However, stalking bears can often take an hour or more, so you can run out of light before you run into bear too many times if you're only hunting the evenings.

Good luck,

Stan

[T. Downing]

Derek, I agree with Stan. I have actually seen more bears in the early morning than at any other time. One morning my father and I came across seven different bears located in old clearcuts. All the activity was within an hour of first light. Good luck and God Bless, T

[Bard1]

thanks guys.  I appreciate that!

[JEFF B]

i think i would  ****  my pants if i saw a bear we dont have things that bite back.thank god for that.      

[Bard1]

When I get my pictures downloaded I'll post this weekends bear hunt under the 2006 hunting story thread in the pow wow.

[T. Downing]

Cool Derek, looking foward to your hunt! God Bless, T

[sticks]

all mine have been taken in the evening, but i like to sleep late.

[SERGIO VENNERI]

WolfMan;
      "We Don't have things that Bite Back" ! Huh? What happened to The Taipans ( 889 times more poisonous than a Rattle snake) and brown snakes???
       Rather deal with bears anyday!!

              Sergio

[Dave Lay]

Here In Arkansas I have seen as many in first hour of daylight as I have in the evenings.. your not wasting your time if ya are in the woods!!

[Jeff Sample]

We were on POW Island last Spring and the conventional wisdom was to head out to glass the grass flats in the late afternoon. Not being able to stand hanging around camp, we started going out earlier and earlier. We found the bears already out when we arrived, up to about 10 AM (temps were in the 70s, but it was brutally hot in the sun), and then out again about 2 PM. I've been on 2 baited hunts in Canada where the guides put us out only in the afternoon (3-4 PM), as they rebaited in the morning. Apparently it was quite common to find bears on the baits in the morning. So YES, hunt the mornings!

[Don Thomas]

An interesting range of opinions -- I've certanly stalked plenty of bears both in AK and the mountain west, and have found them out and about at all times of day, particularly in the fall when they are feeding in berries. However, I have consistently found the lowest yield during the first hour or so of daylight. I'm not lazy, but I seldom get up before the crack of dawn in AK to hunt bears... especially since the previous evening hunt usually ended about four hours before! Gotta sleep sometime... Don