Idaho Black Bear: Hunting Your Way

In 2017 I went on my first bait hunt in Idaho for Spring Black Bear with my brother. Although we had tag soup the experience was amazing, and what we took away was many lessons learned. We hunted the Lolo National Forest which is just below the Panhandle. If you are looking for a hunt where you can get on top of ridge lines and mountain tops and see for days, this area isn’t for you. The area resembled the thick vegetation of the western Oregon rainforests. It was the first week of June and snow still lingered at higher elevations in shaded areas. We had set both our bait sites around 3500’-4500’. We didn’t check the lunar cycle prior to the hunt, although if we had known there was going to be a full moon we still would have been there first week of June due to work obligations.

We spent nine days trying to get it done, we split our time walking logging roads and trails during the day and sitting the stands at night. I took both my .338 Lapua for the possible long shots whenever we were fortunate enough to find open snow chutes, and my bow for sitting the stand. After speaking with locals we learned that during full moons bears tend to feed late at night and again at mid-day. Obviously hunting during the night was out of the question, and to be honest, sitting in a stand during mid-day just isn’t in my blood, nor my brothers. Tree stand hunting in general drives me nuts. I’m always too excited to read a book to pass time quietly. And only being able to move a few slow inches every 15 minutes to adjust weight from one gluteus maximus to the other is torture. It’s impossible for me to sit in one spot knowing there’s a ridge line or mountain top to conquer to see what lies in the next valley. The call is too enticing.

So we did it our way regardless of what might have been the most productive. At the end of the day that’s what hunting is all about. From the preference of weapon to method of how you approach the hunt, whether it’s solo backpack hunting or comfortable camper hunting and everything in between, there’s no wrong way. When you fill that tag it’s about how you got it done that allows you to walk away satisfied, sometimes that means walking away empty handed as well, however, when you do punch the ticket, it’s that much more meaningful.

Backcountry Precision

Blood. Sweat. Reward