Spring Bear Tactics for Idaho, Montana & Wyoming

Spring Bear Tactics for Idaho, Montana & Wyoming

By Dan Pickar

There’s one thing I really look forward to in the spring, and that is getting out in the mountains. Snow is melting, new life is growing and hungry bruins are out and moving, making them more vulnerable than at any other time of the year. It’s time to spot and stalk bears! 

In general, expect to see young bears and sows with new cubs out first in the spring as they go into hibernation with the least amount of fat from sub-par feed in the fall. This depends on the area, bear densities, and how the berry crop was in the fall. The last bears to emerge from their dens are mature boars. Big boars usually have access to the best food in the fall, go into hibernation in great shape and usually den up earlier than the majority of bears. Furthermore, some boars, specifically in the mountain ranges I hunt in Wyoming and Montana, won’t emerge from their dens until the rut, which is June. This varies depending on your area. Let me explain. 

Where are the big bears? 

Mature boars are the last bears to emerge from their dens each spring. When they emerge depends on many factors, such as when the snow melts and feed is available, how much fat they put on in the fall before hibernation, and so on. Bears down south may not truly hibernate at all and bears up north may spend six months in the den. And in the middle of the country it varies. It seems like every mountain range is different. In mountain ranges that have higher elevations and get a lot of snow, I’ve seen bears come out of their den as late as June 5th. Other areas the snow melts quickly and green-up is early, so you’re going to start seeing bigger bears by mid-May. There is no rule to this; just keep this in mind where you are hunting.  

Where do boars den? 

A lot of seasoned bear hunters in Montana and Wyoming have told me that big boars like to den up high on north, steep, rocky faces because when they emerge in the spring the best grass is going to be on the north and east slopes. These are the areas that get morning sun and don’t get burned off during a dry spell in early May that we all so often see. When you study slopes, you’ll see these pocket parks on north and east faces have the most lush grass on the mountain. As you can imagine, these areas green up later in the year as well, so those late-to-wake boars have the freshest, greenest forage on the entire mountain. 

Early season habits

If you’re out hunting early in the spring around first green-up, it will be easy to know where to look for bears. They are going to find the first areas that green up, which is late April and early May depending on your area. South and west slopes are the name of the game here along with lower elevation bottoms. Weather can be poor during this time, with cooler temps, rain and snow. Bears are pretty fair weather animals during this time, so unless they are on a carcass or other high-protein food source, expect them to hole up during bad weather and come out and get moving when the sun comes out and temps rise. Oftentimes early in the season a bear will emerge from the den and wander around a bit, find something to chew on and return to the den for another week or so, weather depending, of course. 

What times are bears most active?

There is some variance on when the best time to spot bears moving is. A couple buddies only hunt bears in the afternoon from about 4 p.m. until dark. There is something to this because I have seen the most bears and biggest bears in the evening, two hours before dark. I would say in general you’re going to catch bear activity from 11 a.m. until dark depending on the weather and food source. Later in the season this changes a bit. Once June hits, the rut is kicking in and boars are going to be on their feet more and covering country looking for sows. This is the best time to see bears all day long. However, if you find a boar cruising during this time, you’d better make a move because he could be 10 miles away the next day if he doesn’t lock in on a sow or a really good food source. It can take days for a boar to court and breed a sow, and this makes a boar vulnerable; he is active all day, feeding as much as possible and the weather is usually nice. It’s easy living! 

Tactics

Usually, I like to get up on a high vantage point and glass. That’s the name of the game. It can be boring as you can sit on your butt for hours and then a boar shows himself and you’ll be on your feet running and gunning. It really is a patience game, and you have to believe in your tactics. I encourage all spot-and-stalk hunters to find someone to take them so they can get a feel for where bears live and where to look for them. That was a huge help to me when I started spring bear hunting, and I was lucky that my buddy Tyler taught me a lot about spring bear habits in southern Montana. 

Where to shoot a bear? 

There are a lot of opinions out there on bear anatomy and where to shoot a bear with a bow. The first thing to note is the location of the heart. It lies right above the brisket like most animals, but it is back behind the elbow about 3 inches farther than on a deer or elk. The lungs extend up into the shoulder but angle down low to a point. It is easy to shoot a bear too high in the shoulder and be above the lungs. They also extend back to the last rib and the back lobe is high under the spine. If you shoot a bear low and back with an arrow, you are in trouble. I have talked to countless guys that have shot bears too far back and they don’t find them. It seems bears can survive trauma to the guts and can travel a long way. 

This brings me to my next point. Shoot a large-diameter broadhead at bears. I like the hybrid Gravedigger by Bloodsport, and the last bear I killed I shot with the Bloodsport Nitefall. This broadhead has 3” of total cut diameter. Bears have round, thin ribs, so don’t worry about not getting enough penetration. The ribs are easily broken and it doesn’t take much for a broadhead to blow through them. 

 

Nothing better! 

There may not be a better time of year to be in the mountains than the spring. We all love fall and chasing deer and elk, but spring is special; the mountains are waking up after a long winter and so are the bears. Take these tips and tactics and get into the mountains to chase bears this spring; it’s a game I love and look forward to all year. 

https://youtu.be/2jrJ3FGNANg?si=1WZEDKaYbojp_hAw

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