Originally Posted by
RockyMtnGobblers
I FORGOT TO MENTION I FOUND A POSSIBLE DEN
A few years ago scouting for turk in a narrow cut in a mountain in the same area I found a bull elk skellaton fresh bear scat and a cave up the trail a bit. no fresh tracks of any kind but entrance was low and went back at least 20 ft. A bear could easily get in, I'm going to try and find it again next month. Do you all think this would be a good option ?
I don't think I'd waste much time on a "den" site. During the season bear are looking for food and water and aren't looking for dens yet. As such they travel quite a bit. If I didn't have a place I could sit and glass over a large area, I'd do what I said before about back tracking the road. The only way I'd stake out a possible den site is if the weather took a really bad turn. But you're walking a fine line in regards to legality then since the law about hunting "denned" bear is kind of vague. If I was going to do that I'd want to be at least 1/4 mile from the "den" just to be safe.
I've taken 2 bear in CO and they were both taken by glassing and stalking. So that would be my preferred method if I wanted another bear skin, which I don't because my wife would kill me if I brought another one home! LOL.