Colorado Unit 62 Bear Rifle
06-07-2018, 08:00 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 1
Colorado Unit 62 Bear Rifle
Hey guys just drew my Co unit 62 bear tag and I'm wondering if yall have any advice if like to throw my way. This is my 1st bear hunt but I'm super excited and thinking it will be an adrenaline rush. Take it easy I am a woman so I dont know it all by any means.
06-07-2018, 08:20 PM
#2
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,520
Welcome to the forum.
Are you asking what rifle you should take? Any rifle you shoot well.
I don't know Colorado law specifically, but anything from .270 on up would be more than plenty.
-Jake
Are you asking what rifle you should take? Any rifle you shoot well.
I don't know Colorado law specifically, but anything from .270 on up would be more than plenty.
-Jake
06-08-2018, 05:45 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I think she was just stating the tag is in rifle season. Which is all of Sept.
Bear hunting in Colorado is either spot and stalk or my preferred method of still hunting (sneaking in close) over natural food areas. Scout the area you plan to hunt for natural foods. Then get lucky that you and the bear will be at that spot at the same time. It's not easy and the reason bear hunting isn't easy. Bears in Sept are on a feeding frenzy to fatten up for winter. They'll travel 20-40 miles to find food.
Are you hunting with someone? Do they have bear hunting experience?
Bear hunting in Colorado is either spot and stalk or my preferred method of still hunting (sneaking in close) over natural food areas. Scout the area you plan to hunt for natural foods. Then get lucky that you and the bear will be at that spot at the same time. It's not easy and the reason bear hunting isn't easy. Bears in Sept are on a feeding frenzy to fatten up for winter. They'll travel 20-40 miles to find food.
Are you hunting with someone? Do they have bear hunting experience?
06-08-2018, 08:31 AM
#4
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 1,201
lots of time is wasted in my opinion worrying about the theoretical differences in center fire rifle cartridges , we all tend to have favorites, we see the results other people have gotten, but from what Ive seen shot placement and the skill of the shooter is more critical that the head stamp on the cartridge case
a 308 win or 270 win or 30/06 is seldom going to let a good shot down.
personally Ive used a 340 wby and 375 H&H on most hunts one of my late partners preferred a 358 win BLR
and one guy in camp uses a 257 roberts BLR... we all kill deer and elk regularly..
,its hard ,even ludicrous to try too argue with a guy,
who has a long string of decisive one shot kills using his rifle choice.
from the results I've seen, finding a bear in Colorado is going to be FAR more difficult that killing one,
with about any rifle you might carry to hunt mule deer or elk, provided of course you can shoot accurately from field positions.
I would suggest you carry a reasonably heavy caliber back-up revolver,
for the absurdly low chance you might need it.
I've generally carried a 44 mag, revolver in a shoulder holster,as a precaution,
but a 357 mag or 10mm would work fine,
and so far over the last 50 years,
only two guys in our elk camp that I remember have shot bears, one used a 308 win,
the other guy a 6.5mm swedish mauser, both worked fine.
I've hunted elk and deer, and even when I had a bear licence,
I could not find one large enough to warrant the effort of,
dragging it out of some canyon miles from my truck
, the only bears I've seen were while deer and elk hunting,
the bears on a gut pile run once you approach,tend to run once they detect you.
you might need a revolver for close range , where a scoped rifle is not ideal.
the only time Ive encountered bears was on return trips to retrieve elk meat ,
I could not pack out on the initial trip,
so I generally use a block & tackle to get the second return retrieval trips elk meat up out of their easy reach,
they generally clean up the gut piles along with coyotes if you are forced to make the second trip the next morning.
bears are very alert if not concentrating on a gut pile or other bait, I doubt youll be able to sneak up on one , randomly still hunting timber
BTW its nice to see more gals taking up hunting...
Id simply select a know quality, heavy for caliber bullet designed for deep penetration and personally Id want at least a 257 roberts and a 100 grain nosler partition,
or something a bit larger as a minimum.
Ive hunted all the areas marked with green dots at least once during either archery or rifle seasons
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...58/#post-73607
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...44/#post-12101
a 308 win or 270 win or 30/06 is seldom going to let a good shot down.
personally Ive used a 340 wby and 375 H&H on most hunts one of my late partners preferred a 358 win BLR
and one guy in camp uses a 257 roberts BLR... we all kill deer and elk regularly..
,its hard ,even ludicrous to try too argue with a guy,
who has a long string of decisive one shot kills using his rifle choice.
from the results I've seen, finding a bear in Colorado is going to be FAR more difficult that killing one,
with about any rifle you might carry to hunt mule deer or elk, provided of course you can shoot accurately from field positions.
I would suggest you carry a reasonably heavy caliber back-up revolver,
for the absurdly low chance you might need it.
I've generally carried a 44 mag, revolver in a shoulder holster,as a precaution,
but a 357 mag or 10mm would work fine,
and so far over the last 50 years,
only two guys in our elk camp that I remember have shot bears, one used a 308 win,
the other guy a 6.5mm swedish mauser, both worked fine.
I've hunted elk and deer, and even when I had a bear licence,
I could not find one large enough to warrant the effort of,
dragging it out of some canyon miles from my truck
, the only bears I've seen were while deer and elk hunting,
the bears on a gut pile run once you approach,tend to run once they detect you.
you might need a revolver for close range , where a scoped rifle is not ideal.
the only time Ive encountered bears was on return trips to retrieve elk meat ,
I could not pack out on the initial trip,
so I generally use a block & tackle to get the second return retrieval trips elk meat up out of their easy reach,
they generally clean up the gut piles along with coyotes if you are forced to make the second trip the next morning.
bears are very alert if not concentrating on a gut pile or other bait, I doubt youll be able to sneak up on one , randomly still hunting timber
BTW its nice to see more gals taking up hunting...
Id simply select a know quality, heavy for caliber bullet designed for deep penetration and personally Id want at least a 257 roberts and a 100 grain nosler partition,
or something a bit larger as a minimum.
Ive hunted all the areas marked with green dots at least once during either archery or rifle seasons
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...58/#post-73607
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com...44/#post-12101
Last edited by hardcastonly; 06-08-2018 at 10:15 AM.
06-08-2018, 10:21 AM
#6
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 1,201
while I wish the young lady the best of luck,
it has nothing to do with skill,its simply a numbers game.
I doubt youll see bears very often, in the BLM/or open to the public areas,
unless you bait them,
simply because in nearly 50 years of hunting
colorado , wyoming and norther california for mule deer and elk
and having spent a great deal of time getting in close to deer and elk,
I,ve seldom seen black bears, they are simply not as numerous as
deer or elk thus your odds of seeing one tend to be lower unless
you can bait them which is not legal in many areas
its not legal to bait bears in colorado
theres 20-50 times as many deer or elk as legal shoot-able size bears, (less than 1/3rd the population by most estimates)
theres over 300,000 of deer/elk each last time I looked at the statistics
simple math and experience in the field says its just not as likely youll see bear as deer or elk and theres statistically less than a 30% chance your average hunter collects an elk.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the state's black bear population has boomed to an estimated 19,000, up from 12,000 in the early 2000s, creating the potential for more human-bear conflicts. Mark Vieira, a CPW wildlife biologist in Fort Collins, said there are more bears now in Northern Colorado than 30-40 years ago
http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pa...arHtgTips.aspx
BAITING.It is against the law to hunt big game over bait, whether or not the person hunting personally placed the bait. Bait means to put, expose, distribute or scatter salt, minerals, grain, animal parts or other food as an attraction for big game. Salt or mineral blocks used for normal agricultural purposes are not considered bait. Scent sticks that smell like food are illegal for bears.
https://www.gohunt.com/read/elk-numbers-across-6-states
it has nothing to do with skill,its simply a numbers game.
I doubt youll see bears very often, in the BLM/or open to the public areas,
unless you bait them,
simply because in nearly 50 years of hunting
colorado , wyoming and norther california for mule deer and elk
and having spent a great deal of time getting in close to deer and elk,
I,ve seldom seen black bears, they are simply not as numerous as
deer or elk thus your odds of seeing one tend to be lower unless
you can bait them which is not legal in many areas
its not legal to bait bears in colorado
theres 20-50 times as many deer or elk as legal shoot-able size bears, (less than 1/3rd the population by most estimates)
theres over 300,000 of deer/elk each last time I looked at the statistics
simple math and experience in the field says its just not as likely youll see bear as deer or elk and theres statistically less than a 30% chance your average hunter collects an elk.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the state's black bear population has boomed to an estimated 19,000, up from 12,000 in the early 2000s, creating the potential for more human-bear conflicts. Mark Vieira, a CPW wildlife biologist in Fort Collins, said there are more bears now in Northern Colorado than 30-40 years ago
http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pa...arHtgTips.aspx
BAITING.It is against the law to hunt big game over bait, whether or not the person hunting personally placed the bait. Bait means to put, expose, distribute or scatter salt, minerals, grain, animal parts or other food as an attraction for big game. Salt or mineral blocks used for normal agricultural purposes are not considered bait. Scent sticks that smell like food are illegal for bears.
https://www.gohunt.com/read/elk-numbers-across-6-states
Last edited by hardcastonly; 06-08-2018 at 11:01 AM.
06-08-2018, 11:30 AM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I know. I've hunted Colorado every year since 1954 for elk, deer, and bear.
Bears can be killed by still hunting (the only way I hunt) over natural food areas. I agree that still hunting timber won't be effective. However, if you scout enough and know where the natural foods are. Still hunt those and you can be successful. With that said........you have to hunt for bear specifically. Just hoping you'll see one while deer and elk hunting won't produce much. Seeing one over a gut pile is basically legal bait hunting. So, it does work. A lot of bear hunters use the method in Colorado. I prefer not too. It's just baiting to me.
I usually have 20 areas on natural food for bears. I'll move fast to within 200yds of an area and then still hunt into it. Always being downwind. If nothing is there i'll move fast to the next area. I'll do that until i've hit all 20 areas which takes about 3 days. Then i'll start over and do all the areas again. It takes some luck to hit an area while a bear is still there but i've done it a lot.
Another method is to sit a bit below a ridge and glass. Not my style. It puts me to sleep. I like to keep moving.
Bears can be killed by still hunting (the only way I hunt) over natural food areas. I agree that still hunting timber won't be effective. However, if you scout enough and know where the natural foods are. Still hunt those and you can be successful. With that said........you have to hunt for bear specifically. Just hoping you'll see one while deer and elk hunting won't produce much. Seeing one over a gut pile is basically legal bait hunting. So, it does work. A lot of bear hunters use the method in Colorado. I prefer not too. It's just baiting to me.
I usually have 20 areas on natural food for bears. I'll move fast to within 200yds of an area and then still hunt into it. Always being downwind. If nothing is there i'll move fast to the next area. I'll do that until i've hit all 20 areas which takes about 3 days. Then i'll start over and do all the areas again. It takes some luck to hit an area while a bear is still there but i've done it a lot.
Another method is to sit a bit below a ridge and glass. Not my style. It puts me to sleep. I like to keep moving.
06-09-2018, 05:32 AM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
Here is a method of bear hunting for CO that can be effective: Hunt avalanche slides if there are any in your area. When an avalanche comes down it will pretty much wipe out the big timber and heavy brush. When it begins to regrow there will normally be a lot of berries and wild roses that grow up and bear will feed heavily on those. The berries will usually be raspberries and currants and I've found the bears really like the currants. You can hunt slide areas by glassing and then moving in of you spot the bear. This is a game of patience.
Another method is find open areas with lots of those big red soldier ant hills. Bears hit the mounds hard for the larvae. A CO game warden told be about that trick.
Good Luck. If you take your bear, post a pic.
Another method is find open areas with lots of those big red soldier ant hills. Bears hit the mounds hard for the larvae. A CO game warden told be about that trick.
Good Luck. If you take your bear, post a pic.