Idaho Fall Black Bear Hunt
 

Good news, I found someone where I live in Idaho who is going to teach me the ropes of Black Bear hunting. As a result, I am going on a fall bear hunt in September!

I have never hunted bear, so this will be an interesting experience.

The date of the hunt is to be announced, I need to get a general bear tag and a baiting permit as well as some equipment.

I will keep you all updated,

Jared

Congratulations. It will be a fun time, regardless of the result.

Keep us updated on the process look forward to hearing about it.

What rifle will you be using?

-Jake

my uncle's loaning me a 243 rifle. I can't remember the brand. At least I think it's a 243. I'll have to check.

If you can borrow a larger caliber I would recommend it. Due to the large amount of fat on a black bear you may not get a good blood train to track your bear with a .243. >308 or 30-06 or .270 would be a better choice. Good luck on your hunt. Btw, we want pictures.:D

best of luck to you!
and also, make sure you read up on the LAWS about baiting and WHAT baits can and CANNOT be used, many states have some tricky rules on what they consider LEGAL bait anymore!

I'm actually going out this Saturday to scout out a spot. Season opens on August 30th here, so I thought I would prepare and find a spot. I will post pictures of the spot I find. As for the regulations, I have the regulation booklet and I'm reading about the baiting laws.

I would also HIGHLY suggest you have a PLAN in place for if/when you make a kill
as in know you have help to recover if it happens, and wheat all your going to do with it after the kill
KNOW a butcher, or a place to hang meat
as that's a early season and heat will be a factor, as will TIME from time ,it expires to when you get it out to processed and all that
same with a taxidermist if your planning any work like that to get done
the WRONG time to find these things is AFTER a animal is shot and down!

help isn;t always easy to get or FAST, so, make sure any KNOW that if you call TIME is very important!
doing all the work to GET a bear to have it get ruined, is NOT fair to you OR the bear IMO!

so plan wisely and KNOW YOUR LIMITS before pulling the trigger!

and since you hunting over bait, make sure your rifle is sighted in for that CLOSE work and bullet selected is also made to work UP close and NOT far away!

I really appreciate it. I will consider all the factors then.

Thanks,

Jared

@mrbb, I've been thinking about what you said. Let me see if I understand this.

I need to place my shot so that it's a clean kill, obviously.

I also need to make sure that if I shoot it, I'm able to access where it goes down easily.

I also need to make sure I can get the bear out of the area that I take it.

I need to make sure the meat cools down quickly so nothing goes to waste. I need to make sure the bullet I use is good for close range.

I also need to continue studying the regulations regarding bait.

Anything I am missing?

Yes, you need a larger caliber than a .243

Thanks. I appreciate it.

and since I am NOT sure if your asking for real here or finding some sarcasm in my posts for you??
but I will be nice and add HONEST info trying to help you

but since your planning a NEW rifle here, I would suggest getting one with a LOW Power scope, due to most hunting over bait is close and NO need for high magnification optic's!
and then sighting in at the ranges your baits will be set up and PRACTICE shooting at them, as it seems like your maybe NOT a very experienced hunter or possibly shooter.
and like all things in life, skills take time and practice to get better and good at!

but having a plan on how to hunt, where to hunt, and how to get game , and the after an animal down is a BIG part, of things many can forget, and get caught off guard when a LARGE animal is down
Black bears can weight up to close to 800 lbs, so its something MOST guys cannot handle alone, and even with help can be hard pending where it dies!
even when you quarter them, its a LOT of trips to haul one out(if even legal to quarter them, many places its NOT)
so having and KNOWING you have help, is a big thing to make sure you have, hunting over BAIT , you have VERY high odds of being successful

I would also pay a LOT of attention to your set up's, on how you can get IN and OUT< so not to be detected when baiting or hunting!

you also being NEW, might do you some good to go to some places where there ARE black bears you can look at to learn HOW to judge sizes and sexes of them
most places prefer you DON"T shoot sows , all the more so if they have cubs, and sows with cubs in Aug, if you shoot MOM< odds are the cubs will NOT make it thru the winter on there own, too small and don;t know what to do!

Cubs do NOT always be NEAR mothers , many time females bears(sows) will leave them behind or tree them else where, and they will come into bait alone!
so being able to ID a female, over a male , can be valuable information and a SKILL one can try to learn before hunting time, if they wish to make the effort!
I see bears almost every day now, and have a TON of bear experience, and I still say JUDGING a bear is one of the hardest animal to judge in the wild,
so, any help you can get will only make you a better hunter if, you so choose to learn things!

just so you know, I was not being sarcastic whatsoever. I was really asking for advice. No offense taken. I see what you're saying, though. I've got until September to form my plan, so plenty of time to figure things out. Also, I will not be hunting alone. I have somebody else coming with me.

This Saturday I will be going out looking at the spot I was recommended. I'll see if I can post some videos. You guys could give me some good Advice then. The advice you have given me so far is already good, just so you know.

one last thing before I hit the sack, I am more than willing to learn how to hunt bear. I hunted deer before, and Duck and goose. Used to be a big turkey hunter when I lived up in North Idaho.

I am willing to learn,

Jared

Hey everyone, I've made a decision, and I think it's a good decision. I don't think I'll be able to do a bear hunt this fall because I need a lot more time to learn the ropes. I pushed it back until spring of next year. After everything you guys said, I realized there is still a lot of stuff I need to learn. If I'm going to enjoy this hunt and pull it off, I need to learn all the necessities. I don't think I'll be able to learn it all by September.

I think I'll just do my deer hunt and my duck and goose hunts this year in October. I already know how to hunt deer and duck and goose.

Thank you all for teaching me that I still have a lot to learn.

Jared

well I think there is time to do if you wanted to enough! but everyone can make this call themselves and no one know's your experiences better than you do!

BUT< also don;t forget that there is also other ways to hunt bears than over bait, that can help relieve some of the baiting issue's and up keep and like steps to hunting that way

Spot and stalk is another method used pretty often out west(ID< MT, WY, CO and other like places )
this way you can have more time to maybe watch and observe them to look for cubs, and or just get yourself more experience watching and learning how bears act in the wild
after all hunting doesn;t always mean a KILL, yes a kill is the goal for most
but the experiences and learning side of each and every outing is what many enjoy the most! and nothing beats boots on the ground, time in the field to LEARN anything!

so, before I would maybe tap out, I would consider just spending the season trying, , who know's maybe a BIG male bear will show itself and you can fill the tag, if not, again, you will just be gaining experience and learning bear hunting!
your call here, but if I had plans to be a bear hunter, I wouldn;t be sitting out any season if I could help it!, we all got to start some where!

Thank you. You have a good point. I think I will try to go out this season and gain experience. I wont aim to get a bear then.

The only thing I am worried about is that if I do get a bear, I won't be able to lift it, and load it into my vehicle after dressing it, even with help. You said it yourself, those things can weigh up to 800 pounds. Perhaps I can process it in the field? I'll have to check my regulations on that first.

Don't want it to spoil either. That would be very bad.

I'm actually going out today to look at the spot I was recommended. I'll post a video and pictures for you guys.

Jared

well like anything, yes, a bear can be BIG and heavy and hard to move, load, care for after one is down, this is why , as I said, making sure your either up to the task, or know you have help iff needed

but like hunting in general, WHERE you make a shot, is always up to you, if your FAR away from vehicle or help, you can always let things walk and just watch and learn, and MAYBE if closer to things, then decide what to do !

the average Black bear killed , most likely is NO where near 800 lbs, most are closer to about 200 lbs too , being honest here, LBS of kills, get inflated I think doe to most folks that see a bear ALWAYS THINK its way larger than it really is LOL
this is one of the main reasons there so hard to field judge accurate , add in that angles make them look larger or smaller in second s too, just by changing the angle your looking at them

learning to be GOOD at field judging bears , is a VERY hard skill to earn for most all folks, as they just DON"T have the chance to really be about bears often and all the more so KNOW what one weights when they are!,

so don;t feel bad if you find it hard as well, , and its also why I said, sometimes , places like zoo's and or wildlife re-hab places are great tools for learning, as most there have KNOWN weights and sizes!

I wouldn't NOT hunt because felt I didn;t know everything, , we all start out as rookies, and only way to gain experience is by doing!

I would be hunting to Learn things,, I am a 100% self taught hunter here, came from a NON hunting family, and hunted all over and been very successful, I blame it on me having desire to learn and be good at it, and wa willing to learn any way I could, even if it meant making mistakes, as some times them mistakes were great teaching lessons, and , made me HAVE to over come some harder things, I would learn to NOT repeat LOL(like a 12 hour deer drag due to being so far in , a very remote area)

and just hunting, there is always the chance of scoring,/ walking into one,
this doesn';t mean you HAVE TO SHOOT IT!
I would base my decision on that call based on IF I can get it out!
and if not, call it a learning experience and watch and learn all I could of the animals doings!
afterall again, hunting is hunting and its a never ending game of learning, there is NO one that know's it all, so the best time to start learning is,a s soon as one can IMO!

you know what? You're right. And truth be told, I taught myself some hunting also. These days, I have help, and people to learn from, but when I first started out, I was teaching Myself by reading the regulations. My very first hunting trip I got a shot off at a grouse.

I missed, but thats when I started to like hunting.

And to think it all started when I saw a live turkey at the fair, and thought to myself, " I wonder what it's like to hunt these."

But, that's beside the point. It takes time to learn. It took me a good two years to learn about hunting deer on my own and finally get my first buck.

I'm glad to have friends like you guys helping me out. I really appreciate it. I'm actually heading Into the mountains later today to scout out a spot for bear. I'll post pictures.

Jared

It sounds like you're on the right track and have received some invaluable advice above. Enjoy the hunts and tell us how well they worked out.

Well, I couldn't scout out the spots because my car was having problems. I probably won't be able to scout for at least a month, because I have a surgery on my nose in two days.

Is your buddy out scouting? Also, what vehicle are you using for the hunt? If it's a pickup, there are some fairly inexpensive ways to get a heavy bear into your truck.

First, you got to understand I dont have a pickup. I cant afford one at the present time.

However, I have a 1995 subaru legacy wagon with 4 wheel drive that is reliable 95% of the time. I brought home a field dressed deer in that car, as well as a lot of ducks and geese. It's a good hunting vehicle. Brought home plenty of kills in it. I don't know if it'll be able to handle a heavy bear or not, though. Never tried.

And also, no, my buddy is not scouting right now. He's been a little busy, and I want to scout with him. It will have to wait until after my nasal surgery.

Hope this answers your question.

Jared

Aha. I was thinking if you have a truck or your buddy does, you can always use a come-along and a chain or thick rope to pull a bear up a ramp into the back of a truck. Might take a little more figuring to get one into the back of a Subaru. Does your buddy have a truck? Or do either of you have access to a trailer? Just throwing out some ideas to think about.

I do have a trailer, but I don't have a vehicle to tow it. Last one broke down and had to be sold.

anyway, I might be able to pick up a new vehicle that can tow it soon, but I have to figure some things out first. Finances, I'm sure you understand.

J, get out there and hunt brother! We all started somewhere and everyone that's ever hunted had that first time experience with each new animal.

Don't hurt yourself financially worrying about a "hunting vehicle" lots of people have made do with what they have just fine.

Worst case, you'll have a fun time in the woods. Best case, you get "lucky" and bring home what you're after

Best thing you can do is get out there and learn it.

-Jake

That's actually what my family does. We make do with the resources we have. Hunting vehicle or not, I'm going out to have fun the season.

Speaking of which, I'm planning on doing a deer hunt this hunting season also in October. I've hunted deer before, I don't need much advice on that. Took two in my life so far. After that, it's Duck and Goose season, my favorite. I've actually been working on my duck and Goose calling.

I'm getting off subject, back to the bear hunting subject.

As soon as I'm done recovering from my surgery, I'm going to scout out the spot with my buddy.

I agree, you don't have to have every gadget under the sun to hunt and be good at it
I started hunting on foot, walking 3-4 hours some times to get places, THANK GOD< I never killed any deer on some of them early hunts LOL
but I sure did learn a LOT about deer, habitat they like, scouting,. finding them and then it also taught me the things I needed to add to be better equipped with what I could afford, as my budget back then was tiny if at all!

it also got me to meet and learn some things from others I ran into while hunting, heck my first deer I shot I was about 2 miles from my uncles house where I stayed at to hunt, walking every day from his place to where I hunted!
after the shot,(archery hunting)
I was at a loss almost as the shot wasn't the best and that deer ran for over a mile with me tracking it, the WRONG WAY from my uncles place
as I was walking out, after deciding to let it go and try and go find help!
I actually ran into a older guy I some what knew , he asked me how things were and what the HECK, I was doing so far from my uncles place,
I explained things and he helped me track and find that deer, drag it out to a old logging road in the woods and hauled it back to my uncles for me in his truck
Talk about getting lucky !

But I never let some of them WHAT IF"S stop me from going hunting and learning! and I am very glad I didn;t let them, as , I might have learned a lot of things the hard way by doing wrong, but it sure made me into a much better hunter IMO< due to them hard lessons learned, as you tend to remember them better than when every thing is giving to you easy!

so, just cause you DON"T have a truck or?? you can still go out and hunt and even NOT shoot anything and still learn a LOT, solo, or with others, doesn;t matter, its being OUT THERE that counts!

and as for your vehicle, maybe you can just add a trailer hitch to what you got, be the cheapest way, if you already have a trailer, and its not a BIG trailer, my friends use there Subaru to haul dirt bikes and atv's and even snowmobiles at times, they claim tow well and get great MPG''s too LOL

also something to keep in mind, many GAME dept's will HELP you recover a dead bear if you need help
I actually think its part of there JOB if they have time to
just like State troopers can help you change a flat tire, few maybe know this and maybe fewer will DO so if asked anymore, but at one time it was p[art of there JOB description! if not, they many times can at least help, get you help!
so, keep that in mind or look into it! be another option maybe for you if things go right!

thanks. I appreciate all your advice so far.

Hey, just so you all know, I had nasal surgery yesterday. I am in the recovery phase. I probably won't be able to scout for a spot for a couple of weeks until I recover.

What do you use for deer hunting? Generally speaking, if it kills deer it will kill a bear just fine, though I agree a heavier caliber than .243 is wise....270, 30-06, .308, etc. all are good rounds (though I am partial to 45-70 :)) Why not go out this fall? if you are deer hunting, shot placement is fundamentally the same, gutting is the same, you just need to figure the baiting angle out. ( I have always gone with an outfitter, and he took care of it). Just respect the meat. Bears are notoriously fatty, and the hot sun/warm temperatures can turn the meat easily, and the black hide soaks up the heat. Cool the meat as soon as you can and keep it out of the sun.

And....I wouldnt count on any game officials helping....they have their hands full, and if you have to go find one, bring them to where you are and get it out chances are the meat is done. Never in my life have I ever heard of a game officer helping retrieve game unless they quite literally were on the scene of the kill.. Careful scouting you pick an accessible spot that you can get your animal out. Sure, every year a few monster bears are shot, but there are many times more small and medium sized bears which are a piece of cake for one or two guys to get out.

Officers will help get game out of the woods if they are on the scene and have the time. I have helped track deer and I have loaded up deer and hauled them to hunters vehicles if I am upon the hunter on patrol. However, that is strictly voluntary and it is not a mandate of the job.

Well, I have a sad update for you all. My hunting buddy who was going to take me has cancer. He’s going through therapy, and as a result, he is very weak. He also has no immune system, so he’s very susceptible to disease. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to take me this year. However, next spring is a possibility. It all depends on if he gets his strength back. Since this is the case, I’m going to settle with a deer hunt in October. I’m able to do that by myself.

Jared

well sorry to hear of your friends issue's
cancer is one of them things that can effect anyone at any time, just never know, so I wish him the best of luck with treatment and getting past it !

as for the bear hunt, I again ,say, you can still GO, if you really wanted to, you just have to think ahead before pulling the trigger IF the chance comes up!

any amount of time in the woods where bears are, gets you a chance at tagging one, and as they say where there is a will, there is a way!

SO< if you DO get lucky, Help can always be found , if you again, you plan a head a little and ask folks in advance, that IF you get lucky WILL they help!
we all start out being a rookie on anything we do
and its NOT always needed to have a teacher show us HOW<
it all again comes down to your desire to learn and make the effort to get things done/
I can say this for certain, I am a 100% self taught hunter outdoors,man, grew up in a non hunting family and learned it all DOING it myself.
and honestly I am GLAD I did it MY way on my OWN< it was always more satisfying to ME< when I was successful, knowing IT DID It and I wasn;t lead to things by anyone

WOULD it have maybe been easier, , AT time , SURE,
but I never wanted to hunt cause it was easy, for me JUST the opposite, I enjoy the challenge of ME against what ever I am hunting, making me, have to learn about the game I am after and learning!

as even with a mentor or a teacher, , you still have to learn to read sign , and learn about the animals you target
and NO one can do this but YOU! its all honestly up to you to develop the skills to be GOOD at reading sign, and at present day, there is NO better time in the world to READ info about game animals and or ways to hunt them, there is litterally more info on the web than at any other time in history, to give guidence to one willing to learn and then GO and DO!
experience will always ONLY be gained by doing, and NO mentor can make you have experience, its YOU being OUT there gaining it!!
back to if worried about getting lost, Again, no better time in history to have devices to prevent that from happening, and there still is NOTHING wrong with a old school basic simple compass, they still work as they always did and are CHEAP to buy,
and no shortage again on info on HOW to use them!
phone today with google earth on them will about show you exactly where you are at any point in time if one wanted to know??

again, no bash here or likes
just saying, if YOU want to LEARN how to hunt bears, YOU can do it, with or without anyone taking you!
its your call, but there isn;'t a real reason to NOT go THIS yr unless you DON"T want to!
you will just be one more year father away from learning how to, if you wait!
NOT a bad thing, but also, not a needed thing!
thousands of hunters each yr are on there own for the FIRST time learning HOW, its NOT that uncommon to be honest!

Thank you so much. I actually appreciate you saying all this and saying I can still go if I want to.

One thing I am about to say I am very open with. It actually helps me out.

One thing you have to realize is that I suffer from mental illness (ADHD and depression.)

When something happens, and it’s out of my control, and it affects my plans, I can get depressed pretty easily. Sometimes I feel like giving up. You pushing me to continue the bear hunt if I want to is actually helping me out. It’s helping me overcome my problems by helping me learn not to give up so easily when things don’t go right. So, thank you so much. I’m still a little nervous about bear hunting on my own. It’s possible I can find somebody else to take me, I have until August 30 when the season opens.
I will reconsider then. Maybe I will go, maybe I won’t. I am willing to learn, but I don’t really have somebody to teach me in front of me. Then again, I am a self-taught hunter myself. I shot my first deer on my own after doing all the research and figuring out many things, like where to place a shot, that type of stuff. I guess I could try. No harm in doing that.

Jared

Go hunt bear brother. "Worst" case you get one and have to figure out how to butcher it.

You'll have fun whatever way it goes lol.

-Jake

life is never easy for anyone, we all have things that can weigh us down and make us NOT want to do something, but personally I think, some times we all have to step out of our comfort zones in order to advance ourselves, ts never easy, so don;t think, I am saying it is
but through my life time, , I have found most times I push myself to learn roe about something I WANT to know or do, or places to go, I find the rewards are almost always higher than any let downs,
and some times again, them let downs end up being great learning tools, that teach you things you may never ever learn if you didn;t fail first! and again, they also then make the rewards better when you do succeed!

as I said I grew up in a NON hunting family, I spent more time in the woods NOT hunting, but learning and gaining experience, that when I finally got to be allowed to hunt, I was way ahead on things
for yrs I carried a camera, and just my desire to learn about wildlife

you don;t have to carry a gun to HUNT, and or gain experience, nor do you have to wait till Hunting season to spend time in the woods and learn about wildlife and how mother nature works

this is something we can do any time of the yr and in any weather, if one WANTS to!

depression can be a very hard thing to get over and get you going period, but , IMO once you DO get going and focus more on the things you wish to do, the less you will notce the depression, as our minds seem to strive on new things, even if at first we fear them

being in the great outdoors can be a good way of helping maybe with depression too
as I said, these days the world wide web is a tool it can be used for good or bad things, all comes down to HOW and WHY your using it.
But with SO many groups of folks today online, , being able to email folks and places, you can FIND folks to help you gain experience of you make the efforts
as said before, local game wardens, can be great tools to help find you mentor's and or likes, as can local gun shops, bow shops, state or regional forums , where others from your area chat about things, almost EVERY state I know of has a state based hunting site,hiking site, and so on!
you get out of life what you put into it more times than not,
Just try and stay positive and working at getting your goals meet and sooner or later you'll get there, just DON"T stop trying
I personally started BEAR hunting decades ago, with ZERO intention to SHOOT a bear, I used bear season as a way to get me more time in the woods to learn more about deer LOL
but some how that ended up with me having a huge interest in bears, more on the learning about them than hunting them, to be honest! but learning about bears, ended up teaching me a lot about HOW to hunt them as well! sort of by default LOL

Now I just enjoy watching them and learning still about them, over any plans to shoot one again!, I find them fascinating animals still, and have been lucky to live in a area with LOTS of them to get to watch some grow for 15+ yrs, and seen how yrs effect them and all
as a fact I just NOW< had a 3 yr old who had her first cubs this YR show up, but sadly, she is missing her cub! I knew this bear from the first time she came out of the den 3.5 yrs ago, watched her grow up, get kicked out of mom's care, live on her own, and then have her own cub!
A shame to see her now alone NO cub, but that is nature , almost every bear I see with cubs from early on till late season, tends to loose at least one, nature at work I guess

Thanks. I think I will go out before the season starts and just study and be in nature. It’ll help me out during this hard time. Who knows? Maybe when the season opens, I’ll be able to get a bear!

Thanks again for all the advice. I really appreciate it. Jared

Here is a spot I found. I would like an opinion on it. The nice thing about this spot is that its a downhill hike from the spot to the car. Plenty of spots to set up a bear bait container. I am not sure where to set it up at, though. No deep areas where a taken bear is irretrievable. A good spot for a blind also in the area.

And bears! I think I heard one while I was walking.

What do you guys think?

Ill scout for more spots a little later. Always good to have a few spots.

Jared

well for me to be honest here, its HARD for me to tell anyone what is a good spot or bad, from a video of any forested area, just not knowing what all is about the rest of the area to me matters to a degree!
as when you ADD BAIT to the deal, it draws things and changes there natural patterns!

as there is and will always be a lot of variables , in forested area and things about them to ever be able to say YES GOOD or NO BAD spot, based on
aerial pic's of surrounding area can help, but then you also have to watch out as if you SHOW the WORLD where your going to be, others MAY use your work to find THERE SPOT, don't laugh, this happens, and its why few folks will ever suggest to HUNT HERE< on a forum, as they will make a good spot BAD real fast in doing so, when crowed possibly show up and take over the spot!

, any how, IIMO< what you want to have in a spot , is one that is easy to get into and out of without disturbing things much, leaving less human scent as possible
and in places FEW others will be entering, so NOT to be disturbing things, and having some natural DRAW there and cover/water near by only helps

Bears when you bait them many time swill sleep NEAR the bait, and there noses are powerful tool to them living, and they know how to use things

when they start to scent humans a LOT at bait sites, its rather common for them to go nocturnal , as with bait being there 24/7, this leave them that option

so impact on the area needs to be as little as possible, but yet again allow you to get IN, bait, and OUT!

and then you want to have easy access to a nice set up to watch over bait, be it a blind, or a tree stand,

MOST folks prefer tree stands, IMO< as in warmer weather it helps keep your scent up higher(makes many feel safer too, but black bears can climb tree's like a squirrel and JUST as fast when they want to)



I can fully agree hunting a place you HIKE UP< to is better than one you hike DOWN to, as when heavy animals are DOWN< its nicer to have to haul them DOWN hill, rather than UP hill, using gravity to your advantage, and NOT dis advantage! LOL

if you LIKE the area, and the area HAS bear sign , it can work I gather!
just be safe when doing so
sows with cubs, like bait , just like smaller and larger bears , only they can have a little more worries to you when entering and exiting
all the more so when your trying to be scent free and sneaky entering and exiting!

this is also a reason I think MANY hunters like tree stands, it make them feel a LITTLE safer being up higher!