Color Phase Bear Pics

I'm hoping to go on my first spring bear hunt this year. I've gotten serious about hunting a little late in the game and don't really have any mentors, but I'm going to give it a go. Hopefully I'll have some pics to share! :D
 
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Bears have become one of my favorite hunts every fall. Never killed a 6 footer yet and color or black that is this years goal. I do have one nice light brown one which was my first bear ever. Some great bears in this thread.
 
Incredible photos guys, they're making me want to get back in the mountains right now.

For anyone who knows the layout in BC: I'm moving to Shuswap area next month and will be setting up shop there. I am told the bear hunting is plentiful but heard nothing about color phase bears...has anyone been seeing them?
 
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This is Halle Beary. She was my constant companion last time I went to Manitoba. Every time she sauntered off she returned with a different boar. The coolest one I named Dennis Rodman...he was jet black except for his blonde eyebrows!

When she came stolling by for the final time she had my 7 footer in tow:

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I have killed a nice black bear before in the 6 1/2 foot range....but a color phase is on my list. I just love those color phase bears! Question for the guys up in the Northwest like ID, WA and MT. Do you guys typically look for slides or clear cuts in the spring? I see a lot of guys with guns, chances of getting close enough for a bow in some of those areas? I need to get this hunt done. Any pointers on areas that produce color consistently or do they all have colored bears? WA was definitely not on my radar but after the pics of the bears here, I may need to look into this!
 
Doc06 said:
I have killed a nice black bear before in the 6 1/2 foot range....but a color phase is on my list. I just love those color phase bears! Question for the guys up in the Northwest like ID, WA and MT. Do you guys typically look for slides or clear cuts in the spring? I see a lot of guys with guns, chances of getting close enough for a bow in some of those areas? I need to get this hunt done. Any pointers on areas that produce color consistently or do they all have colored bears? WA was definitely not on my radar but after the pics of the bears here, I may need to look into this!
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When I first started hunting bears, my most productive method was walking gated logging roads. Had a lot of shots 40 yards or closer. My first 3 bears were shot at 22, 18, 30 yards.

I hunt from long distance now because that's what I like to do, but walking a good closed road was more productive for me in the past.
 
Doc06 said:
I have killed a nice black bear before in the 6 1/2 foot range....but a color phase is on my list. I just love those color phase bears! Question for the guys up in the Northwest like ID, WA and MT. Do you guys typically look for slides or clear cuts in the spring? I see a lot of guys with guns, chances of getting close enough for a bow in some of those areas? I need to get this hunt done. Any pointers on areas that produce color consistently or do they all have colored bears? WA was definitely not on my radar but after the pics of the bears here, I may need to look into this!
Click to expand...

If you want to stick a big color phase bear with a bow (presumably spot and stalk), your best bet is to hunt the high country of Washington in mid-late augest. The best place to consislantly find a high percentage of color is from the pacific crest trail and east (a good 30 mile wide corridor) I would suggest north of I -90 up towards the Canadian border. The blue mountain range, both Washington and Oregon, also contains about 70% color phase and high bear numbers. Unfortunately, it's very unforgiving with a bow and both states are draw only in the spring.
 
Doc06 said:
I have killed a nice black bear before in the 6 1/2 foot range....but a color phase is on my list. I just love those color phase bears! Question for the guys up in the Northwest like ID, WA and MT. Do you guys typically look for slides or clear cuts in the spring? I see a lot of guys with guns, chances of getting close enough for a bow in some of those areas? I need to get this hunt done. Any pointers on areas that produce color consistently or do they all have colored bears? WA was definitely not on my radar but after the pics of the bears here, I may need to look into this!
Click to expand...
the wife and i killed bears at 38 and 28 yards in '13. you can get close...
 
Color phase bears are pretty rare here in Western WA. Of the 10 bears I've shot, only 3 were color phase and one of those was eastern WA. This is my color to date, NE WA, spring 2013. Maybe I'll get lucky and draw the tag again this year.

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Thought that I would post these photos here since they are color phase bears. It's a bit different than the harvest pictures, but still cool none-the-less. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has an on going bear research program consisting of radio collared bears. They located this bear on a piece of property I manage and invited my wife and I to go along with them to the den site this past Monday to record data on the sow and her cubs. This particular sow is 8 years old, and only weighs 156 pounds. When we visited her den last year, which was on the property also, she didn't have cubs. Our job was to keep the cubs warm while mama was being tended to. The cubs were both males and weighed in at 5 pounds each. It's a really neat experience to get to hold wild bear cubs. Hope you enjoy!







 
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