Evening shots

[Hooverfb]

So light is drawing to a close and you have sights on a bear.
I've heard this discussed to death with deer. However, a bear being a potentially wounded predator, how late are you willing to go look for the bear if youre solo? I'd imagine spoilage is more of an issue with them due to being fatter and warmer. Leave it lay till morning, or go find it? Or hold shot and try to find it again in the morning?

 

[MHWASH]

Bears are extremely hard to track. I will head off the mountain before being put in that situation. Once blood dries it typically falls off of the foliage, which makes finding the animal extremely hard to find. I'm not worried about the attack factor at all.

 

[lang]

If there's any question we will back out. Even in June never had a meat problem. That being said bears are easy to kill if you stay away from the shoulder. Can't emphasize this enough. Their vitals are farther back than ungulates.

 

[Felix40]

I never understand when people use the dark as an excuse to come back in the morning. With a good flashlight it’s just as easy to find blood after dark. I treat blood trails the same day or night. The only reason to come back in daylight is if you ran out of blood and need to grid search.

 

[Ron.C]

In my experience evening to last light is money and the best time to hunt spot/n stalk bears. If you don't have the luxury of lots of time to hunt, use every bit of daylight you have.

Treat your follow up like any other animal. If it's a questionable hit, give it lots of time. A bear can go a long way if pushed.

The ONLY reason I'd leave an animal overnight is if I thought it was really poorly hit and needs hours to lay down and expire. I'm and advocate of broadside double lung shots to minimize the chances of this happening.

I'm always prepared to track, dress and pack out an animal by headlamp. I don't care if its a bear, deer, elk ......

 

[David Gough]

A buddy shot a bear within the last twenty minutes of shooting light during the California archery season last year. I wasn't there to witness the shot, but there was no death moan. Once I met up with him we tracked the bear without any blood and started grid searching in the dark after we lost the trail. Found the bear within five minutes. Double lung shot.

Bears usually don't bleed very well regardless the time of day. Hit the vitals and they won't go very far. He would have lost a lot of meat letting the bear sit overnight in August.

 

[Hooverfb]

I think i'd pick coming off the mountain rather than put myself in that situation. Some of you have more cojones than I if you'd hike 5 miles after dark, by yourself. When i mean solo, i mean no one around at all.

 

[Wrench]

If you kill him, he can't mess with you. I find spring bears get out earlier in the afternoon than fall bears.

 

[Felix40]

I think i'd pick coming off the mountain rather than put myself in that situation. Some of you have more cojones than I if you'd hike 5 miles after dark, by yourself. When i mean solo, i mean no one around at all.

That’s pretty standard western hunting and exactly what this forum is supposed to be geared toward.

 

[rclouse79]

I shot the bear in my profile pic during the last hour of daylight. He was with another boar of similar size. This was before I learned to aim further back on a bear and aimed like I would on a deer. He didn’t go far from the initial shot, but he was standing in the brush when I got over there and I finished him with two offhand shots at close range. By the time I got down to him the sun had set, and I swear I could hear the other bear popping its jaws in the brush. I usually go with a buddy, but he had to work that night. To say my butthole was puckered up tighter than a snare drum during the processing would be an understatement.
Personally, I have major reservations about leaving an animal overnight. In the case of a feared marginal hit I would rather wait a couple hours and then look with headlamps. It is a little less spicy with a buddy and a couple 10mm pistons.

 

[4090Sharps]

I think i'd pick coming off the mountain rather than put myself in that situation. Some of you have more cojones than I if you'd hike 5 miles after dark, by yourself. When i mean solo, i mean no one around at all.

I, and assume many others on here, grew up hiking into spots in the dark, and hiking out only after it got dark. You get used to it, but I totally understand the initial apprehension.

 

[bmrfish]

That’s pretty standard western hunting and exactly what this forum is supposed to be geared toward.

Agreed, if you are walking out in the light you are missing prime time.


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[roosiebull]

It depends on the situation, if I’m not finding any blood at all, I’m going to do what I can while I’m there… if I do find any sign of a confirmed hit, I’m tracking right then… I took the shot, I knew it was close to dark, so I’m going to try to find it.

The scenarios I would back out is feeling i exhausted my options in the dark and still can’t find any signs of a hit, I’ll be back first thing (ideally sitting on a vantage waiting for good light)

The other scenario is if I track further than 200yds on very little blood, it makes no sense to keep going in the dark, you made a bad shot for sure… well shot bear die easy, poorly shot bear are extremely tough animals… it wouldn’t be about fear, I just know that A: you made a poor shot and it’s likely not dead B: you may be ruining critical sign you’ll need to stay on the trail C: bear are tough when not shot well and love seeking out the absolute crappiest habitat around, and pushing one will make that worse.

I guess when I’m in the heat of the moment, fear is never a factor tracking a bear or lion, I want to find it and don’t think it’s hiding behind every bush waiting to ambush me, I would think almost always, if you get inside a dangerous range of a wounded critter, you are going to get some sort of notice that you’re Close… they aren’t sitting there holding their breath waiting for you to get close enough to kill… they want away from you, but I think it may get dangerous if they can’t.

I don’t worry about it, it’s not a matter of nuts, it’s more of a matter of how things really happen in real life. I think it’s more dangerous in the daylight when you might jump it in the brush and then keep on it trying to get a follow up shot, when you know the wounded bear is close and you are trying to finish what you started… even then I’m likely pursuing, again, nothing to do with nuts, everything to do with desire to end its suffering and recover my animal… fear is just not in my head in that moment, I don’t want it getting away and dying where I may not find it in a timely manner, I don’t take it lightly shooting an animal and the responsibility weighs heavily on me until I’m standing over it dead.

 

[tkhuntsman]

So light is drawing to a close and you have sights on a bear.
I've heard this discussed to death with deer. However, a bear being a potentially wounded predator, how late are you willing to go look for the bear if youre solo? I'd imagine spoilage is more of an issue with them due to being fatter and warmer. Leave it lay till morning, or go find it? Or hold shot and try to find it again in the morning?

Honestly if your not taking evening shots your not going to kill very many bears. You just have to practice and trust in your shooting ability. If it gets dicey after the shot or something isn't right back out and get back on it at daylight.

 

[roosiebull]

I think i'd pick coming off the mountain rather than put myself in that situation. Some of you have more cojones than I if you'd hike 5 miles after dark, by yourself. When i mean solo, i mean no one around at all.

You should probably stick to morning hunts then, because spring bear hunting evenings, you will end up in that situation for sure.

Your best bet is to convince yourself that it’s an irrational fear (or phobia) and power through it, and in no time it will feel completely normal walking in the woods in the dark.

Logical self talk, the woods are no more dangerous at night unless navigating dangerous terrain or something, but there is nothing in the dark that wasn’t there in daylight… it’s like anything else, it feels foreign at first but becomes the same as any other time.

The vast majority of my hunting is solo out of preference, I like the solitude, and it’s hard to beat the peace and quiet of being solo in the woods in the dark, so peaceful in your little world and zero distractions… it’s something I crave.

Tracking at night has its perks too, you are very focused on what’s in front of you because you aren’t distracted by anything, you are focused on the ground lit up by your flashlight or head lamp… the downside is losing color contrast and some depth perception, but it kinda evens out

 

[DawnPatrol]

Your best bet is to convince yourself that it’s an irrational fear (or phobia) and power through it, and in no time it will feel completely normal walking in the woods in the dark.

This is it, and it’s totally doable. Just make yourself do it a couple times and soon it’ll be second nature. I think most of us had to go through this, whether or not we like to admit it.

If you aren’t hiking in and out in the dark, you aren’t hunting the best places at the best times.

If you have a buddy, hiking cross country in the dark is way less intimidating. But that means you have to find and then hunt with someone else, and that has its own drawbacks.

 

[Hooverfb]

You should probably stick to morning hunts then, because spring bear hunting evenings, you will end up in that situation for sure.

Your best bet is to convince yourself that it’s an irrational fear (or phobia) and power through it, and in no time it will feel completely normal walking in the woods in the dark.

Logical self talk, the woods are no more dangerous at night unless navigating dangerous terrain or something, but there is nothing in the dark that wasn’t there in daylight… it’s like anything else, it feels foreign at first but becomes the same as any other time.

The vast majority of my hunting is solo out of preference, I like the solitude, and it’s hard to beat the peace and quiet of being solo in the woods in the dark, so peaceful in your little world and zero distractions… it’s something I crave.

Tracking at night has its perks too, you are very focused on what’s in front of you because you aren’t distracted by anything, you are focused on the ground lit up by your flashlight or head lamp… the downside is losing color contrast and some depth perception, but it kinda evens out

This is it, and it’s totally doable. Just make yourself do it a couple times and soon it’ll be second nature. I think most of us had to go through this, whether or not we like to admit it.

If you aren’t hiking in and out in the dark, you aren’t hunting the best places at the best times.

If you have a buddy, hiking cross country in the dark is way less intimidating. But that means you have to find and then hunt with someone else, and that has its own drawbacks.

Good points. I have no problem hiking in in the dark in the morning, but do percieve it differently in the dark of night. Terrain and exhaustion comes into play a lot with this in my thought process. Plus if a mtn lion wants to eat me, theyre gonna do so daylight or not lol. In more familiar terrain I have less apprehension, but thats more a mental thing.

I did sit out till dark most of my hunts, but nada yet. If and when i shoot an evening bear, i'll keep this thread in mind haha.

 

[Wrench]

I've been close to a heck of a lot of black bears and a few grizz. So far, not one wanted to hang out with me. They all tried to turn inside out and vanish.

 

[Ron.C]

Some of you have more cojones than I if you'd hike 5 miles after dark, by yourself. When i mean solo, i mean no one around at all.

I'd recommend getting out for some off season pre-dawn, post sunset training walks on your known local trails by headlamp. It's like anything else, the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it and you realize your mind is just screwing with you.

Not going to lie and say I haven't got that "something's watching me" feeling when I have been dressing and packing out animals in the dark solo or wondered WTF that eyshine is, but I can guarantee you that you will become a more successful spring bear, deer, elk......hunter if you can find a way to do it.

Successfully pushing through your own fears and perceived limitations is extremely empowering

Good luck and go shoot yourself a big spring boar!!!!

 

[roosiebull]

Another thing walking out in the pitch dark by yourself, until you are comfortable, mind your own business and don’t be rubber necking the whole way back, because if you do, your headlamp or flash light will be lighting up the eyes of a deer or whatever on a fairly regular basis, and if you’re already uncomfortable, that won’t help… I have been walking out with people who weren’t comfortable in the dark and they are shining their lights everywhere trying to affirm their discomfort, and critters that blend in and let you walk by in the daylight can’t hide their eyes from shining in a light… just stay in your little bubble and don’t let your imagination run amok

One of my sis in law’s doesn’t like a certain walk because I had a camera in there next to the trail for several years and it was my best lion cam, and I have called in and killed a couple lions there, and have had a couple encounters with them hunting other stuff, it doesn’t bother me even a little, I have logged a lot of miles in the dark back there by myself and I know that lions don’t eat people… I’ve tried, they just aren’t interested

Anyway, there is a trail through a stand of timber to get into another road system and it’s an old skid road, and someone put those reflective tacks up EVERYWHERE… I got an idea

I pulled a few of those tacks and when I got back on the main drag, I put 2 pairs up on alders, low and looking like eyes… few days later my wife and I, and my sis in law went hunting in there and started walking in about an hour before daylight… I don’t think my joke helped her with her anxiety of the dark it was pretty funny though.., they had a redish glow in the headlamp which added to the effect