Frank Church Spring bear?

[Selway]

That’s the plan, go in further than most and glass the creek bottoms and the greenup. Think a spotter is necessary or will I be ok with 9x Mavens on a tripod?

The bears won't likely be in the creek bottoms. You'll need to gain elevation. You'll wish you had a spotter if you don't bring it. Stalks can be multi-day affairs in that country, and it's nice to know what you're going after before you commit.

 

[CApighunter]

The bears won't likely be in the creek bottoms. You'll need to gain elevation. You'll wish you had a spotter if you don't bring it. Stalks can be multi-day affairs in that country, and it's nice to know what you're going after before you commit.

Good to know, I’ll plan on upgrading my spotter before I go.

 

[skierhs]

Good to know, I’ll plan on upgrading my spotter before I go.

If possible buy once cry once with a spotter. A good spotter is addicting.

 

[CApighunter]

If possible buy once cry once with a spotter. A good spotter is addicting.

I’ve got a little Leupold 15-30 gold ring but I feel like that might not cut it in that big of country. I’ll pony up for a big boy and deal with the weight penalty.

 

[idahohikker]

Go 65mm. I think it's a nice happy medium. I have a 65mm Vortex Viper and I'm happy with the spotter; it needs my needs. It's not too end but it has sufficient clarity and is good with low light.

I regularly spot critters with it up to 4ish miles. It can judge game pretty well for a couple miles.

If you have a bigger budget, by all means go for that but you could definitely make it work in the mid range.

 

[CApighunter]

Go 65mm. I think it's a nice happy medium. I have a 65mm Vortex Viper and I'm happy with the spotter; it needs my needs. It's not too end but it has sufficient clarity and is good with low light.

I regularly spot critters with it up to 4ish miles. It can judge game pretty well for a couple miles.

If you have a bigger budget, by all means go for that but you could definitely make it work in the mid range.

I see those refurb vipers go for $450 on AA Optics, probably prettt hard to beat in the sub $500 range.

 

[idahohikker]

I think the Athlon Ares is a good alternatvie option. Much more packable, everyone likes the glass quality for the price. The downside is your warranty is with a brand new company.

I think you've got the class we're talking and then a big jump to great spotters that are $1500 plus. Binos has a good upper mid range class around $800-1200 that I'm not aware of in spotting scopes.

Maven is planning to develop a mid range spotter in the next few years and that will be the winner. The Maven C1s are out of this world for the money. Much better than the Viper class of spotter or bino.

 

[CApighunter]

I think the Athlon Ares is a good alternatvie option. Much more packable, everyone likes the glass quality for the price. The downside is your warranty is with a brand new company.

I think you've got the class we're talking and then a big jump to great spotters that are $1500 plus. Binos has a good upper mid range class around $800-1200 that I'm not aware of in spotting scopes.

Maven is planning to develop a mid range spotter in the next few years and that will be the winner. The Maven C1s are out of this world for the money. Much better than the Viper class of spotter or bino.

I’ve got the B2 9x binos, I upgraded from vortex diamondbacks, mind blowing difference. I have no issue dropping the cash on quality gear, but a new swaro would be out of my price range. Let’s say $1200 tops, there’s a used maven S1A in the classifieds for $1200 I’m keeping an eye on lol

 

[crossone]

The Frank Church is lousy with bears. My own personal hypothesis is that the wolves decimated the elk and deer populations and now the bears kill most of the calves and fawns, keeping the populations forever decimated. I’ve seen nowhere in Idaho with a higher bear population.

Ive never been in there in the spring but ive seen multiple bears in the same day, middle of the day, mid July and August. That’s pretty much unheard of in most of the state. Tons of bear sign on the trails in the fall.

I’ve considered going in there in the spring after bears but after the Stoddard Pack bridge was wiped out a couple of years ago in a rockslide, access into the area in the spring is much more limited.

 

[CApighunter]

The Frank Church is lousy with bears. My own personal hypothesis is that the wolves decimated the elk and deer populations and now the bears kill most of the calves and fawns, keeping the populations forever decimated. I’ve seen nowhere in Idaho with a higher bear population.

Ive never been in there in the spring but ive seen multiple bears in the same day, middle of the day, mid July and August. That’s pretty much unheard of in most of the state. Tons of bear sign on the trails in the fall.

I’ve considered going in there in the spring after bears but after the Stoddard Pack bridge was wiped out a couple of years ago in a rockslide, access into the area in the spring is much more limited.

Thanks for the heads up about the Stoddard Bridge, can cross that one off the list.

 

[crossone]

Supposedly the Forest Service is going rebuild the Stoddard Pack Bridge but they don’t plan on starting any sooner than summer 2020. Hopefully, they’ll follow through and we’ll get access back into that area within a few years.

 

[skierhs]

Supposedly the Forest Service is going rebuild the Stoddard Pack Bridge but they don’t plan on starting any sooner than summer 2020. Hopefully, they’ll follow through and we’ll get access back into that area within a few years.

I think they said they’re hoping for to get approval to start in summer 2020 so that could mean it wouldn’t event start till 2021. Either way, I wish they’d get on it sooner.

 

[crossone]

I think they said they’re hoping for to get approval to start in summer 2020 so that could mean it wouldn’t event start till 2021. Either way, I wish they’d get on it sooner.

Agreed. That’s about the only access to that part of the Frank once the snow gets deep. It’s a heck of a long way from that bridge to anything that matters but it’s a lot closer than trekking clear over the Crags or coming down Monument Creek (which is probably snowed shut 8 months of the year.)