I figure it’s a fat chance but…

[ChaseH]

I’ve been going to CO for fall bear for several years now and have had nothing but frustration and unfilled tags. Is anyone hunting archery elk near Pagosa Springs the beginning of September that would be willing to let me sit over their carcass if they get one on the ground? I’d be willing to pay or help pack out meat. Thank you.

 

[Fetty Wapiti]

The majority of bears will be in much different locations that the deer and elk. Look low.

 

[Beendare]

@ChaseH,

You are on the right track, my buddy had 5 different bears on the elk carcass his BIL shot last year [2 days after the kill] Different state

you could always look for birds

 

[Antares]

This does not sound legal based on what little I know about CO bear baiting regs.

 

[cnelk]

This does not sound legal based on what little I know about CO bear baiting regs.

Completely legal to sit over a carcass. Just can’t move the carcass

 

[Poser]

Sept bear hunting is much, much harder than most people seem to acknowledge.
What elevation profiles are you hunting?
Are you changing elevation strategies regularly when you're not seeing any fresh sign?

Mast bearing scrub oak that's just starting to dry out in proximity to water.

 

[ChaseH]

I’ve been hunting 6,000-9,000’ looking for sign near acorns.

 

[Marble]

Each year during second season I have had opportunities to kill a bear in CO for the past several years. We are generally 9-11k feet.

We just kind of run into them or glass them up.

I have so many here where I live in CA that I just deal with it here rather than dedicating time during my elk hunt.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[TaperPin]

Bears and elk aren’t always in the same places, but can be. They follow their stomach, so you should figure out where that is in your hunting area, rather than hope a gut pile will call them in.

Where we hunt in western Wyoming we see black bears every other year near camp at timberline on north facing slopes. They are sharing the exact same drainage with elk in the area, barely higher if at all. Every place we’ve seen bears, there have been bugling elk the same year at the same elevation within 1/4 mile. The last elk I shot up there had a bear camp out on the guts and bones for what looked like more than a week judging by the turds and beds.

Farther up the creek coming out of the trailhead, every half dozen years someone will kill a horse in a steep section of trail and there are usually signs of bears on them.

 

[dtrkyman]

A little surprising, that area is covered up in bears. They are probably in the thick oak brush where you are not seeing them!

 

[Poser]

I’ve been hunting 6,000-9,000’ looking for sign near acorns.

You’re in the right profile for Sept. it can be tough. Year before last, we had a bumper acorn crop, I hunted 12 days and never saw a bear. Poop was everywhere. Last year, I got one on opening day and he was in the exact same spot I initially found him 2 days prior, which is highly unusual. Bears can be super random and they are on the move in September: here today, gone tomorrow. Most of them are killed by people stumbling across them randomly. To go out to specifically hunt bears in Sept snd be successful is much more difficult than killing an elk in September.

My advice is stay after it, keep trying different areas. Glass. Use your ears (bears in scrub oak are loud). Don’t be afraid to glass south facing slopes cooking in the sun during Sept -they don’t give AF, they are there to eat. Talk to elk hunters when you see them.

People that don’t specifically bear hunt will always say, “I see bears all of the time.” Well, ask them when the last time they went out looking for a bear and found one was. I even had a guy let me come hunt his boutique orchard. . He said, “100% chance a bear shows up every day between 4 and 7 PM.” Guess what? No bear showed up. It’s just not easy.

 

[Crowmangler]

Is it feasible for you to just get an elk tag and a bear tag? Shoot an elk first & hunt over its carcass. A bear tag is only ~$100.
I imagine the odds are extremely low finding a bear without a carcass to hunt over

 

[cnelk]

Is it feasible for you to just get an elk tag and a bear tag? Shoot an elk first & hunt over its carcass. A bear tag is only ~$100.
I imagine the odds are extremely low finding a bear without a carcass to hunt over

The reduced cost bear tags are no longer available