June bears

[TexanSam]

With the season extended in Montana for many units (now closing June 15), what are some tips and tactics for those of us plebs who still have an unfilled tag?

Should one go as high as possible and chase the last of the green-up? Does the “bear rut” come into play regarding tactics? I am simply an idiot Texan who relocated to Montana to ruin the state.

Pics of some tracks I found on my last outing.

 

[graniteghost]

Find an area with fresh green up and calving elk/deer. Could even whip out a fawn or calf in distress call. I’d also recommend an area where you feel like you can get around quickly. This time of year the bears are moving a lot and don’t stay in one place long

 

[TexanSam]

Find an area with fresh green up and calving elk/deer. Could even whip out a fawn or calf in distress call. I’d also recommend an area where you feel like you can get around quickly. This time of year the bears are moving a lot and don’t stay in one place long

“get around quickly” meaning pick a spot that doesn’t have much obstacles in the way of hoofing it over to a bear that is spotted? Examples being deadfall, this brush etc.

 

[graniteghost]

I was thinking more elevation gain/loss but deadfall is also in the equation. Just want to pick country that you can get to the bears on short notice with the rut currently going on.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

- Focus more on North facing slopes during the heat of the day. They will utilize shaded timber more now on the cooler side of the mountain.
- Locating sows becomes more important. Boars will begin to will hover in the area and start killing cubs to kick the sows into breeding. We have found them on occasion to hold in areas following a sow for several days.
- Choose your stalks wisely. Seeing a bear on the other side of a basin or across a river that is moving with purpose may not be worth going after. Trying to guess an ambush location ahead of their current path and then hauling ass to that location will pay off more often then trying to catch up to them on the move. Many may not be worth the effort or time.
- Choose glassing locations with shooting lanes out to your max shot distance. This may not be the location with the most expansive view like you want earlier in the season. Seeing a bear a mile off once early to mid June rolls around likely won’t do you much good. Glass in areas you can see a ways, but also that you can shoot from as boars cover a lot of ground this time of year.
- As the season progresses, glass from locations mid-day where you can actually see the creeks in drainages. Boars like to spend time in the very bottoms by the creeks where cooler air flows during the day. This one tip holds true through fall. My family gets a large percentage of our fall bears within 100yds of the bottom of drainages with the exception being during berry seasons.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

One more thing worth mentioning, when you watch bears moving with purpose mark their route for future hunts. A lot of bears later in the season aren’t worth going after because you won’t catch up to them in time. But, watching their travel path and marking it has paid off for us. Bears appears to travel/wander randomly across the landscape and that may hold true when they are feeding. But when they move from point A to point B across the landscape they do so along travel routes that are repeatable year after year. They are very much creatures of habit. My brother and I shot bears consistently off one of these travel paths for 6-7 years before the landscape grew and changed enough that this travel pathway changed.

 

[Rigby 416]

All gooid info. Thanks

 

[Rigby 416]

Damn fat fingers. All good info.