Optics for fall black bear in CO

[mcseal2]

I'm going on my first black bear hunt in Colorado this fall. I'm behind on learning about this hunt, it was a last minute Plan B after one of our party going to AK this fall tore his ACL and we chose to delay that hunt so he could make it.

I have Leica Geovid 10-42 HD-B binos and a new Swaro STC spotting scope I'll take for sure. My questions are will Swaro 15x56 SLC's be worth the weight? Also I'm leaning toward my Slik 634 tripod instead of my 624 due to the possibility of needing to glass standing around oak brush.

Thanks for any advice. I'll be asking a lot of questions, probably not all the most intelligent ones, in the next few weeks. We are hoping to get a mid-August scouting trip of a couple days in to see some of the country, maybe I'll have better ones after that.

 

[WesternSlope]

I’m in a similar position. Seems like most of the learning resources for bear hunting revolve around spring bear hunting or baiting which aren’t applicable in Colorado.

 

[Poser]

There's definitely not a ton of resources out there on Fall bear hunting.
As a person who goes pretty hard after Sept bears, I'll say that you absolutely do need a tripod that you can stand up and glass with. Scrub oak is often much taller than it appears on Google Earth, OnX and even when looking at an area from a distance. I will add that practical glassing points over scrub oak can be difficult to come by.

The 15s could potentially be nice to have. If you are day hunting, I'd sure be tempted to throw them in the pack or at least have them available for certain areas. In other cases, you won't be able to see 10 yards.

For mid August scouting, I'd be checking for actual mast on the oak in the areas you are hunting. Is there mast? is there a significant concentration of it? There are often mast failures due to drought or too much rain.
Next, check water sources as they'll be on scrub oak in proximity of water.

That time of year, bears likely won't be in or around scrub oak yet, but as soon as it dries out and is ready to eat, they'll be plowing through the elevation profiles like a combine and you need to be prepared to change elevation even if it means giving up your glassing advantage for walking through 12 foot scrub oak with no visibility listening for bears munching.

-Chase the elevation. Once an area has been consumed, the bear or bears have moved on. If they were there yesterday and not today, then they are gone and aren't coming back.
-If you aren't seeing sign that is less than 12 hours old, they've already cleaned that area out.
-If you are seeing lots of sign that is 24 hours to a few days old, you're well behind the curve. Drop at least 1,000 feet. Dropping down 2-3,000 feet isn't a bad idea as you can always work your way up.

 

[Poser]

Oh, and I forgot to add: moving through scrub oak can be one of the more frustrating experiences you can have out hunting. If you're in scrub oak, then you're in the sun and, being Sept, its probably HOT. Its loud. It'll tear you and your clothes up, it'll snag on your backpack, it will untie your boots (tuck your laces in). Slopes can be dry and dusty with loose dirt and rock. Sometimes, there is no way around but pushing through brush itself. Sometimes, its just not possible to penetrate the oak brush. Even the game trails through it are impassable and then you get a taste of that, you realize that some areas are just not going to be practical to shoot a bear in.

 

[Hnthrdr]

There's definitely not a ton of resources out there on Fall bear hunting.
As a person who goes pretty hard after Sept bears, I'll say that you absolutely do need a tripod that you can stand up and glass with. Scrub oak is often much taller than it appears on Google Earth, OnX and even when looking at an area from a distance. I will add that practical glassing points over scrub oak can be difficult to come by.

The 15s could potentially be nice to have. If you are day hunting, I'd sure be tempted to throw them in the pack or at least have them available for certain areas. In other cases, you won't be able to see 10 yards.

For mid August scouting, I'd be checking for actual mast on the oak in the areas you are hunting. Is there mast? is there a significant concentration of it? There are often mast failures due to drought or too much rain.
Next, check water sources as they'll be on scrub oak in proximity of water.

That time of year, bears likely won't be in or around scrub oak yet, but as soon as it dries out and is ready to eat, they'll be plowing through the elevation profiles like a combine and you need to be prepared to change elevation even if it means giving up your glassing advantage for walking through 12 foot scrub oak with no visibility listening for bears munching.

-Chase the elevation. Once an area has been consumed, the bear or bears have moved on. If they were there yesterday and not today, then they are gone and aren't coming back.
-If you aren't seeing sign that is less than 12 hours old, they've already cleaned that area out.
-If you are seeing lots of sign that is 24 hours to a few days old, you're well behind the curve. Drop at least 1,000 feet. Dropping down 2-3,000 feet isn't a bad idea as you can always work your way up.

Have you ever had a Sept tag in an area void of scrub oak? Have a tag in an area I’m familiar with, and have captured some toad bears on wallows/ water, yet no scrub oak…. I know there are berries and some pine cones, but it will be interesting not having the scrub oak. Side question: 2 years ago drier more typical to this summer lots of bears, last year with that super wet summer, did not see one bear on 8 different trail cams. Not sure what is account for that other than i suspect they stayed in the alpine much longer maybe? Here is a pic from a couple years ago of what I consider a big Co bear, what say you Poser?

 

[Hnthrdr]

To try and not hi- jack your thread too much I think your 10x and stc will be super adequate. If you opt for your 15x you could leave the stc at home but in my mind your stc and 10x should cover all your bases

 

[Poser]

Have you ever had a Sept tag in an area void of scrub oak? Have a tag in an area I’m familiar with, and have captured some toad bears on wallows/ water, yet no scrub oak…. I know there are berries and some pine cones, but it will be interesting not having the scrub oak. Side question: 2 years ago drier more typical to this summer lots of bears, last year with that super wet summer, did not see one bear on 8 different trail cams. Not sure what is account for that other than i suspect they stayed in the alpine much longer maybe? Here is a pic from a couple years ago of what I consider a big Co bear, what say you Poser?

I'd say its fairly rare to see bears in the actual alpine (above treeline). I can only think of a tiny handful of instances and that has always been early summer, before July 4th.

In terms of an area with no scrub oak, I can't speak to that as I live in a literal ocean of scrub oak, but, if you think about it, what better way than mast to pack on calories for hibernation? There's really no natural food source more efficient. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that all bears in Colorado are moving to scrub oak once its ready to eat. Berries either precede that move or are subordinate.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I'd say its fairly rare to see bears in the actual alpine (above treeline). I can only think of a tiny handful of instances and that has always been early summer, before July 4th.

In terms of an area with no scrub oak, I can't speak to that as I live in a literal ocean of scrub oak, but, if you think about it, what better way than mast to pack on calories for hibernation? There's really no natural food source more efficient. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that all bears in Colorado are moving to scrub oak once its ready to eat. Berries either precede that move or are subordinate.

For sure, I’ll double down on my e-scouting. unit might have some pockets down low but 13500 down to 6500 ft roughly. Strange that 2 years ago I saw 8 different bears in the 10-8k range and last year not one… but who knows. They are around, just have to turn one up

 

[Wapiti1]

It's 100% about food. Talk to the Bio in the unit about mast crops, berries, and what they key in on in a dry year without berries. Then research those plants to find where they grow on the mountain.

They move constantly in the fall as well. Last time I hunted them in CO all of the bear were in the 6500-8000 range working creek bottoms for what green was left and trying to find berries. It was a dry year, and there wasn't much so they were keying in on water. I'd start low and work up looking for food sources. Pick several areas to spot and just keep rotating through those until a bear shows up.

10's are good with a spotter. 15's maybe would go, but they would be truck binos. It's a lot of picking apart brush looking for that black or reddish spec. I don't find them hard to spot since they move so much. It's not like trying to spot a bedded buck and you're looking for parts or an ear twitch. Even when they feed in one spot, they move around.

Jeremy

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks everyone, excellent information.

I've hunted Colorado for muleys several times and understand what you are saying about the scrub oak. I've battled it before.

One tip I got was to watch the tops of the scrub oak for movement, try to spot bears pulling it down to get the higher acorns.

 

[Poser]

I was looking through my photos to find some pics of black bears in scrub oak, but don’t seem to have any that don’t make it the bears appear stupid obvious.

 

[ElGuapo]

I have been out looking for bears and hunting Bears in the fall quite a bit, and have done quite a bit of that in Western Colorado. As a baseline, your 10’s and spotter are perfectly adequate most of the time, however, I never, ever am without my 15’s for a couple of reasons…

1. You can “Back up” from the country and glass much longer distances to locate bears, and then move in on them, beyond the ability of your 10’s.

2. Many, many bears have been found, not by seeing the actual Bear, but by seeing the brush, or oak limbs swaying back and forth, as the bear feeds on acorns, but unseen, in the jungle of oaks…. I go back and forth between 10’s and 15’s to do more wide angle, and then detailed glassing all day long.

Best of luck! It’s a very underrated and challenging pursuit IMO

 

[MallardSX2]

Take you a few cases of beer and drop them off one by one at the elk hunters camps and beg for coordinates when they kill one. Thats going to be your best bet and likely the best $200 you ever spent…

 

[Poser]

It’s a very underrated and challenging pursuit IMO

Significantly more challenging than elk hunting, though not nearly as exciting. Everyone, including many hunters, seem to think that bear hunting is relatively easy: "I see bears all of the time!" No you don't. You've randomly seen bears. The difficulty of going out and intentionally finding a bear vs. going out and intentionally finding an elk aren't even close to be comparable tasks. I've had seasons where the month of September concluded and been relieved to finally go do some hunting where I can finally see the animals I'm hunting. Its also interesting how many elk you'll turn up in scrub oak country while looking for bears.

September bear hunting has certainly taught me that "the elk are up high!" crowd don't know jackshit about elk hunting. Elk hunters, don't ever take advice from anyone who makes that generic claim. I've seen elk munching down on acorns at 6,500 feet when its 80+ degrees out while, I can only imagine that the next closest elk hunter is at 9,200 feet+.

 

[Poser]

Elk in Sept scrub oak.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Elk in Sept scrub oak.

Very true! I have never specifically targeted bears it’s always been chance encounters and not in the right season or right unit. Honestly probably a Hail Mary this year, but it’s fun to be out looking for something

 

[30338]

I think we've killed 8 now, but in a little bit of a bear drought. Drew a great antelope tag in Sept so only doing 2-3 days for bears. Always fun to get out and look for them. Your optics seem fine to me. Typically I look at one long enough to be sure no cubs are present and its big enough. Then I dial and shoot. Many times you only see them for 2-10 seconds and they are gone not offering a shot.

I'd watch a youtube video on rendering bear lard. For me, its the favorite part of the experience and done properly, it is very useful for cooking and a variety of other things.

 

[Brainy]

IMHO You're well-prepared with quality optics, and the Swaro 15x56 SLC's will be worth the weight for their excellent magnification and clarity.