Oregon Spring Bear - Archery Spot and Stalk

[Blind Squirrel]

Got my eyes on my first bear of the season. Wasn't able to close the deal unfortunately. View attachment 706716View attachment 706717

Great photos. I bought some stuff for digiscoping. Hoping to get photos like these this year.

 

[Brushroach]

I am planning on hunting the spring bear in SW Oregon this year. I do not see a lot of information on spot and stalk archery hunting for bears across the internet. This is my first year hunting spring bear, I am committed to hunting with a bow. I curious to why it is not a common weapon for spring bear hunting?

What are some of the challenges of spring bear hunting with a bow?
Any recommendations on arrow setup? I plan on hunting the same arrow as elk (475 grain double bevel broadhead w/ bleeders).
Are bears sensitive to noise as you stalk in on them? I know they have poor eyesight and an incredible sense of smell.
Have people had success using calls? If so, early season vs late?

- TStramp

i seem to run into a lot of bear along secluded creek drainages along the bottom of clear cuts. Especially if there’s an old abandoned cat road that can’t be seen from roads above. It seems like they spend the day time down low in the cool damp air and head up into the clear cuts at night. Just two days ago I was hiking down one old cat road and bumped a big old bruin just after I broke into the brushy creek timber buffer. He was anout 20 yards away. If I would have been sneaking down there I might have gotten a shot. But once I got to the bottom I crossed the creek onto another road secluded road (the bridge got removed 15 or so years ago) and found a mother and two cubs. I spotted the cub first down the road about 40-60 yards just over the top of a blackberry bush. I stepped into the shade and watched its sibling and mother come up from the creek and the fed off down the road ahead of me. This was about 5:30 or 6pm. After I hiked back out I was glassing back across the drainage and watched them feed up into the cut just after sundown. Then a few minutes later the first bear fed up into the cut on my side of the drainage.

 

[TStramp]

Fall bear is around the corner. I plan spending some time in August poking around central Oregon looking for bears.

Any advice on what to be looking for in August?

-TStramp

 

[Pdzoller]

Fall bear is around the corner. I plan spending some time in August poking around central Oregon looking for bears.

Any advice on what to be looking for in August?

-TStramp

Berries and predictable thermals. Something I like to keep in mind with hunting through August is how fast I can get a bear cut up and into a cooler or some other place to get the meat cooled off. Good luck!