We’re in the middle of the summer, which is a great time to prepare for bear hunting at Silver Spur Lodge in the Fall Season. However, if you’ve done bear hunts in the spring, you’ll want to be aware that fall hunting is a bit different.
You can bait bears in the fall, but it’s much harder than in the spring. For one thing, there is more natural food available to compete with your bait. In a good year, every draw on the hillside will be choked with berries. That’s why fall bear baiting requires advance planning.
When spotting and stalking, keep in mind that in the fall bears are on a feeding frenzy to store up fat for the winter. In the spring, daylight and dusk are usually best, whereas in the fall you may see one anywhere, anytime of the day. When food is scarce and bears are hungry, they move quickly across the slopes in search of food. You may have to hurry to catch up with them.
Of course, when bears feed will be determined by the available food source that particular year. A good berry crop will draw them to the berry patches where they gorge themselves and then lie down and sleep. As berries ripen they migrate to higher elevations. What if berries are scarce? They’ll roam more and you’ll be likely to see them anywhere.
Fall Bear Hunting at Silver Spur Lodge
The North American black bear is a large animal with a thick coat, which is usually black; but it can also be chocolate brown, blonde or even white. Its home is in the forest, surrounded by heavy vegetation, including berries, fruit and nuts in trees and shrubs. Silver Spur Lodge fall hunting expeditions focus on these types bears, which are more accessible to hunt than other bear types.
The American black bear is the smallest of the three bears species found in North America, and are found only in North America. Black bears have short, non-retractable claws that give them an excellent tree-climbing ability.
Black bears are smaller than grizzlies, Alaskan brown bears and polar bears. The adult male, or boar, can weigh anywhere between 250 and 600 pounds. All black bears walk with a shuffling gate, usually on all fours. Nose to tail, a black bear can measure eight feet plus.
Black bears tend to be solitary animals, with the exception of mothers and cubs. The bears usually forage alone, but will tolerate each other and forage in groups if there is an abundance of food in one area.
Some tips for fall bear hunting at Silver Spur Lodge
- Use scent covers. Because black bears have a highly developed sense of smell, black bears are able to detect smells emanating from bodies. To maximize your chances of success you should use scent covers to mask your scent while stalking in on that record book black bear.
- Avoid smoking. Tobacco smoke has a very distinctive smell and can put the bear on alert at once. The bear hunter should avoid smoking if he wants to improve his chances of coming across the bear. Smoking should be avoided during or even before the hunt, because the scent can permeate clothing and be carried along to scare the prey, which can immediately sense the unfamiliar scent.
- Stalk bears upwind.Keeping track of wind direction is also crucial to prevent the bear from detecting your presence and therefore the bear should always be stalked upwind.
- Take your time. When spotting a black bear during the hunt either from the ground or from a tree stand at a bait station, it is important to remain calm and take time to aim and execute the shot carefully, adjusting it to hit a vital organ. Any tendency to rush a shot should be calmed down by waiting or taking a deep breath. This will prevent losing a good trophy bear, as black bears can move very quickly over considerable distances if wounded with a poor shot.
Silver Spur Lodge has everything you need for a successful bear hunt.
We have several types of accommodations to choose from for your hunt, including the wilderness log lodge, with all the comforts of home, and the remote back country camps for a better wilderness experience.
For additional information and to reserve your accommodations for the hunt,visit our website, call Rick & Deb at (208) 842-2417 or drop us an email at huntingidaho@silverspurlodge.com.
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