Spring Bear in Arizona 

Tips and Tactics

  I called my bear hunting guru buddy Opie the other day to find out if he was going to go spring bear hunting with me this year.

  His reply; “What are you doing hunting for bear in the spring? That has to be hardest way to fill a bear tag here in Arizona.” 

  I told him, first of all it is not just about filling a tag, it’s about being able to get out and hunt. I just love to hunt in the spring. Besides the hunt, I can  pick up shed antlers and  get  in some great fishing. See, I am selfish when it comes to being outdoors; I want it all.

   Now what the heck do I do to find a spring bear in Arizona? If I was in just about any other state I might set out big buckets of jelly filled doughnuts and then sit around and wait for my jelly filled bear to come in. But we can’t be doing that here in the great state of Arizona.  I am not being sarcastic, I am glad we can’t bait bears here. I think that is one reason why we have a decent bear population.

   O.K. back to reality, pre-season scouting is a must. Drag out your topo’s and find water sources that are adjacent to likely food and shelter areas.  Start  with a likely water source. Check the creek bottoms, stock ponds or trick tanks. A major factor in finding a bear watering hole is to be as far away as possible from human traffic. When checking out water sources, try and wipe out as many tracks as possible. This will help you determine just how often your bear is coming around.

  Next work your way up to find the adjacent food sources. This time of year bears will be looking for protein rich foods as well as for foods that work as a laxative. Laxatives? Before bears hibernate they will plug themselves up. That sounds so uncomfortable. Why would anything WANT to make themselves constipated? But Mother Nature has set a neat tool in the bear’s phyche. In the fall they eat hair, grass and dirt which makes a plug so they won’t have to get up and go potty while they are sleeping. Of course, this tip is more important for those with high country bear tags.

  Try to find areas with some good flower patches or new growth.  Always look around Manzanita thickets. Manzanita berries are a favorite food for Arizona bears and the seeds don’t digest. If the weather is nice like it is this year (2002) the bears won’t be returning to the den very often. That is to say if they ever did go into a hibernation state. They will be very mobile looking for the best food sources. The sows more that likely will have a cub or two and she has got to be able to produce milk for her young.

  Now, you have your area scouted and you have 20 or 30 bears to choose from. (Yeah, right!) Maybe you have 2 to 3 bears located and know where they eat, drink and sleep. Now what? Here are some methods that I use for just about any animal I hunt. I use my OPTICS and calls.

   The first thing you have to do to be a successful bear hunter is to find what you are looking for. Really, it does help. Get set up and comfortable on those high peaks overlooking canyons before sunup. This is a must. The spring bear is not going to tolerate much heat because he still has his winter coat. Remember the basic glassing techniques. Be slow, methodic and thorough. Once your trophy is in sight, do you just go head on, hope to get with in range and pull the trigger or let that arrow fly? It might work out that way but why not increase your odds?

     One big draw back about hunting in the Arizona mountains is the wind. It swirls a lot. So scent control becomes important. A bear has poor eyesight, but his nose and ears make up for any shortcomings. One thing that has greatly enhanced my hunting success is wearing my Scent Lok suit and the use of scent sprays and lures.

   In my opinion Wild Life Research Centers puts out the best scent attractants, detergents and body washes you will find on the market. Scent Lok has the best scent control clothing on the market.  I have used both products religiously for about 8 years now.  Scent Lok has also come up with a new Single Layer Technology line that is going to definitely impress all you Arizona hunters. I like their jump suit because it is light and comfortable, you can fold it up into itself. The pocket in back side is there so when you are hiking in you can fold inside itself and stuff it in your daypack. Then when you are ready to put your stalk on, or call that bear in, you can just slip the jump suit on. Being as lightweight as it is I would recommend just keeping it on all day.

     Now that you have figured out how to get past the bear’s nose what about his ears. You can’t just go stomping through the woods and think you are going to just walk right up on one of these bruins. You have to take your time and move as slow as possible. I like to have a pair of boot covers on when I make my approach. I have heard of and have used the old wool socks over my boots when that was all that was available, but now the market has got quit a selection of slip over the boot style noise mufflers. I have gotten great results from them and strongly suggest using them. You will be impressed with the performance.

   There seems to be a lot of controversy about calling for bears. Some hunters complain that people using game calls are ruining it for other hunters in the area. This could be a legitimate concern if the callers just go out and pick a spot and turn on their calling machine or blow as loud as they can on a mouth call. I suggest to increase the odds of calling in a bear, find the bear first. Yes, that means you will need to get out your tri-pod and optics. This does two things. First, if it is just you and your bear other hunters shouldn’t be around to get annoyed. Second, Calling in a bear that you have sighted gives the hunter better position control.  We all hear about the hunter who has been using a call and get a bear to come part of the way in and then hold up out there too far to shoot. This could be due to the position of the caller in relationship to the bear. Try to not put any obstacles between you and your bear. Such as bluffs or areas that are too wide open.

   I have heard of many different types of call sounds to use in the past from and distressed rabbit to a lost calf elk. I have found this technique to be very effective. Yes all those sounds will and have worked in the past with moderate results. One thing that we as hunters seem to more times than others do is get hung up on one or two tactics to make our hunts successful. Remember this is the spring bear hunt. A bear’s metabolism is very slow at this time and its appetite has yet to wake up. Trying to get one to respond to the sound of the dinner bell might not appeal to it much. Well here is another way you all might want to try. Get a hold of the Cub Bear Bawler from Modern Call Products. This call is not designed to work on the bear’s stomach. It is designed to work on its desire to protect and procreate. When you use this call you are attempting to sound like a lost or distressed cub bear. For those of you skeptics, no you will not just call in sows. Yes you will on occasion but we have found that you will call in more boars in than anything. The reason for this is due to boars desire to reproduce. When that boar hears that there is cub in distress or lost he will come in to kill that cub. The reason why he wants to kill that cub so when the sow looses her cub and she is still nursing her milk will dry up and she will come back into estrus. Seems kind of senseless doesn’t it. But that is just the way Mother Nature works, survival of fittest. But don’t forget, find what you are looking for first, I bet you all a fat cheeseburger you will like the results.

I hope these tips and tactics aid in your success for this years up coming bear hunt. Let us know how the hunt went and send in those photos and stories. We would all like to read about it in the Arizona Outdoorsman. One last thing don’t forget our future, take a kid in the field so he or she can keep what we got going.

Good Luck and best wishes

Louis Urquides

Hunting Editor for AZOD