well I drew my spring bear tag again so I'm going to try a new spot this year that's about a 5 to 10 minute drive from my house. I saw some bears in there last fall and lots of sign, if the dirt bikes stay out I may do ok. I'm not sure what I'll take, most shots would be under 100yds so I'm leaning toward the 6" 475 with the 2x Leupold but I also have my 375JDJ ready to go now that it has the brake on it and it's shooting moa with 260gr Accubonds. I'm hoping I'll be done with my 500 Linebaugh and then it would get the call but we'll just have to wait and see. Last year was miserable because we had snow off and on until June but this year it's already starting to warm up and the weather has been mild so hopefully the bears will be out on time or early this year, last year no one was even seeing sign until the season was over.

Wapitirod,

Over on this side (New Hampshire) we have a fall bear hunt season only. Though our bear population is likely far lower than yours, we generally don't have to worry about weather interfering with the season. Even when we get snow in November, the bears don't usually den up until December, especially if we've had a good fall mast crop. I saw only one bear last season while deer hunting and it was a juvenile. That little clown tore past me within about 15 yards or so like its backside was on fire. I believe something must have spooked it back in a ways, and doubt it even knew I was there. There were no others with it.
Made my day!
Renster

Renster, my brother had a very similar experience last fall. We were early muzzleloader hunting in our usual stomping grounds, back in the deep woods of the Adirondacks. Because it was still so early, the underbrush was thicker than flies on you know what. He decided to sit on a fallen log on the edge of beaver vly (75yds across, 150yds long). The three of us left and went up on the sides of this big bowl to sit and stare at brush. No sooner did I sit down when I heard the shot. Apparently he was just sitting there, heard noise straight across the vly and got ready, expecting it to be a deer. The 150lb black bear tore out of the woods, making a B-line directly toward my brother (the bear cleared a 15 foot wide stream that ran the length of the vly) confused as hell (and beginning to think the bear was after him) my brother stood up when the bear got to about 10 yds. Either the bear didn't know there was a human there and was just coincidentally heading in that direction, or realized my brother was bigger once standing, than what he originally thought from 75 yards away. So at 10 yards, the bear locked up all four, and turned slightly, and thats when my brother let him have it, dropping his first bear.

I have pictures but I still haven't figured out how to put the damn things up here.

Just talked with a friend in Idaho who swears by those Accubonds
Good huntin....

Thats what we use in the long guns. Very accurate and very high in performance.

Liv2Hnt460,
That's an interesting experience. Several years ago I was scouting before deer season for a large buck haunting my area. I was standing still, taking a rest at the foot of and facing a steep wooded slope, when two cubbies came clammering down the slope. They were off to my left and in front of me doing what cubbies do, and I was quite focused on them. When...you guessed it - a loud "huff" grabbed my attention up the slope just a bit. Those two cubbies climbed immediately, and I was of course refocused on a small sow that was focused on me, snuffling and popping.(how did she spot me - I wasn't moving at all?!) I spoke in a low gentle tone - "o.k. mom, I'm just watchin' here, I didn't know this was your picnic spot today". I quickly decided that since the cubbies had treed, she wasn't likely leaving anytime soon. I sure didn't want to shoot that girl. I literally backed up step by step until I could feel comfortable turning and leaving the way I came. She never left her spot on the slope, at least not while I could still see her, which here in N.H. timber was only 25 yards or so. I was glad she just stayed there, I'm sure she was just as nervous as me. Cripes! I quit scouting for the day!
Renster

The bear my brother shot was a 2 year old male. There was a lot of bear sign in the area. A lot of trees in there had fresh claw marks 5-6 foot up where bears had been tearing up the bark. There may have been a bigger bear in the area and it spooked this bear. I'm not positive but I don't think an adult male bear runs around the woods for no reason.

Where we hunt in the catskills, there are more and more bears every year. Last year we (8 in the camp) shot two bears, both sows, and saw about 10-12 others ranging from cubs to a 400+ lb boar my dad saw at 25 yards during turkey season. On one occasion we were cooking burgers on the grill right at dusk and a smaller bear came from about 400 yards (the house/camp sits in a valley surrounded by hay fields) out to about 60 yards from the house before it decided to leave.

I drew a spring bear tag this year as well, but mine is for the other side of the Cascades. I have never hunted in this unit before so it should be a new expereance calling in bears over there.

We have so many bears here in Oregon that you can get 3 bears a year if you plan it right.

rupe

I never got into bear hunting. Folks go crazy over bears in PA...a group of 30 guys will drive, track and chase down an entire family group and shoot every last one just to say they killed a bear...even if it is 65#. That put a sour taste in my mouth.

DanB,

I understand your sour taste with Penn. bear hunters. Many hunt exactly the same way during the deer season there as well. As a lone stalk and still hunter I just have never been able to wrap my brain around "drives". A group of hunters herding game TOWARD a shooter. Not only is it inherently dangerous, it's not hunting at all. It's just plain killing. I'm sure many fair chase hunters here in the forum will tell you that real bear HUNTING, like deer HUNTING, is truly a challenge to be earned with skill and patience. I'm glad to see drives, as well as senseless decimation of entire family groups sour you. You must be a HUNTER!
Renster

Good luck Rod and Rupe on filling your bear tags.

Exactly. Now, I will do little one or two man pushes to get deer moving when I take my pap hunting. I also have a friend that insists on walking and will not sit. So I'll take up a vantage point with a LR gun and let him walk his little heart out. This is fun since you get to watch how the deer act but only gets them out of their beds and nothing to point them in a direction. Its funny to watch them get up, walk around my buddy and bed back down behind him.

BTW...thank you for the complement.