I have been to the US a couple of times but never hunted there. Well, now I became interested in a Montana black bear hunt.
What's the best time for that - spring or autumn? By the way I prefer a brown or cinnamon bear to a black one.
Would a 6,5x57 with nosler partitions be ok/permitted?
What outfitters are recommended?

Looking forward to some good advice.

I would go to Wyoming or Idaho myself no baiting allowed in Montana I believe you limited to spot and stalk.

Sunshine:

Regardless of where you go, I would thoroughly research Outfitters. Find out the size of bears they are killing and call the hunters that have hunted with them.

I have had friends hunt Montana and do OK. I have hunted Idaho non-guided and killed a nice bear several years back (self guided).

Do you want to use dogs, bait, or spot and stalk? For spot and stalk, I would 100% choose Idaho over Wyoming.

I have always hunted spring. However, I would probably choose fall if it did not interfere with my other hunts. Spring bears often have rub marks and the hides are not usually near as good as a fall bear.

My son killed a spring boar in Utah a few years back that had a perfect hide. The one I killed had rub mark on it and therefore, I had (or chose to do) a life size mount (instead of a rug) in order to better hide the mark.

I am no expert, but you can PM me and I can give you some ideas in regards to hunting Idaho.

Thanks for the answers. I‘m only interested in spot and go, I love stalking. Fall might be better because of the hide. I have never hunted a bear before, so it would be a real pity if the hide of my first bear has big marks.

Bear hunting can be good in MT. It is all spot and stalk, so spring is the better time to go. I've shot fall bears there, but they were incidental during elk/deer hunts. That said, spring is not easy to get the timing right on. Snow melt is not predictable.

MT bears are not usually big. Think 6.5-7 foot for a big bear there. 6 foot is probably close to the average. They have a short growing season and more limited food than other places.

Hell's a Roaring outfitters in Gardiner (Wayne Johnson), and Swan Mountain do well on spring bear. I have not hunted with them. I just know them by reputation.

That is what I can tell you. I grew up there, but it was all, and continues to be, DIY hunting when I go back home.

Jeremy

if you want a big black bear hunt down south.
north Carolina or the like.

I would research hunting black bears in British or Alberta.Being a Mt resident that hunts bears you can expect to see in MT 2-3 bears in a 5 day period if in a good area.There will be resident pressure too. I hunt southern b. c. last 6 years in a 2 bear area,killed 11 bears,girlfriend has 2 and her son 2 bears. These are spot & stalk and hounds. We see 26 to 30 bears a trip on the spot & stalk hunt in afternoon in 5 days.No resident pressure, might be more money ,your paying for quality.I have had only one rubbed bear and I doubt most guys could see it.

quote:

Originally posted by hvrhunter:
I would research hunting black bears in British or Alberta.Being a Mt resident that hunts bears you can expect to see in MT 2-3 bears in a 5 day period if in a good area.There will be resident pressure too. I hunt southern b. c. last 6 years in a 2 bear area,killed 11 bears,girlfriend has 2 and her son 2 bears. These are spot & stalk and hounds. We see 26 to 30 bears a trip on the spot & stalk hunt in afternoon in 5 days.No resident pressure, might be more money ,your paying for quality.I have had only one rubbed bear and I doubt most guys could see it.

Sounds outstanding. Maybe I should speak to a good friend of mine living in Prince George.

However I love Montana, would like to see Little Bighorn again and visit some Northern Cheyenne friends. Will see...

quote:

Originally posted by Sunshine:
Sounds outstanding. Maybe I should speak to a good friend of mine living in Prince George.

Yup. I've hunted with this outfit three times and killed several big ones. Last one was in 2003.

They are located about 15-20 miles north of PG right on the main highway. It's all spot/stalk hunting, usually along the big grassy 75-yd. wide swath in the bush where a gas pipeline passes thru. It goes for miles, and you will see LOTS of bears unless something has drastically changed. Last trip, we even got to see a grizzly sow and her fairly large cub.

The original owner was Roy Pattison. He died several years back, but the present owner, Steve Saunders, had been one of his guides for years.

Contact Rich Birdsell at Northern Rockies Outfitters. He has a great spring bear camp and is an honest guy.

Ski+3
Whitefish, MT

I would go to Idaho and use hounds. Lots of color phases. Continental Divide Outfitters is good and Tony will take care of you. Spot and stalk can be fun in MT in the spring but as someone stated its weather dependent. Wyoming you can bait and the Big horn mountains has a decent bear population.

British Columbia is where I hunted Black Bears for years. It's spot and stalk in timber country, so glassing clearcuts, spotting bears, and then planning your approach is the game. On a week's hunt, it's about as close to a 100% sure thing as you can get.

What about 'Rising Son Outfitter's Montana? Any experiences with them?

I just saw a mount of huge black bear that was taken outside of park city, mt last year. The bear weight 528 pounds when it was taken.

I've hunted bears in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
For personal reasons I really like Montana for spring bear hunting.

I've never used an outfitter for bear so I cannot help there.

Zeke