Spot and Stalk bear hunting in the mountains with a bow and arrow brings some serious challenges, but everything about the hunt was exhilarating. Oh, and I shot the 43rd bear I saw. 

By Bernie Barringer

What makes a dream trip for a die-hard bear hunter? I suppose a dream trip is different things to different people. To you, it might be an exotic hunt in a far off place, or the opportunity to shoot the biggest bear of your life, or maybe the chance to experience new sights, sounds and smells while bear hunting. A dream trip for me may be a combination of several of those things.

If a dream trip for you means a rustic lodge in the heart of stunning mountain scenery, seeing multiple bears a day, waking up to loons calling, catching a rainbow trout on literally every cast, and moose steaks on the grill, then read on, because I found your dream trip.

My trip to Eureka Peak Lodge in the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia was first and foremost a bear hunt. I shot the 43rd bear I saw. I’ll relate the events of shooting that bear in a moment, but since this trip was so much more than just a bear hunt, let me tell you the story from the beginning.

Just getting to Eureka Peak Lodge is an adventure in itself. I was in four airports during my trip, and the airplane that flew me into Williams Lake, BC was a small one. Let’s just say that every seat is a window seat! From Williams Lake, I was driven nearly three hours back into the mountains, about half of it on winding gravel roads.  I was told I would typically see my first bears on the drive to the lodge. I saw three.

Like so many of my bear hunts, this one was characterized by rain. It rained six of the seven days of my hunt. The outfitter, Stu Maitland, expressed that we I would see the majority of bears when the sun was out, and that proved to be true. When the sun would peek through the clouds the bears would appear.

My first day hunting with my guide Joe Morhart was rainy nearly the entire day. We hunted from breakfast until 5:00 p.m. when we headed in to have supper. Our cook Cherie had seen four bears on her drive down to her house about an hour away. One of them was a cinnamon that she had seen on the entrance to a deactivated logging road just a few miles from the lodge.

After a great dinner, we headed back out to hunt for a few hours until dark and our first stop was that logging road. It had been more than an hour since Cherie saw the bear but Joe said the bears don’t move far when they are feeding, so we should go have a look. We walked about 200 yards down the old logging road when we came to a fast-flowing stream. I looked up on the other side and sure enough there was a cinnamon bear. He moved out into the open 60 yards away, and if I was hunting with a rifle instead of a bow, my hunt would have been over right there. But with the stream in between us, we couldn’t get close enough for a shot and my cinnamon moved out of sight.

I need to relate how disappointing this was for me. You see I have this silly idea that I want to shoot what I call a “Grand Slam of Color Bears.”  My grand slam would be each of the four major color groups: Blonde, chocolate, black and cinnamon. I need the blonde and cinnamon to complete the slam. One of the primary reasons I booked a hunt in this area was because they have a large number of color phase bears in this geographical region. So I was really disappointed to let this cinnamon get away, but it was only the first day.

The next few days were spent cruising logging roads, glassing the logging cuts, and walking deactivated logging roads. In the spring, bears love to graze on the lush greens that are found along the roads. The woods are thick with little sunlight getting to the forest floor, so the food is found wherever the sun can get through. That means along roads and in logged off areas referred to as “Cut Blocks.”

The best way to encounter a lot of bears is to cover a lot of ground; that means driving a lot of these roads. If you see a bear, you slam on the brakes and plan your stalk. We alternated that strategy with hiking down roads that had been removed from use. These roads grow up into grass, dandelions and clovers, the exact things bears love in the spring. It was a nice combination of exploring these old roads in the pickup, mixed with hiking up the slopes and glassing. It’s quite a fun way to hunt.

The bears proved Stu’s theory right. It rained off and on, mostly on, for the next five days, but when the sun would peek out, we would start seeing bears. Some of the bears bolted off into the brush when we saw them, and some were sows with cubs. Some were in position where we could make a stalk but they were smaller specimens and after all I was looking for a cinnamon or a blonde. We attempted a stalk on a handful of big ones as the week wore on and the list of bears I would not shoot began to shrink. Steve, another hunter in camp who was bowhunting Grizzlies with Stu as his guide, came back to camp one evening with photos of both a blonde and a cinnamon and of course they teased me to no end about that.

On the fifth evening Joe told me we were going to go on a “grand adventure” the following day. He was not kidding. We drove two hours to the shore of Quesnel Lake and loaded Joe’s ATV on the front of an 18-foot jet boat. Lake Quesnel is the deepest lake in North America at 2300 feet deep and that thought was with me as we headed across the lake with the “Quad” in the front of the boat. The scenery was stunning and it was nice to finally have the rain clouds lift so I could see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

We spent the day about six miles up the lake on Joe’s registered trapline. We cruised logging roads and glassed cut blocks again, and since there is no road access to this area, I was a little bewildered about how they built the logging roads and hauled the logs out. Joe explained that the trucks and equipment is hauled up there on barges, and the logs are strapped together in big rafts and floated down the lake with tugboats.

We stopped off for a few moments at a pristine mountain lake and ate our lunch, then pushed a canoe out into the lake and did a little trout fishing. There were so many times I just had to pause a moment to drink in the gorgeous scenic views.

When we saw a big black one feeding across a valley, we had to make a try for it. But we came to a river that was pretty high from all the rain. Joe took one look and said we could make it so we plunged in with the Quad. About half way across, the quad began to lose its footing but Joe gunned it and we hit the opposite bank. I had to bail off the quad as it seemed like it was going to tip over backward going up the steep bank. Climbing back on the quad after Joe got it up on level ground all I could think about was how we were going to get back across, especially if we had a big bear with us.

We didn’t have to worry about that problem because when we got to the area, the bear was gone and we never did see him again. We spent a few hours hiking and glassing that side of the river before coming back across. We did find a couple moose shed antlers while looking for bears. Now you have to realize that there was a small falls and then rapids about 20 yards downstream from the river crossing. I was not looking forward to trying to get back across that river.

This time it was worse. When the quad lost its footing in the middle of the river we began to be swept downstream and the quad turned sideways. Somehow Joe kept it upright while we were swept up against the boulders on the opposite shore and I grabbed my bow and climbed out onto the rocks just above the falls. Joe tossed me my back pack with my cameras and then gunned it, making his way upstream against the raging current to a point where he could get his wheels on dry ground. We were both wet up to the crotch with the cold, snow-melt water but happy to be safe. Grand adventure, you aren’t kidding.

After a long day of hunting in this remote area, we headed back to the rocky beach were we had left the boat. We discovered that the wind had come up during the day, splashing over the transom of the beached boat, filling it with water and sinking it to the bottom. It took a lot of bailing but we got it back afloat and got the motor started. We got back to the lodge well after midnight and I had to get a fire going or suffer hiking in wet boots all day the following day. Finally, I fell exhausted into bed.

The following day was the final day of my hunt and I had decided I needed to shoot the first representative bear I see. I didn’t want to go home without a bear; the time for being picky was over. We saw some smaller ones and attempted a stalk on a nice big black. But the swirling mountain winds betrayed us.

Early in the afternoon, we were heading towards an area with more logging roads we had not hunted before, when we rounded the corner and there was a bear on the side of the road. It was not a really big one, but it looked like it had good potential for a stalk. In fact, it just moved off the road a short distance and sat there.

Earlier in the week, I had given my rangefinder to Joe and asked him to use it to give me a range right before I shot. I had also asked him to video the shot. But when we bailed out of the truck, I grabbed my bow and in the excitement, Joe forgot both the rangefinder and the video camera.

The bear made a half circle and came back to the side of the road. It was clear he wanted to cross, so we started sneaking up the road, trying not to make too much noise crunching in the gravel. The bear came to the edge of the road again, but soon disappeared. We hurried a little farther and sure enough, he appeared at the side of the road and I drew my bow. I asked Joe the range and that’s when he realized he would have to guess. He said “40 yards,” and then suddenly the bear was moving across the road. Joe tried to stop him with a call but I had to shoot at the bear as he was walking quickly and I didn’t lead him enough so the arrow zipped through him just behind the rib cage.

I hate that feeling, but Joe was convinced we would get this bear. He said the bear would run about 100 yards and hang up. We drove down the road a little ways and then Joe said, “let’s go in right here.” Well I was skeptical but I have learned never to guide the guide. Sure enough, we got about 50 yards into the thick bush and Joe threw up his rifle and said he could see the bear through the scope. The bear was sitting there sniffing the wound on his side when I crept within range and put the finishing shot into him. Another lesson in trusting your guide.

This truly was a dream trip for me. The natural beauty of the Cariboo Mountains, the incredible fishing, the accommodations, the food and the hunting were all terrific. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have bought the second tag (this is a two-bear area) and shot the cinnamon with a rifle on the first night, then bowhunted for the second one. This is one dream trip you really should put on your bucket list.

Think the cost of a fully guided bear hunt is out of reach? There are other options to help you get your bear rug at a fraction of the cost.

By Bernie Barringer

Growing up in Iowa, I had it pretty good as a bowhunter. I started bowhunting in 1973 at 14 years of age. In my first 25 years of bowhunting deer, I lived through the glory days of bowhunting’s growth. I had learned a lot about whitetails, shot some nice ones and even wrote a book about finding and harvesting whitetails in farmland.

But I had always wanted to shoot a bear. I was fascinated by bears from a young age and I knew someday I would go on a bear hunt. In the late 1990’s I booked a bear hunt in northern Minnesota. My plan was to shoot a bear and check that off my list. I would have a bear rug, I would be able to say I shot a bear with a bow and that would be that.

It didn’t exactly work out that way.

I have now shot 25 bears with a bow and I have helped friends and family shoot at least that many more. I have hunted bears from British Columbia and Idaho to Maine and a whole lot of places in between. I have shot bears on spot & stalk hunts, hound hunts and baited hunts, but I am most enthralled by hunting bears over bait. I am thoroughly addicted. I can’t get enough of the adrenaline charge that comes with having a bear at close range.

My friends and I have killed several bears from this bait in Ontario

I have been on quite a few outfitted hunts, but the hunts that give me the most satisfaction are the ones in which I did the work myself. It can take quite a few years to draw a tag in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, so I have learned to branch out.

Most Canadian provinces issue the bear tags through the outfitters, but Ontario is the exception. You can buy a tag over the counter and hunt bears on Ontario without an outfitter. I have an outfitter friend who allows me to run baits in his area, I do all my own baiting and hunt his concession in exchange for bringing him bait and customers. I have found that the best hunt for many people is the semi-guided hunt. While fully guided hunts will run from $2,500-$3,500, semi-guided hunts offer several options and price points, mostly between $800 and $1,200. Most commonly they work something like this: The outfitter gets the baits going then turns it over to you. When you arrive, you are responsible for three main things; getting yourself to and from the bait sites, maintaining the baits while you are there, and taking care of your bear once it’s down.

This also leaves you with the issue of lodging and food. My favorite hunt, one that I do every year is with Edward Wilson of Havik Lake Camp. Eddy guarantees his hunters two active bait sites for less than $1000. He also has a small rustic campground on Havik Lake. He charges only $15 a night to stay there, but there is no electricity or showers, just outhouses. My group camps there with all our own equipment and we bathe in the lake. The fishing is excellent as well.

The advantages to going with a group are many. There always seems to be a couple people eager to help get the bear out of the woods. We pitch in with the chores around camp such as keeping the campfire going, and usually there are at least 2-3 people involved in the skinning and quartering of the bears. Last year there were nine of us and we took home nine bears in four days.

The terrain in Ontario can be a little overwhelming, but once you learn to look for funnels and swamps, you will quickly figure out where to put your bear baits. Bears have amazing noses and they find the baits quickly.

Several fishing resorts in Ontario offer these semi-guided hunts and hope to put you in their cabins at a time of the year when the clientele is slower than peak fishing season. Beware of these hunts, and be sure to call references, my experiences has been that some of them do not put the effort needed into baiting consistently before you get there. Make sure you ask the hard questions and if they are evasive about giving you references, stay away.

Another option is to use a fishing resort as a base camp and do all your own baiting. This can be inexpensive because you are not paying for the cost of a hunt at all, but it can be very time consuming. It might take the better part of a week to get the baits going good before you feel confident in hunting them.

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, there are similar to Eddy Wilson who offer these semi-guided or partially-guided hunts. In Wisconsin, a good example is Art Hyde at Northern Bayfield County Outfitters. For $1200, Art allows you to stay at his camp (which has pit toilets but does have one shower) and he also takes care of the transportation to and from the bait sites. One of his guides will skin and quarter your bear if you like, which means you should add a gratuity to the overall cost. Art normally allows 10-12 hunters and is usually booked up at least a year in advance.

NBC’s services are basically identical to Chris Ford’s bear hunts in northern Minnesota. You are provided with a hunt, but you are responsible for your own food and lodging. For $1500, Chris will put you on active bait sites, his success rates are very high and his guides will help get your bear out of the woods and taken care of. Ford offers a package with lodging for $1,950. Both Ford’s Guide Service in Minnesota and NBC Guide Service in Wisconsin will provide the treestands so you can fly to these hunts.

Obtaining good bear bait is much easier than you think. Many bait distributors have plenty of options and some ship bait to you or to your destination.

There are a few things you should ask when booking a semi-guided hunt:

Can you drive close to the bait sites with your pickup/SUV or do you need to bring an ATV? This is an important consideration. At Eddy’s place, we can drive within 100 yards of all the baits, but you will need a truck, not a car to do it.

Where will you stay? Is there camping, motels or resorts nearby? Find out how much these places will cost and how much driving will be needed. Some bear hunts are in remote areas which mean long drives from lodging to the stands each day.

Ask them about success rates. While success rates may not be that appealing compared to fully guided hunts, keep in mind that many first time bear hunters make a lot of mistakes and they don’t have a guide to reprimand them for screwing up. If you hunt hard, take the wind into consideration, don’t fidget on stand and use good woodsmanship, your success rate will be above average.

If you are willing to hang your own stands, access the bait sites by yourself, and take care of your bear once it’s down, you can cut the cost of your hunt in half or less.

Make sure you have a plan about what to do with the bear. Find out if there is a place to freeze it or if you will need some coolers and dry ice. Bear hunts are normally in warm weather so the bear needs to be taken care of immediately. You can’t hang it for a couple days like you would a deer in November.

Have them guarantee you at least two active bait sites and I go one step farther, asking them for trail camera photos from the baits. I want to know the bears are appearing during the daylight and that’s it’s not just a sow with cubs.

Make sure you tell them you are bowhunting. You will want a bait site with a good stand tree having good background cover within 15-18 yards of the bait. If the outfitter is hanging stands for you, make sure you inform them if you are left or right handed.

Fully guided hunts with lodging and meals are great. Lodging can be luxurious, meals can be fantastic, and it’s nice to avoid the issue of hanging stands, transportation to and from the sites, and getting the bear taken care of. But spending $3,000 or more on a bear hunt is not for everyone. The options for partially guided and semi-guided hunts have a lot of appeal to those who like to take part in the process and save on the cost.

Just walking around in the woods looking for shed deer antlers is a low-percentage deal. Concentrate your efforts in these 5 areas to up your odds of owning more bone

By Bernie Barringer

The link between where you are likely to find a buck’s shed antlers and where you are likely to shoot that buck in the fall is way overrated. In the winter when the antlers are dropping, the buck’s life revolves around food and cover. These are the keys to where he spends his time. If you are going to find his sheds, these areas are where you should concentrate your efforts.

High-Carb Foods

Winter is a rough time for whitetail bucks. They are run down from the rigors of the rut and they need energy to fight off the cold. Foods high in carbohydrates provide quick energy and can easily be stored as fat. The buck’s stomach tells him what he needs to eat and he seeks it out. Corn and soybeans are buck magnets in the winter for this very reason. Find the right foods and you’ll find where the deer are concentrated.

Finding shed antlers is a sport unto itself. The key to locating them is an understanding of how food and cover influences the buck’s daily lives.

Windblown Hilltops

When the snow gets deep, food can be hard to find, but the tops of hills provide areas where the snow is blown off and the food is easier to access. This is where the deer will feed. My first set of matching Boone & Crockett sheds were found 200 yards apart; one on top of a windblown hill in soybean stubble and the other in thick cover at the edge of the field.

Thermal Bedding Cover

I divide the bedding areas into two categories, the first is thermal cover and it’s usually the snarliest, nasty thicket with a quarter mile of the food source. This is where the deer bed when the weather is windy, the snow is blowing or it’s overcast. Thermal bedding cover is often in creek bottoms where the deer can get out of the elements.

Corn stubble is a magnet for deer in the winter, and specific areas like where the deer jump a fence can jar loose a shed that’s ready to come off. Shed hunters should pay special attention to these sites.

Solar Bedding Cover

Solar Cover is the type of bedding area the deer will use on sunny days. The southern slopes of hills with open canopy of trees provide them with a place they can see in front of them and smell what’s behind them. They will lie in the openings where the sun’s warming rays can hit them. As the sun moves across the sky they will get up and move out of the shade. The more they move, the more they are likely to drop an antler. South slopes experience earlier snowmelt, allowing the shed hunter a chance to go picking when snow is still covering other areas.

Trail Troubles

The fifth spot seems obvious at first; the deer bed and the deer feed, so look to the trails where these areas connect. But there are high-percentage spots even on the trails. Some of my most consistent shed producers are where the deer leap over a ditch, and where the jump the fences surrounding crop fields. This can be just what it takes to jar a loose antler completely off. Areas with heavy overhanging cover can be hotspots for bone collecting too.

Pay attention to where the deer are spending most of their time in the winter, and spend your time looking in these places. You’ll find more antlers per mile by doing so.