Early Morning Bear Hunting
Bears
My annual trip up to New Brunswick is right around the corner.
Every bear hunt I've ever done was in the afternoon, relaxing mornings and late, sometimes very late nights.
Last year, a few guys asked if they could go out in the am after pulling a few cameras and realizing a few big bears where hitting the baits in the early am.
I remember thinking, the outfitter and guides only had two hours sleep, turned around and drove back to the area to get these guys in! They are crazy !
Well, here is one result. Jimmy is from Oaklahoma and took this beauty with his recurve on a morning hunt. Jimmy on the left, Hank and I.
Anyone else try the early am? Sure do love the out of the box thinking !
Nice bear! I have sat a few mornings with no luck.
Great bear. Way to do whatever it takes, kudos to the guides too.
I swear, in the spring in ID the sun is up at 3:30 or some awful hour. I tried a few years ago and couldn't seem to get in my stand before light. Real ass kicker. I still sat a few mornings when I had a bear on camera around 6:30am and was getting desperate, even did a few all day sits with just a break to come down for lunch. Never had any success but you can't kill em from bed!
I have found it can push a bear into purely nocturnal feeding because I think they are often at or very near the site and it's so hard to get into your stand without spooking them off. At least that is what I tell all of my hunters so no one wants to get out at 4 am when they don't get back in till 1 am. My guides wouldn't last long if we did morning sits so I'm sticking to my story!
The situation was unique where by the bear was clock work 3 days in a row and we had to return to the area early to track a large boar arrived the evening before thus we were able to offer the opportunity to two hunters that volunteered.Our success in morning sits it’s quit high but limited in opportunity’s to do them for the same reason offered above.
My first and only morning hunt 2 years ago, was packing up to leave at 11am when this 20" 7 footer rolled in
I should add that I climbed in the stand about a hour after daylight.
I tried the early morning sits 2 years ago in Saskatchewan. The late nights and early mornings weren’t fun. I saw bears in the am that I didn’t see in the evenings, but the big ones weren’t cooperating. I think it really messed with their routine, and that we were bumping them n the way in as Mike suggested. It would take the right circumstances and bear to work properly, along with a bit of luck. With that being said, I saw way more bears in the evenings than mornings.
Note too we walked the last half mile and didn’t drive anywhere near the bait so as not to bump bears off
I have loads of morning daylight pics.. when we do hunt we slip in in daylight as to see if there is a bear there.
