Hi all,
I'm headed out to Montana this year for my first spring bear hunt. I have very limited bear hunting experience and no experience hunting in MT. I've spent time hunting mule deer and elk in Idaho and Colorado before.
I would love some advice from anyone who has experience with spring bear. My current plan is to head out near Flathead lake and rent a forest service cabin, then glass as many avalanche chutes as possible.
Any thoughts on calling or alternative tactics? Any recommendations on bullet type or weight? I'm currently shooting a 7mm Rem Mag with 162gr Hornady SSTs and I'm a little worried about penetration.
Dan, whats up amigo. Here's some advice:
You've got the right idea to be looking for avy chutes. Bring a good tripod with mounts for your binos or spotting scope. A quality pad to sit on helps out for the long sits looking at the South facing slopes. I'd recommend getting eyes right on the snow line, that's where the freshest green up will be happening and that's what the bears will be eating. That being said, there are bears all over in there. Good and a bad thing, cause there certainly are grizz in the area too. Make sure you can ID the difference confidently before squeezing a round off.
Bring good glass to look through, a pair of waterproof gaiters, a predator call does help out (especially if you spot one and you need it to move to get a shot), and I think you're going to be just fine with your 7mm Rem Mag w/ 162 Hornady SST's. Just study the bear vitals and make sure you can place that bullet in the vitals. A bear can withstand a hit if not placed correctly. Also make sure you judge out your distance to the required energy to take down a bear. I'm not sure what the ballistics on that round are out to varied distances and what the recommended energy level is for a bear (I know an elk is around 1200 lbs energy). A little google searching will help there.
Hope this info helps & good luck up there.
How'd the MT trip go? Hope you were successful.