2 man hunt strategy

[kordo]

Hey guys. My buddy and I will be going on our first bear hunt in May. From reading extensively through the forums I think we are well prepared in terms of gear and location, but I still have some questions on hunting as a pair. Should we hunt together, or should we divide and conquer each day when we leave camp? Usually when I hunt out west I go alone, so I don't have much experience hunting as a team. Does it help our odds being together so there are 2 sets of eyes glassing one area, or is it better to cover more ground?

 

[huntnful]

Hey guys. My buddy and I will be going on our first bear hunt in May. From reading extensively through the forums I think we are well prepared in terms of gear and location, but I still have some questions on hunting as a pair. Should we hunt together, or should we divide and conquer each day when we leave camp? Usually when I hunt out west I go alone, so I don't have much experience hunting as a team. Does it help our odds being together so there are 2 sets of eyes glassing one area, or is it better to cover more ground?

I'd say it 100% depends on the actual terrain you're intending to glass. I'm assuming vast mountains where you can see 1+ mile with multiple drainages, and then turn around and see the same thing. I would stick together and pick the bigger country apart. If you narrow in on smaller more broken terrain, it's not a bad idea to grab two different vantages.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Good advice from huntnful but here’s a bit more advice.

Bear density plays a huge factor on this.

If there’s a ton of bears in a “small” area then hunting together is viable. If there’s few bears in a “big” area then hunt separately.

Sometimes it’s a mix such as go in together, split, meet up and come out together.

But having reliable communications is key when splitting up as well as communicating your game plans ahead of time.

 

[kordo]

Thank you. From what I have gathered, the unit we are hunting has a pretty high bear density. So it sounds like our best bet is to use the terrain to our advantage together. Being together, should we then vary glassing methods? i.e. one of us uses a spotting scope and the other uses binos? Or am I just overthinking it at this point?

 

[huntnful]

Thank you. From what I have gathered, the unit we are hunting has a pretty high bear density. So it sounds like our best bet is to use the terrain to our advantage together. Being together, should we then vary glassing methods? i.e. one of us uses a spotting scope and the other uses binos? Or am I just overthinking it at this point?

I would each just use binos on a tripod. And it’s simple, just “you look at that half of the mountain and I’ll look at this half”.

 

[ramhunter]

Not sure on what kind of terrain you're hunting? I assume you will be hunting on foot, hike in camping? I would not spit up, I wouldn't be running all around sinking up the place! You say its a high bear density, so you shouldn't have any trouble each getting your bear! Glass till dark too!

 

[kordo]

Not sure on what kind of terrain you're hunting? I assume you will be hunting on foot, hike in camping? I would not spit up, I wouldn't be running all around sinking up the place! You say its a high bear density, so you shouldn't have any trouble each getting your bear! Glass till dark too!

We will be in northwest MT. (Not trying to hide the specific area, we just aren't 100% on which part we are going to, there's a few spots on our shortlist). The plan is to hike in camp and spend the whole time on foot so we aren't wasting any hunt time in the truck.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Could have one go a bit further down the trail to glass. A small change of angle can open up more possibilities.

Update: If there’s grizzly then stay together.

 

[ramhunter]

We will be in northwest MT. (Not trying to hide the specific area, we just aren't 100% on which part we are going to, there's a few spots on our shortlist). The plan is to hike in camp and spend the whole time on foot so we aren't wasting any hunt time in the truck.

Good plan, I know that county, nice bears there! I grew up in Northern Idaho, kind of the same terrain. Glass the open parks and old logging clear cuts, glass till dark!. good luck!