Bear hunting unit 34 New Mexico

[DanielHerbort]

Hey guys. Planning on my 5th or 6th hunting trip for bear (OTC). Been with my dad and brother-in-law when they both got theirs. Both of theirs were by luck to stubble upon them. My plan this year (August 16th-25th) is unit 34/ Cloudcroft, sitting at water, and glassing hillsides. Don’t want to run dogs or be guided. Been living on google maps scanning the area for water and foraged hillsides. Westside Rd has interests me and by looking on google and from what I have read on other forums, looks promising, but the are talking about elk. But anyway just looking for a little more tips, honey holes, success story and good locations if anyone is willing to share. Thanks in advance!

 

[swede8200]

Following...I'm also interested in bear hunting in New Mexico because it's a lot closer than Idaho/Montana.

 

[DanielHerbort]

Where are you looking at?

 

[Carrera72]

Following... I just recently moved to Alamogordo. I have bear hunted in Alaska mostly.

 

[Felix40]

Pretty much the whole forest has bears. Just pick an area and go.

 

[TexasBorn]

Pretty much the whole forest has bears. Just pick an area and go.

So what is the strategy to hunt bears? Is it purely spot and stalk?

 

[collinparsons]

I go to unit 34 quite a bit hunting Barbary sheep and have been wanting to attempt a bear hunt there also. I haven’t seen any bears there yet but we don’t spend much time in the forests. West side road offers access to a lot of territory. Most of it is pretty dense. I would start at the north end in high rolls and mostly look for any type of clearing that you could glass.