Choosing an Outfitter

[Bezamaelee]

I have a son graduating in 2021. As a graduation gift I want to take him on a spring bear hunt.
Goals would be:
- incredible scenery and shared father/son outdoor experience in a new part of the country he has never been
- chance to see some bears and other wildlife
- fill his tag and kill a bear

Those goals probably sound obvious, but killing a trophy is third on the list. It isn’t priority. I have five children and have raised them in the outdoors here in North Carolina. We have traveled the world, living in Africa for a season but we have never hunted out west together. With a short window of time in May 2021, I’m thinking I might hire an outfitter. I’ve never used an outfitter and have only ever self-guided for my own personal hunts. I have also never bear hunted but have hunted elk and deer. My son will be attending college on a football scholarship so it is an easy decision to spend the money on a guided hunt. That being said, I need a recommendation on a reputable outfitter who has a proven high success rate.

Or, would I be better off to just do the research and go self-guided?

 

[Bezamaelee]

I might add I would prefer to do spot and stalk. I want to see more of the country, and not sit over bait for hours at a time.

 

[crossone]

I’m guessing that not many folks have outfitter recommendations for you. I have one outfitter that guided me last fall. He hunts Western Montana and he’s a great guy who will work hard to get you a bear. If you’re interested, I’ll email him and ask him if he’s guiding Montana next spring (I think he’s guiding spring brown bears on the AK peninsula this spring but the peninsula won’t be open for bears next spring). I don’t believe that Montana allows dogs or bait so it’s purely spot and stalk.

 

[keller]

Looking for black bear or grizzly? That would help with recomendations

 

[keeleyenviro]

depending on your budget, I would say Vancouver island. There are only a couple outfitters there and both are good. Scenery is amazing, its spot and stalk and has the biggest black bears in the world.

 

[Downwind]

I might add I would prefer to do spot and stalk. I want to see more of the country, and not sit over bait for hours at a time.

Pacific Rim Outfitters on Vancouver Island. It’s Shockey’s outfit. I haven’t hunted with them but I hunt the same area. Always see lots of bears. Also chance at a wolf, there are cougars up there too.

These are just from last year up there


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[7mmag]

Nice bears Downwind the picture of the black bear looks huge.

 

[stxdeer hound]

I would look at a transport hunt out of Homer Ak I done one two years ago and on doing one this spring once everything calms down if not it will get rescheduled to next spring pm me a phone number if you want to discuss I’m also in Nc I don’t care where you go you won’t find bears like NC so set realistic goals as to how big a bear you will shoot

 

[Downwind]

Nice bears Downwind the picture of the black bear looks huge.

There are no shortage of big bears up there. I would have shot that one but I had already tagged out on two bears that day. Both making BC book (over 19”) and just shy of B&C. Only thing we don’t have there are colour phase bears. All of them are jet black other than the white chevron on the chest.


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[Wapiti1]

Angus Morrison at Wild Coast Outfitters BC. Doug McMann at Skinner Creek Hunts in BC.

Jeremy