Late Fall bear in Sw co

[Prestjd]

Anyone have any experience with hunting bear as late as November in Colorado? A few of us will be focusing on elk but have a hunting partner considering just bear (he has a good chance of tagging out on elk before this hunt) .

We will be in unit 711, the elevation varies but we will probably stay around 8k and less.

I went a couple years ago and walked up on a bear in some thick scub oaks. There was a lot of fresh sign in many of the places I was at then. It was dry and warmer that year than normal and a couple weeks earlier.

 

[Lexus423]

Following

 

[Slugz]

Gotta find em in the food. Elderberry, hawthorn, chokecherry, serviceberry, wild rose hips and most importantly, acorns. Hard to glass em up because everything is usually so thick where they are at. That late in the year the food should be pretty concentrated in areas and in short supply.
Hope that helps some. Good luck.

 

[Prestjd]

Gotta find em in the food. Elderberry, hawthorn, chokecherry, serviceberry, wild rose hips and most importantly, acorns. Hard to glass em up because everything is usually so thick where they are at. That late in the year the food should be pretty concentrated in areas and in short supply.
Hope that helps some. Good luck.View attachment 282040

Thank you

 

[Ajax2744]

We’ve seen bear in late season rifle hunts but it has typically been during warm stretches where there is food. Like said above, finding concentrations of food will be your best bet

 

[Slugz]

Thank you

It helps also to become an expert at identifying all those different type of food sources. I'm no expert at all but have gotten better by putting pics of them on my smart phone to help real time in the field. Find water also, they will not be far from it. My son and I patterned a beautiful all cinnamon blond faced bear last year that hit water within a 30 min window twice a day for three days straight. Problem was he took a different trail each time, came from a different direction and I didn't know there was water there I do this year Gonna hike in a lightweight tree stand to get my scent off the ground. Good luck!

 

[gbugosh1]

It helps also to become an expert at identifying all those different type of food sources. I'm no expert at all but have gotten better by putting pics of them on my smart phone to help real time in the field. Find water also, they will not be far from it. My son and I patterned a beautiful all cinnamon blond faced bear last year that hit water within a 30 min window twice a day for three days straight. Problem was he took a different trail each time, came from a different direction and I didn't know there was water there I do this year Gonna hike in a lightweight tree stand to get my scent off the ground. Good luck!

Best of luck, Slugz!

 

[ramsdude47]

Haven’t been out much this year, is the recent rainfall enough to make up for the dreadful snowpack / dry soil?

 

[Mdk_archer88]

Gotta find em in the food. Elderberry, hawthorn, chokecherry, serviceberry, wild rose hips and most importantly, acorns. Hard to glass em up because everything is usually so thick where they are at. That late in the year the food should be pretty concentrated in areas and in short supply.
Hope that helps some. Good luck.View attachment 282040

Nice

 

[swampokie]

Tuff tuff the later in the fall it’s just a shot in the dark. A Chance sighting if u will. Sept 2 is best.

 

[NashNative]

Are they typically lower later in the year like elk?

 

[swampokie]

No. They hibernate high sometimes. Snow doesn’t concern bears but it makes them sleepy

 

[justinspicher]

I dont recall seeing a bear or any fresh bear sign after mid October in SW colorado.

 

[Poser]

Are they typically lower later in the year like elk?

They drop down elevation moving with the mast becoming edible, however, they will return to higher elevations if that’s where they prefer to den. That being said, they will den at a wide elevation spread. I know that around here, we have plenty of bears denning at 6500 feet and have also seen dens at and around 10,000 feet.