Top 5 Places for Spring Bear Hunting!

Hi, I'm Chris with Afflictor, and today we're going to talk about the five top spring bear destinations. So let's get right into it with number five, which I picked is Montana. Now the reason I like Montana is there's a good solid bear population there, but this is an awesome self-guided hunt if you want to go that route. There's no hounds, there's no baiting, so you really have to work a little bit on a spring hunt, but there is great territory there with a lot of bears where you can target some good spring locations where they're going to be coming out and feeding, so it makes for great spot and stalk action. So if you are a guy that likes to have some boots on the ground and use your binoculars and cover some territory, that is a great state to be in. Also, if you want to hire a guide there, the average price is only around $3,500 for a fully guided hunt, so you may want to consider Montana as one of your states for spring bear. Number four on our list is Wyoming. Wyoming also has a good solid population of black bears, but I like Wyoming because it is another great do-it-yourself state. Now there is plenty of opportunity there for baiting and the use of hounds, but only in certain areas. What's really cool about Wyoming is archery guys get a two-week head start over the rifle guys. I really love that option because you're in way before them by two weeks, and you can really target those bears that are pretty fresh out of hibernation. They're grazing, they're looking for lowland grasses. One of the great areas in Wyoming that you may want to look at would be the Bighorn Range. This is a great area, high bear density, and is a great spot to get started for do-it-yourself in Wyoming for spring bear. So number three on our list is Idaho. Now I like Idaho because it has a reputation for lots of color phase bears. So if you're into looking for a blonde, a chocolate, or whatever color phase, Idaho has a good population of color phase. Also they support a total population of roughly 30,000 black bears, so you have great opportunity. The other thing about Idaho is there is baiting available in certain areas, so you just have to make sure you check the regulations, but a guided hunt there averages at about $3,000. So Idaho is another great state in the lower 48 to check out for your spring bear. Now number two on our list is Canada. And the only reason Canada didn't make number one on this particular list is because all the restrictions right now in place to cross the border, making things a little bit different. In fact, if you're on VACs, you can't even get across the border. If you're VACs, you can cross, but there are a few hoops you have to jump into. If the border was wide open like it used to be, Canada would be number one on this list hands down without question. Canada offers so many great opportunities because there's a province that is probably not too far of a drive for almost everybody in the lower 48. So it's easy to get to. You can drive there. Some people are really close. Some people it's a day or two drive and you can be into a Canadian province. Now Canada supports over half a million black bears and opportunities to hunt them in every way, shape or form. So however you like to hunt in the spring, you can go after bears in the different provinces of Canada that way. So if you want to be over bait, spot and stalk, again, hounds, all that stuff, those opportunities are available to you. And our number one choice for spring bear destination is Alaska. Why Alaska? Who doesn't want to go to Alaska? Well, Alaska sports an incredibly high concentration of black bears. Their population is estimated to be over 100,000 animals currently. But the reason I like Alaska is this whole total bear hunting experience. First of all, in Alaska, you can hunt any way you want to hunt. So if you want to do spot and stalk, if you want to use hounds, if you want to hunt over bait, if you want to be on a boat doing coastal hunts, or you want to take a canoe or a float trip up a river, you have all these incredible options in Alaska. And they have a very high success rate. In fact, in a lot of areas in Alaska, you can get multiple bears. So you have opportunity at more than one animal. And plus in Alaska, there's so much else to do and to see. It's really a true adventure. But as far as being on our list for very high success rate, Alaska makes number one because of its population. Also because there's guides readily available and in a myriad of price ranges. So depending on what you want to do, you could walk into a spot and stalk or a baited hunt there, you know, right around, I think the average was $4,000 to $5,000. But you can get very expensive if you start doing fly-in or float or combo hunts. Now Alaska is the most expensive on our list for hunts. But for the adventure and the experience, I think you'll find it's well worth it.