1 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 1: As a guide and hunter. I've spent thousands of days 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: in the field. This show is about translating my hard 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: won experiences into tips and tactics they'll get you closer 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: to your ultimate goal success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. 5 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: This is cutting the distance. Can you hear it? Birds 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: whistling in springtime, fresh grass and flowers, butting, and you're 7 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: sitting on the side of a mountain looking for an 8 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:46,599 Speaker 1: elusive black bear. Now, while that might sound far off, 9 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: as you're probably sitting at home in some form of 10 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: quarantine or social distancing yourself from others. Right now, we're 11 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: in a crazy time, but that doesn't mean that we 12 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: can't look forward to what we've got planned being out 13 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: in the Man Mountains in the near future. I got 14 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: a ton of questions I keep asking every week, send 15 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: me your questions, what do you want to know? And 16 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: a lot of them have been focused around spot and 17 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: stock bear hunting and hunting bears in the spring. Now. 18 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: I believe that that question came up so many times 19 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: because there was a common thing people frustrated had difficulty 20 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: finding bears when they're out hunting, and just an overall 21 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: challenge of it and I think that hits home because 22 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,759 Speaker 1: spring bear hunting were spot and stock type bear hunting, 23 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,319 Speaker 1: I believe is one of the more difficult hunts out west, 24 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: especially to be consistent and successful. Now, there's a lot 25 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: of knowledge and time that goes into that consistency, but 26 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: I think once you figure out a few of the basics, 27 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: you can go from frustration to consistent success year after year. 28 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,559 Speaker 1: Bear hunting really comes down to knowing where to look, 29 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: and that involves understanding bears, how to hone in on 30 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: their appropriate food source for the time of year, and 31 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: then just understanding bear habits in general. From there, you 32 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: need to take it a step further and employ the 33 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: right hunting tactics, which might mean a form of sitting 34 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: and glassing, It might be a form of moving through 35 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: cover in logging roads, or it could even involve some 36 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: tactic like calling. It was asked so much and it 37 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: is such an in depth topic and such a challenging 38 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: animal to be successful at hunting consistently. I'm gonna break 39 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: it into two parts. So the first part this week 40 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about just understanding bears and knowing 41 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: where to look, and then next week we'll jump into 42 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 1: the actual hunt tactics once you understand how to get 43 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: into the right spots. Before we go there, I want 44 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:49,279 Speaker 1: to share a story of one of my favorite backcountry 45 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 1: bear hunts in one of my favorite canyons. Starting out, 46 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: most of my bear hunting experience took place in the 47 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: state of Montana now Montana. You could get a bear 48 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: tag over the counter and it was good for spring 49 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 1: and fall season. Montana, unlike some other states, it was 50 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: just spotting stock only for bears. So there are a 51 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: few states where you could bait for bears. There's something 52 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: that you could chase bears with dogs, but Montana has 53 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: always pretty much been spotting stock only or no other 54 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: form of bear hunting as far as bait and dogs go. 55 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: I will be honest. My bear hunting success started out 56 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: very rocky. I had a lot of unfilled tags year 57 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: after year. It really just seemed like finding a bear 58 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: was more a thing of luck. But it was something 59 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: that I would do every spring, every fall. I would 60 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,640 Speaker 1: look and and hope that I would find something. Until 61 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: one year during archery season, I happened to spot a 62 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: bear while actually looking for elk, and that's how I 63 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: took my first black bear. Now after that, it really 64 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: got me think, is this something that I could do consistently? 65 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 1: And it turns out that I found out ways to 66 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: be consistent at finding bears during the spring. One of 67 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: those ways, and one of my favorite things to do, 68 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: was to just actually head into the back country by 69 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: myself and get up into the areas where the bears 70 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: would first start coming out in some of the areas 71 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: in the steep wilderness canyons in the back countries in Montana. 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: Part of that was because I found areas there's no 73 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: one else hunting at the time, and it was just 74 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: kind of an exciting place to be that time of year. 75 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: Early April or mid April through May, I could go 76 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: into the wilderness and just start hunting be by myself 77 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: and just really have a great back country hunting experience. Now, 78 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: this story takes place in one of my favorite remote canyons. 79 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: I like it because the time of year, there's a 80 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: few lakes up there, there's some streams that I could 81 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 1: fish in. The days were pretty warm and nice, and 82 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: I have what seems like thousands and thousands of acres 83 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: to myself. Not that this particular canyon is any better 84 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: than others, it's just I would go there, I'd park 85 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: at the trailhead, I wouldn't see another truck, and I 86 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: could hunt in there for a week and not see 87 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,799 Speaker 1: a single other person. There weren't a lot of bears, 88 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: but there also wasn't a lot of competition, and I 89 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,159 Speaker 1: really felt like it was an area that just was 90 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:29,159 Speaker 1: under hunted and I just had it to myself. The 91 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: week started out like many others, just long days. I 92 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,200 Speaker 1: feel like in this particular spot, if I hunt for 93 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: five days, I would average seeing five bears in that 94 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: five days. Now, I might see three on the first 95 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: day and then not see any until toward the last day. 96 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 1: But over the course of the years that I've been 97 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 1: hunting this particular canyon, it seemed pretty standard to see 98 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: what would amount to a bear a day. I started 99 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: out the hunt high king in and actually on the 100 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: trail in. I was working my way through the timber, 101 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: not really on a trail or anything, but the way 102 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: to get into the canyon, and I ended up spotting 103 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: a really nice brown phase black bear. But I heard something. 104 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 1: I peeked around the tree and could see the bear, 105 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 1: but I heard something up higher. I look up, and 106 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,000 Speaker 1: sure enough, here's two little cubs up in the tree, 107 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: and it happened to be a sow with two cubs. 108 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: It was just a really cool encounter, and it got 109 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: me pretty fired up for thinking, Okay, this is gonna 110 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: be a good trip. On the way in, I already 111 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: bumped into a bear. Obviously, it's not a bear that 112 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: I would take one because it's not legal, and two 113 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: you just wouldn't even if it were legal, most I 114 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't really see it as ethical. So I just took 115 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: some photos of the bears and thought that was pretty 116 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,400 Speaker 1: sweet encounter and continued on. I ended up getting into 117 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: the basin and it's still pretty early. I was hunting 118 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,040 Speaker 1: toward the beginning of the opener, so there's still a 119 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: lot of snow up high. I ended up encountering quite 120 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: a bit of snow in some of the south faces 121 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: where I was planning on on looking where i'd hunted 122 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: later in the season and they'd been open this time 123 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: of year, they were still snowed in. So I decided 124 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: to just focus on the north faces and kind of 125 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: switch my plan to being on the other side of 126 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: the canyon, glassing into some of the spots that I 127 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: felt like would get some green up where bears would 128 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: be feeding. The first day, I actually, after the encounter 129 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: with a bear on the trail, didn't really see much 130 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: as far as bear sign. I ran into a couple 131 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: of big horn sheep and that was just an awesome, 132 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: awesome experience, And that was just to me the whole 133 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: point of being out in the springtime. It got a 134 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: little bit of the rust out, got me in the outdoors, 135 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: and I encountered so many different animals. Yeah, I'm looking 136 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: for bears, but along the way I had seen at 137 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: this point one day in some big horn rams, elk, 138 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: mule deer, white tails, and already some bears. I decided 139 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: to just go set up a camp in a good 140 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: spot at the top of a ridge above a small 141 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: alpine lake. When down caught some fish that I'd used 142 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: to grill up for some lunch and dinner, and then thought, okay, 143 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: this is great. In the middle of the day, I 144 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: was going to spend some time fishing, maybe catch a 145 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: fish or two, release most of them, keep one for dinner. 146 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: I wouldn't have to jump into my mountain house meals. 147 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: So soon. I did bring some seasoning and some little 148 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: butter packs and some other things to fry the fish 149 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: up with and then continue to hunt for bears. And 150 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: that to me was just the whole is still just 151 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: the whole spring bear hunting experience, to just be out 152 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: there in a great time of year. Half the time, 153 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: I pick up a few good sheds, and I'm out 154 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: hunting and looking for bears. It was a pretty slow 155 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,959 Speaker 1: go for most of the week, but a storm started 156 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: to move in and I thought, okay, this, I don't 157 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: know this. About day three or four, I hadn't seen 158 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: a bear that I was looking for. I did spot 159 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: a couple of smaller bears come out for a short 160 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: period of time along some of the avalanche shoots up 161 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: there in this country. You gotta to picture it. It's 162 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: like sheer cliffs on both sides, with a big flowing 163 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: creek in the middle. And as you get higher up 164 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: into the alpine, you're starting to get into snow and 165 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:21,200 Speaker 1: other stuff. Most the trees, small aspens and other things 166 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: don't really have their leaves yet. It's still pretty cold, 167 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 1: but there is some grass poking out along the avalanche shoots, 168 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: some some good springs on the on the north faces 169 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: that are getting sun that have melted off, and just 170 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:39,559 Speaker 1: good grass, water everywhere, lots of waterfalls. So this particular day, 171 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: I decided to go a little bit further back, probably 172 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: about I don't even know, six or seven miles, maybe 173 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: maybe seven or eight miles from the trailhead at this point, 174 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: and I start out early because I want to be 175 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: this one high vantage point where I've seen bears in 176 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 1: the past, right when the sun starts to come up, 177 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: and then just watch it all day. So my plan 178 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: was to get back there and just kind of pick 179 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: a spot and watch for most of the day. There's 180 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 1: so many times where I've been just sitting staring at 181 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: the hillside and then all of a sudden, out pops 182 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: a bear or whatever. You know, you just start things 183 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,440 Speaker 1: just start coming alive the longer you sit there, and 184 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: it gets boring for a while. But for the most 185 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: part this day, I was like, all right, it's getting 186 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: close to the end, and I wanna I want to 187 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,439 Speaker 1: just spend the day glassing and looking. So I started 188 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: my way back there. On the way back, it's just 189 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: really kind of a bad weather day, lots of fog, 190 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: lots of rain. I'm quite a ways from my camp, 191 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: but I look up on the hillside and through the fog, 192 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: the clouds clear, and I see this big chocolate colored 193 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: bear up on the slide. Oh shoot, it's maybe a 194 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: mile from where I'm at. So I start working up 195 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 1: the canyon. Have to cross the stream a couple of times, 196 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: and the streams raging at this point because all the 197 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: water smelting the snow coming off the mountains. So I'm 198 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,600 Speaker 1: just trying to find really safe places that cross, maybe 199 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: some logs that I can cross across. Actually, some of 200 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: those crossings were pretty hairy. To be honest, I don't 201 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: think that now I would really want to do many 202 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: of those crossings again. But I thought to myself, Wow, okay, 203 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: there's a bear up there. We will make it. We'll 204 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: make it work. So I get up to where I 205 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: last saw the bear and it's gone and a lot 206 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: of the mountains now fogged in, so I just sit 207 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: back and wait. I get set up underneath the big 208 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,320 Speaker 1: tree in hopes that it's gonna come back again. I 209 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: can't see anything very well, and then sure enough, the 210 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: clouds lift and the bear comes back out feeding. I 211 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: set up my scope and double check that it looks 212 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,440 Speaker 1: like a good mature boar, make sure that there's no 213 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: cubs around, and just wait and watch it for a 214 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: little bit, just make sure no other bears are there, 215 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: and make sure that it's the exact bear that I want. 216 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: Once I decide that yep, that's a boar, there's no 217 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: cubs around, we're good to go. I load up my rifle, 218 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: I get it set on the pack, I range, I 219 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: set my scope. As the bear gets broadside, I slowly 220 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 1: squeezed the trigger and I hear the hit report, but 221 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: I couldn't actually see it because the way I was 222 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: laying I was shooting pretty steep uphill, and I lost 223 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,840 Speaker 1: sight of the bear at that point. But now the 224 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: bear wasn't there, so I knew that it sounded like 225 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: a good hit, and I just had to figure out 226 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: a way to cross the stream and get up to 227 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: where the bear should be. After about I would say, 228 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: an hour of figuring out a good spot to cross, 229 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: because at this point I moved pretty high up in 230 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: the water was just like nearly a waterfall going down 231 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: that canyon. It was just ripping, and I just needed 232 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: to find one good safe place to cross. So I 233 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:41,679 Speaker 1: actually had to go about a half a mile up 234 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,760 Speaker 1: to where it flattened out, cross and then come back 235 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: down and find the spot. At this point, I'm climbing 236 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: up steep cliffs and avalanche shoots that are wet and slippery. 237 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: It just kept raining and raining and raining. I've got 238 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: my rain gear on and I left most of my 239 00:12:56,920 --> 00:12:59,200 Speaker 1: other stuff down at the bottom by where I had 240 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: shot from, just so if I found the bear, I 241 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: could just put it my pack and pack it out 242 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: and then go grab my stuff later. I got to 243 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: the point where I found where the bear was, looked 244 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: down and there he was laying just right below where 245 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: I had shot from, skinned him out, quartered it up, 246 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: put all the meat and game bags, loaded up everything, 247 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,440 Speaker 1: just soaking wet, and worked my way back down to 248 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: camp and back to the trailhead. If you want to 249 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: be a consistently successful bear hunter, you really just have 250 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,839 Speaker 1: to think like a bear. Now, if we're talking about 251 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: other big game species, that might be a little more difficult, 252 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: but for bears, it's pretty easy to know what they're thinking, 253 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: and most of them are all thinking the same thing. Food. 254 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,720 Speaker 1: You have to really understand what drives a bear, and 255 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: that is bulking up for hibernation and then re bulking 256 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: up after hibernation. Bears hyper phage in the fall. So 257 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: what that means is they just constantly feed, they double 258 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: in size, and they just store fat. So then through 259 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: the winter they can essentially hibernate. It's not a true 260 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: hibernation where they're sleeping the whole time, but they aren't 261 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: moving much. They're sleeping. They are using their stored fat 262 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: to get them through the winter, and then in the springtime, 263 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: when food is plentiful again, they come back out and 264 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: rebulk up and continue to feed. That's often why there's 265 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: two seasons in many states, a spring season in a 266 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:37,000 Speaker 1: fall season. Now, to successfully target bears, you really have 267 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: to understand the food sources that they're targeting and the 268 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: way that a bear thinks and operates. So let's talk 269 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: about what i'll call the dinner bell effect. Really, before 270 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: we even think about what a bear is eating, we 271 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: have to understand how they eat. So a bear's digestive 272 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: system is a little bit different than most other animals. 273 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: Where deer browsers, elker grazers, bears are on divorce. They 274 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: can eat both meat and plant based foods. I will 275 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: say that probably I would guess of a bears diet 276 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: comes from plants, but bears have an extremely inefficient digestive 277 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 1: system when it comes to breaking down plants. So this 278 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,000 Speaker 1: really makes them animals that are driven to just constantly eat. 279 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 1: Like bears, majority of the day is spent finding food 280 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: and eating that food, and they want to use as 281 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: little energy as possible. Now, because they're trying to put 282 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: on weight in the most efficient manner, they're gonna find 283 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: things that are the most efficient for gaining weight. So 284 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 1: they have a very inefficient digestive system, yet they put 285 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: on a lot of weight, and that's just because they're 286 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,040 Speaker 1: constantly eating. But they are very selective eaters. I think 287 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 1: people think bears will eat anything. Well, bears will eat anything, 288 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: but they will eat the things that give them the 289 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 1: most energy or calories or whatever they can gain the 290 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 1: most fat of for without having to move very much 291 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: and in the most efficient way possible. So in the fall, 292 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: bears will pick the berries off the plant one by one. 293 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: That seems like it might take a little bit, but 294 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: they're they're targeting the most nutritious part of the plant. 295 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: In the springtime is the same fresh buds, new grasses 296 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: green up. All that stuff has way more nutrients than 297 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: older plants. So in the springtime, especially early in the spring, 298 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: we're gonna be focusing on the emergence of new plants, buds, 299 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: new growth, because that's where the majority of the nutrients 300 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: of the plant are. And you'll see you can watch 301 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: a black bear feed on a plant and you'll think, oh, 302 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: he's just eating that plant, and when you really zoom 303 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: in and look, he's actually just eating the buds off 304 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: of that plant. He's targeting the most nutritious and optimum 305 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: food sources for where he's at. Now. If I'm gonna 306 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: name a couple of things that I just off the 307 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: top of my head, some of the first foods that 308 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: I tend to see bears hit would be stuff like clover, 309 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: even dan lions seem to be pretty popular with bears. 310 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: Any kind of green grasses along uh snow melts, or 311 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: fresh buds off of willows and other plants. They're really 312 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: just targeting that green growth, that new stuff right out 313 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,880 Speaker 1: of the gate. If we're gonna talk about food sources, 314 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,160 Speaker 1: we really have to break it down on the months 315 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:23,479 Speaker 1: and then kind of hone in on what the bears 316 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: doing and maybe what food sources are available. So let's 317 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: start in April that you know, mid April might be 318 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,719 Speaker 1: when most bear seasons across the West open up. Bears 319 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: are just starting to come out of hibernation. Now a 320 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,640 Speaker 1: lot of bears will go den up at higher elevation, 321 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,880 Speaker 1: so they move up high in canyons. They necessarily won't 322 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,120 Speaker 1: be in caves or something like that, as most people think, 323 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: but a lot of times they just kind of lay 324 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 1: by a log or whatever, let the snow cover them, 325 00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: and they call that a den. Some find other forms, 326 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: maybe in crevices of rocks or behind a big rock. 327 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,479 Speaker 1: I've seen bear den's just on a ledge underneath a 328 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: big line that's growing. Just places where bears are going 329 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: to be secure from other predators and even other bears, 330 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,919 Speaker 1: especially the females, will find try to go to places 331 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: that seems safe from maybe boars digging up their young 332 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,640 Speaker 1: in the springtime. But for the most part, they're gonna 333 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: be in an area that's completely covered in snow. They're 334 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: gonna merge from their dens, and they're gonna be seeking 335 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: food sources. So what they want is they want food 336 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: that's close, nutritious, and nearby. Early in the bear season, 337 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: especially the spring season, I'm looking for places that have 338 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: a lot of green up a lot of nutrients close by, 339 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:39,400 Speaker 1: but also provide shelter. When you think about spotting for bears, 340 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: bears it's very difficult to find because they aren't like 341 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,120 Speaker 1: deer and elk. They don't herd up. They're very solitary 342 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: and nature. They're an elusive animal because they're fairly low 343 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,399 Speaker 1: to the ground. If you think about by mid spring, 344 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: the height of the grass, it would cover up where 345 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: most bears stand. You're looking for a single animal in 346 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: a large area that is heavily timbered, and the grass 347 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,280 Speaker 1: or cover around them is taller than them. It's not 348 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: that there's not a lot of bears where you're looking. 349 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: The reason you don't see bears is because they're hard 350 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:20,160 Speaker 1: to spot. They're elusive, they're solitary, and much of the 351 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: places that they inhabit have a lot of cover. So 352 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: in order to effectively hunt bears via spot in stock, 353 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,399 Speaker 1: you know, not by baiting, not by using dogs. You 354 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: have to hone in on those places where they provide 355 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: a weakness where it gives you a little bit of 356 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 1: an advantage, and that is finding places where they're going 357 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: to be out in the open feeding and honing in 358 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 1: on those food sources where you're most likely to run 359 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: into a bear or spot a bear active where you 360 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: could actually visually see them, so early in the spring, 361 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: I'm going to focus on things like avalanche shoots. Now, 362 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: avalanche shoots are great because the rocks and if you 363 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 1: get a north facing slope, it's gonna burn off on 364 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,640 Speaker 1: the edge of the snow as the snow starts to recede. 365 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: It's generally near areas with thick cover, but it's open, 366 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: and that open provides sunlight for new growth, and new 367 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 1: grasses will grow at the bottoms of those near water seeps. 368 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: There should be plenty of water this time of year. 369 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,640 Speaker 1: As the snow line recedes, you're gonna start getting green 370 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,400 Speaker 1: up right along that edge of the snow. And those 371 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 1: avalanche shoots have cleared out patches of thick country that 372 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 1: now is visible. So when you're sitting there glassing and spotting, 373 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: you have a spot where it's likely that you'll see 374 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: a bear because it's open enough that it doesn't obscure 375 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,880 Speaker 1: the bear, and it has a great nutrient food source nearby. Now, 376 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: outside of avalanche shoots, anything like steep hillsides, meadows, high country, 377 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: alpine basins, stuff where you don't have as much cover 378 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: and the cover hasn't really started to spring up early. 379 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: That's a great spot to start looking now. As the 380 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: season progresses, food sources and the areas that you're looking 381 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: at are going to start to change. Once they've emerged 382 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,159 Speaker 1: from their dens, it's not going to be long before 383 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: they start making their way to different areas, probably more 384 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: cover where they can remain hidden, remain out of sight, 385 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: but also close to food. So they're gonna be moving 386 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: into more pine forest regions, but there's still gonna need 387 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: that nutrient grass. So we're going from early to mid 388 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: April to now late April mid May. I feel like 389 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: bears at this time, although they will still be up high, 390 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:35,879 Speaker 1: and that can be a great place to target bears 391 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,879 Speaker 1: because you might find a little bit more open, have 392 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: more visibility of some meadows and some parks and some 393 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,440 Speaker 1: other things. As it gets later on, you're gonna start 394 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: finding bears in that mid or lower elevation, and I 395 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: start focusing toward other food sources. What's really starting to 396 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: spring up now now you're starting to get more grasses 397 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 1: and clover in the conifers or in open areas. A 398 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: lot of that will be logging roads where a part 399 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: of the timber has been logged, or even just logging 400 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: areas where it's clear it's in the middle of the trees, 401 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: but most of the new growth. The snow started to melt, 402 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: and you're getting a lot of new growth and a 403 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: lot of clover, a lot of dandelion, a lot of 404 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: other high protein grasses in those areas in a concentration. 405 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: That's a magnet to bears. Now, as we move on 406 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: later in the spring, bears tend to first start on 407 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,320 Speaker 1: finding different plants to eat, you know, high nutrient plants. 408 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 1: But what's another thing that happens in the spring deer 409 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: fawning and elk caving and later on and say like 410 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: late May to early June. I really like to focus 411 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: on elk calving areas. If there's elk ground, if it's 412 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: not an elk area, then deer fawning areas, places that 413 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: deer feel secure. But that provides an ease, a super 414 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: easy snack and meal for a bear. It's nothing for 415 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: a bear to use. It's excellent sense of smell to 416 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: find calves and fawns. They're pretty defenseless. They're generally in 417 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,359 Speaker 1: a concentrated area and they put off a pretty good 418 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: scent that is easy for the bears to find those areas. 419 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: So if i have areas that I'm glassing and I'm 420 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: seeing a lot of elk, and now those same areas 421 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: will also probably be more open meadows with good feed 422 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: close to where they have some kind of cover and 423 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,560 Speaker 1: security and water nearby everything a bear needs in one location. 424 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: I'll often glass those because you might catch a bear 425 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,640 Speaker 1: that's coming out to eat some more late spring crops, 426 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,640 Speaker 1: like even balsam root is a good one that time 427 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: of year, or it depends on where in the country 428 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: you are, but there's a lot of different plants, different 429 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 1: kind of sun chokes, different kind of flowers that come 430 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: out that bears will focus in on. And then you 431 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 1: also have the option of looking into elk calving and 432 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: deer fawning areas. Now as a as a big game hunter, 433 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 1: I also like hunting bears and predators in those kind 434 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: of areas because you can kind of help protect some 435 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: of the fawns and next year's crop of elk and 436 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 1: deer by hunting predators in those areas where they're fawning, 437 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: because that's where most undulants get hit The hardest is 438 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: in that late early spring when the fawns and calfs 439 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 1: don't have as much natural defense. But if we're focusing 440 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,239 Speaker 1: on bears, that's an excellent food source to focus in on. 441 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,720 Speaker 1: When I think about finding bear spots, I like to 442 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: think of it as as the snow decreases, I start 443 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: trying to find spots where the foliage is the lowest 444 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 1: and I have the best of you at the optimal 445 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,880 Speaker 1: time of growth. So I I generally start high and 446 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: follow the bears down. So I'll start my season high, 447 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: looking at high open meadows, high parks, and then as 448 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: the season progresses, all kind of change that same philosophy 449 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,200 Speaker 1: to lower open areas, mid mountain open areas, while still 450 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,720 Speaker 1: paying attention to some of that high stuff. But as 451 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 1: the snow starts to go away, the bears are gonna 452 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: start leaving those areas, and they might even still be there, 453 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 1: but the grasses begin to get too tall to where 454 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: I can't spot the bears. So I go to more 455 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:17,399 Speaker 1: open meadow areas on the edge of thick cover or 456 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,439 Speaker 1: elk calving areas, and just start following the food source 457 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: as the season progresses. Now that we've talked about food. 458 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: I think one of the main overlooked things about bear 459 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,160 Speaker 1: hunting is their pattern ability. A lot of people don't 460 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:36,159 Speaker 1: really understand a bear's pattern And I say that because 461 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: it's one of the most easily exploitable facets to to 462 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,400 Speaker 1: spot and stock bear hunting, but because it's on such 463 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: a large scale, we don't really hone in on it 464 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 1: like I think other hunters do. If you're if you're 465 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 1: a white tail hunter, you'll really understand this this concept 466 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: because white tail hunters. White tails just have a smaller 467 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: home range than bears, but bears have a very predictable 468 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: and patternable nature. Now, I've been too places um in 469 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: in southeast Alaska, even in Montana and and in Nevada 470 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: and California where you'll see what we call a bear trail. 471 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: One of the craziest bear trails I've ever seen was 472 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,159 Speaker 1: actually from brown bears in Kodiak, where the bears actually, 473 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 1: year after year walk the same path and over years, 474 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: bear generations of bears have been walking these same trails. 475 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: He's seen passed and they're putting their feet in the 476 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,680 Speaker 1: exact same places year after year. One particular one on Kodiak. 477 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: It's in the granite you can actually it's worn down 478 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: bear tracks on this granite ridge that I I saw. 479 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,920 Speaker 1: But I've seen these bear trails other places where year 480 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: after year, bears are are walking the same route the 481 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: same way, pretty much, putting their feet in the same spots, 482 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: and other bears tend to follow suit. Now that's not 483 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: to say that if you sit on that particular bear 484 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: trail you're going to see a bear, because who knows 485 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,280 Speaker 1: when they're using those trails or what they're using them for, 486 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 1: But many of them will follow some sort of pattern 487 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: every year. There's one particular canyon that I hunted in 488 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,439 Speaker 1: and I spotted this bear that was pretty identifiable, just 489 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: a It was a young boar. He had like this 490 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: weird split ripped year and just kind of a weird 491 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: marking on his neck as well, and I just noticed 492 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,040 Speaker 1: and we passed him up. This was on the Saturday 493 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: of Memorial Weekend. The following year, I went up there 494 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: the Saturday of Memorial Weekend whatever. It maybe a different date, 495 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: but pretty much around the same exact time. At three 496 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,440 Speaker 1: thirty in the afternoon, I looked up in the same 497 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 1: hillside and saw that same bear. Okay, that's pretty interesting. 498 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: The following year, I went back the same day, uh, 499 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: not the calendar day, but the same Saturday of Memorial 500 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: weekend whatever, the same time of day, mid day that 501 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: morning I glassed that spot. That evening I glassed that spot, 502 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: but midday on that particular day, that bear was out 503 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: feeding at three o'clock in the afternoon. Three years in 504 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,920 Speaker 1: a row. Now, not all bears will be exactly that patternable, 505 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: but it just really went to prove how predictable bears 506 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 1: can be. When you find a spot where you're seeing 507 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: bears a certain time of year, key into that. Now, 508 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: some of it might be seeing a Memorial Days a 509 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 1: little bit later in the season, So maybe it has 510 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,080 Speaker 1: more to do with the way the snow is melted 511 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: and why it's in that area. And it happened to 512 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,160 Speaker 1: be three similar years. But if you're in a certain 513 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: spot one year with a certain amount of snow and 514 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,040 Speaker 1: you start seeing bears, make a note of that and 515 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,640 Speaker 1: go back and hunt those same areas year after year, 516 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: because the bears are gonna do quite a bit of 517 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 1: the same thing. They're denning in the same canyons. Maybe 518 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,040 Speaker 1: not exactly the same den but they're they're following the 519 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: same patterns year after years, some of them following the 520 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: same trails year after year in generation after generation. Because 521 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,080 Speaker 1: of a bear secretive nature, the way that they live, 522 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: and how difficult they can be to spot. The real 523 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 1: question comes into how long do I stay in an 524 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: area and how do I know that a bear is there? 525 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: That is one of the hardest questions to answer. So 526 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: outside of seeing a bear, instead of when I go 527 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,120 Speaker 1: into a new area, I like to look for bear 528 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: sign as opposed to just looking for bears. It's a 529 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 1: lot easier to find the sign of bears in many 530 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,560 Speaker 1: instances than it is to actually find a bear. So 531 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: if I go to a spot and I glass it 532 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: and it looks like it's got everything. I'm up in 533 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 1: a high alpine base and I sat there glassing. I've 534 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: sat there for a day and didn't really see anything. 535 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: I think to myself, Okay, is this an area bears 536 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: are using. If I if I look at the mountain 537 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,320 Speaker 1: and realize there's a lot of cover on this mountain, 538 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 1: it's I can see ten percent of it. I've got 539 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: ten percent of the mountain that I can actually see 540 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: in the nine of it is in in cover of 541 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: some kind where it would be very difficult to spot 542 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:55,920 Speaker 1: a bear. What portion of my time should I spend there? 543 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: But it looks like great country, So I'll go to 544 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:00,960 Speaker 1: those open areas where I can and seat, and around 545 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: those areas where they should be feeding, where those food 546 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: sources are concentrated, and I'll look for sign mostly droppings. Also, 547 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,960 Speaker 1: I'll look for bear trails or tracks, especially if there's snow. 548 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,440 Speaker 1: If I can even glass and see maybe some tracks 549 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,280 Speaker 1: going across the snow, I'll go up, investigate and see 550 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: if those are bear tracks. And then I also look 551 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: for scrapings and other markings, and then I use that 552 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: information in a way similar that white tail hunters would 553 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: when planning a way to set up a tree stand. 554 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 1: It's just on a much larger scale and at a 555 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: in a different distance. If I find a scrape or 556 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: a marking, that's marking its territory. Bears are extremely territorial, 557 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: and as they go into that later into the spring. 558 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 1: Many states, their seasons go into June. That's when bears 559 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: start to rut. The boars are extremely territorial. They keep 560 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: cruising and checking marking posts. There's many times where I've 561 00:30:57,600 --> 00:31:00,920 Speaker 1: found maybe uh, scraped up tree and some bear hair, 562 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: and then I go, Okay, as it gets closer towards 563 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: the running period, I'm going to get back into this 564 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: area in glass because there's probably multiple bears that will 565 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: check this area. And you know, I'll sit on areas 566 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: and and watch areas where I see a lot of droppings. Now, 567 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 1: maybe that those bears are using that area at night. 568 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,960 Speaker 1: But as the moon's change and things change with weather 569 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: or whatever, you'll know, Okay, a bear is for sure 570 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 1: using this area. Now I just have to sit and wait, 571 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 1: much like a white tail hunter would on a on 572 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: a deer trail or whatever, and know that your time's 573 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: well spent because there's bears in that area. One thing 574 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: that I I've started to think about using more and 575 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: more is something like a trail camera, where I know, 576 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: if it's legal in your state, where you see bear sign, 577 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: put up a camera and see and try to understand 578 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: its patterns. For a long time, I was fairly against 579 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 1: the use of trail cameras to kind of aid in hunting, 580 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: only because I just kind of felt personally it just 581 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: seemed a little unethical. But I've used them for fun 582 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,120 Speaker 1: in the past. And the amount that I've learned about 583 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: the different species I've used them on is just incredible. 584 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 1: One thing in particular comes to mind when I'm thinking 585 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 1: about bears, and it was just an accidental discovery an 586 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,480 Speaker 1: area that I hunted elk a lot, there was a wallow. 587 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: I just put up a trail cam to see what 588 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: kind of activity was in the area, and I ended 589 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: up leaving the trail cam there pretty much year round, 590 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,960 Speaker 1: just to kind of see what was moving through. You know. 591 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: I got some cool stuff with wolves in the winter 592 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,240 Speaker 1: walking through, and some deer and some milk and some moose. 593 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,680 Speaker 1: But the craziest discovery was as it got hot, bears 594 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: were constantly using this wallow. Now I may be seen 595 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: a little bit of bear sign in that area, I've 596 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 1: never actually laid eyes on a bear, but through the 597 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:49,240 Speaker 1: course of the pictures, I discovered that there was over 598 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 1: six different bears using this one small wallow in this 599 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: one canyon. And that really opened my eyes up to 600 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 1: how many bears are actually in most of these places 601 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: that you never see so exploiting something like a food 602 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 1: source that they're using, a trail that they're using, a 603 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: rubbing area that they're using and just understanding when and 604 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: where they're going through there. You can kind of take 605 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: some white tail tactics and just put it in a 606 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: large spot in stock frame, if that makes sense. So 607 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 1: you've got a pattern ability of a bear, and now 608 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: most of the patterns evolve around a food source. So 609 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: you find the food source, you find sign of the bear, 610 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 1: and then you hunt that area and try to exploit 611 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 1: and find the pattern that the bear is using and 612 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,440 Speaker 1: use that knowledge to intersect his path. Now you can 613 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 1: also have multiple areas where you're finding sign, where you're 614 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 1: finding good food sources and maybe some other a good 615 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: vantage where you have clear openings near thick cover that 616 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 1: the bear will likely live in, and you can go 617 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,160 Speaker 1: from area to area and then once you figure out 618 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,600 Speaker 1: which one is the best spot for you to be at, 619 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: you position yourself in that spot and then the waiting 620 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,960 Speaker 1: game comes in. You you glass all day, you glass 621 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 1: evenings and mornings, whatever you decide to do, and try 622 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 1: to figure out when that bear is coming out and 623 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: intersect your path with where the bears are based on 624 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: your knowledge of food sources and their patterns in the area. Now, 625 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: I hope that that gave you an understanding a little 626 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:25,800 Speaker 1: bit of focusing on the type of areas where bears 627 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: are going to be, and it really does all revolve 628 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,439 Speaker 1: around food sources and then pattern ability. So next week, 629 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: what I'm gonna do is we're gonna take it a 630 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: step further. We're gonna put that knowledge into action in 631 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,560 Speaker 1: hunting application and how to exploit it with hunting tactics. 632 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 1: So we're gonna talk about glassing and how I would 633 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: set up in a canyon if if I think that 634 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: I've found the spot where they're feeding and have those 635 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: patterns recognized. I'm going to talk about a moving hunting 636 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 1: bear tactic, which is pretty much walking logging roads, and 637 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about the ways that I kind 638 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,239 Speaker 1: of figure out when the bears are go going in 639 00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 1: which roads to walk and and what times a day 640 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,880 Speaker 1: and all that kind of stuff. And then another tactic 641 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,040 Speaker 1: that I've used a lot in both spring and fall 642 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: is calling for bears. So we're gonna cover all that 643 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: next week, and I think that that will really kind 644 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 1: of give you the necessary tools to take where do 645 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,839 Speaker 1: I look and then how do I hunt and make 646 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,680 Speaker 1: you more successful. I want to quickly before we get 647 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 1: out of here, answer a question. I'm gonna pull it 648 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:29,520 Speaker 1: up right now. This one. You know, last week we 649 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:33,759 Speaker 1: talked about backcountry food and so um I got a 650 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:38,280 Speaker 1: question here through Instagram from Jesse right. He says loved 651 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:41,400 Speaker 1: the food back country pod last week, and this question 652 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:43,520 Speaker 1: is how are you cooking with your the jet boil 653 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,799 Speaker 1: in the back country? You said you fry up meat 654 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,799 Speaker 1: sometimes with oils. Are you packing a pan with you? 655 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: That's a great question. So my standard stove system, I've 656 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,840 Speaker 1: used jet boils. I also really like the msr um reactor. 657 00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 1: It's pretty much just like a jet boil. It's just 658 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:02,799 Speaker 1: a little bit faster boiling, and I kind of like 659 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 1: that one a little bit better. But yeah, so I 660 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,000 Speaker 1: do a couple of different things. It depends on how 661 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,279 Speaker 1: far I'm going whether I pack a pan or not. 662 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: It is nice to have a pan, especially um, well, 663 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,200 Speaker 1: if we're talking about spring hunting, I like to bring 664 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: a pan just to fry some fish in. Um, it's 665 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,760 Speaker 1: worth it to maybe just bring a little bit larger 666 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: pot that I could fry stuff in or boil water 667 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:27,440 Speaker 1: in and just use that one pot. Sometimes I'll just 668 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:32,399 Speaker 1: bring a really lightweight, small fry pan, or I will 669 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 1: just cook it right in my jet boiled cup or whatever. 670 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,719 Speaker 1: I've done that many times. I'll use that coconut those 671 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 1: coconut oil single serve packs, I'll just put it in 672 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: the jet boil cup. The key is they just try 673 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: to turn it down as low as possible and fry 674 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: it up that way. Now, another way to do it 675 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:53,799 Speaker 1: is use your jet boil and I build like a rock. 676 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,400 Speaker 1: I set like four rocks around the jet boil a 677 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,360 Speaker 1: few inches above the flame, and then whatever pan I bring, 678 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,319 Speaker 1: I set that on top. One thing you should know, 679 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 1: if you just took like a fry pan, just a 680 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: random fry pan, and you set it on the top 681 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,040 Speaker 1: of your jet boil to fry your food, it will 682 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,400 Speaker 1: actually catch your jet boil on fire and melt all 683 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,919 Speaker 1: the plastic. I know that because I've done it. It's 684 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,160 Speaker 1: just they have like the jet boil cups or even 685 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,280 Speaker 1: the MSR reactor ones that has to have a special 686 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:25,200 Speaker 1: gap built into the cup. Now, they make some fry 687 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:28,239 Speaker 1: pans that you could use, but I just feel like 688 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: there's some lighter weight ones that you can take in 689 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,600 Speaker 1: smaller that you can just get on your own outside 690 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,200 Speaker 1: of the ones that they sell. But to use them correctly. 691 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,799 Speaker 1: I actually stack rocks around the jet boil and then 692 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:43,400 Speaker 1: use that to prop the pan above my flame, And 693 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:45,440 Speaker 1: that also helps me control the heat because some of 694 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:49,000 Speaker 1: those you can't turn down that low to fry stuff. 695 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 1: It ends up just searing and burning the outside, but 696 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:55,440 Speaker 1: leaving the meat inside fairly raw or rare. UM. So 697 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,879 Speaker 1: if you want to get it like cooked better, I'll 698 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,479 Speaker 1: just add some oil, build up rocks and then put 699 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,279 Speaker 1: a light pan on it. If I'm not going crazy far, 700 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:07,600 Speaker 1: that little extra weight is just a creature comfort. If 701 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: I am going a little bit deeper, you know, you 702 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: can you could think about getting a bigger pot, like 703 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,560 Speaker 1: a wider pot that's more that also boils water, but 704 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:18,960 Speaker 1: has a little bit more room for frying up some 705 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 1: meat and other things. And then you know, you just 706 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,799 Speaker 1: kind of sometimes have to deal with the water a 707 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,480 Speaker 1: little bit tainted flavor water the next time you cook, 708 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:29,360 Speaker 1: but it's not too bad. So that's that's what I 709 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:33,080 Speaker 1: do with that. I appreciate you guys listening in, and 710 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,799 Speaker 1: I'm excited to answer all these questions everybody has on 711 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:40,960 Speaker 1: bear hunting. UM. I hope that between this podcast the 712 00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:44,279 Speaker 1: next week's you really gain a better picture and some 713 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,319 Speaker 1: insight and make it not so frustrating, But just have 714 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,080 Speaker 1: an idea of is what what you're doing gonna work 715 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:54,160 Speaker 1: and be successful because bear hunting can be long. It 716 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:56,759 Speaker 1: can be long days, a lot of glassing and not 717 00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:59,760 Speaker 1: seeing a lot in that spot in stock method, depending 718 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,040 Speaker 1: on the type area you're in. So I think just 719 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,040 Speaker 1: understanding that you're doing the right thing is half the 720 00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:08,239 Speaker 1: battle of keeping that persistence and then keeping you successful. 721 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:13,280 Speaker 1: So until next week, Uh, stay quarantined. You know social 722 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:17,160 Speaker 1: distance and uh, well, what what are we gonna do. 723 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,960 Speaker 1: We're gonna this is closing the distance. So we're gonna 724 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,040 Speaker 1: open the distance. We're opening the distance. Yeah, have a 725 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:27,120 Speaker 1: great week and open the distance. See you