Fall Black Bears: Your Next Great Backup Plan

If you’re like me, draw results day for ungulates like deer and elk are highly anticipated. But the all-too-common occurrence of “unsuccessful” coming across the screen has many western hunters looking for backup plans for the fall.

It can be especially painful for those who put in for vacation with work or plan with significant others long in advance to get blanked on a tag draw to shuffle the deck of cards that are planning for fall adventures.

Instead of shifting plans and experiencing the wrath of HR or the family calendar, consider substituting for an over-the-counter bear license in most of the western states.

Reason 1: Learn Country You Want To Hunt

A bear hunter glasses country that will help them hunt for elk later on. Photo by Jaden Bales.

If point creep catches you or random odds aren’t that great while you build preference points in states like Oregon, Colorado, and Wyoming, there’s a great opportunity to get out in the places you plan to hunt each fall in pursuit of black bears.

Granted the optimal season dates do not always line up, but sometimes they do. 

I cannot count on one hand how many times during high country mule deer hunts I have been on have resulted in black bear encounters. While me and my compadres chasing grey ghosts have opted to pass on these fall-fattened bears in favor of taking home mule deer, the bears have been available during open black bear seasons.

Largely they inhabit similar terrain as September-early October deer and elk where lush grass and ripe high elevation berries attract bears.

Even if your state does not allow OTC bear hunters afield at the same time as ungulate hunts without one of those licenses (see: Oregon), getting high on a glassing knob to survey the area you want to hunt in the future is always helpful intel.

Reason 2: Build on Hunting Skills

Picking good glassing knobs to find fall bears is a great skill to practice. Photo by Jaden Bales.

Hunting skills, like understanding wind, picking optimal glassing knobs, and stalking game are indisputably important, but we don’t often get the chance to try them unless we are on primary hunts.

That is where a good fall bear hunt can come in handy.

Significantly fewer bears than ungulates mean you have to be diligent with choosing ideal glassing knobs. Their noses are also unmatched, being multiple times more sensitive than a good hound dog. Approaching one with bad wind is simply ineffective. It will teach you to not only obey the wind, but predict it.

Planning and executing stalks is also an incredibly valuable skill that can be learned and honed on a fall bear hunt. Building skills to map out a good shooting position while in the heat of the moment is underrated.

Reason 3: Put Meat in the Freezer

Putting a bear roast in the crockpot for a pulled bear recipe. Photo by Jess Johnson.

Though spring is often the desired time to hunt for bears around the west, they are undeniably fatter in the fall, and make great table fare.

In preparation for winter hibernation, bears go into a state of constant eating called hyperphagia. That results in one bear putting on as much as a couple of hundred more pounds of weight in the fall hunting season compared to the spring season.

That means fall bears potentially have way more meat for Italian sausage, pulled bear sandwiches, and lard for bear fat pie crusts for you to use. 

All of these are awfully good reasons to consider a bear hunt in your backup fall plans.

I am not Nostradamus, but I would imagine a good fall black bear hunt is going to be increasingly more popular across the West as primary hunts, as well. If you give one a shot as a backup the next time you do not draw your preferred license, I expect that you may join their ranks!