27 July Bear Hunting with Our Next Generation July 27, 2020By George McQuiston (blog) Announcements, General Information, Guided Hunts, Spring bear season, Spring Fall Black Bear Black Bear Hunts, Guided Hunts, Idaho Black Bear Hunts, Idaho Hunts, Idaho wilderness hunts, Spring Bear Season, Spring Black Bear Hunts 0 I had an exceedingly refreshing hunting experience this past spring-bear season. In camp we had 2 youths; one was a 12-year-old boy, Austin, who was hunting with his father, the other was my 18-year-old daughter, Suzy, who was our camp cook. It was the first big game hunt of any kind for Austin, whose father acted as the mentor of the hunt—teaching and advising his son on everything from nature to firearms to camp etiquette. This spring was Suzy’s first experience with hunting, too. Suzy grew up in Eastern Bolivia where girls don’t hunt, though wild game meat is a large part of the rural population’s diet and she had eaten quite a variety of it growing up. Since this year is Suzy’s first time to the United States, these are her first impressions. At the start of bear season, Suzy had little interest in hunting, and she could not comprehend the concept of hunting for sport. Why would anyone travel far and spend money to hunt when they already had plenty to eat? The one other person in camp was an experienced big game hunter who had already taken several color phase bears and was specifically after a cinnamon bear on this trip. He shot one on the first evening. Suzy, Austin, and his father accompanied the hunter and I the morning after the bear was taken to skin it out in the woods. The walk there was quite exhilarating as we had to cross a raging stream on a fallen log to reach the bait site. This would be the first time Suzy had ever seen a bear. She was in awe with the bear’s beauty and thrilled with the overall experience. In the following days, she started paying more attention to the father and son, and noticed they were having fun together outside and by being challenged by the elements. On the 4th evening Austin shot a black boar which was larger than the other hunter’s cinnamon bear. Suzy now saw how the competition and challenge for bigger bears and different colors of bears played into the scheme of sport hunting—and she liked it—along with the camaraderie. Competition, challenge, and camaraderie are as natural to the human condition as eating meat. I had been teaching Suzy how handle handguns for personal defense, but now she wants a rifle so she can go bear hunting with her dad, too. I’ll be working on that shortly.Congratulations to Suzy and Austin for everything they learned! It was so much more than a bear hunt. Good hunting, Joe Cavanaugh Related Posts Have You Got Your Bear Bait Ready for the Idaho 2023 Bear Hunting Seasons? Pretty pink, pretty blue, purple, orange, yellow, tan, chocolate, etc. does it really matter what the name is for bears to like it? The answer is obviously a resounding NO! If it is full of sugar and by default calories, bears are gonna love it and you will have success with this or almost anything edible as bear bait. The main questions in my mind are A) can I get enough of it in a consistent supply, B) can I even afford to feed it to bears and C) how do I keep from producing world record sized squirrels on my Granola, Trail mix, Honey Roasted Nut formula I am currently using? 2015 Idaho Spring Bear Season Begins with a Trophy Class Bear Our first official week of spring bear hunting in our backcountry unit 27 in Central Idaho began with a father son combo from Nebraska and when we went to sit a couple of baits within ear shot of each other, Cam (the son and youth hunter) and I were greeted by the sound of a rifle report just towards the end of legal light. With curiosity getting the best of us, we sprinted over to where his Dad Jeff had been sitting and he and his first year guide, Jacob Roy, were no where to be found. Four Generations Bear Hunt Well, the sun finally set on the last day of our 2019 Idaho spring bear hunting season and it ended on a very high note! We had 2 hunters in camp, and each scored on a bear and as all who were involved would tell you, it was the youth hunter harvesting his bear that managed to make the whole week so enjoyable. The weather was unseasonably comfortable, baits were incredibly active and as the last night came about for this young man to sit, our decision came down to which bait, of the several that were active, to sit that night. Well, as you can imagine, we guessed correctly, and this young man scored on a very respectable cinnamon boar. 2012 Idaho Fall Bear Hunting begins with a “Bang” The 2012 Idaho Fall bear hunting season began with a 100% success for 2 fathers and 2 sons from Michigan. Idaho Spring Bear Hunting Season Officially Opens Today is the day we have waited all winter for! It is officially Idaho spring bear hunting season. If you are not hunting with us (which we obviously hope you are) then hope you are hunting with another Idaho bear hunting outfitter. Handguns for Bear Country I’ve been carrying handguns on outdoor adventures since I was a teenager and consider them essential tools of the trade. Handguns are easy to carry, so you have them within reach at all times, and they handle well inside small tents compared to long guns. A great deal of my outdoor activities in North America have taken place in country where black bear are common, and I have happened upon bear countless times where a gun on my hip provided great comfort. Comment (0) Comments are closed.