How to Hunt Early Season Bears in the West

Overlooking a logged unit on public land in Oregon’s Coast Range, a buddy and I were in position well before sunup, as the forecast had called for a hot day (by Coast Range standards, anyway). Despite our early start, we didn’t see our first bear until shortly before 10:00 a.m. By 3:00 p.m., we’d spotted eight more from the same location, but the bears weren’t big, so we kept hunting.

Over the next two days, we spotted 11 more bruins. Every open hillside we glassed had bushes of ripe blackcaps. Blackcap raspberries start ripening in late July, and the bears know it. Because blackcap bushes are dispersed, bears cover more ground in search of them. Multiple times we watched a bear or two devour an entire blackcap bush, then run across the open hillside to do the same to another. The bears would keep this up for hours, then take a nap. Some slept near trails, others atop big stumps.

Then they’d get up and start feeding again. We filled our tags on days two and three.

That hunt took place nearly 25 years ago, and it opened my eyes to just how food-crazed black bears are in August. Since then, I’ve been on numerous fall bear hunts in multiple Western states. While the terrain, habitat and food sources vary, the common theme is bears love fruits, berries and nuts, and targeting food sources is key to consistent success in August.

FALL FOOD SOURCES

A black bear has a short intestinal tract, so its digestion is inefficient. One look at a pile of fresh bear droppings confirms this, as many berries contained in the droppings remain undigested. As a result, bears must eat a lot. Studying scat is one of the best ways to learn which food sources to concentrate hunting efforts around.

Be it blackcap raspberries, Himalayan blackberries, salmon berries, highbush cranberries, snowberries, huckleberries or any other kind of wild berry, bear’s don’t wait to start feasting on them. While bears love ripe, sweet berries, they begin consuming them when they’re still what we’d consider sour. This means early August can be prime for finding bears. In fact, some bear hunters consider early August to be better than September for the simple reason that bears are on the move seeking sweet berries, and are therefore more visible.

Once bears burrow into a thick berry patch, it can be hard to locate them, let alone get a clear shot. By late August, some blackberry and huckleberry patches are so beaten down, it looks like a brush hog ate through them. Many times over the years I’ve been within 10 paces of bears rolling in thick berry patches, but unable to get a clear shot through the tangled vines.

Depending on the climatic and seasonal conditions, some berries ripen faster than others. Sometimes a hillside of berries may seem weeks away from being ripe, while they can be prime one draw over. Clouds, fog, morning and evening dew and even wind can impact the progression of berry development, which is why covering ground by glassing is an efficient approach.

Wild apples, pears and plums are also ripening now, and bears will travel miles to find them. Over the years, buddies and I have taken many bears near old homestead orchards high in the mountains. Hunting draws above and below old orchards, where birds and other wildlife have dispersed seeds over the decades, can be better yet. Don’t overlook acorns at lower elevations. During seasons of high yield, acorns will attract a lot of bears, and they’ll travel considerable distances to feast on them.

RUNNING CAMS

In recent years, running trail cams has been revelatory for me in terms of how many bears are out there. Rather than setting trail cameras on food sources, position them on game trails leading to and from food sources. Cams set in bordering creeks and even in dry creek beds have captured the highest numbers of bears for me. While bears don’t mind feeding on berries in broad daylight, when temperatures eclipse the century mark, the majority of bears travel in cool, shaded habitats this time of year, largely in the morning and early evening.

It’s common to catch multiple bears a day on one trail camera. Over three days last August, I caught seven bears on one trail camera set near a shallow-flowing creek. Two of those bears were big boars. Then I set a couple cameras on the creek and caught bears regularly drinking and wallowing in it.

I set another cam on a tiny pond that held water year-round. The number of bears caught swimming in it clear through October boggled my mind. And I don’t mean a quick dip and a drink. I’m talking 20-minute swims, going in circles, grabbling leaves and sticks and seemingly playing. One sow sat and watched her twin cubs swim for more than 10 minutes before she joined them. I figured more than a dozen bears used that little pond, no bigger than my garage, in August and September. Bears regularly utilize elk wallows, too.

If you can find a bear’s scratching tree, set a trail camera on it. Every boar that passes by will stop and rub it’s back on it. They’ll use the same tree for years, as evidenced by the smoothly worn bark.

CALLING ALL BEARS

Calling bears amid thicker cover where they’ve been caught traveling by trail cameras offers a higher percentage of success than calling near food sources this time of year. Of all the bears I’ve called in, I’ve never pulled one off a fall food source. Once a bear finds an easy food to devour, it won’t leave it. Eating gallons of berries conserves more energy than chasing down and killing an elk calf.

On the other hand, catch them at the right time in the right place, and calling fall bears can be effective. Just ask some archery elk hunters.

My best calling success in the fall has come where elk numbers are high, especially when calf recruitment is exceptional. Find where herds of cow and calf elk are using the same trails as the bears, and the chances of calling in a bruin rises. The challenging part here is calling cold, or without having first spotted a bear. Being able to find a bear and observe how it reacts to the calls is the most effective way to call one in. But in thick cover, that’s rarely possible.

Where allowed, electronic calls are great for bears. Not only can a range of sounds be offered from e-callers, but their volume can be continuous and loud. Once the calling starts, don’t stop for at least an hour. Begin at a low sound level in case a bear is near. I’ve spooked more than one bear by starting too loud.

Start with calf and cow elk sounds this time of year. If nothing responds in the first 10 to 15 minutes, increase the volume, using the same sounds. If nothing comes in after 5 minutes or so, switch to a fawn distress call. Bears kill an astounding number of elk calves and deer fawns, and if they’re hungry or feeling aggressive, they often react to these sounds.

If no bear shows in the first 30 minutes, switch sounds every five minutes or so. Bird distress sounds are my next favorite, followed by jackrabbit distress sounds. Even in habitats where jackrabbits are absent, bears will respond. I’ve called in bears using domestic goat and sheep sounds in spots where the nearest farm was several miles away.

Bears aren’t picky when it comes to predator sounds. The key is catching them in the right frame of mind. Often, they’ll be within earshot but won’t be triggered by the sounds. That’s why I like changing them up often. If you’re in a spot of high bear activity with lots of fresh tracks and droppings, calling for two hours or more can pay off.

With deer and elk seasons weeks away, now is the time to jump-start those fall hunts. Multiple general-season fall bear tags are available in some states, giving even more reason to hit the woods now.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

• Top destinations for early-season black bears.

CALIFORNIA: California’s general fall bear season opens with their general deer season in select zones. The northwest portion of the state boasts good bear numbers and public-land access. The general season runs September 20 to December 28 in Hunt Zones B1 and B2, and August 23 to December 28 in Zone B4.

COLORADO: Colorado offers a range of general-season fall bear hunts, from early September to late November. The Front Range and Gunnison Basin are known for holding good bear numbers.

IDAHO: New this year, anyone hunting black bears in Idaho must pass a bear identification test. General black bear seasons are August 30 to October 31, running through November 30 in other GMUs. The Clearwater National Forest, Frank Church Wilderness, Salmon River drainage and Selway and Lochsa river regions hold solid bear numbers, all with a good crack at a color-phase bruin.

MONTANA: Montana’s general fall rifle bear season runs September 15 to November 30. Head high and hunt the berry patches in places like the Yaak and Swan valleys, as well as other wilderness areas in the northwest region of the state.

NEW MEXICO: New Mexico’s fall bear seasons vary from mid-August to mid-December depending on Zones and GMUs. The Gila National forrest is known for big bears and lots of them.

OREGON: Oregon’s fall statewide bear season runs August 1 to December 31, the longest in the West. Bear densities are highest in the Coast Range. The Alsea, Siuslaw and Tioga GMUs are worth a close look.

WASHINGTON: Most fall bear hunts in Washington run August 1 to November 15, with some units opening August 15. Check out the Olympic Peninsula West, Columbia Basin and Okanogan bear management units.

WYOMING: In Wyoming, the Greys River, Bighorn National Forest west of Sheridan, and around the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park are traditional bear hotspots. Fall bear seasons vary within regions, with some starting in August, September and October, culminating in late October to mid-November.

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• This article was featured in the August 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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