Which unit, which season
- Thread starter jimbowsai
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I
Ike
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They say the San Juan Fall tag is pretty good, but there are a few big boys on about all the units that I have ever hunted. It can be hard, however, to get on a top end boar fresh. The Book Cliffs and the La Sal Mountains also has lots of bears...whatever trips a guys trigger!
Yes I am sure. I have a cousin that drew San Juan a few years back and shot a bear that went B&C. I have also heard lots of good things about La Sal. Only issue would be I am in Utah County and I am sure that would be tons of time on the road. Any ideas on a good houndsman?
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Ike
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Thanks UGAhunter, for the reference!
Here is a photo taken of the front pad of a top end boar pushing 6" wide. We named him 'Hundred Dollar Bill" and he's still roaming......
Like I said, there are a few big boys on most units but they are hard to find and get on fresh with the hounds. Most of these boars are too smart to come to bait during daylight hours so bowhunting doesn't work either. I always say if you have the right dogs, the right hunter, and if the Moon, the Sun and the Stars line up for you then it's a dead bear. The short story is those big boys didn't get fifteen to thirty years old by laying on the road. My email and phone number is on my website if a guy wants to talk, but I am not permitted to run down south........
http://www.ingramwildlife.com/picture.htm
foundation
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jimbowsai I don't want to hijack your thread , but I'm in the same boat on bear points and have been kicking around the same questions you have had . So I will be watching this thread .
Ike good points and summary of what it will take to harvest a big bear .
Its a lot of points and ton of work and money involved with a Utah bear hunt so I would like to find out as much as I can before I decide to make that step .
So lets hear it Utah bear hunters , tell us the good , the bad , and every thing in between .
Ike good points and summary of what it will take to harvest a big bear .
Its a lot of points and ton of work and money involved with a Utah bear hunt so I would like to find out as much as I can before I decide to make that step .
So lets hear it Utah bear hunters , tell us the good , the bad , and every thing in between .
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Ike
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The Good: Fall is a longer season, and bears are out every day of that season unlike the spring hunt. Access is good as there aren't any snow drifts to lock you out of the high country. Boars start to roam in late May because the bear rut starts mid-June. Days are longer in the spring, but that means the day starts eariler and ends later. Put in for a fall bear hunt when pursuit is limited and people can't run their hounds on bear. If you draw a quality tag you will have a few hounddoggers offer to go along for free, and save some money.
The Bad: Boars don't move as much in the fall and might be harder to locate. Those free hounddoggers will want to run any bear they rig and the focus most likely will be on running and catching anything they can rather than holding off for Mr. Big. The outfitters and guides will cuss yo for jumping in on an under the table hunt. After the boars start moving getting ready for the rut they can be like a mature tom lion, and that is put down lots of tracks and give the dogs a fit just to make it to the jump. You can start an old boar track and switch into a small bear, this burning up dog power, time and money.
I suppose a guy could go on and on about bear hunting, but truth is a Boone & Crockett bear or lion by the rules is as hard a trophy to collect these days as any in the field. And a man has to earn them........
In a perfect world a guy could run off bait with dogs which gives a guy a chance at that big boar track early in the day when the dogs are fresh and temperature is cool. Down side to that is an illegal kill might cost a guy felony charges. So there you go, the good, the bad and the ugly.
I don't know how many times I've cut Mr. Big late in the day after the scent is nearly gone, and in a place that doesn't have good road access which makes it difficult to ever get on that bear fresh. It isn't hard to stop those big bears with a pack of hounds that are in shape and have seen lots of bears. The climb into those bears can be tough however. Perhaps the hardest thing is holding those hounds until you get the right bear so they have the stuff it takes to stop them. Its a game of being in shape, knowing the sport, time and patience plus that luck I talked about......
The Bad: Boars don't move as much in the fall and might be harder to locate. Those free hounddoggers will want to run any bear they rig and the focus most likely will be on running and catching anything they can rather than holding off for Mr. Big. The outfitters and guides will cuss yo for jumping in on an under the table hunt. After the boars start moving getting ready for the rut they can be like a mature tom lion, and that is put down lots of tracks and give the dogs a fit just to make it to the jump. You can start an old boar track and switch into a small bear, this burning up dog power, time and money.
I suppose a guy could go on and on about bear hunting, but truth is a Boone & Crockett bear or lion by the rules is as hard a trophy to collect these days as any in the field. And a man has to earn them........
In a perfect world a guy could run off bait with dogs which gives a guy a chance at that big boar track early in the day when the dogs are fresh and temperature is cool. Down side to that is an illegal kill might cost a guy felony charges. So there you go, the good, the bad and the ugly.
I don't know how many times I've cut Mr. Big late in the day after the scent is nearly gone, and in a place that doesn't have good road access which makes it difficult to ever get on that bear fresh. It isn't hard to stop those big bears with a pack of hounds that are in shape and have seen lots of bears. The climb into those bears can be tough however. Perhaps the hardest thing is holding those hounds until you get the right bear so they have the stuff it takes to stop them. Its a game of being in shape, knowing the sport, time and patience plus that luck I talked about......
foundation
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Dang good write up Ike , and you really give a guy lots of things to consider and think about .
From what I have looked at on the draw odds it does appear that the spring hunts are some what easier to draw so I guess thats a factor to consider also .
I hear ya loud and clear on the guys offering free hound help versus the outfitters . I had that kind of deal on a lion hunt once and its kind of hard to keep pressing your free help for trying for a bigger lion when they are just doing it to work their dogs .
It's also human or hunter nature I think to want a big ol monster animal when its a hunt that takes lots of years to draw , so thats why a guy like me is occassionaly asking where the big lions or bears are being harvested in Utah .
I'm up to 9 bear and 12 lion points just because it's soo easy to build the points , and in the mean time I just hunt over the counter bear in other states with the idea that one day I'll hunt Utah and have a special hunt .
Thanks for taking the time to write that up Ike .
From what I have looked at on the draw odds it does appear that the spring hunts are some what easier to draw so I guess thats a factor to consider also .
I hear ya loud and clear on the guys offering free hound help versus the outfitters . I had that kind of deal on a lion hunt once and its kind of hard to keep pressing your free help for trying for a bigger lion when they are just doing it to work their dogs .
It's also human or hunter nature I think to want a big ol monster animal when its a hunt that takes lots of years to draw , so thats why a guy like me is occassionaly asking where the big lions or bears are being harvested in Utah .
I'm up to 9 bear and 12 lion points just because it's soo easy to build the points , and in the mean time I just hunt over the counter bear in other states with the idea that one day I'll hunt Utah and have a special hunt .
Thanks for taking the time to write that up Ike .
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Ike
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You're welcome, nothing a guy like me enjoys more than talking dogs and the game they chase.......
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Ike
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Would be nice but I stay closer to home than Idaho, besides a person has to have a handlers permit and I figure if I ain't welcome I don't need to go...........
I have bears in every direction from where I live and a pack of dogs that will rig old lion and bear tracks. I might not get treed every trip but those hounds always rig a lion or bear to play with even if they can't (or I won't let them) finish it.
Keep'em treed,
ike
I have bears in every direction from where I live and a pack of dogs that will rig old lion and bear tracks. I might not get treed every trip but those hounds always rig a lion or bear to play with even if they can't (or I won't let them) finish it.
Keep'em treed,
ike
kk
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Which unit depends on how far you want to travel. We have a fall SJ tag this year, but it will cost a lot of money to make the trips down there that we plan on this fall. If you live in UT county you might want to look at Manti. Find some one you want to go with and find out where they like to go.
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Ike
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When it came time for the bear draw last spring I filled in my application then thought about applying for a San Juan summer pursuit permit. In a matter of seconds I thought about the gas money it takes to drive down there and figured on that money alone I could run every weekend close to home at no extra expense.
I had an elk tag down there a couple years back and looked over a lot of bear tracks and a few lion tracks. Matter fact I got ribbed for getting my camera out for the tracks and not for the elk. But I've lived through all those dog boxes in the Book Cliffs spring pursuit years ago and haven't been down there in four or five years. If I ever run dogs on the San Juan it will be on a fall hunt, and the same goes for the Book Cliffs--just don't like the crowds. What ever you do stay away from those spring hunts in those popular areas................
I had an elk tag down there a couple years back and looked over a lot of bear tracks and a few lion tracks. Matter fact I got ribbed for getting my camera out for the tracks and not for the elk. But I've lived through all those dog boxes in the Book Cliffs spring pursuit years ago and haven't been down there in four or five years. If I ever run dogs on the San Juan it will be on a fall hunt, and the same goes for the Book Cliffs--just don't like the crowds. What ever you do stay away from those spring hunts in those popular areas................
