Hunting Equipment

[demolition101]

Hi there,

New to the forum and had a general question about Black Bear Spot and Stalks. I live in Edmonton AB Canada and I'm trying to generate a list of "must have" hunting equipment for Spot and Stalk. Anything you feel is important to the hunt is welcome. Thanks Demo

 

[winmag]

Camelback backpack, loaded with just enough supplies to suit your daily needs, & take care of an unforseen emergency.
For me that includes a small first aid kit containing bandaids, ibuprophin, gause, & steri-strips, & a red bandana.
T.P. in a ziplock bag, A bunch of extra para cord, etra ammo, extra knives ( i like an extra huntin knife, & a Leatherman), a lighter & tender, a snack, gps, Bino's, babywipes, flagging tape, & water. Also a Cell Phone if it has a camera.

I cary my .40 S&W crossdraw so it doesnt bang on my rifle stock while the sling is on my shoulder.......But your in Canada, soooooo maybe a sidearm is out for you.........
My Rangefinder is always on me, like my Rifle, Knife, & Pistol. Never gets lost that way, & always there when I need it.
My rifle has adjustable bipods, & my pack can be used as a rear bag for L/R shots.
I dress in layers, & never fill my pack so I can shed layers as needed, & I always have room for "stuff". Plus I hate a heavy pack. I also dont care to pack half of a sporting goods store around with me. Thats just my style of spot and stock Bear huntin in my area. Other folks stay out for a couple days, & that obviously encompases a bit more than my day pack if you want comfort.

Keep it as simple as possible or else you wind up with all kinds of crap you never need or use. Bear huntin is supposed to be fun

P.S.
The pic in my signature is of me with my pack & all my daily gear the country I Bear hunt in, so you can see why I hate extra weight.

 

[demolition101]

Great post winmag. That all sounds like a good list but yeah, unfortunately no side arm up here in Canada lol. Other lists welcome.

 

[Guy M]

Spot & Stalk bear hunting is terrific. Good optics are vital. You're likely to spend more time glassing than walking. Binoculars and a rangefinder were very important.

On a spot and stalk hunt, you may be in open enough country that stalking close is difficult. Be prepared for a longish shot. I took my bear at a tad over 300 yards, my son took his at about 150 yards - both times closing the distance from where we first saw the bears.

Clothing and boots as necessary for the terrain and weather.

A good skinning knife. A backpack big enough to carry the bear hide - they're surprisingly heavy and bulky.

Guy

 

[sp6x6]

Spotting scope is a must for me. We also have alot of skeeters, so bug spray is high on list when mtn. hunting. We also shoot some bears early in snow, so I made some bear drags that go around each paw and have a small horn handle, they stay in pack , small and light

 

[brentc]

You really need to have the best optics you can afford. I tried getting by with a pair of higher end Pentax binos that I thought were pretty dang good, but I could only spot about 1/3 of the bears my buddy was spotting with his Swaro ELs. The next year I went prepared with my own set of ELs and was surprised at how little I was seeing through my "good" Pentax DCF WPs a year prior.

A good set of binos and spotting scope will allow you comb the shadows for wary black bears and they are required for accurate field judging to easier distinguish a good black bear from a dink. Believe me, you'll need all the help you can get when judging bears for size at a distance. A good rangefinder also helps when you can put the bear into a distance perspective. Even seasoned bear hunters can have a difficult time judging bears.

 

[cowboy]

The above posts have given you good advise. The only thing that I would consider as a must have is some breeze/wind indicator powder. Them **** bears may not have the best eye sight in the woods but if they get a sniff of your scent you might as well start looking for another bear. Where we hunt here in Montana the wind seems to go in circles most of the time and it drives us nuts on a stalk.

 

[sp6x6]

Thats why I have stalked 100's of bears w/ my bow, wind is a killer