Scott’s Blog

While much attention is given to scouting for deer and elk this time of year, it’s also prime time to start looking for bear...or at least, bear sign.  In the Pacific Northwest, bear seasons start opening in August, and one of the best signs to look for this time of year are berries. As you know, no matter what time of year it is, the best way to find a bear is by focusing on food sources, and berries dominate their diet in many habitats starting in late July and extending in to November. Here’s what we’ve been finding on our early to mid-July scouting missions. The trailing blackberries are flourishing this summer, some of the best growth in years.  In the Cascades they should be ripe by the end of the month.  In the Coast Range, we’ve already found several areas where the berries are black and ready to be eaten.  These grow low to the ground, and are best found by walking areas or by using a spotting scope from an elevated position.  These are one of the first berry sources bears hit, usually before the season. Black caps are next (not blackberries).  About five years ago we had [...]

Though the 4th of July marks our country’s celebration of independence, it’s also one of the best times for deer hunters to head afield on pre-season scouting missions.  For brush country blacktails, July and August offer what I believe are the best times to actually lay eyes on these elusive bucks. By the 4th of July, antler development is to the point you’ll be able to predict what quality of antlers a buck will have.  If you’ll be hunting home-body, non-migratory blacktails this fall, where the deer are now–in July and August–is likely where you’ll find them come hunting season. Velvet covered antlers are some of the fastest growing tissues on the planet.  Because of this, bucks avoid the brush for two reasons:  They don’t want to damage their headgear and it’s painful when they scrape or hit their blood-engorged, sensitive antlers on brush. Antlers serve as a status symbol for bucks, as well as a source of protection from predators and a tool to fight-off other bucks during the rut.  For these reasons a buck will take great measures to keep from damaging their headgear. Why scout now?  Because bucks spend their time in open areas, so as not to [...]

Our spring filming schedule was a busy one.  We’d planned for three weeks in the field, ended up spending seven.  This meant I had one day–the last day of the season–to bowhunt Oregon turkey. Ever since I took my first turkey, nearly 30 years ago, I’ve been enamored with these magnificent birds.  With one day to hunt, I could have blown it off, but I’d have never forgiven myself. I returned to a place I’d seen a high concentration of toms earlier in the season.  My thinking was most hens were now nesting and the toms were split up, searching for stray hens. Given the high tom to hen ratio in the area, I chose a Cabela’s Full Strut decoy with a prepared tail fan from a tom I’d taken a few seasons prior.  Daylight came quicker than anticipated and I couldn’t reach the grassy flat I wanted to.  So, I pitched the ground blind at the bottom of a ridge. Decoy in place, I’d already heard a tom gobbling above me, and when I let out a yelp on my Mother Load box call, he answered right back.  Minutes later he flew from his roost...the opposite way. I continued calling, [...]

    Bears have always intrigued me, especially big bears.  With the season winding down, I headed back to the Oregon Coast where I hunted with long-time friend and guide, Jody Smith (www.jodysmithguideservice.com). There are two schools of thought when spot-and-stalk hunting spring bears: Cover as much ground as you can, spot-checking places for feeding bears, or stake-out a place and wait for bears to feed out.  After four days of covering hundreds of miles and not finding a big bear, Jody and I decided to sit on a unit where we’d seen bears working.  With the rut approaching, we knew boars would soon be on the move. The unit was big, 1,200 yards across, 2,000 yards top to bottom, and steep.  With three days left in the season, I wasn’t going to be picky.  We’d seen a 250 lb. boar in this unit, but he fed his way into a brushy creek bottom before I could get a shot.  At daylight the next day we were back in there, hoping any bear would show up. Not long after hearing some growling, woofing and fighting in the timber, a small bear appeared, followed by a bigger one.  It was mid-day, temperatures [...]

I love bear hunting, no matter what the method.  I’ve been fortunate to pursue bear in many states around the West, from trailing hounds to spot-and-stalk, to calling and baiting.  All are fun approaches, and each has their benefits and rewards. I’m in the process of writing a book on hunting black bear out West, and hope to have it out in late 2013.  Part of my work on this book has been personally testing loads, calibers, optics, bows and other tools, to see how effective they really are. On this hunt I chose to combine an old school caliber rifle with a modern reflex scope.  I borrowed good friend, Jody Smith’s, .45-70 lever gun, and we topped it with a Trijicon RMR.  Using Nosler’s 300 grain Ballistic Silvertip bullets, we worked up a load that used 43 grains of IMR 4198 powder, which spit out the bullet at 1,882 fps.  It only took a few shots before this setup shot an impressively tight group. This hunt took place high atop Idaho’s Joseph Plains, where I’ve hunted elk and mule deer–and bear–before, with Matt Craig of Boulder Creek Outfitters (www.bouldercreekoutfitters.com).  Prior to our arrival, good weather had bears on the move, [...]