Spring Black Bear Hunts

 GENERAL INFORMATION

All black bear hunts are an awesome seven (7) day hunt in the mountain country of the Hoback Canyon region. You will stay in our full-service hunting lodge located 30 miles south of Jackson Hole Wyoming in the small town of Bondurant, Wyoming. The lodge is equipped with comfortable beds, hot showers, pool table, fuse ball table, darts, a full bar and more!

We typically will begin your adventure each evening, so you have most of the day to tour the Jackson Hole area and take in the sights or you can choose to go with our guides to bait during the day. If you choose to take in Jackson Hole, then you need to return to our lodge by 3:00 pm each day where our guides will pick you up and you will drive to the hunt area a few miles away. You then will ride on horseback for approximately 30 minutes to our bait sites or they can be accessed by foot depending upon the bait location. You will hunt over our baits until legal shooting light is gone each evening. The majority of bear activity occurs in late evening.

All hunts are fair chase conducted on public lands in which we are permitted to operate guiding and outfitting services on.

Each bear bait site will be baited regularly and typically will have a lot of bear activity. If for some reason you are not having consistent bear activity we will move you the following evening to a new location as determined by your guide.

We use the “sit and observe” method of hunting black bears over bait. Meaning you will be placed approximately 75-100 yards away from the bait site (with an elevated advantage whenever possible). Most shots will be 100 yards or less and each hunter should arrive having practiced for relatively short distance shots. Any .30 caliber or larger rifle will suffice. We like to harvest the bear on the first shot for safety reasons and recommend that you do not use smaller calibers.

Many bears in our area will have color. Chocolates, blondes, cinnamons are common. Less common are solid blacks, but they do exist and may be seen. Many bears are in the 200-300 pound range. The area contains a good number of bears and this is a very fun hunt to fill your spring urge to get in the woods.

Weather in Wyoming is always unpredictable and this can affect bear hunting somewhat. I.E. if the baits are freezing then they don’t typically attract as many bears as they would if it was hot. So typically later season hunts produce the most bear activity, but larger bears tend to be harvested earlier in the season, as males venture from the den earlier than sows most years.

I cannot guarantee you a bear, as too many factors play into a successful hunt, such as; weather, hunting quotas and hunter abilities, but we will promise to work hard to help you fill your tag and make your trip successful.

You will be served three meals per day at our hunting lodge. (Breakfast,lunch, and dinner). Typically your dinner is served very late in the evening after you have returned from hunting. It can be as late at 11:00 p.m. before you arrive back at the lodge.

Our guides will either place you near the bait site and allow you to hunt solo, then return to pick you up after dark. Or we also can remain with you at the bait site (depending on how many hunters we have in the field) depending on what your preference is.

Our guides will field-dress; cape and care for your animal after harvest and deliver you’re animal to a local meat processor and taxidermist. However, you must make arrangements with each business for deposits they may require and shipping. Our website has information about local taxidermists and meat processors that you can make pre-hunting arrangements with.

Additionally, we do offer a fall “spot and stalk” bear hunt during the first week of September when bears can be found feeding in the high meadows and berry patches. For those who prefer not to hunt over bait, this can be a really great trip. These are not baited hunts, but rather spot and stalk hunts so you don’t always see as many bears as you would on a spring baited hunt, but the advantage is you get to spend a week in the back country enjoying the outdoors a little more via horseback. We do hunt over gut piles left from archery season as well, and this can prove to be a good way of seeing more bear activity in the fall.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A LICENSE IN THE
WYOMING GAME AND FISH DRAWING

We are licensed to guide and outfit in the following areas:

You MUST purchase a Wyoming black bear license before we can provide outfitting services to you.

Applications can be found on the WY Game and Fish Department website. There is a link to this website on our site and can be found in the “non-resident” section of the site. We are also happy to mail you the application and we will fill out the hunt areas and type for you if you want to purchase your license before arrival, otherwise you may purchase your tag once you arrive in Wyoming.

Spring black bear season begins April 15th for archery and May 1st for rifle. The season runs through June 15th or until a female mortality rate is reached. We only take 8-10 bear hunters in the spring, so book early to assure your hunt dates.

A black bear license is $301 as of 2007 and can be purchased over the counter at any licensed outlet.

COST OF HUNT

The cost of our services for a seven (7) day hunt is:

Hunt includes all lodging, meals, transportation to and from the Jackson Hole Wyoming International airport, as well as delivery of your meat to a processor (if you choose to keep your bear meat at it is not required by Wyoming law) and delivery of your bear hide to a local taxidermist.

It DOES NOT include the cost of processing/ shipping your meat or the cost of your taxidermy work.

We consider this one of our best hunts and would encourage anyone looking for an inexpensive bear hunt to check us out.

To book a trip, please go to the “payment/ refund” page for details.

Thank You