Black Bear

In mid-May of 2025, my son Bear Newcomb and I headed to southeast Alaska to hunt with my friend and outfitter David Benitz. I’ve previously hunted for mountain goats and also went wolf trapping with David. He’s an incredible Alaskan bowhunter, trapper, commercial fisherman, and he’s been an...

Hunters debate the validity of baiting black bears (or any game for that matter) all the time. Baiting often raises questions of sportsmanship or fair chase, but it might not be as black and white of an issue as hunters sometimes make it. I’ve only hunted over bait a few times—for deer and pigs in...

I’ve dedicated a full week to hunting black bears for the last three seasons, and I’ve come to a conclusion: this isn’t for the faint of heart. Black bear populations are less dense than elk, they don’t run in herds, and their powerful noses can sniff you coming from, literally, a mile away. That’s...

More bear come into the taxidermist screwed up than not. The skinning cuts are made in the wrong places, the hides are full of holes, or the faces are ruined. Since it's a tragedy to see such a badass animal not taken care of properly, I worked with John Hayes, from Hayes Taxidermy Studio, to...

While scoring antlers is a long and complicated process, scoring bears for record books like Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young simply requires two skull measurements. The skull is a good tool for comparison because it’s the most accurate way to compare bears to each other. Skulls must be dried...

I watched the big cinnamon bear blow out about 300 yards from the two orange dots working their way up the mountain. “There goes that,” I said, peering at them through my spotter. I waved a white game bag back and forth overhead until those little orange dots seemed to take notice and began...

If you are bear hunting from late May into June, your hunt will be influenced by the bear rut. Knowing all you can about it will make you a better hunter. A 1980 study by Kim Barber and Frederick Lindzey conducted on Long Island, Washington, found that female bears are in estrus ranging from six to...

Laney Malavolta was found dead north of Durango, Colorado, on April 30 in a wooded area near U.S. Highway 550. Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the La Plata County Coroner’s Office confirmed Tuesday that Malavolta’s death was the result of a black bear attack. According to a press release by CPW, 3...

After all the work to get within shooting distance of a big bear, you need confidence in your ability to make a great shot. Bears are big, tough animals that are unforgiving when hit badly. Many new bear hunters use shot placement and strategy derived from experience in deer hunting, but bear...

Timing is everything with hunting. The best destinations in the world can be highly productive for a certain species at a given time, but at other times can be only average. Oftentimes spring bear hunting is lumped into one broad category covering the months of May and June. When booking hunts in...

If you’ve failed to tag a deer or an elk and now you’re trying to salvage your fall hunting in order to maintain the honor of your family name, why not go after a black bear? You don’t have to plan for years in order to put some bear steaks in the freezer. Many states offer over-the-counter bear...

The big, chocolate-colored boar was exactly the type of bear I’d dreamed of for years. This was the third time he’d bayed up on the ground in heavy cover and it was my last chance. Our crew had been after him for eight hours and, with evening approaching, there wasn’t time for another chase. The...