Bears & Bows: A Great Combination – Bowhunter

Get The Magazine
Digital Now Included!
Loverboy strutted into the wilderness bait site in all his grandeur, patiently following a sow. Late June at the Arctic Circle is prime rut for black bears. After several days of observation from the shooting platform, I knew Loverboy was a boar — and the best bear I’d seen on my hunt. He wasn’t a monster, but he was a very mature bear.
My longbow, an arrow nocked and ready, rested in my bow hand as my eyes tracked the boar’s movement. He’d slipped past me before, but this time — 4:20 a.m. on the fourth day of a five-day hunt — I did not intend for him to be so lucky again. He crossed behind two trees, nudging the sow, and turned broadside. I nodded to Carl, my guide, and he hit the record button on my video camera. My intention as a true instinctive shooter is to set in a solid anchor, hesitate and pull through a perfect release. My brain said “now” when I locked my eyes on a rough tuft of hair just behind the bear’s front leg. I vaguely remember scraping the corner of my mouth, and the white-fletched arrow was sailing on its way.
Bears and bows are a great combination. Bears are a serious predator, and bowhunting them comes with an element of danger; those claws and teeth aren’t for show. I’ve hunted and taken polar bear, brown bear and grizzly bear on spot-and-stalk hunts. They are in a class of their own, each with their own special challenges for a bowhunter. The black bear doesn’t get quite as much respect as the other bears, but it is no slouch. The black bear actually attacks and kills more people than the other three North American bear species combined. The reason should be somewhat obvious, as black bears are abundant and roam freely from Maine westerly to Washington state, south into Arizona, and North past the Arctic Circle.
Black bears are the most serious predator on our continent; one study in Montana indicated they killed 90 percent of the elk calves in a few regions. They don’t just stop at killing babies. Several years ago in Eagle County, Colorado, I interrupted an elk herd moving through some “dark” timber. We call it dark timber because it’s exactly that, dark brown soil with a canopy of spruce trees so thick it is dimly lit in daytime hours. The elk steadily moved through the forest on a single trail as I slowly moved up the steep slope to fill my elk tag. Just when I spotted a set of antlers that held promise, a huge commotion erupted as an oversized black bear charged in from above me and took a dive at a cow elk, 25 yards to my right. The spruce forest erupted with pounding hooves and broken limbs as 20-plus elk exploded in all directions. Based on that encounter, I believe black bears do hunt and harvest mature big-game animals. As with any predator that has conflict with man and domestic stock, they must be managed. My hunting buddies of Greek descent have many stories of bears slaughtering sheep. Hunting is effective, although with states having restrictions on using dogs, baiting and spring hunts, bears are becoming more of a problem across the West.
Black bears haven’t missed the attention of bowhunters. Only whitetail deer and elk account for more entries in the Pope and Young Club’s Record Book of North American Big Game than black bear entries. A huge reason for the popularity is access, and the second might be that twist of danger. I’ve never carried a pistol in the November rut to protect myself from whitetail deer, but I sometimes do in the Colorado Rockies, when I possess a bear tag.
Spring bears are eating machines. After a long winter hibernation, they are on a rampage to fatten up. That is probably why bear baiting is so effective. My first bear hunt was over bait in Saskatchewan, Canada. I eventually went on spot-and-stalk hunts in Colorado, Alaska and British Columbia. I liked the spot-and-stalk hunts best. I’ve also killed bears at water holes in September, while in a treestand. I guess that could be considered a distant cousin of baiting, and it’s a lot of fun. Whether a traditional bait site, water or sitting over an animal carcass, the benefit for the elevated bowhunter is the potential for a bear unaware of the hunter’s presence to present that perfect quartering-away shot. The chest cavity narrows towards its brisket, with that evil shoulder blade looming above and forward of the lungs. When excited at close range, and shooting out of a treestand, the shoulder shot is all too common. The quartering-away shot allows a much bigger window for success.
I’ve heard very strong statements from youthful bowhunters who have harvested numerous deer that hunting bears would be no big deal. Many of them returned from their first hunt with a lot more respect for what they considered the lowly black bear. Many have had stories of blown chip shots and encounters with bears that raised their heart rate.
Let’s not forget the beauty of a bear rug in front of the hearth or on the wall above the couch in the den. My young nieces would first ooh and ah at the size, touch the fur and then feel the teeth. I’ve been asked many times, “So, you shot that with a longbow?” Bear hunters do get some added respect.
At the 2023 Pope and Young banquet in Reno, Nev., I was nosing around for a spring adventure. The pandemic had really put a dent in my pipeline of hunts, planned well in advance. It was a little late, but a guy has to try. A very tempting Alberta black bear hunt with two tags caught my interest. As stated earlier, I’ve rarely hunted baited black bears, but it sounded like an adventure, and I was in need of an escape. Not two hours later, an Alaskan outfitter I’ve hunted with several times — Stan Parkerson of Denali Hunts in Fairbanks — told me he had one opening for a baited black bear and grizzly hunt a couple miles south of the Arctic Circle. To make it more of an adventure, it involved a long flight in a Super Cub with no known competing hunting operations. I was hearing buzzwords that lit my hunting fire — wilderness, Super Cub, Arctic Circle and grizzly. It was probably entrapment, and I got snared!
On the flight to camp, Stan told me no grizzlies had showed up yet, but the black bears were coming in. We landed on a remote strip a mile from a trapper’s cabin. My guide Carl got me situated in the cabin. The original owner, now deceased, used to winter here. It’s a tad odd looking, as it’s built on top of 4-foot-high vertical logs around 30 inches in circumference. I asked, “What’s up with the stilts?”
“Bears,” Carl replied. Bears tend to break down doors and windows and destroy cabins. The elevated cabin had worked over years, outside the occasional attempt to claw through the floor. The 12×18-foot cabin had two single beds, a small dining table and a propane cook stove, everything needed for our adventure.
No lighting system was needed in mid-June, as it never gets dark so far north. The outfitter said the best time to hunt was 10 p.m.-5 a.m. I pictured myself falling sound asleep after midnight my first time on stand, but surprisingly, I made it to 5 a.m. without dozing off, as the parade of bears kept the adrenaline flowing.
Lots of bears is great; the hard part is sorting out the boars. It’s illegal to shoot sows accompanied by cubs, and most outfitters want hunters to shoot boars. Every black bear article mentions how to tell the boys from the girls. Just like our current society, it’s hard to tell sometimes. Small-bodied bears with big ears and pointy noses are obviously sows or immature males. If a bowhunter sees a bear that looks like a black sofa and has a head like a giant melon, it’s a shooter. The dilemma is that most bears are in between these two extremes. The rut helps, as an aggressive, mature boar will harass every sow in sight. However, when only one bear is in front of you, it’s not so obvious, since you have nothing to compare it with. It’s never easy, and even after more than 30 years of hunting black bears, I’m no expert.
One bear was easy to identify, as he apparently was courting every girl in town. He’d calmly walk up to a sow, sniff around and give her a nudge. The sow would respond with a playful bite or soft tap of her paw. Some would roll on their side and wrestle with him a bit. I immediately called him Loverboy. He had little discretion; if it had hair, Loverboy was interested! He was one of only two bears I saw over the course of several days that was for sure a boy. Even though his belly was fairly flat, he was long (at least 1.5 feet longer than most bears I’d observed) and lean, as his desire for love was trumping his desire for food. His skull looked OK, but not overwhelming. We saw Loverboy for three days; he was fun to watch, but always on the move, and rarely presented a good shooting angle.
I had a similar problem with a gorgeous cinnamon bear. Carl was pretty sure it was a girl. I was leaning toward it being a male, but it definitely did not have a huge skull. The hide was a real trophy, but it never presented the classic, quartering-away shot.
On day four, I decided Loverboy was on the hit list, as nothing bigger had made an appearance. We got settled on the tree platform as usual around 10:30 p.m. It was a pleasant evening, with temperatures in the 40s. I thought my bear had wandered off, but at 4:18 a.m., I looked to my right and Loverboy was on his way in with a date.
Six hours of waiting and the early hour had me a bit fatigued, but I snapped back to action mode quickly. The arrow fletched with white feathers was easy to see on the black hide as it struck tight behind the front leg of the boar. Loverboy made it less than 18 yards and luckily collapsed short of the stream. I was suddenly wide awake and ready for all the work involved in transporting and skinning the bear.
On the fifth and last day of the hunt, I left the trapper’s cabin with a grizzly tag in my pocket, which could also be used for a second black bear. On the trail to the treestand, I remembered I had forgotten to strap on my pistol. I thought to myself, My guide has one; it’s no big deal. Two hours after arrival late in the evening, a twin to Loverboy showed up; an obvious boar and very aggressive. He strutted in and stared and smelled but didn’t eat. Obviously, he was experiencing this scenario for the first time. Likely he’d never seen a human. I decided to pass, as he wasn’t substantially bigger than my bear, and I had some more time to see what else showed up.
An hour into the bear laying claim to the spot and chasing off all newcomers, he noticed us on the tree platform. We were maybe 8 feet up, and when he leaned on the ladder, his head was about 12 inches below our feet. My lack of personal protection became dreadfully obvious. Some strong words and pepper spray only made the boar back up 8 yards. “I think we might have trouble leaving here tonight,” Carl said. Well, that was an understatement.
After much commotion and shouting, the aggressive bear backed off about 30 yards. I had the pepper spray and Carl had a .44 Mag. We moved quickly as the bear circled around and followed us to the ATVs. I looked over my shoulder several times as we whisked away. What an adventure!
Nathan Andersohn, a businessman and real estate attorney from Broomfield, Colo., is a dedicated traditional archer who has taken all 29 species of North American big game with a longbow.
Author’s Notes: On this hunt, I shot a 51-pound ACS longbow, Carbon Express 250 Heritage arrows and Razorcap broadheads. I wore KUIU apparel and LaCrosse boots. For information on booking your own black bear hunt in the far north, visit denalihunts.com or call Outfitter Stan Parkerson at 907-455-6056.

Curt Wells of Bowhunter TV stops by the Browning Trail Cameras booth to discuss the new AI technology on the popular Pro Scout Max with Chief Design Officer John Traywick. What this essentially means is that users can now control which pictures they'll see and which pictures they won't by telling each cameras what images it should transmit. Gone are the days of having to sort through every picture that features a squirrel, raccoon, crow or any other critter that you don't wish to view. They also take a look at some new accessories — a solar panel with a built-in lithium cell, as well as a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack.
Bowhunter TV's Curt Wells stops by the QAD booth at the 2025 Archery Trade Show for his annual visit with Kevin Fry. By now, most bowhunters know all about the integrate mounting systems that nearly every bow manufacturer has incorporated into their flagship rigs. QAD has a pair of rests to fit those molds — the Ultrarest Integrate MX2 with micro-adjudt capabilities, as well as the Ultrarest Integrate R2. For archers that still wish to shoot an Ultrarest on an older bow that doesn't feature the integrate mounting system, fear not — QAD still offers a full lineup of Berger Button mounted models, including the Ultrarest HDX among others.
North American Whitetail's Blake Garlock stops for a chat with Bowtech's Bryan Hodakievic at the 2025 ATA Show in Indianapolis. The brand launched the Virtue on the first day of the show, which features the AeroMag magnesium riser — resulting in a mass wright of just 3.7 ounces. DeadLock Technology also returns, allowing for cam adjustments without the need for a bow press. This bow will hit the market with a price tag of $1,999. Additionally, the pair also discuss the other new Bowtech models for 2025 — the Proven 34 and the Solution LS.
Ripcord's Jeff Baker talks through their latest arrow rest lineup for 2025 with North American Whitetail's Black Garlock at the 2025 Archery Trade Association show in Indianapolis. There are three options to choose from this year, inlcuding the RAK — a cable-driven rest with standard adjustment — as well as the Ratchet line, which comes in either a cable-driven or limb-driven design. This line comes available in standard or micro-adjustable options, and the limb-driven Ratchet also feature the whale tail launcher.
Gary Cornum, Marketing Director for Easton Archery, shows Bowhunter TV's Curt Wells some exciting new offerings for the new year at the annual Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis. It all starts with the latest version of the popular Full Metal Jacket arrow — the FMJ Max. Built on a lighter-weight platform than regular FMJ's, you can now get the heavy-hitting benefits of the FMJ while going a bit lighter in the form of the FMJ Max. Additionally, the new Easton 5.0 is an all-carbon arrow built on the lightest-weight platform the company has every produced.
Curt Wells of Bowhunter TV visits with Chris James of FeraDyne Outdoors at the 2025 Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis, where they discuss the innovative technologies behind two of the most well-known target brands on the market — BLOCK and GlenDel. BLOCK, of course, features layered foam technology, essentially stopping arrows with friction instead of force. Not only is that easier on your arrows, but also results in easier arrow removal. What's not as known by archers is that the same layered technology is also used in the GlenDel 3-D targets under an added overmold.
One of the most innovative products at the 2025 ATA Show came from the G5 Outdoors booth. In this video, Bowhunter Editor Chirsitan Berg gets the lowdown on the 2025 Prime Archery Form from Brand Manager Brian Anderson. The Form is the world's first hybrid carbon/aluminum bow, essentially aiming to place the right materials in the right places. In other words, Prime created a lighter, stiffer rig by placing both carbon rods and aluminum exactly where it needs to be. This method increased overall stiffness by 47.5 percent, while decreasing weight to just 4.1 ounces — the lightest bow Prime has ever taken to market.
Hunter Safety System, long known for their top-notch safety harnesses and lifelines for traditional treestand hunters, has made a big leap into the saddle hunting world for 2025. Here, Bowhunter Editor Christian Berg talks to Michael Wydner of HSS about that transition at the Archery Trade Show in Indianapolis. He also gives us and in-depth demonstration of the new individual products, such as the Defender Saddle, Legend Platform, and the SlapStrap system.
Bowhunter Editor Christian Berg visits with Joe Jacks of Kenetrek Boots at the 2025 ATA Show in Indianapolis. For the new year, Kenetrek has launched the new Elevated Extreme boots, specifically with the saddle hunter in mind. With a 7mm full-length midsole, these boots are built to neutralize platform soreness so that you can stay comfortable all day long. Additionally, Kenetrek's Grapon outsoles give you exactly what you need for the hike out, without the worry of getting your feet caught up on your platform when in the saddle.
Chris James of FeraDyne Outdoors gives Bowhunter TV host Curt Wells an introduction to the new Hypo 2 broadhead at the 2025 ATA Show in Indianapolis. The Hypo 2 follows a long, successful tenure from the original Hypodermic. Rage fanatics will immediately notice a couple of things. First, the Hypo 2's will come in a 4-pack instead of the standard three, as well as a re-designed Shock Collar system that now allows for each collar to be shot three different times. It didn't take long to garner some attention on the show floor either, as the Hypo 2 took the hardware as the "2025 ATA Best New Broadhead."
Nobody takes as much pride in their traditional offerings as Bear Archery, and that's as true this year as its ever been. Here, Bear's Neil Byce visits with OSG's Lynn Burkhead at the 2025 ATA Show to discuss the what's new in their traditional world. It starts with the new Hammer Grip on the Fred Bear Take Down — the most popular traditional bow in the world. The new grip option provides a low-profile alternative for a more relaxed, comfortable hold, and is available in both A- and B-length risers. The other addition discussed is a new 64-inch option on the beloved Super Kodiak bow, which will greatly benefit taller bowhunters.
OSG's Lynn Burkhead checks out the latest and greatest from Trophy Ridge at the 2025 ATA Show in Indianapolis. Design Engineer Andrew Hughes shows off a number of impressive bow sights, including the Digital React — available in both single-pin and three-pin models — and the SWFT Duo, a pair of models that will surely solidify Trophy Ridge's place in the industry for yet another year.
Digital Now Included!
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services
PREVIEW THIS MONTH’S ISSUE
See All Other Magazines
See All Special Interest Magazines
Get the top Bowhunter stories delivered right to your inbox.


All Bowhunter subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.
To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.
Get Digital Access

Enjoying What You’re Reading?
Offer only for new subscribers.
Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.
Get the top Bowhunter stories delivered right to your inbox.
By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use

source