2007 Arizona Desert Bear
August 10, 2007, and today is the season opener for Arizona desert bear. Keith Hubbard, guide and owner of Arizona Hunting
Adventures, peaked my interest in spot and stalk bear hunting several years ago while we were together on an elk hunt. That hunt
was successful and we continued to stay in touch over the years. Keith loves bear hunting and offered to show me the ropes as
long as I was committed to the hard work necessary to make it happen. Months before the hunt I started working out more regularly
in order to get into shape for what I knew was going to be a physically demanding hunt. A busy family life and lots of out-of-state
travel for work made keeping my routine a challenge. Weeks before the season opens Keith and I start meeting late on Friday night
after work to scout the following morning at first light. We are moving light and fast – sleeping on cots in our pick-up truck beds and
getting up before dawn to hike into likely areas to glass for bears. We have scouted the last three weekends through monsoon
rains, bugs and sunburn but have not yet seen a single bear. Sign is abundant down in the thick bushy canyons and this gives us
hope.
Desert bear hunting is a very unique experience. It is commonly referred to as “bears in the pears” since the bears come out of the
thick scrub oak and Manzanita thickets to take advantage of the abundance of ripe prickly pear fruit. Bears are opportunist eaters
and take advantage of the most tasty and readily available food sources. For this hunt we were focusing our efforts at about 4,000
feet in elevation – a transition zone loaded with prickly pear fields yet close enough to higher altitudes where the bears can get out of
the heat. At this time of year the daytime temperatures are still in the range of 90 to 100 degrees F. Sun exposure and dehydration
are very real concerns. As with most Western hunting, powerful high-quality optics are an absolute must. Behind the big eyes of
tripod mounted 10 or 15 power binocular you can cover far more ground then you ever will be able to using your boots.
The prickly pear fields are in great shape with lots of fruit but it is a little early in the year and they are just starting to ripen. Which
means that the bears are still eating Manzanita berries, juniper berries and other food sources. This is not good for us since these
foods are found mostly in steep canyons choked with vegetation that are nearly impossible to hunt effectively.
Keith and I met up the night before the hunt and crashed in his travel trailer. It was so nice to have a bed and air conditioning! We
are on our way at 3:15 AM so that we can get on the mountain first. Desert bear hunting is very competitive and there are other
camps full of hunters all around us. It is a short drive up the Forest Service road and then a 90-minute hike in the dark before we get
to our spot. Another group of hunters has been following in our footsteps for quite some time and Keith hangs his headlamp about
8 feet in the air on a dead agave stem as a beacon to make sure they know where we are. From our vantage we can see truck and
quad headlights all over the desert roads for miles around. And we also observe the smaller twinkle of headlamps from hunters
coming in on foot. By 5:00 AM it is light enough that we can begin to glass the nearby hillsides. About 5:20 AM we are startled by
loud snorts and woofs from a deer someplace behind us. It is close and we are both interested in what might have spooked it so
we turn to glass up the mountainside rather than down into the canyons. The deer keeps up the racket and finally we assume that
the other hunters behind us must have come in someplace above us where they startled it.
We both turn back to glassing downrange around 5:30 AM and within minutes Keith yells “BEAR!” It is on a flat area just at the edge
of a crease that goes down into a canyon. We quickly decide to pursue it as we grab our gear and nearly run down the mountain to
get in the area where we last saw the bear. The bear was on the move too and we have lost sight of it. Keith and I split up a short
distance to glass different parts of the canyon. I’m looking down into a broad flat area choked with Manzanita, juniper, prickly pear
and scrub oak. After a few minutes I spy something that looks out of place. Something that is just too black in color. Then the bear
moves its head and I can see the side profile perfectly and its brown muzzle. It had been facing away from me and I was watching
the back of its head until it turned and gave me the profile view. A quick scan with the rangefinder places it at exactly 300 yards.
Keith is back and we try to figure out what to do next as we watch the bear goof off and poke around in the thick brush below. Keith
sets up his binocular tripod and has me get ready to shoot using the tripod head as a rest. I can easily see the bear with the scope
set at 9x and we watch as it starts to move around. Now it is walking slowly facing us and quartering slightly. Keith says “take it”
and I fire. It is now after 6:00 AM and I’ve lost sight of the bear. Keith had been watching through his binocular and feels confident
that the shot was good based on the way the bear reacted. We occasionally hear crashing down in the canyon and anxiously keep
glassing hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear. As we wait the air grows thick with little biting gnats. They are so thick we are
breathing them in so quickly put on our face nets to keep them out of our nose and mouth. After about 30 minutes we start working
our way down into the canyon. The edge nearest us has a massive rock wall that would have been nearly impossible for the bear to
come up so our odds of finding it further down are good. The canyon is steep and it is impossible to go down quietly due to the
thick brush. I’m so excited that I keep accidentally walking into prickly pear and agave – ouch! Keith gets to the scene first. Blood
sign is plentiful and tracking should be fairly easy. We are excited and talking pretty loud by now and there is more crashing down in
the brush. I make sure the rifle has a round in the chamber and that the magazine is fully loaded. The tracking is indeed easy. Lots
of blood and the sign lines out like a road map. At first the bear is busting brush like you would expect from a frightened animal. But
then it settles to traveling well-padded trails down on the sides of the canyon. There is a lot of blood and trailing continues to be very
easy for a time. Then we come to a side drainage where the bear had bedded and the blood trail simply disappears. Absolutely
gone. It is very steep and thickly vegetated and we both pound around the hillsides looking for blood. We look up and down the
drainage but can’t find anything. I suggest that the bear may have doubled back on its original trail and then cut-off on a different
path. We are both are perplexed and ready to check it out. We don’t have to go far before Keith is onto the spot where the bear
turned off the path and bushwhacked down into the canyon again. I suspect that the bear had bedded down then it heard us and
came back a little way to investigate before taking off again. Only minutes into our renewed search Keith yells that he can see the
bear and heads in for a closer look. But the bear is up and makes a brief run. It is standing broadside to me now at about 20
yards. I put a round through both shoulders and it drops for good. When we get up on the bear we find that it is a decent sized 200+
pound sow. Not a giant but certainly respectable. Arizona Game and fish later ages the bear at around 10-years. The first bullet hit
further back then I would have liked. It could have been that the bear was moving or a factor related to bullet trajectory shooting from
steep elevations. It had hit high on the back, missing the spine, and blew a massive exit wound on the belly where the fully
expanded bullet exited. The second shot was more on the mark and took out both shoulders. We sit for a few moments to enjoy
our success and then get set-up for photos. Now the work really begins.
I’ll skip the details of skinning and quartering a bear other then to remind everyone that this is the desert in August. And it is
beginning to get hot. Luckily we are in shade at the bottom of the canyon but we still have several miles to hike out. And we have
three mountains to climb on our way. We opt to try and get everything out in one hike rather then breaking it into multiple trips. The
packs, with bear and gear, must weigh well over 80 pounds each. Keith voluntarily takes more then his fair share. We set off with
loaded packs just before 10:00 AM. The hike out of the canyon is absolutely grueling. The scrub oak is so thick, and the canyon so
steep, we just lean into it and slowly claw our way up. We have at least 1,000 feet in elevation to climb. At the top I catch Keith and
we rest a few minutes. I’m bushed but still running on adrenaline. Down we go into the next canyon and back up another
mountain. My water is gone by now and it is getting very hot. I’d guess someplace in the mid-90 degree range with the sun bearing
down on us. As we rest on the top of the second mountain before descending into the next steep canyon I start to cramp a bit and
feel absolutely lousy. Walking now is dreamlike, simply focusing on plodding along with one foot in front of another. At the bottom
of the canyon I catch Keith again. But I need more then a little rest by now and dump my pack so I can lie down. My stomach is
cramping and I have dry heaves. My thighs, calves and feet are all cramping from dehydration. Keith stays with me but there is little
he can do except let me rest. As he is taking off he drops me his last half bottle of water and grabs my rifle and some of my gear
then sets off up the next mountain. After a brief rest I’m feeling a little more alive until I try to stand. I’m very lightheaded and still
cramping. The climb up the third mountain is ridiculously slow. But once at the top I can see the truck down below. Still a long way
off but at least I can see it now. Half way down the side Keith comes up to meet me with water. It hurts to drink it. I’m still heaving
but try to take in some badly needed liquids. Keith grabs my pack and sets off towards the truck. Even without the pack I can’t keep
up with him. Finally stumbling out of the brush I climb in the truck cab and throw the air conditioning on high. Keith already has the
bear meat and hide on ice in the coolers. It takes a solid 10 minutes before I think I can drive. We finally set-off about 1:00 PM to go
get more ice. As we drive out on the Forest Service road there are at least 10 other hunters set-up in their camps trying to stay cool.
Ours were the only shots we heard all day. Keith makes a comment about us being more committed and therefore more
successful. I agree but also wonder if we shouldn’t be committed to an institution for hunting in these conditions!
Adventures, peaked my interest in spot and stalk bear hunting several years ago while we were together on an elk hunt. That hunt
was successful and we continued to stay in touch over the years. Keith loves bear hunting and offered to show me the ropes as
long as I was committed to the hard work necessary to make it happen. Months before the hunt I started working out more regularly
in order to get into shape for what I knew was going to be a physically demanding hunt. A busy family life and lots of out-of-state
travel for work made keeping my routine a challenge. Weeks before the season opens Keith and I start meeting late on Friday night
after work to scout the following morning at first light. We are moving light and fast – sleeping on cots in our pick-up truck beds and
getting up before dawn to hike into likely areas to glass for bears. We have scouted the last three weekends through monsoon
rains, bugs and sunburn but have not yet seen a single bear. Sign is abundant down in the thick bushy canyons and this gives us
hope.
Desert bear hunting is a very unique experience. It is commonly referred to as “bears in the pears” since the bears come out of the
thick scrub oak and Manzanita thickets to take advantage of the abundance of ripe prickly pear fruit. Bears are opportunist eaters
and take advantage of the most tasty and readily available food sources. For this hunt we were focusing our efforts at about 4,000
feet in elevation – a transition zone loaded with prickly pear fields yet close enough to higher altitudes where the bears can get out of
the heat. At this time of year the daytime temperatures are still in the range of 90 to 100 degrees F. Sun exposure and dehydration
are very real concerns. As with most Western hunting, powerful high-quality optics are an absolute must. Behind the big eyes of
tripod mounted 10 or 15 power binocular you can cover far more ground then you ever will be able to using your boots.
The prickly pear fields are in great shape with lots of fruit but it is a little early in the year and they are just starting to ripen. Which
means that the bears are still eating Manzanita berries, juniper berries and other food sources. This is not good for us since these
foods are found mostly in steep canyons choked with vegetation that are nearly impossible to hunt effectively.
Keith and I met up the night before the hunt and crashed in his travel trailer. It was so nice to have a bed and air conditioning! We
are on our way at 3:15 AM so that we can get on the mountain first. Desert bear hunting is very competitive and there are other
camps full of hunters all around us. It is a short drive up the Forest Service road and then a 90-minute hike in the dark before we get
to our spot. Another group of hunters has been following in our footsteps for quite some time and Keith hangs his headlamp about
8 feet in the air on a dead agave stem as a beacon to make sure they know where we are. From our vantage we can see truck and
quad headlights all over the desert roads for miles around. And we also observe the smaller twinkle of headlamps from hunters
coming in on foot. By 5:00 AM it is light enough that we can begin to glass the nearby hillsides. About 5:20 AM we are startled by
loud snorts and woofs from a deer someplace behind us. It is close and we are both interested in what might have spooked it so
we turn to glass up the mountainside rather than down into the canyons. The deer keeps up the racket and finally we assume that
the other hunters behind us must have come in someplace above us where they startled it.
We both turn back to glassing downrange around 5:30 AM and within minutes Keith yells “BEAR!” It is on a flat area just at the edge
of a crease that goes down into a canyon. We quickly decide to pursue it as we grab our gear and nearly run down the mountain to
get in the area where we last saw the bear. The bear was on the move too and we have lost sight of it. Keith and I split up a short
distance to glass different parts of the canyon. I’m looking down into a broad flat area choked with Manzanita, juniper, prickly pear
and scrub oak. After a few minutes I spy something that looks out of place. Something that is just too black in color. Then the bear
moves its head and I can see the side profile perfectly and its brown muzzle. It had been facing away from me and I was watching
the back of its head until it turned and gave me the profile view. A quick scan with the rangefinder places it at exactly 300 yards.
Keith is back and we try to figure out what to do next as we watch the bear goof off and poke around in the thick brush below. Keith
sets up his binocular tripod and has me get ready to shoot using the tripod head as a rest. I can easily see the bear with the scope
set at 9x and we watch as it starts to move around. Now it is walking slowly facing us and quartering slightly. Keith says “take it”
and I fire. It is now after 6:00 AM and I’ve lost sight of the bear. Keith had been watching through his binocular and feels confident
that the shot was good based on the way the bear reacted. We occasionally hear crashing down in the canyon and anxiously keep
glassing hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear. As we wait the air grows thick with little biting gnats. They are so thick we are
breathing them in so quickly put on our face nets to keep them out of our nose and mouth. After about 30 minutes we start working
our way down into the canyon. The edge nearest us has a massive rock wall that would have been nearly impossible for the bear to
come up so our odds of finding it further down are good. The canyon is steep and it is impossible to go down quietly due to the
thick brush. I’m so excited that I keep accidentally walking into prickly pear and agave – ouch! Keith gets to the scene first. Blood
sign is plentiful and tracking should be fairly easy. We are excited and talking pretty loud by now and there is more crashing down in
the brush. I make sure the rifle has a round in the chamber and that the magazine is fully loaded. The tracking is indeed easy. Lots
of blood and the sign lines out like a road map. At first the bear is busting brush like you would expect from a frightened animal. But
then it settles to traveling well-padded trails down on the sides of the canyon. There is a lot of blood and trailing continues to be very
easy for a time. Then we come to a side drainage where the bear had bedded and the blood trail simply disappears. Absolutely
gone. It is very steep and thickly vegetated and we both pound around the hillsides looking for blood. We look up and down the
drainage but can’t find anything. I suggest that the bear may have doubled back on its original trail and then cut-off on a different
path. We are both are perplexed and ready to check it out. We don’t have to go far before Keith is onto the spot where the bear
turned off the path and bushwhacked down into the canyon again. I suspect that the bear had bedded down then it heard us and
came back a little way to investigate before taking off again. Only minutes into our renewed search Keith yells that he can see the
bear and heads in for a closer look. But the bear is up and makes a brief run. It is standing broadside to me now at about 20
yards. I put a round through both shoulders and it drops for good. When we get up on the bear we find that it is a decent sized 200+
pound sow. Not a giant but certainly respectable. Arizona Game and fish later ages the bear at around 10-years. The first bullet hit
further back then I would have liked. It could have been that the bear was moving or a factor related to bullet trajectory shooting from
steep elevations. It had hit high on the back, missing the spine, and blew a massive exit wound on the belly where the fully
expanded bullet exited. The second shot was more on the mark and took out both shoulders. We sit for a few moments to enjoy
our success and then get set-up for photos. Now the work really begins.
I’ll skip the details of skinning and quartering a bear other then to remind everyone that this is the desert in August. And it is
beginning to get hot. Luckily we are in shade at the bottom of the canyon but we still have several miles to hike out. And we have
three mountains to climb on our way. We opt to try and get everything out in one hike rather then breaking it into multiple trips. The
packs, with bear and gear, must weigh well over 80 pounds each. Keith voluntarily takes more then his fair share. We set off with
loaded packs just before 10:00 AM. The hike out of the canyon is absolutely grueling. The scrub oak is so thick, and the canyon so
steep, we just lean into it and slowly claw our way up. We have at least 1,000 feet in elevation to climb. At the top I catch Keith and
we rest a few minutes. I’m bushed but still running on adrenaline. Down we go into the next canyon and back up another
mountain. My water is gone by now and it is getting very hot. I’d guess someplace in the mid-90 degree range with the sun bearing
down on us. As we rest on the top of the second mountain before descending into the next steep canyon I start to cramp a bit and
feel absolutely lousy. Walking now is dreamlike, simply focusing on plodding along with one foot in front of another. At the bottom
of the canyon I catch Keith again. But I need more then a little rest by now and dump my pack so I can lie down. My stomach is
cramping and I have dry heaves. My thighs, calves and feet are all cramping from dehydration. Keith stays with me but there is little
he can do except let me rest. As he is taking off he drops me his last half bottle of water and grabs my rifle and some of my gear
then sets off up the next mountain. After a brief rest I’m feeling a little more alive until I try to stand. I’m very lightheaded and still
cramping. The climb up the third mountain is ridiculously slow. But once at the top I can see the truck down below. Still a long way
off but at least I can see it now. Half way down the side Keith comes up to meet me with water. It hurts to drink it. I’m still heaving
but try to take in some badly needed liquids. Keith grabs my pack and sets off towards the truck. Even without the pack I can’t keep
up with him. Finally stumbling out of the brush I climb in the truck cab and throw the air conditioning on high. Keith already has the
bear meat and hide on ice in the coolers. It takes a solid 10 minutes before I think I can drive. We finally set-off about 1:00 PM to go
get more ice. As we drive out on the Forest Service road there are at least 10 other hunters set-up in their camps trying to stay cool.
Ours were the only shots we heard all day. Keith makes a comment about us being more committed and therefore more
successful. I agree but also wonder if we shouldn’t be committed to an institution for hunting in these conditions!
Arizona Game and Fish aged this
bear at over 12-years. It was a
decent sized sow desert bear.
bear at over 12-years. It was a
decent sized sow desert bear.
Specialized optics and lots of time
behind them are the best way to
succeed at desert bear hunting.
behind them are the best way to
succeed at desert bear hunting.
This is amazing country to hunt.
We were watching the prickly pear
fruit for weeks hoping it would be
ripe enough to bring the bears out.
This fruit is not ripe.
fruit for weeks hoping it would be
ripe enough to bring the bears out.
This fruit is not ripe.
Most every afternoon storms
would roll in.
would roll in.
| WESTERN EXPEDITION ADVENTURE | GEAR | WEAPONRY |
| Contact Eric Call 480-522-6150 |
