USA: Northern Idaho Black (Cinnamon) Bear Hunt In Farm Land

Justbryan

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I just got back from Northern Idaho bear hunt in the middle of farm land. There are some giant black bear in the deep canyons in the middle of Idaho farm land. The first hour of the hunt we had two bears come in at 300 and 400+ yards. An average sized cinnamon bear for the area came to bait about 30 minutes before sunset at 300+ yards which we had already dialed the scope into for the range. The bear had been observed the prior day running up to the bait and leaving quickly with a mouth full of bait. The bear was only going to be in the shooting lane for a minute.

I decided to shoot the cinnamon bear instead of waiting on a larger black bear even though it was on the small side. Bear are extremely hard for me to judge and it was even smaller than I first thought. But the color of the bear was what caused me to make the shot and not the body size. The bear's color was a dark reddish brown cinnamon on the legs with a lighter cinnamon back. I shot through the front legs instead of making a middle of the middle shot with a 28 Nosler, "Best of the West" Rifle. I was wanting the bear to go down on the spot and that worked perfectly. The shot flipped the bear end over end and it was down with no tracking. The fear was that we would lose the bear down the canyon off the cliff.

The only sad part for me was my hunt was over too quickly because my guide put weeks of hard work into baiting and scouting. He was 100% sure a few bears would show up. I was skeptical but did exactly what he told me. He went against much of the advice that I had read in researching black bear hunting but I did not question his tactics or advise. I was was very skeptical about shot placement but he was confident and everything worked out.

Bear pic
20210430_211229.jpeg
 
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Waidmannsheil @Justbryan !

that's a great looking bear !
 
I should have brushed his hair, cleaned the blood off his fur and the log, and put his tongue back in his mouth before snapping the picture. But, I was several hundred yards down a canyon hanging off a cliff trying not to kill myself while taking a photo.

I almost died trying to get him out of the canyon. I will be in better shape next time!
 
Congratulations. That looks outstanding. As a card-carrying clumsy person I applaud your decision to focus on staying alive. Frankly the itty-bitty stuff with grass and the tongue can be gone beyond scrutiny in about 97 seconds with Photoshop. Were I at my desktop and not my tablet you'd be seeing that instead of reading it.
 
Wow, beautiful bear. I would have had a hard time passing on him. I've never been bear hunting, but it is on the list. :)

Do you mind sharing a bit more about the outfitter's, duration of the hunt, price, etc, etc. Thanks.
 
Congrats, nice bear!
 
Beautiful hide - Congrats!
 
Nice bear!! Congrats!
 
I dont know photoshop but I tried using Paint

1620934086177.png
 
Glad you came to Idaho and took a bear. We have a bunch of them.
We can take two a year here.
Nice bear congrats !
 
Color phase bears are awesome. Congratulations on your bear!
 
Guide was Brian Lewis with Twisted Horn Outfitters. He is a little more expensive than a lot of guys but he had multiple bear located and on bait. He hunts 1on1 and does not just drop you on a stand. I learned a couple tricks that will help me be a better hunter.

The cost was $5000 on private land hunt which does not include lodging. Craig Boddington referred me to Brian and is hunting with him this week.

Thanks.
 
Glad you came to Idaho and took a bear. We have a bunch of them.
We can take two a year here.
Nice bear congrats !
I love Idaho. Idaho is one of the most generous states in the USA. The people are great and hospitable. I love our ability to buy OTC tags for multiple species and the huge public land available for hunting. I hunted private land but love to explore the state and federal properties. We were in the Nez Perce Indian Reservation on private farm hunting in a canyon surrounded by crops.

A huge bonus was going to Coeur d'Alene area (Post Falls) and eating stuffed Danish Aebelskiers at the Old European restaurant. They are like pancake balls only better. Now I want to visit Denmark and Norway. This is a must try if ever in Coeur d'Alene! I was wanting to visit Sandy Point but did not get up there.


I love Idaho. I would love to live there in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. I could not handle the winters. I will be back for one of those 500+ lbs giant black bears soon.
 
I just got back from Northern Idaho bear hunt in the middle of farm land. There are some giant black bear in the deep canyons in the middle of Idaho farm land. The first hour of the hunt we had two bears come in at 300 and 400+ yards. An average sized cinnamon bear for the area came to bait about 30 minutes before sunset at 300+ yards which we had already dialed the scope into for the range. The bear had been observed the prior day running up to the bait and leaving quickly with a mouth full of bait. The bear was only going to be in the shooting lane for a minute.

I decided to shoot the cinnamon bear instead of waiting on a larger black bear even though it was on the small side. Bear are extremely hard for me to judge and it was even smaller than I first thought. But the color of the bear was what caused me to make the shot and not the body size. The bear's color was a dark reddish brown cinnamon on the legs with a lighter cinnamon back. I shot through the front legs instead of making a middle of the middle shot with a 28 Nosler, "Best of the West" Rifle. I was wanting the bear to go down on the spot and that worked perfectly. The shot flipped the bear end over end and it was down with no tracking. The fear was that we would lose the bear down the canyon off the cliff.

The only sad part for me was my hunt was over too quickly because my guide put weeks of hard work into baiting and scouting. He was 100% sure a few bears would show up. I was skeptical but did exactly what he told me. He went against much of the advice that I had read in researching black bear hunting but I did not question his tactics or advise. I was was very skeptical about shot placement but he was confident and everything worked out.

Bear pic
View attachment 401836
Congratulations sir!
 

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