Across the West, spring bear season is more of an idea than a tangible thing—sort of like fantasy football or American soccer. Plenty of hunters participate, but precious few actually tag a bear—or, frankly, even see one in hours and days in the field.
In part that’s because hunters are generally not on bear time: Spring bears emerge from hibernation on their schedule, not ours. And partly it’s a matter of density: There are relatively few bears spread out on immense Western landscapes. Both considerations mean you need to spend plenty of time and cover vast distances to be successful in any Western state’s spring bear hunt.
This brings us to the next point: Of any hunting season aside from mountain lion, spring bear hunts are most in jeopardy. Washington closed its limited-entry hunt two years ago after an activist wildlife commission voted it down. Colorado hasn’t had a spring bear season
