WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.519 Welcome to the bear hunting magazine Hunt Cash with me 2 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.879 Koby Morehead. We're gonna nerd out on bears hunting in 3 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.239 the outdoors. We'll tell stories, talk biology, tactics, gear, and 4 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:24.440 the fight to protect the pursuits that we hold dear. So, 5 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.600 grab your bino's, lace up your boots, load up your barrels, 6 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.679 and gather the hounds. We venture on this journey together. 7 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.240 Today on the podcast, we're gonna continue a similar conversation 8 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:47.000 to the last one. We were talking about keying in 9 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.439 on fall bears. This time we're talking to Josh Kershner 10 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.000 from Arizona. We're gonna talk about what he looks for 11 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:57.759 and how he scouts for fall bears in Arizona. There's 12 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.759 a lot of things we can learn from Josh and 13 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.719 other people that hunt in harsh, extreme environments. We've seen 14 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:09.079 time and time again that Josh really learns and has 15 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.120 figured out how to overcome obstacles in his way and 16 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:14.519 have the ability to adapt in and. 17 00:01:14.519 --> 00:01:15.400 Find the bears. 18 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:19.920 Most years, Josh writes a couple of articles every year 19 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:23.120 for Bear Hunting Magazine, and we've seen just how passionate 20 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:25.799 he is about bear hunting and whether you live inside 21 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.079 of a similar environment or not. There is stuff to 22 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:32.280 learn about bear behavior inside of this and good ways 23 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.719 of thinking. So even if it's not something that you're into, 24 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:40.680 there's always something to learn. We're starting out this episode 25 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:42.959 with Josh telling us a little of his background. 26 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:50.799 Here's Josh been bear hunting down here. Mostly. Bears really 27 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:52.879 got me into hunting a lot, he said, Deer hunting 28 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:56.879 my dad kind of like an annual deer camp every year, 29 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:00.840 which was amazing as a kid. But I got older 30 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.879 for some reason. Dude, I don't know what it was, 31 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:04.959 but the bear thing just kind of got to me. 32 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:07.480 So that's what really I just decided. I was like, man, 33 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.639 I'm gonna learn how to do this, you know, And 34 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:14.319 I just dove headfirst into bears, which is super unique 35 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.360 for where I live because we're not necessarily considered a 36 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:19.919 bear state Arizona. Like a lot of people that live 37 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:23.199 here don't even know that bears exist here. Started learning 38 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.840 how to bear hunt, and through doing so, that was 39 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:28.319 the thing that kept me in the field the most. 40 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:32.280 So I decided to try to do a kind of 41 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:36.400 an online journal about it, which turned into a blog 42 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.439 called dialdon Hunter, and I think that was about a 43 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:44.599 decade ago. At this point, I didn't know anyone was 44 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.919 reading it. I just wanted to be transparent, kind of 45 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:50.520 have an online journal for myself to reflect back on 46 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.840 and see where I messed up, see where I succeeded. 47 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:58.199 I got a message from Clay about a bear that 48 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:01.319 my first bear that I got, and he was asked 49 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:03.759 me if to write an article, and that's the first 50 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:08.159 article I ever had published. So nowadays, ten years later, 51 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:12.199 I am a writer, videographer and photographer in the hunting 52 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:14.919 industry and I'm due this full time. I've written a 53 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:19.000 couple of books too, So yeah, that's me in a 54 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:24.000 nutshell without getting too far into the weeds. 55 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:30.840 I really like the quality that Josh has where he 56 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.439 was starting an online blog, but he was doing it 57 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:37.199 a lot for just himself and not knowing if anyone 58 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.080 was reading. And then out of the blue, he gets 59 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.919 a call and he was first published inside of Bear 60 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.960 Hunting Magazine, which is cool. You never know where Clay 61 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.639 Nukelemb's name is gonna pop up. But if you want 62 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.280 to learn more about Clay, check out episode one. That's 63 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:58.159 episode uno of the Bear Hunting Magazine Hunt cast to 64 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:04.120 hear more about Clay. So since Josh brought up his 65 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:08.240 first ever article that was published inside a bear hunting magazine, 66 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:10.479 I asked him to go ahead and tell us that 67 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:11.479 story real quick. 68 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:17.279 So here's Josh. 69 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.199 That was a roller coaster of the season. Ended up 70 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:25.720 kind of all over the state, bouncing around. First bear 71 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.839 I was on, ended up getting run out of the 72 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:31.800 country by dogs. I actually shot a bear in August, 73 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.600 tracked it for two days, couldn't find it, almost quit 74 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.600 bear hunting that year. It was just a nasty deal. 75 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:45.920 And then returned that following October and found this big, 76 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:50.600 old jet black boar with my brother and he walked 77 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:52.480 out and there was two other bears with it. We 78 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.800 saw nine and bears that morning. I think I was 79 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:56.399 wild and I shot that bear and that was my 80 00:04:56.439 --> 00:04:59.959 first bear. And that's so that's the article that I wrote, 81 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.120 the first one for Bear Hunting magazine. Through all of 82 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:05.879 the looking around I've done for bears because so like, 83 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.079 one of the hardest things about the bear thing here 84 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:14.319 is food isn't consistent from year to year. So you 85 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.800 can't be like, oh, yeah, I saw nine bears here 86 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:19.839 last year and then go back the following year and 87 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.560 guarantee that they're going to be there. So because of that, 88 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.680 you bounce around a lot, and through doing so I 89 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:31.560 would find good deer spots and stuff too. So yeah, 90 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:35.360 I along with the bears. Man, I absolutely love Coos 91 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.319 deer hunting. Black bears are my number one love out 92 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:41.399 in the mountains, but Coos deer is number two for sure. 93 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:45.040 I hunted meals for a couple of years and was successful, 94 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:47.160 but ever since I got my first coups, I haven't 95 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.279 hunted one meal deer in Arizona since I'll go out 96 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:55.439 of state Colorado, Utah or whatever to hunt meal deer. Also, obviously, 97 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:57.759 we have great elk hunting here. You know, it's kind 98 00:05:57.800 --> 00:05:59.240 of a blessing and a curse to live in a 99 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:01.800 trophy state like Arizona, because pulling a tag is like 100 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.680 incredibly difficult, but I do, I do get after the 101 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.000 late archery bull hunts are like fairly easy to draw, 102 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:11.920 so like, I do that quite a bit and then 103 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:14.000 have alinair are super fun too, and we got good 104 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.319 turkey hunting here as well, so awesome. 105 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:25.480 Yeah, I think there's a lot of value that comes 106 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:30.480 from the struggle. I wonder if Josh would have been 107 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:35.399 able to have an easy chip shot ride at the 108 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:37.800 first day break of day kind of luck with a 109 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:40.600 bear if he'd be the same hunter he is today. 110 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:45.439 I think sometimes the struggle makes us a lot better hunters. Well, 111 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.120 I know it does. There's one particular story I asked 112 00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:52.120 Josh to share, and we're gonna be talking about the 113 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:55.480 bears and the pears. It's an article he wrote a 114 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:59.959 while back that talks about how plan a plan be 115 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.560 doesn't always come into play and that you have to 116 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.360 be able to adapt. So here's Josh talking about the 117 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:08.920 bears and the bears. 118 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:16.439 Every year it's I mean, some years it's absolutely arid, 119 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.720 and some years it's like a monsoon, and some years 120 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.759 it's kind of in between. All of that has an 121 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:28.959 effect on food, on what food, on how fast food 122 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.560 is growing, what food is growing, and where it's growing. 123 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:37.639 So it's incredibly vital as a bear hunter, more specifically 124 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.360 as a fall bear hunter, to go out and actually 125 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:43.399 find that food. So what I do in a lot 126 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.879 of scouting is I'm out there looking around for acorns 127 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:48.920 and stuff like that to make sure that stuff is there. 128 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:55.040 That story, I was predicting that there was going to 129 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:59.560 be a lot of acorns, and I was right, but 130 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:04.519 I also was wrong. So let me I'll elaborate on that. 131 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:08.680 So we have different species of oaks here. Okay, so 132 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:11.079 we have one called a scrub oak and another one 133 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.360 called a gamble oak. Those are the two main ones 134 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:15.959 that I focus in on for black bears. The scrub 135 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:19.839 oak is an early season a corn august. The gamble 136 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:23.160 oak is a later season a corn that happens in October. 137 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:28.079 On that particular year, we had a good early season 138 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:32.320 acorn crop, but not a good later season a corn crop. 139 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:35.720 The struggle was I was going to these areas where 140 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.919 I thought bears were gonna be at based on the 141 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:44.399 early season acorns, and I was finding old sign. Okay, 142 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:47.320 this is in October, by the way, When I was 143 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:51.639 out here looking around, and I was assuming, and this 144 00:08:51.799 --> 00:08:54.720 is like growing pains of a bear hunter, right, I 145 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.200 was assuming that we would also have a good October 146 00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:00.279 acorn crop. But it just wasn't the case. I found 147 00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.519 that out once I got into the field, saw old 148 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:07.679 sign but no new sign. So after three or four days, 149 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:10.159 I mean, I packed into the back country pretty far 150 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:14.559 on that hunt, went back in there. I found one 151 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.840 young bore way up high, but I think I saw 152 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:21.240 three acorns when I was hiking in on the trail. 153 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.360 You know. So for people that don't know, like, if 154 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:27.559 you do not have the food, you do not have 155 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:31.399 the bears, Like if you're wasting your time. Really Like, 156 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:33.519 I'm a guy that likes to think that no day 157 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:35.759 is wasted in the field. Okay, but if you're out 158 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:37.759 there looking for bears, you best be you best have 159 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.639 the food located. Okay. So I pulled out of there 160 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:45.039 and I went to a different area to look at 161 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.840 because another thing that will happen as acorns will occur 162 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.799 in pockets. So I was like, oh, I wonder if 163 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.360 it's better over here. So I pulled out, went to 164 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.879 a different area, same kind of scenario. The early season 165 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:01.159 sign was there, but there wasn't any newer sign. So 166 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.440 after a couple of days of looking around, I was like, 167 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:08.000 you know what, if there's no acorns, I'm gonna go 168 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.759 check this other food source, which another main food source 169 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:15.440 for us is prickly pears. There's a big berry that 170 00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:19.039 is about two three inches long that grows on a 171 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:24.279 prickly paired cactus, and those bears, it's like candy to them. Okay. 172 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:28.519 So I went to a different spot lower in elevation 173 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.879 this occursion, and the first evening I was there, we 174 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:37.320 found a giant bore going through the prickney pears and 175 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:43.000 it's like, okay, now we're talking. So we never got 176 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:44.840 a shot on that bear that evening. He ended up 177 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:47.159 betting up in a spot that was just we just 178 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:48.559 couldn't get a shot on him where he was. He 179 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:54.240 ran out of light. Return the next morning, knowing that 180 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:58.799 a bear is not going to leave an area if 181 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:03.120 he doesn't have to, particularly a big boar, If he 182 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.879 has food and water where he's at, he will completely 183 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:11.480 clear that area out before he leaves on his own 184 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:14.440 unless something pushes him out, which a something pushing out 185 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:15.879 a big board the only thing that's gonna do that. 186 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.679 As a hunter, I feel like or another big boar. 187 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:23.080 So we came in the following day in three point 188 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.559 thirty pm. He comes walking out. He was beneath us 189 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:28.320 the entire time and we never saw him. He was 190 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:32.039 betted up all day long, comes walking out and feeding 191 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:37.120 on prickly pairs, and I shot him at four hundred yards. 192 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.679 What I didn't say that fought that morning though we 193 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.639 found another bear that was in the same area. So 194 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:48.000 what I'm getting at here is we found the current 195 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:52.080 What's important is finding the current food source, like what 196 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:56.080 they prefer right now, not a month ago. And once 197 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:00.759 we got that, we saw bears regularly, okay, and it 198 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.919 was only a matter of a couple miles okay, and 199 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:08.440 the spots that I was in to start out with, 200 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:12.120 these are areas have I'm not I've seen in upwards 201 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.039 of twenty bears in like within like three four hundred 202 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:20.600 yard area on certain years. Not this year though, it 203 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:24.159 was different. Which is the hardest part about black bear 204 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:27.840 hunting in Arizona to me is it's a moving target. 205 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:31.919 You can't just guarantee things. So yeah, just a prime 206 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:34.360 example of yeah, you need to go out and you 207 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.159 need to actually spend the time proofing the food source, 208 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.440 and you can't bet your money on what you saw 209 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:39.960 last year. 210 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.200 A lot of the things that Josh was talking about 211 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:47.639 made me think to the last episode with Myron Means 212 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:52.320 talking about natural foods and kenn On bears, for one, like, 213 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:56.480 we weren't talking about the same types of things. I mean, 214 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.360 we were both talking about acrons, but we weren't talking 215 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:02.759 about the the ones on scrub oaks and gamble oaks. 216 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:05.480 We were talking about white oaks and post oaks and 217 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:09.480 black oaks, and we weren't talking about prickly bears. We 218 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:13.320 were talking about other soft masks here, like cherries and 219 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:19.320 black gumberries and muscadions. I think it's a good reminder 220 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:24.240 to always know that the same spot won't always work 221 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:28.480 you after year. All right, let's start talking about scouting 222 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:29.360 for bears. 223 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:31.639 Here's Joshua. 224 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:43.240 Time is money Cooby with Arizona in particular, how our 225 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:47.000 bear season works is it opens on a Friday, and 226 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:51.440 our units they're open based on South Quota limits. If 227 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.519 a unit hits South Quota, that will close the following 228 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.240 Wednesday at sundown. So what I'm getting at is you 229 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:03.840 might only have six days to hunt a certain area, okay, 230 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.440 because it might shut down you don't know. So in 231 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.039 the spirit of that, in my opinion, it's very important 232 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:13.320 to scout ahead of time so you're not wasting days 233 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:17.600 during the hunt finding what you need to find. The 234 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:22.120 beauty about on X and using something like the terrain 235 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:27.360 X feature is that is really just how important elevation is. 236 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:32.799 So I'm doing this literally right now, like I just 237 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:35.679 got back less than a week ago from a scouting 238 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.840 trip in any unit I've never been to. And what 239 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.159 I'm trying to do is I'm trying to key in 240 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:47.600 on a certain elevation band between you know, forty five 241 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:50.360 hundred feet six thousand feet, like right in there, like 242 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:54.120 that that area, because in the past, I know that 243 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.279 that is kind of the area where food is going 244 00:14:57.320 --> 00:15:02.159 to be ripe during laid off. Okay, where in that 245 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:04.559 is it going to be ripe? I'm I don't know. 246 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:08.759 Within on X, I will use that terrain X feature 247 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:13.120 to block out everything that isn't forty five hundred to 248 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:16.080 six thousand feet, So basically everything will go like to 249 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.200 like a dark shade of gray or something like that, 250 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:21.480 and everything that I want to see will be in color. 251 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:25.919 Super beneficial, Okay, cut a lot of the weeds out 252 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:31.159 on a country. There's also the view shed tool on 253 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:35.240 there where so I'm a glasser, Okay. You can only 254 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.720 tell so much from a glassing point on a computer 255 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.519 as to what you're like, what you're going to actually 256 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:46.639 see when you get there. There's been many times I'm 257 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:48.360 looking at a topple map and I'm like, oh yeah, 258 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:49.919 this looks like a good glassing spot. And then I 259 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.000 get there and I'm like, I can't see anything. So 260 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.720 the cool thing about that terrain X in the view 261 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:00.000 shed is you can actually drop a pin on wherever 262 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:03.600 you're thinking about glassing and it will highlight what you 263 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.879 can see the view from that point, So you can 264 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:10.720 have a really good idea of what you're gonna be 265 00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:15.039 able to see before you even get there. But once 266 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.519 those areas are located on the map and I've I've 267 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.559 my ONYX looks like a Christmas tree with with all 268 00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:24.480 the pins all over it, the water sources, the potential 269 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:28.879 glassing positions, which I try to do stuff like I 270 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.279 try to find like like an ideal scenario would be 271 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.320 like find like a big main ridge where I could 272 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:38.600 walk along kind of like like shimmy along the top 273 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.919 and I can look down off of both sides, down 274 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:48.080 into the basins beneath that right and and fingers crossed 275 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:52.360 that there's water down on both sides. For Arizona, that's 276 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.639 incredibly vital. I won't even hunt an area if there's 277 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:58.639 not water around. I won't even like I won't even 278 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:01.080 go look at the food if it's not there. People 279 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.200 in like the PNW and stuff like that. They like 280 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:07.039 like with water, water is everywhere, dude, I'll tell you what. 281 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:11.599 Like down here, the desert water is gold. Okay. So 282 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:15.960 once I have areas of interest on on within my ONYX, 283 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:18.680 then it's time to go prove them. And that's what 284 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:21.400 I just did. I went. I went about a week ago. 285 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.480 I went, and I hit all these points, not glassing 286 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:29.880 at all. Okay, Like I'm not sitting down and glassing 287 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.359 because the reason being is because I know that they're 288 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.240 not there yet. The bears aren't in those areas yet 289 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:37.759 that I know where I could go see bears right now. 290 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:42.599 But the food source changes and the bears move with that. Okay. 291 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:44.920 So what you're trying to do is you're trying to 292 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.839 you're trying to alley up them. Basically, you're trying to 293 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.759 find where they're going to be, not where they are, Okay. 294 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.680 So and that's that's where finding that food, those food 295 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:58.720 sources all come down to, uh, it comes into play. 296 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.000 So that's what we did. We went, we proof water. 297 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.279 We found lots of food sources, found a lot of 298 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:06.039 good stuff, found a lot of bad stuff. Stuff like 299 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:07.960 that I'm looking at on a map and I'm like, oh, 300 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:09.960 this looks really good. I got there and I'm like, 301 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.720 you know, I'm a little disappointed. That's what That's why 302 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.720 it's so important to actually go and see it. So, yeah, 303 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:16.720 that's that's what I do. 304 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.160 And you're not glassroom for bears, but I'm assuming that 305 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.640 you take your optics to be able to see the 306 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.279 food sources, so you're not having to walk all the 307 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:25.799 way over there. 308 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:28.880 Yes, yes, let me yeah, let me let me back 309 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.519 up there. I was being more specific towards black bears. 310 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:34.319 I have binoculars with me, and I also have a 311 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:36.839 spotting scope, and I have done this in the past 312 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:40.519 where I've actually used my spotting scope to zoom in 313 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:43.200 on like prickly pair of cactus from a long ways 314 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:45.599 out to see how the berries are looking and stuff. 315 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.839 I do it in oaks because some of our so 316 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:51.839 the early season acorn that we have a scrub oak. 317 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:54.960 It's a smaller acorn. I mean it's only about the 318 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.559 size of your fingernail, okay, so so when it's coming in, 319 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.480 it's really small, all right. And like said, like sometimes 320 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.359 like it's like a pe. So having optics to be 321 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:08.799 able to sit there like even if I'm looking at 322 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.279 something from less than one hundred yards away, you can't 323 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.640 see them. Okay, so you need you actually need your 324 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.559 optics to glass down into the food to see the acorns, 325 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:21.200 butting and stuff. So yeah, another thing I'm glassing for 326 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:27.960 Kolbe is the water, because the water will naturally pull 327 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:31.480 up in the bottoms of our canyons, and I can 328 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:35.200 oftentimes see that from above. So when I do see that, 329 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:39.960 I'll use So a really cool tool that recently came 330 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:46.200 out on within on X is there the compass mode 331 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:51.960 on there. So with that I can actually pinpoint. I 332 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.079 can like point my phone at the water, pinpoint where 333 00:19:56.119 --> 00:20:00.599 that is, and drop a pin right on that water 334 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:03.200 is from where I'm standing, and then I have that 335 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:14.359 there for future reference. Well. 336 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:16.680 I wish we had time to do a deep dive 337 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:21.440 into pre scouting and scouting inside of on X and 338 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.680 on the ground, but Josh did a good job of 339 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.920 bringing it down to the key things that he looks 340 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.519 for and not getting too much into the weeds. I 341 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:33.119 will say that there's some good resources on the on 342 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.920 X YouTube channel. They call them masterclasses, and there's some 343 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.640 pretty good resources in there regarding looking for bears, and 344 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.920 you'll get some good information from those types of resources. 345 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:47.799 The next thing that I want Josh to share with 346 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:50.319 us is what kind of intel is good for him 347 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:54.880 whenever he's in a season. So if him and a 348 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:57.359 hunting buddy are in a similar area, what kind of 349 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.240 information would he like to know about bear behavior here? 350 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.079 And I think that it gives us some good questions 351 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.599 so that whenever we just see a bear, it gives 352 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.839 us a good list of questions when we're out there 353 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:12.599 hunting to really begin to try to understand what it 354 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:14.359 is that the bears are actually up to. 355 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:26.559 Here's Josh. 356 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:32.880 If you find one black bear, and let's say you're like, oh, yeah, 357 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:35.079 I found that bear. He's at he's at he's at 358 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:39.839 forty seven hundred feet okay, and he's doing this. I 359 00:21:39.880 --> 00:21:42.119 always ask people that, like people that send me like 360 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:43.640 oh yeah, I saw a bear. I'm like, well, what 361 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:47.160 was he doing? It's like if he was just walking, 362 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.160 maybe he was going to a different elevation band, it 363 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.720 was he feeding? Okay? What was he eating? Okay? So 364 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:58.799 then you know that okay, which which then means it's like, 365 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.400 don't look at that. It's just one bear. Now you 366 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:06.839 have this valuable piece of the puzzle, Okay, to be like, Okay, 367 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.000 I saw this bear forty seven hundred feet he was 368 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:15.359 eating this type of acorn, and he was on this 369 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.279 facing slope, so he was on like a south facing slope. 370 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:21.039 He's not west facing slope. Whatever that is. You can 371 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:24.640 take that information and transpose it to different areas in 372 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.519 where you're hunting, which then is gonna make more bears. 373 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:32.680 Like I always tell folks like, if you see a 374 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.000 black bear in an area, that bear is there for 375 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:41.440 a reason. Okay they and chances are there's more than 376 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.559 that bear around, Okay, So just yeah, So I always 377 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:48.279 look at someone finds one bear, I'm like, there's more 378 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:51.759 than that around for sure. That bears there for a reason. 379 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:55.119 So when it's time to go on a hunt, how 380 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:57.200 long do you give a spot before you move on 381 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.160 to another spot that you've keaten on? 382 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:04.480 So I like to give a spot at least in 383 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.640 evening and the morning, you know, sit from like three 384 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.279 o'clock or something two o'clock until dark in glass, and 385 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:14.960 then the following morning be in your spot before daylight. 386 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.519 With black bears, I think that's so important, like being 387 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:23.200 late to your glassing spot when you're bear hunting is 388 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:26.880 just man, you're just doing yourself a disservice. Man. Those 389 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.599 bears really like to operate in twilight, in those like 390 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:35.519 gray light hours. So yeah, like glass evening last morning, 391 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.359 you know, first light to I don't know, ten eleven 392 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:41.240 o'clock in the morning. And if I haven't seen anything 393 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:44.559 in an evening in the morning unless I know, like 394 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:46.480 I've walked through the area and I'm seeing a bunch 395 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:51.200 of sign. If you're seeing fresh sign, okay, I'm just 396 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.400 not seeing what's here, right, That's a good thing to 397 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:57.000 key in on. I killed a bear two years ago 398 00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:01.599 at this point. I never saw that until I shot him. 399 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:05.880 And I hunted for probably over a week before I 400 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.519 actually saw him, and I put the puzzle together of 401 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:12.519