We are pleased to offer a unique fall season bear hunting experience in southern Arizona, primarily within the Coronado National Forest. When searching for black bear hunts, many people would not ever think to look to Arizona. But, from recent experiences and publicity, more and more hunters are coming to realize that this State can provide some of the best trophy black bear hunting in the West. A glance at recent entries in the record books will show that Arizona has produced many "book" black bears. It is considered a top choice for record-class bear hunting. Though the quantity of black bears in Arizona is not high by anyone's standards, the quality of the bears (whether it be color, body size, or record book potential) is why many hunters choose Arizona for their bear hunt. The Arizona black bear comes in all color varieties (commonly referred to as "color phases"). Colors range from blonde, cinnamon, chocolate, to coal black. Seventy-five percent of the bears we have harvested over the past couple decades have been colored with chocolate brown being dominant. Arizona black bears live in the thick timber at higher elevations most of the year, but during the months of August through October (our typical hunting season) some bears come out of the high country in search of fat-building food sources. Bears have a very large home range and have been known to travel as far as 100 miles to find isolated pockets of food. This always keeps us "on our toes" trying to locate them before hunting season. Some Arizona black bears travel to the lower desert elevations of their mountain ranges looking for prickly pear cactus fruit, which is very sweet and high in calories. This phenomenon is often called "Bears in the Pears." Southern Arizona bears are typically in the pears during our August Archery-Only season. Bears may also travel to areas with a high concentration of acorns, juniper berries, mesquite beans, or manzanita berries during times when they are not eating pears, which is typically during the October General season (General = firearms or other legal weapons for bear). What the bears are feeding on dictates where and how we hunt. Our bear hunts are "fair chase" in the purist form! Although every one of our big game hunts can be considered challenging, this is considered the most challenging hunt that we offer. Dogs or bait are not used on this hunt. We use two main techniques to harvest our bears, the spot-and-stalk method and the calling method. As a primary hunting technique, we hike to a good vantage point where a few square miles of terrain can be seen at one time. When a bear is amongst the sparse vegetation, it can be observed at very long distances using high-powered binoculars. We occasionally spot bears up to 2 miles away since it is such a vast area. Once a good bear is spotted, we plan our stalk. Rifle shots can sometimes be across big canyons, so a Harris bipod, good high-power riflescope, and a big, flat-shooting caliber is recommended. Lightweight rifles are also needed in this very rough terrain.