While attending the 2006 Mule Deer Foundation/Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (MDF/FNAWS) convention in Reno, I met Mike Robinson of Thunder Bow Outfitters who was offering fully outfitted and guided spring bear hunts in the Swan Valley of northwestern Montana at what seemed a very reasonable price. After talking to Mike, along with veteran guide Bart Schmidthuber several more times during the show, I decided to book a hunt for the 14th-19th of May, 2006. My first outfitted hunt ever!

Mike made me feel very comfortable with the idea that I would be coming alone and that they would make every effort to pair me (guides were two on one) with an experienced, compatible hunter. He also provided all necessary information to obtain a Montana bear license and kept me reminded of the time lines for getting it done. First time hunters are required to pass a bear identification test before being issued a license. Fortunately, everything can be done over the internet and the test can be retaken if failed.

I drove myself, a former professional bull rider from Colorado now working in the beef industry, from my home in Nevada to Thunder Bow Outfitters in Condon, Montana, enjoying some spectacular scenery along the way. Upon arriving at the lodge, I found I was the first to get there. I was greeted by the lodge’s two resident dogs, Osa Bear, an aging black lab and Trooper, a six month old golden retriever. Before long, Mike arrived and showed me around.

Thunder Bow Outfitters is truly a family run business. Mike’s wife, Bobbie Jo, does all the cooking and keeps up the lodge and cabins. Mike’s son, Ron Robinson, lives nearby and serves as a guide and partner in the business. Guide Bart Schmidthuber, who also has his own outfitting business, has been with Thunder Bow for nine years. In addition to the spring bear hunts, run locally on state forest lands, they outfit for deer and elk in the Bitterroot Mountains. The also run cougars with hounds during the winter and do guided river and pack-in fishing trips in the summer.

The meals we ate were delicious and abundant. They are served family style around a large round table and no one leaves hungry. We ate two prepared meals per day (breakfast and dinner) at the lodge and we took sack lunches on the road each day that Bobbie had ready for us at breakfast time.

I was offered a bed in the lodge loft or a single cabin to myself. I chose the cabin, not wanting my erratic sleeping habits to disturb my fellow hunters. When Bobbie returned from Kalispell, where she had been shopping and picking up one of our party from the airport, I was introduced to fellow hunter Steve Buhlke. Steve would be my hunting partner and Bart would be our guide for the week. Two other guests, Tom and Randy, attorneys from the Houston area, arrived later that night and were assigned Ron for their guide.

The evening before our first hunting day found us all excited and eager for the hunt to begin. Mike explained that the weather had been colder than usual (it had snowed on the previous Tuesday) and that there had not been a lot of bear activity as yet. I had heard the weather report in Missoula earlier in the day and remarked that a warming trend was expected early in the week. This turned out to be an understatement, as we would learn later.

We were to earn our bears the hard way on this hunt, being a combination of still hunting and spot and stalk. We would walk gated logging roads, slowly peering around each curve to look for bears, until we reached the open areas of the clear cuts, usually 1,000 feet or more elevation above our starting point. We would glass the clear cuts, looking for bear activity, then return on the same or another logging road. Hibernating bears, we were told, would emerge from their dens with the onset of warm weather and begin feeding on grass and dandelions in the open areas and along the logging roads. Covering four to six miles in the morning and two to four miles in the evening on foot each day was about what to expect.

On our first day of hunting, Bart talked to us before leaving the truck about what we were looking for in a bear. I explained I wanted an adult bear that would make a nice rug and that a unique color phase would be a plus. Steve wanted something similar that would be destined for a full mount. Bart then literally had us pick a number to see who would get the first chance at a bear. I won and suggested we alternate who would shoot first every other day. Bart added that if the first shooter declined a bear, the second hunter could have the option of taking it.

Day one for us was walking logging roads as described with the sighting of about six piles of scat… maybe two of which were fairly fresh. We could feel the forecasted warming trend approaching as temperatures crowded 80 degrees. No bears were spotted in the evening, either. Ron and his clients had slightly better luck, seeing one shooter bear that Tom could not get a decent shot at before it disappeared. They also saw another small bear and a sow with cubs on their evening hunt.

Day two was more walking up a different drainage, but now the heat wave was here! Temperatures up to 90 degrees at this time of year were unheard of for this area and the snow on the ridgelines was melting fast. Flood watches were being posted along the creeks and rivers and the mosquitoes were out with a vengeance. If a bear scented us, it would be the bug dope we were bathing in. No bears on day two and even less sign. Ron and his hunters returned to the area they had found bears the day before, but were skunked as well.

With the heat we were experiencing, the guides wanted to get on the roads closer to daybreak. We had been starting our walks around 9 a.m. and informal statistics kept by our guide said most spring bears are killed between 10 a.m. and noon. Tuesday would find us eating breakfast an hour earlier, and starting our walks by 7:30 a.m. It was my day again for the first shot.

We had been walking logging roads, as usual, for almost three hours, when we rounded yet another corner and Bart stopped to glass. I was right beside him when a bear materialized from the timber about 90 yards up the road. It was unaware of our presence and appeared to be feeding toward the road, but was behind a budding shrub that I could see through, but did not want to shoot through. Bart whispered, "Shoot that bear"! I took a prone position and waited for it to feed out from behind the bush. Slowly a head appeared, then a front leg. One more step and I would have the shoulder shot Bart had instructed us to take whenever possible (he had told us earlier that he "HATED" chasing wounded bears!). In the same instant, the bear was suddenly staring straight at us and on high alert! Something had tipped it off and Bart urgently whispered, "Shoot now"! I had the crosshairs where the bear’s neck meets the shoulder, but was flirting with the edge of the bush when the .35 Whelan roared and the bear collapsed in its tracks. Bart and Steve gave me hearty congratulations as we walked up to inspect my trophy.

After insuring my bear was finished and taking a few photos, Bart amazed us with his plan for getting my trophy back to the truck, now about three miles away. Without gutting the approximately 150 pound animal, Bart had us assist in getting it up on his back, where it was secured with one strap from his backpack around the middle of the bear. Both front paws were draped over the guide’s shoulders. This inspired Steve to propose the nickname Bart the Bear, which stuck for the remainder of the hunt. We had crested a ridge earlier and the first mile of the trip was a sustained climb with the temperature building! By the time we reached the truck, Bart had impressed both Steve and myself with his strength and stamina.

My bear was a mature female, probably in her teens, with brown color phase turning to chocolate on the legs. Blond hair highlighted the back, much like a silvertip grizzly and it measured five feet nose to tail. The hide is currently being made into my rug and I can’t wait to try my bear breakfast sausage and hunter sausage from my animal.

Everyone else hunted hard, but the extreme heat lasted until Thursday, when temperatures began to return to normal, making the hunting tough. Mike's theory was that it was too hot for the bears and they were spending the days in the cool of the timber and feeding at night. A few more bears were sighted, but no one could get a shot off and the week ended with me being the only one fortunate enough to harvest a bear.

I can't say enough about Thunder Bow Outfitters and how they made my first ever outfitted hunt a memorable experience. Their commitment to personal service and willingness to work hard for their clients was apparent throughout the week. I look forward to hunting with them again, hopefully for deer and elk and would recommend a spring bear hunt in the Swan Valley of Montana with Thunder Bow Outfitters to anyone looking for a great time and a good value on an outstanding hunt.

　SUGGESTED PHOTO CAPTIONS:  #001 The author's bear, a mature female, showed color phases ranging from dark chocolate to nearly blond. #006 Author with the only bear taken during a week of unusually warm spring hunting weather. #007 Guide Bart "The Bear" Schmidthuber (left) and author with color phase Montana spring bear.  #014 A converted pole barn serves as a rustic and comfortable lodge at Thunder Bow Outfitters of Condon, Montana.