Canadian Wilderness Outfitters

The best bear hunting in Canada is with the Canadian Wilderness Outfitters. The Canadian Wilderness Outfitters have been hunting bear in the Duck Mountains of Manitoba since 1996. The dense forested areas and rich agricultural land of the Swan River Valley provide the habitat and food source required to hunt the biggest trophy bears in Manitoba. If you’re looking to hunt trophy black bear or trophy brown bear, this is the Manitoba bear hunt for you.

SPRING OR FALL BEAR HUNT?

We hunt from mid May to Mid June then again end of August to mid September. When is the best time? Depends on your schedule & what you want in a bear. There is no size difference between a Spring bear skull and a Fall bear skull. However, there are major seasonal differences in weight and fur conditions. A bear can emerge in the Spring from its winter den weighing 30% less than it did in the Fall. While a bear dens he is living off his fat reserve. It is essential that during the Fall prior to denning a bear must gorge himself to put on all this extra weight. Therefore, that Fall bear can be huge due to this massive weight gain. Fur conditions also vary from season to season. Most hunters believe a bear’s fur is finest soon after den emergence in the Spring. That is when the guard hairs are the longest & the under fur the thickest. It is during the Spring that hunters must look at the condition of the fur carefully before shooting. Bears will scratch & rub themselves to help shed this heavy coat of fur leaving rubbed marks. A hunter may see a bear that has bare patches on their hind quarters or behind their front shoulders. A Fall bear fur will be sleek, dense, & shiny with no rubs. The benefit of being able to "look a bear over" while on a bait is that you can observe for the quality of the fur.  

Manitoba Black Bears can come in "color phase" of brown, cinnamon and chocolate colors and as light as blonde.

Bear hunting requires some knowledge of bears, so we try our best to educate our hunters about judging bears for size, fur quality and sex. When you arrive we have "Bear School" where we discuss methods of baiting, hunting, recovering bears, our routine and the reasons for it, usual bear activity, how to judge bears, and most important the killing shot.

 Routine:

  1. Breakfast: Anytime
  2. Recovering Bears, Skinning Bears, Preparing Baits
  3. Lunch: Meal at Camp or Bagged Lunch to bring with you to the stand
  4. Leave Camp: Between 2pm-4pm
  5. Hunters settle into their stands: Between 4pm-5pm
  6. Hunt: Until dark which is around 10pm-11pm
  7. Back to camp and a meal: 12am

 We access our areas by truck, quads and walking. Our stands are about 12-16 feet off the ground, or ground blinds that are between 10-75 yards from the bait depending upon what weapon you are shooting; gun or bow.


We try to obey good hunting principles of keeping scent to a minimum.  Our wilderness tent camp is at the base of the North slope of the Duck Mountains. We utilize canvas tents with hard floors & walls, bunk beds with good mattresses, rifle and archery range with meals in the main tent cabin.

Bear Hunting Package

Includes:

  • 6 days of hunting
  • Comfortable tent camp (*Remote camping optional)
    • Exclusive Tents for each hunter
    • Woodstoves in each tent
    • Wifi available at home camp
    • 24 hour Hot/Cold running water
    • Indoor shower
  • Meals
    • 3 Meals a day
    • Home Cooked Breakfast
    • Catered Lunch
    • Home Cooked Dinner
  • Bear License
  • Fully Guided & Fully Baited
  • Tree Stands
  • Skinning, Quartering, Freezing

After the Hunt:

  • Fishing
  • ATV Riding
  • Sight Seeing

What to Bring:

  • Weapon and ammunition
  • Safety belt for stand hunting
  • Warm clothes 
  • Rain gear
  • Rubber bottom boots or water repellent boots
  • Bug spray or thermal cell
  • Sleeping Bag
  • Cooler for hides/meat
  • Flashlight and batteries (Headlamps are preferred)
  • Fall season: Blaze orange vest and solid blaze orange hat