North Carolina Bear Hunting Outfitters
Private Trip
Big game hunting
Private lodge hunting with trained hounds and professional guidesHunt across four North Carolina counties for trophy bearsHarvest preparation and cooler packing services included
Looking for a top-rated bear hunting experience in North Carolina's legendary black bear country? Eastern Primal Outfitters delivers the real deal with trained hounds, experienced guides, and exclusive access to prime hunting grounds across four of the state's best bear counties. This isn't your typical weekend hunt – it's a full-service adventure where you'll chase bruins through Beaufort, Tyrell, Washington, and Hyde Counties with a dedicated team that lives and breathes bear hunting. You'll stay in our private hunting lodge, eat hearty dinners after long days in the field, and work with guides who know every trail, creek bottom, and honey hole where big boars like to roam.
This is single-hunter focused hunting at its finest – you get the full attention of two seasoned guides plus multiple dog handlers who've been running hounds in these swamps and hardwood bottoms for decades. We're talking about a week-long adventure that takes you deep into North Carolina's coastal plain, where the food is rich, the cover is thick, and the bears grow big. Your day starts early with the sound of hounds hitting a fresh track, and it might end with you field-dressing a trophy boar while your guides help pack meat into coolers. The country we hunt is gnarly – think pocosins, creek bottoms, and dense hardwood swamps where bears feel safe enough to grow old and heavy. That's why we recommend briar-proof pants and either snake boots or knee-high rubber boots, because you'll be pushing through some serious cover when those dogs get hot on a track. Don't forget your valid NC hunting license with the Bear E-Stamp – it's required by law, and game wardens do check. Plan to arrive the afternoon before your hunt starts so you can settle in, meet the dogs, and get the lay of the land.
Bear hunting with hounds is an art form, and these coastal counties offer some of the best bear habitat in the Southeast. We use GPS collars on our lead dogs, so you'll always know where the action is, even when the chase disappears into thick cover miles away. The terrain here ranges from wet pocosins where bears love to bed down during hot weather to oak and beech ridges where they feed on mast crops. Your guides read sign like a book – fresh tracks in creek mud, claw marks on beech trees, day beds in thick cane breaks. When the dogs strike a hot track, you'll need to move fast through whatever terrain lies between you and that bear. Sometimes that means slogging through knee-deep swamp water, other times it's picking your way through a tangle of briars and fallen timber. The hounds do the hard work of tracking and treeing, but you've got to be ready to cover ground when they call. These guides know every logging road, farm path, and creek crossing in four counties, which means they can position you for the best shot when that bear decides to break from the dogs. The real skill comes in reading the dogs' voices and knowing when to push hard and when to hang back and let the pack work.
North Carolina black bears in these coastal counties are something special – they've got year-round food sources from agricultural areas, hardwood mast crops, and abundant berries and fruits in the pocosins. A mature boar here can easily push 300 to 500 pounds, with some real giants topping 600 pounds. These bears are smart, having learned to navigate between agricultural areas where they feed and dense swamplands where they feel safe. Fall is prime time because bears are packing on weight for winter, hitting acorn crops hard and raiding any standing corn or soybeans they can find. A big coastal plain boar has a massive head, thick neck, and a gut that shows he's been living well on rich agricultural foods. The sows tend to be smaller but can still dress out at 150 to 250 pounds. What makes hunting here special is the variety – you might tree a bear in a 100-year-old cypress along a creek, or find one feeding in a cut-over pine plantation. These bears have personality too. Some will tree quickly when the dogs get close, others will run for miles through the nastiest cover they can find, testing both hounds and hunters. The pricing reflects the quality of bears in this area – Eastern Primal charges an extra $50 per pound for bears weighing 400 pounds or more because they know the caliber of animals their hunting grounds produce. That's confidence in their hunting program and the quality of bears you're likely to encounter.
Eastern Primal Outfitters has put together a world-class bear hunting operation that takes care of every detail so you can focus on the hunt. From the private lodge where you'll stay to the experienced guides who'll help field dress and pack your bear, this is a customer favorite for serious bear hunters who want results. The hounds are seasoned, the guides know the country like their own backyard, and the bears in Beaufort, Tyrell, Washington, and Hyde Counties are as good as you'll find anywhere in the South. Whether you're after your first bear or looking for a wall-hanger boar, this hunt delivers the goods. Don't wait – the best hunting dates fill up fast, especially during peak season when the acorns are falling and the bears are moving. Contact Eastern Primal Outfitters today to secure your spot for what could be the bear hunt of a lifetime in North Carolina's premier bear country.
Black bears here in eastern North Carolina can range anywhere from 150 to over 400 pounds, with mature boars pushing well past that mark in good mast years. These bears love the dense pocosins and hardwood swamps scattered throughout Beaufort, Tyrell, Washington, and Hyde counties - perfect cover with plenty of food sources. Fall hunting is prime time when they're putting on weight for winter, typically from late October through December. What makes bear hunting special is the tradition - running hounds through thick Carolina swamp, hearing that music echo through the timber when they strike a hot track. The meat's excellent too, especially from bears feeding heavy on acorns and berries. Local tip: always check wind direction before your dogs hit the ground. Bears will use thermals to their advantage in these swamps, and a good bear knows every escape route in his home range.
Beaufort, NC