Nocturnal Bears

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Originally Posted by Greenhorn

Lol, I was waiting for your report on the auto feeders. I never have sows that take over a bait. They try but a sow will only have so many fights with all the different boars before they decide to leave. Lots of food will feed lots and lots of bears.

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Very few people can compete with your set-ups. You seem to have great sources for lots of bait. You also have too much time on your hands (playing with bears every day you retired old phart :thumbup: ). In your case I guess nothing needs fixing.

I envy you in some ways BUT for myself and the vast number of bear hunters we just couldn't do what you do.

So we put on our thinking caps out of desperation.
Bait costs money. Bait also needs to be hauled long distances. This same bait needs to be stored somehow for rebaiting runs. Rebaiting runs cost even more money and TIME.
Sometimes the cash expense and time just doesn't fit in with DA WIFE or DA BOSS or DA VACATION SCHEDULE.

We need a system to maximize our returns and results with the least amount of time and expense.

So I can safely say that going down that road called bear hunting I would have to say I'm a well worn traveller. Maybe a cripple in some ways. I've seen many would be bear hunters fall by the wayside after a few seasons. How can they not like this shyte.

This is what it takes to be a bear hunter. You must like sweating and toiling. and physical work, and hot humid days, and mosquitos and black flies, and deer flies, and horse flies. The smell of well rotted call lure excites us. we wear clothes that even a rag factory wouldn't take, all covered in guts and grease. And you must be mentally prepared to have more disappointments then successes.
Anyway I guess I just described myself and you too!

Keep us posted Brent - always a good read!

Here is a thought.. Baiting the bears is simply conditioning them to come back to the same spot (ideally every day) to feed and most of us weekend warriors fill up barrels on the weekends and hunt ,drive back home and repeat next weekend. This process works well for most of us that are happy to take the younger meat bears but the older wise ones simply wait for us to leave before coming in to eat.
So I think I will try adding something really sweet like pie filling ,marshmallow goo ect ect to my corn/oat/grease and molasses mix in a small amount (5- 10 lbs) when I re-bait on the weekends. The thinking will be to condition the bears to anticipate this super treat that will get eaten the quickest after they hear/smell me refilling the bait and cause more intense competition to get there first and maybe bring in bigger bears before dark.
I am no pro and haven't been at this as long as most of you but in my mind it kinda sorta makes sense . LOL

That’s the beauty of the spring hunt. The rut is on and the boars will follow the sows all day long.

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Originally Posted by Hunter John

Here is a thought.. Baiting the bears is simply conditioning them to come back to the same spot (ideally every day) to feed and most of us weekend warriors fill up barrels on the weekends and hunt ,drive back home and repeat next weekend. This process works well for most of us that are happy to take the younger meat bears but the older wise ones simply wait for us to leave before coming in to eat.
So I think I will try adding something really sweet like pie filling ,marshmallow goo ect ect to my corn/oat/grease and molasses mix in a small amount (5- 10 lbs) when I re-bait on the weekends. The thinking will be to condition the bears to anticipate this super treat that will get eaten the quickest after they hear/smell me refilling the bait and cause more intense competition to get there first and maybe bring in bigger bears before dark.
I am no pro and haven't been at this as long as most of you but in my mind it kinda sorta makes sense . LOL

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John you're right on with the weekend warrior statement. Yes the method works great. Lots of bears and adventures for those doing it. And good eating too boot!

IMO
But here's something to think about. Bears are solitary animals. Once mama kicks them out then they're on their own till death do them part. They are not herd animals. As a bear ages and fends for himself he becomes more withdrawn and more solitary. It gets worse as he gets older and older. When a bait is placed in the woods for ALL bears to access this is not a natural occurrence. Sure a big bear will drop by but the amount of traffic and competition often sends him packing. When that 500lber found your bait he already weighed 500 lbs without any help from us. He knows how to survive and where to find natural foods. Our baits are a nice bonus but sometimes isn't worth the hassles. Where does a big mature bear go to find food and peace and quiet.
One thing that really seems to ring true is that most of the guys successful with bigger bears usually say that he was the only one on the bait or there were 2 or 3 mature bears on it (mature boars will tolerate other mature boars). As soon as the gangs and families show up then the big ones seem to either fade away or come during a slow timeslot. Prime time for bears seems to be the last 2 hours before dark. All bears like that time frame. If they're all competing for that time frame then it's no wonder Mr big comes later. Also it's cooler at that time. Go back and check out your pics. Ever notice how all the big bears are panting and gasping. They're so fat that their core/surface ratio retains heat better then a smaller, thinner bear.
anyway just my opinion on a subject that never seems to get solved on a consistent basis.

Thanks for the insight Skeeter ,it makes a lot of sense . I am happy eating the 170 -200lb bears and only see the real bigguns on camera at night although some big guys seem to like the time before sunrise. Tried a few morning hunts sneaking in an hour before sunrise and only succeeded in pushing bears off the bait including the biggest ever we had on camera and he did not come back until the next year.
I would love to watch a 300lb or bigger bear work his way into the bait as it would be like watching the 14 point buck closing the distance to the end of my arrow.

here's a little more to ponder. the "treat" idea is a good one but you need to make sure he gets a little to know what he's missing. If the lesser bears clean you out then you're really not dealing with the big guy directly.
My lofty goals are to change my presentation to eliminate all lesser bears.
to create an oasis for just mr big and maybe a friend or two of his.
boars will tolerate other boars. then the treat idea will hopefully create competition and get an early visit ...

problem with big boars is "it's all or nothing" ..... I can deal with it!

I was wondering about that set up. It’s intriguing. One thing about sweets, a lot of older bears have broken or cracked teeth. Sweets may cause them discomfort. These bears prefer pure fat with a aneise oil.
I have one spot that has a monster, not one video of him in 4 years. Drove by all the sites a few days ago. The snow is crazy high. A late spring here.

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Originally Posted by Greenhorn

I was wondering about that set up. It’s intriguing. One thing about sweets, a lot of older bears have broken or cracked teeth. Sweets may cause them discomfort. These bears prefer pure fat with a aneise oil.
I have one spot that has a monster, not one video of him in 4 years. Drove by all the sites a few days ago. The snow is crazy high. A late spring here.

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Brent you're right about the teeth. But Not all big bores have bad teeth. maybe 25%. and too much sugar will turn them off. Problem you need to figure out is which bear do you have on your bait. One of the 75% or one of the 25%???

Most hunters think there's a magic food recipe that will work wonders. Anything they try has already been tried by thousands of guys before them - yet they try! kinda like that definition of insanity.

I try to just give them calories. I do not mind a little sweet but my bait is more bulk/calories then sweet. The big ones really like just a plain old bland blend and I have a taxidermist that can do a great mount of even a gum rotten old critter!

anyways I hope I don't come across too strong. My chiming in is not to offend anyone but just to add some insight to a guy that's been huntin bears for a while, has had success, but now wants to up the ante a bit and try for a bigger specimen. They're out there! Most hunters are hoping and waiting for a mistake from the big one. Good luck! Sometimes it happens but there's 100x's more sad stories then successes. An old saying - If you're huntin deer you're not hunting bucks. and if you're huntin bucks then you're not hunting big bucks. They are all different animals. Bears are the same. So are you bear huntin, boar huntin, or monster huntin? any way you cut it - ya gotta love bear huntin!

something to watch from my files

https://vimeo.com/263250970

Holly that is some nice big bear.

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Originally Posted by SK33T3R

something to watch from my files

https://vimeo.com/263250970

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