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Looking for some insight on bear hunting.
i normally archery hunt for deer on the ground or tree stand. Interested in bear hunting, but not sure about baiting.
Are there any hunters that stock bears or just setup on area.
i don't have the time to setup baits and replenish baits for weeks prior to hunting.
Will use a rifle.
thanks
No,you don't need to set up bait stands. In some states and provinces,baiting is illegal making spot-and-stalk and still hunting the only viable method. The huge plus about baiting is being able to check the sex of the Bear before taking it and doing the utmost to ensure a female doesn't have cubs with her,although,if you want to start a very fierce debate among hunters and trappers,just say that at a social gathering or even on this forum. It's a very contentious issue guaranteed to enflame passions on both sides. Although I'm not as active with Bear hunting as others,I've taken a couple while Moose and Deer hunting when there wasn't a bait station in sight,so,to my mind,it's quite doable. Once you find an area where Bears are active,walk trails/roads and look for sign.
Most likely I will not be getting a moose tag,I think I might also pick up a bear tag and see what happens!
Baiting bear helps. I know they spot and stock them in BC but in Ontario the best chance getting a bear is baiting. They live and breath with their stomachs in the fall. We baited last year and three hunters all tagged bears. Baiting works..If I can convince my buddy to hunt bears we will be baiting . Plus baiting and checking cams to me was better than pulling the trigger. As my buddy says all part of the experience.
you will be wasting your time and money with your way you have in mindQuote:
Originally Posted by hikerman
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sure it can be done, as others mentioned it can be very hard... bears have good senses, and more ofton than not take off before you get close...
but if you can find a good blueberry patch, or logging clearcuts where you can see a long ways you will up your chances!
dont become the bait yourself......watch the wind........bears are better than coyotes
Just an aside not to jack the thread,but,has anyone noticed the Black Bear attack fataliies this past week? One was a camper in B.C. the other a child in Manitba...two in four days. You can never trust one of those things. Watch behind you.
SPOT AND STALK in the SPRING isn't a waste of time, its quite successful!!!
When we had a spring hunt, we would do a spot and stalk. What we did was find an old logging road. One not used anymore. Find an area where it has a clay base soil. Clay base soil is where clover and grasses grow.
We would walk nice and slow down these trails and catch bears grazing on the clover that grows the whole length of the road. Ant hills and old logs (grubs) along these trails will keep bears busy while your stalking closer. We had a lot of fun hunting with spot and stalk.
Also you can find a power line that goes into the wilderness from between communities. Large bears will be grazing along these line. Proof of this is when you look at the hydro poles and see every pole chewed or clawed.
Have fun and good luck!!
Thanks for the replies
Some great advice.
This will be the fall hunt, planing for next year.
maybe I will just camp crown land and not hang my food during the day and see what comes in. ��
That was what I don't under stand: if you sit at your bait and wait for bears, what about on your way in or out? Don't want to become the bait?
If its a fall hunt, like steve says, you can spot and stalk the blue berry patches. A bear is not interested in attacking you.
Bear hunting over bait is not that difficult last season me & a buddy went up on Sunday Aug 31st to start baiting.
I had a bear show up on Camera on Sep 01st & I had a bear hanging on Sep 2nd. I would think that is not the norm but it was an amazing hunt to have a bear circling around my tree stand for several minutes before it would come in to the bait & offer me a perfect broadside archery shot.
The best thing about bear hunting is the weather is nice / Fishing is great & bear meat is fantastic if you get lucky!! :)
Just cook up a big feed of bacon,eggs and fried potatoes. Mr.Bruin will be along,shortly,so,keep a rifle handy. I mean,it sure seems to work for unsuspecting campers,right? LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by hikerman
Unless you have a fair knowledge of the area you're going to hunt, spot and stalk is not worth the effort. I spend most of my days in the bush and seldom see bears in a shootable situation--and Sudbury is probably the most populated area in the province for bears.
You can hunt blueberry areas but unless you put some bait up first the chances of getting a bear in the particular patch you're watching is quite slim. With hundreds of blueberry areas what is the chance of you picking the one that a bear will be frequenting at the same time?
In western Ontario, if you spot and stalk the berries, you will see bears. Bears are thick here. All you got to do is walk the patch preseason, check the lay of the clear cut and you will see the bear you want to tag.
around my place the big patches of blueberries all have well matted down trails, and tons of fresh scat on them, not to mention lots of sandy areas where you can see tracks, so pretty easy to tell where the bears are feeding... if you hunt the beech trees watch for the claw marks on the bark to tell if the bears are in the area...
Had this experience ,,,,,,,,on the way out sow with 3 cubs,,,,,,,,,,took 3 attempts to stop the sow from leaving me alone......Quote:
Originally Posted by hikerman
id be lie'ing if i told ya i had no fear of walking into my baited stands in the dark... keeps ya on your toes, but i think thats part of the excitement :) very rarely do i hunt right till last light in my bear stand (ussually dont have to, either get my bears in the morning or the latest has bin supper time) have no interest in blood tracking a bear in the dark... couple years i brought my bow instead of the rifle, thought i would try and arrow a bear, well a bear came in about a hour before last light, but never presented a shot, stayed in in the brush or was behind the barrel, kept watching him, and watching the light fade, didnt wanna give away the location of my stand... finally he decided he had enough and sauntered off, right down my trail and towards my atv, that one made me a little nervous on the walk out lol
I have successfully hunted bears over bait, I have successfully hunted bears on spot and stalk(closed the distance to 30 yards). Both are great ways to hunt black bears.
Nothing like the long walk back to the truck in the bear woods after dusk! It gives me the creeps but it's all part of the experience!!Quote:
Originally Posted by fishy steve
Stuff like that can get into ones head. I know of a gent from the States who weighed in around 350 lbs, good shape, tough as nails. But he absolutely would not walk into his stand unless his guide accompanied him.
His guide was a gal who weighed in at 120 lbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sawbill
maybe there were other reasons he wanted to walk with her....hah. :joker:
Lots of ways of making a bear move on. Coughing,I use but a flash light will work as well.
There's a reason you sneak to a stand and sneak out when done. A pen light and bear spray is all you need. Causing a commotion right at last light will only make any bear more nocturnal. Weeks of baiting can go down the toilet real fast and ruin that baitsite for quite a while. If you're afraid of the dark and the sight of multiple bear droppings on your trail have you worried, then get out early while you can still see. BUT do it quietly!
The only exception I have is if sows and cubs are on the bait. If they are there - there is not a bigger boar in the immediate vicinity. I then take out a slingshot and whack'em. the sound of the slingshot will not create a human associated noise and the glass marble sure gets rid of them. last year 2 baits had good boars and my son and partner hunted them. I hunted the last bait - sow heaven 4 different sows and 9 different cubs - I shot off a bag and a half of dollar store marbles. FUN? WOW!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SK33T3R
ya piss them off before getting down lol
Exactly!!Quote:
Originally Posted by COYHUNTER
Attachment 29673The hunter in this picture saw bears at his bait site but wanted a little excitement in his quest for a BIG BEAR. I took him out into a 3 year old clear cut full of wild sasperala and blue berries. Walked the ridges nice and slow. Way at the back of the clear cut was this 18 year old bear.
We submit our bear pre molars to age the bears.
There is something about spot and stalking bears in an Ontario clear cut full of berries that bait sites just don't have!!
Spot and stalking clear cuts is VERY successful if you know the lay of the cut. It takes patience and keep the wind in your face.
Also, you don't have the high cost of baiting as the berries are free!!!
Attachment 29674This bear didn't care whether we were there or not. He just wanted his blueberries. This clear cut had a blue tinge for all the berries. We let this bear walk.
By the way, that's a nice trophy bear you took smitty55. Can really see the crease in his skull!!
Dont forget to wear blaze orange when stalking.........your not in a stand now
That's right!! Blaze orange is as bright and colourful to a bear as it is to a human. Bears can see colour.Quote:
Originally Posted by COYHUNTER
Not to be smart thats the lawQuote:
Originally Posted by chris lavoie
I was agreeing with you!!
instead of hunting blueberrie patches go to a pumkin patch, you will be camo'd then :)