How can I go Bear hunting in this wether ...?

[sawbill]

That's an unusually high non-recovery/wounding rate for sure. Mine was substantially less than that but I just refused to give up on tracking and often went into the wee hours before starting over in the daylight. I also really pounded into the guys to not hurry a shot but recognized that crap happens. For me, archery can be an effective and efficient tool but it takes absolute total concentration and patience to make the right shot. You can get away with a lot less with rifle.

[Candice_h]

The outfitter I typically fall hunt with allows bow hunters but I hear what your saying on the bad shots. In the week I am there 70-80% of the clients who get a shot at a bear wound them and they aren't recovered. This is not an exaggeration!

Those are some very sad numbers

[Sam Menard]

Those are some very sad numbers

Actually, the numbers are shocking and not defensible. Hunters can and should be better.

[LowbanksArcher]

The outfitter I typically fall hunt with allows bow hunters but I hear what your saying on the bad shots. In the week I am there 70-80% of the clients who get a shot at a bear wound them and they aren't recovered. This is not an exaggeration!

I'd like to hear more on this. Do you know why? I'd guess a large percentage of those are dead bears, not wounded, but just not recovered due to poor or nonexistant blood trails. I've seen the way a bear's fat can plug up a hole and stop the blood trail. And the hair just soaks it up. Also, if you dont get a pass thru, and you're relying on the blood trail from a single hole on the entrance(typically high up), it's going to be a sparse blood trail if you get one at all. Part of the reason to avoid quartering shots.

Or... are too many guys listening to this nonsense of "the middle of the middle"

[Saskfly]

Guys not practicing enough would be my guess.


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[sawbill]

You can wail all day long at a pie plate propped against a stump and nail it every time dead center but when a bear sneaks quietly into the bait stand, that practice and the confidence associated with it can go right out the window. Seen it happen to quite a few seasoned guys. Happened to me on a deer one time when my leg started to dance, then the other one, then my arms. Within 30 seconds I was a mess. Made a lousy shot with the .280 but luckily still ended up with a deer. Not my finest hour.

[jaycee]

Buck Fever can set in anytime, have seen it with bear hunters, moose and deer.one fellow emptied his 30/30 lever action into the ground ten feet from him, and still to this day says he slowed the big buck down for the next in line to kill it, even though we showed him where all his bullets hit into the snow covered ground in front of him.

[huntnmachine]

We had a senior member not fire a shot at a nice buck we pushed by him on Manitoulin Island several years ago. We had snow and when I walked up to him I could clearly see that the buck had past by him not 30 yards away. When I asked him why he did not shoot he said "what are you talking about I fired 3 times" Long story short there were 3 not fired cartridges on the ground. We figured he ejected the cartridges somehow without pulling the trigger. Crazy stuff for sure!

[sawbill]

Sam, when you think about it most hunters that go with an outfitter are American and they spend a lot of time in their own stomping grounds chasing deer. Bears however are a different story for them and too often they're so wired up by the time they climb into a bear stand that their composure goes right out the window.

[Sam Menard]

Sam, when you think about it most hunters that go with an outfitter are American and they spend a lot of time in their own stomping grounds chasing deer. Bears however are a different story for them and too often they're so wired up by the time they climb into a bear stand that their composure goes right out the window.

I understand what you’re saying, but it’s a black eye on hunting. I’m not sure what the solution is but if the hunting community doesn’t do something about this then the non-hunting crowd (not just the antis but the fence-sitters as well) will. Unfortunately, outfitters would rather turn a blind eye to the problem than take meaningful steps to correct it.