how do you bear hunt

The Beast’s of the North woods. Behaviors, Hunting Stories, Pictures, Tactics, Q&A.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
ghoasthunter
500 Club
Posts: 2211
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:09 am
Location: New jersey
Status: Offline

how do you bear hunt

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:10 am

in new jersey my guys I hunt with track them drive them and bed hunt them.


THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL A HUNTER HAS IS BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS
Mike Foss
500 Club
Posts: 1411
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:40 am
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby Mike Foss » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:29 am

Here in Wisconsin it is legal to bait and use hounds.
User avatar
ghoasthunter
500 Club
Posts: 2211
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:09 am
Location: New jersey
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Thu Jan 11, 2018 5:42 am

Mike Foss wrote:Here in Wisconsin it is legal to bait and use hounds.

we can bait bears but we cant be closer than a 100 yards to bait unless we are on ground. bears never come into bait our season is in December so most bears are not moving. on a good side we shoot giants all the time last year we shot 16 in 5 days 4 of them were over 400
THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL A HUNTER HAS IS BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS
User avatar
brancher147
500 Club
Posts: 1414
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:46 am
Location: West Virginia
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby brancher147 » Thu Jan 11, 2018 9:49 am

I like to still hunt with the wind in my favor near food sources. We can hunt with dogs also, no baiting though which is fine with me.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
User avatar
ghoasthunter
500 Club
Posts: 2211
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:09 am
Location: New jersey
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sat Jan 13, 2018 4:32 am

brancher147 wrote:I like to still hunt with the wind in my favor near food sources. We can hunt with dogs also, no baiting though which is fine with me.
biggest problem with baiting for me is the bears stop moving around I see more bears before and after the season just hunting for deer and the big ones don't come into bait till after dark during bear season their is a bait pile every 500 yards on state land
THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL A HUNTER HAS IS BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS
OldMtnMan
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:58 am
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby OldMtnMan » Sun Jan 14, 2018 6:16 am

No baiting or hounds in Colorado. I wouldn't use either anyway. I've been a still hunter since the 50's and that how I hunt for elk, deer, and bear. I'll sneak into natural food areas which are basically berries in my area. I use an old Hawken style muzzleloader to make it more interesting. No backup except a bowie knife. Just me and the bear trying to outsmart each other. Fun stuff.
User avatar
ghoasthunter
500 Club
Posts: 2211
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:09 am
Location: New jersey
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:22 am

OldMtnMan wrote:No baiting or hounds in Colorado. I wouldn't use either anyway. I've been a still hunter since the 50's and that how I hunt for elk, deer, and bear. I'll sneak into natural food areas which are basically berries in my area. I use an old Hawken style muzzleloader to make it more interesting. No backup except a bowie knife. Just me and the bear trying to outsmart each other. Fun stuff.
ive killed two tracking in snow with a old 54 cal definitely fun
THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL A HUNTER HAS IS BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS
User avatar
JAK
500 Club
Posts: 1051
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:49 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby JAK » Sun Jan 14, 2018 8:41 am

I've always sat bait. But I tell u what the spot and stalk method looks awsome
User avatar
brancher147
500 Club
Posts: 1414
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:46 am
Location: West Virginia
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:32 am

I have had good luck sitting near primary bedding also. I have only found a couple beds I would hunt, but if they are used frequently enough they are worth hunting, especially if they are near a main food source. Primary bear beds are pretty obvious with clear entrance and exit trails and sometimes include a huge pile of bear scat nearby, as bears will not poop in their beds like deer will, but will pile it up in the same area near the bed.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
OldMtnMan
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:58 am
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby OldMtnMan » Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:54 am

You're talking about a den? That wouldn't be legal here.

I hunt the main bear season which is actually a rifle season even though I use my muzzleloader. It's the whole month of Sept. The bears are on a feeding frenzy that time a year to fatten up for winter. There's no way to pattern them. A bear might travel for 20miles before it comes back to the same spot. It's always on the move. You need some luck to get a bear in my area.

As a still hunter I don't call for deer and elk. That wouldn't be still hunting. However, if i'm on the last week of the bear hunt I can be tempted to try calling. I find a distressed fawn call the best. I don't do it often, but hunting hard for a month can weaken me sometimes to give calling a try. The idea of hunting is to kill a bear and I can't be so stubborn to have a still hunt or nothing attitude. I'll save that for mule deer and elk.
User avatar
brancher147
500 Club
Posts: 1414
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:46 am
Location: West Virginia
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Jan 15, 2018 5:39 am

Nope, not a den. Just a bed. It is rare that bears have a primary bedding area (that I have seen) in the mountains I hunt but I have seen it. They usually move and roam endlessly, but in the cases I have found primary bedding it is definitely worth hunting, especially if near a good food source or if there are fresh trees marked nearby.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
OldMtnMan
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:58 am
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby OldMtnMan » Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:23 am

I don't believe i've ever seen one. At least I didn't recognize it for what it was.
User avatar
Freelance Bowhunter
500 Club
Posts: 537
Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2016 3:15 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernie.barringer.5/
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby Freelance Bowhunter » Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:54 pm

I have hunted baits more than anything else, but I have also killed bears on hound hunts, one in Idaho, one in Maine. I really enjoyed a spot & stalk hunt in British Columbia, but it's quite difficult. I killed the 42nd bear I saw in six days of hunting.
OldMtnMan
Posts: 69
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:58 am
Status: Offline

Re: how do you bear hunt

Unread postby OldMtnMan » Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:27 am

I wish we had the bear numbers that BC has. That's a bear paradise.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Bear Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests