Black bear hunting

[Tripplebeards]

I can remember the first time I drawn for zone a/a1 it took four years...that was 9/11. The second time... 9 years! Now I'm going on eight years again! I was told years ago there were tons of PETA members buying licenses and putting in for the draw preventing hunters from getting drawn. Well, after getting drawn, buying bait, and burning gas for a 3 1/2 plus hour drive each way once a week starting in July to bait it's cheaper to pay a guide in Canada to sit over bait.

[megasupermagnum]

I can remember the first time I drawn for zone a/a1 it took four years...that was 9/11. The second time... 9 years! Now I'm going on eight years again! I was told years ago there were tons of PETA members buying licenses and putting in for the draw preventing hunters from getting drawn. Well, after getting drawn, buying bait, and burning gas for a 3 1/2 plus hour drive each way once a week starting in July to bait it's cheaper to pay a guide in Canada to sit over bait.

It's that bad? This was the first time I ever applied for a bear permit, so I wasn't too surprised to not get it. I don't think I've ever NOT been drawn for a turkey A season in the 10 years I've hunted them, and I figured bear hunting was even less popular.

[Tripplebeards]

Not in Wisconsin. It takes forever to get drawn. Doesn't help when they publicize...or use to...that Winter, Wisconsin is black bear capital of the United States. We have alot of out of state hunters from Tennessee that come run their dogs in the public forests as well. In the late 80's there were a lot of years I didn't get a turkey permit. Now there are 1000's of left over available permits over the counter. I did hear in MN it's easier to get drawn ranging from 0-3 years.

[glockfan]

Well, after getting drawn, buying bait, and burning gas for a 3 1/2 plus hour drive each way once a week starting in July to bait it's cheaper to pay a guide in Canada to sit over bait.

google CLOVA.it's a city known to be the black bear capital in northern quebec.

[RU shooter]

I'm jealous of you guys that can use bait or Dogs for bear . Here in Pa neither is allowed. We do have a very good population and have some rather large bears that get taken every year BUT they are like ghosts when the season starts. My dad has been bear hunting all his life and only once has he caught a fleeting glimpse of black fur in season . It's one of those right place at the right time and lots of luck things !

[Tripplebeards]

I'm jealous of you guys that can use bait or Dogs for bear . Here in Pa neither is allowed. We do have a very good population and have some rather large bears that get taken every year BUT they are like ghosts when the season starts. My dad has been bear hunting all his life and only once has he caught a fleeting glimpse of black fur in season . It's one of those right place at the right time and lots of luck things !

Hang a bird feeder by your tree stand...for the birds. And the bear will come.lol

Can you do food plots? Like berries or raspberries?

[Tripplebeards]

google CLOVA.it's a city known to be the black bear capital in northern quebec.

Thanks, I've hunted in swan river twice. Awesome bear population!

[Tripplebeards]

I borrowed this book to a buddy. It's a good read.

https://www.amazon.com/Yourself-Blac.../dp/1886422508

Check and see if your local library has it.

[zymguy]

Ive never participated but i have friends who will go to the campsites that were known to have trouble bears, If you can draw a bwcaw tag your odds are very good, The regulations are a little diffrent in the wilderness. If anyone is interested in a Boundry waters hunt I recomend you call Canadian Waters outfiting and ask for Gary

[bdicki]

google CLOVA.it's a city known to be the black bear capital in northern quebec.

I've been to Relay 22 an hour north of LaTuque 5 times spring hunting over bait with a bow. 5 bears biggest one 19 6/16.
We used stink bait, two rolls of toilet paper soaked in anise oil put in panty hose and thrown like a bolo as high as possible into a tree, donuts soaked in watered down molasses in 5 gallon pails wired to the barrage, we used to bring meat scraps but were stopped at the border and told no go. Sprinkled Jello on the ground for the bears to track down the trail to attract other bears. Tree stands are 6 feet high so you would get both lungs with a bow shot, we did this on our own, just used the guide for a meal and lodging in order to get the bears out of Canada. Had a couple of bears climb the stand and smell my boots, both times it was after I had killed a bear and was armed only with a video camera.

[Jeff Michel]

Just my opinion, I've only taken two. It appears to me that black bears aren't anymore difficult to harvest than a deer, reasonable caliber/bullet placement and you have a big skinning job. I had six different bears show up on my trail cams this past hunting season. A sow and three cubs and two adults. I walked up on one that was snoozing under a rock ledge during antlerless season in October. I was carrying a 38-40, so I let him slide. I like better odds I guess. I haven't taken the time to up load the pictures from my cameras, but here's one from this past spring.

Attachment 295598

[badguybuster]

If you are legally allowed to bait.....go to SAMS Club and buy big buckets of Ketchup. Its all you need, bear will dig giant holes in the ground to get at it

[TurnipEaterDown]

Peanut butter cake frosting also works well. The smell of peanut butter is very strong and will carry for miles (for the nose of a bear).

[Markopolo]

I use old salmon! Who got extra ketchup in Alaska bush!!!!

[missionary5155]

Marco... Ya mean tamaders dont grow on every bush up there??

[white eagle]

Just got done with a bear hunt this past fall
one of the guides I went with used gummy bears with some scent in a spray bottle
and another used a premixed bear bait that he had paid for
both used hollow stumps about 24" in height
I don't think it matters what you use just be consistent and keep it full when they get there
they will keep on coming back as long as they don't get spooked or it runs dry
good luck

[Jedman]

Back in the early 1980’s I use to bow hunt bears in Ontario Canada and had a friend who lived there do the baiting starting in mid April. He had a good connection with a donut shop in town where he got all of there old baked goods and frying oil for free also fat and meat scraps from a butcher shop. When the bear came out of hibernation they eat grass and such for a few days and once their hunger kicks in they seem to smell food for miles.
Once myself and my hunter friends got up to Canada we took over the baiting and it was a lot of fun driving around in the Bush, we seen Wolves , bear , beavers , moose , and , cross fox none of these animals I have ever seen in OH except a few beaver. Sometimes a bear would hit a bait site and only take a little others would wipe out everything. Ontario stopped spring baiting and we quit going by the mid 1980”s then about 15 years later I hunted a few times in Quebec but it was never as good.

Jedman

[megasupermagnum]

Just my opinion, I've only taken two. It appears to me that black bears aren't anymore difficult to harvest than a deer, reasonable caliber/bullet placement and you have a big skinning job. I had six different bears show up on my trail cams this past hunting season. A sow and three cubs and two adults. I walked up on one that was snoozing under a rock ledge during antlerless season in October. I was carrying a 38-40, so I let him slide. I like better odds I guess. I haven't taken the time to up load the pictures from my cameras, but here's one from this past spring.

Attachment 295598

I've now got two bears under my belt. It depends greatly on where you are. I can assure you that you will fail miserably in Minnesota if you don't use bait. You will never spot and stalk a bear. Contrast this to deer, I can throw a dart on a map ANYWHERE in the midwest and come home with a deer. I'm not kidding, there's so many now, I could drive out to a city I've never even been in, sit down, and 30 minutes later I can have a deer on the ground. No bait, no stalking, not tricks. Just sit, and a deer will be within a hundred yards of you pretty quickly. Bear on the other hand are so nomadic you could be in prime bear area and not see one for weeks.

I'm thinking of doing a canoe trip to the BWCA bear hunting next year, but no bait is allowed there. The bear population is extremely high there, yet hunter success is dismal. For example, I've only hunted the no-quota area, which is traditionally not strong bear habitat, and the state has no interest in keeping bear numbers up. In 2020, 4262 tags were bought of no-quota, and 993 were harvested, but keep in mind they sell unlimited of these, and it is likely a lot of locals buy them just incase one wanders through. Also in 2020, 50 licensees were available and bought for the BWCA area 22. The only guys who are buying these are serious hunters, dedicating a week or more to this hunt. Of those 50 hunters, 7 bears were harvested. Compare that to an area like 51 which is probably the most popular, and allows baiting. Only 900 tags are listed as available in 2020, but somehow 1000 were sold. Of those, 511 bears were harvested. So best case Ontario, bear is a 50% success (in an area that takes 6-7 years to draw), and it's more like 10%-15% without bait for the most serious hunters. Casual hunters would never kill a bear without bait. Deer hunters, with no bait, young, old, kids, first timers, the most casual hunters you get, are always right around 32% success.

Myself, I killed a bear last year, and this year, but it was anything but simple. Tons of hours spent on bait, tons of miles. The first bear I sat through a hail storm, had to sleep through the worst thunderstorm I've witnessed, froze my butt off. I forgot my thermacell the first day, and that is a deadly mistake in the swamps of MN. I shot him either day 3 or 4. I've never sat that long without seeing a deer before. The second bear was shot first afternoon, but it also cost a month of my time, and about 2600 miles in the truck to get to that point. Plus the drought made bear hunting phenomenal since natural foods were so scarce. All I ever do for deer is cut some shooting lanes, and sit down. Weather is usually decent in November, maybe a little cold, but I'll take that over sitting through mosquitoes.

[Jeff Michel]

Bears in West Virginia can be a real nuisance. One broke into a house this year not far from my place. I didn't see it but my neighbor Dick went down to do what he could for them, said that the destruction wasn't just amazing, it was total. Baiting for them is illegal and you can use dogs only in certain counties, so hunting them is by guess and by gosh. I've been pretty lucky as far as bear problems go, I had one a couple years ago, tear all the branches off of a juniper tree next to the cabin. Higher than I could reach, at bit over eight feet. I try not to leave anything around that might draw them in and other than a couple deer feeders wrecked, I can't complain.The current limit is two per year, but one per county. Some counties are closed. I usually get a tag every year but bear and deer seasons are concurrent most of the time so if I bump into one, it's a bonus.

[badguybuster]

I bear hunt here in WV primarily via spot n stalk. I look for fresh sign and start walking. Works well for me