Bear hunting, bait vs. spot and stalk?

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Albertarookie said:
Spring bear season is nearly upon us and I an going to do my first bear hint this year. Not wanting this first foray to be a solo expedition I have spoken to a couple aquaintaces who will set me up on a bait and film the hunt and know a couple others who will help me in a spot and stalk hunt. Which of the two hunt options do you all find more rewarding and or productive? Pros and cons of each? It will be my first hunt for bear and I will be rifle hunting. Thanks all
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I think hunting over bait will obviously yield better results and be more productive, but I don't hunt bears, just know quite a few bear hunters. Don't let the CGN pro hunters and ethics police interfere with making a decision for yourself though. Do whatever you think you'll be happy with and have fun. Its your first hunt for bear doesn't have to be the last, maybe hunt a different method next time around?

To be honest I'm rather disappointed with the guys arguing back and forth about whats ethical or not, whats right or wrong etc… Don't bash others due to your own personal beliefs. Just get outdoors and go hunting, we should all be on the same team here!
 
Thanks to all for the constructive input. I agree that there seems to be a lot of bickering back and forth. I'm going to make an attempt to try both methods this spring, I'm not going to judge one way or the other until I've tried them both and even then I won't judge those who choose to hunt differently. Fact is we are all out there for the same reasons right.
 
H4831 said:
When I was a teen ager, growing up on the homestead, we used to butcher cattle.
It was a lot of work.
We would rig up something to hang the carcass from, like a big pole suspended high up between two trees.
It took skill to know just where to place the feed we used to attract the animal to the exact spot, and greater skill yet, to shoot the animal in the exact spot with a 22, to immediately drop it at that right place.
I never realized it before, but after reading many of the posts on here, I see that hey, we were actually hunting!
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Switch out the big pole for a tree stand and you've got deer hunting! The only difference is that instead of placing the feed, you place the stand. Well... That and the fence that keep the cattle on your property.
 
Wentrot said:
I THINK the people baiting bears are doing it in dense forest areas more or less as a way to be able to watch a bear for a good while to make sure it is not a sow with cubs.
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Indeed. Bait gives one the opportunity to take considerable time to determine plenty of things about the bear. It allows one to make a really good decision about which bear they kill.

So yes, it is "bear shooting" but far fewer mistakes are made this way.

Like most things, there is really no wrong and right, just pros and cons.

Where I live, baiting bears is illegal, so I don't do it. If it was legal, I'd go ahead and do it. Whichever way I can get me some pepperoni, I will.
 
Baiting bears in the east where visibilty may be 40yds max does not what so ever promise success even when bears are present and using the bait. More often than not we have bears circle the bait area just out of sight in the protection of the heavy cover, only to catch a wiff or have second thoughts on showing themselves, then abruptly crash through the bush far and away from the area. Big bears dont get big by being stupid and dont just walk out to the bait to be shot like some would think. Spot in stalk would be a complete waste of time in these areas and success would be nill to none. Probobly 90+% of our trail cam pics from the bait are under the cover of darkness with only very few during daylights hours.
 
track said:
Wrong! Hunting in a crop field is not the same as hunting over a bait pile. Over the bait pile there is "intent" to bait for the purpose to attract the animals, crops are there for the purpose as an income for farmers. A person hunting in a crop field did not bait with "intent", only "intent" to hunt. Sitting in a tree stand/ground blind over bait is not hunting, where is the skill or challenge?
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Sitting in a stand in the corner of a field where the deer trails are is the exact same thing as setting up a stand along deer trails leading to a bait site. The only difference being the farmer placed the food which attracts the animals instead of the hunter.

Twist it whichever way you'd like, but a farmers field is nothing more than a huge food plot that congregates animals into a much smaller area allowing for an easier hunt.
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Sitting in a stand in the corner of a field where the deer trails are is the exact same thing as setting up a stand along deer trails leading to a bait site. The only difference being the farmer placed the food which attracts the animals instead of the hunter.

Twist it whichever way you'd like, but a farmers field is nothing more than a huge food plot that congregates animals into a much smaller area allowing for an easier hunt.
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:agree:
 
canadian hunter312 said:
Sitting in a stand in the corner of a field where the deer trails are is the exact same thing as setting up a stand along deer trails leading to a bait site. The only difference being the farmer placed the food which attracts the animals instead of the hunter.

Twist it whichever way you'd like, but a farmers field is nothing more than a huge food plot that congregates animals into a much smaller area allowing for an easier hunt.
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I don't think I've ever seen something attract so many bears, all at the same time, as an oat field. Even a small corn patch will draw in bears. Certain times of year I could sit in a field and shoot a bear every day. Saying a field isn't "bait" is nonsense. :)
 
Southlander said:
This thread is full of regional bias, where you hunt will often dictate how you hunt
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This thread has a couple of SPR's... who spew the same old rhetoric... even though they hunt with rifles over crop fields... if they went back to "self bows" and homemade arrows, or spears and pack in to wilderness undisturbed by human influence, and hunt game by tracking it down (laying in wait is unethical, they say)... in those circumstances, they have a "soapbox" on which to preach...
 
track said:
Wrong! Hunting in a crop field is not the same as hunting over a bait....

While my son was sitting with his back to a round bale, three bison paraded by him at 30 yards. He was after this particular buck that came out of the bush at the same time the bison walked by. The 300 weatherby roared, the bison scattered and the buck..............well.
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Sit with your back to a hay bale... shoot the deer with a .300 Weatherby... "True Hunting..."

Bait wilderness bears, after scouting for weeks... carrying a thousand pounds of bait for dozens of miles, hunting for two weeks, playing cat n' mouse with a big boar, and finally arrowing it... NOT hunting... just "shooting."

Track... you are a....... character...
 
hoytcanon said:
Sit with your back to a hay bale... shoot the deer with a .300 Weatherby... "True Hunting..."

Bait wilderness bears, after scouting for weeks... carrying a thousand pounds of bait for dozens of miles, hunting for two weeks, playing cat n' mouse with a big boar, and finally arrowing it... NOT hunting... just "shooting."

Track... you are a....... character...
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It's 100% fair chase, on foot, no bait, no range finders, no rattling antlers, no scent, no ground blinds, not tree stands, don't shoot does, just use our firearms and good old fashion 1950's hunting skills. BTW, we always allow the immature bucks to walk and only harvest mature bucks only.............go big, or go home with the tag in our pockets. Sitting in a tree stand over a bait pile, yep real sporting and fair chase.:slap: Smart'en up!
 
track said:
It's 100% fair chase, on foot, no bait, no range finders, no rattling antlers, no scent, no ground blinds, not tree stands, don't shoot does, just use our firearms and good old fashion 1950's hunting skills. BTW, we always allow the immature bucks to walk and only harvest mature bucks only.............go big, or go home with the tag in our pockets. Sitting in a tree stand over a bait pile, yep real sporting and fair chase.:slap: Smart'en up!
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Track, you really are a funny character…. You're a legend in your own mind, aren't you?
 
"hunting ethics police"

and we're done, I knew this would not end well.

perhaps its time I spend some more time cleaning up this forum.



I guess its time for some moderating "fair chase" style :)
 
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