Bait Barrel in input please.

Suka

Suka

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Starting to plan a spring bearhunt. Have two drums of approx. 20gal. (maybe 36" by 16" max)capacity(will be checked every day; they're small so easy to handle since it'll likely be a solo 2 wk hunt, +, it's what I have.)

I'm wondering about the feedhole size. I'm thinking an elongated oval 5.5" by 2.5" about 6" from the floor of the drum. Size sound about right, too small, am I overthinking this?



Also, plan on using popcorn/dogfood/barley/marshmallow bait covered in thinned out molasses with strawberry jello; sent up the area with a pancake syrup/jello, "honey burn", and hang strips of rag with some Really strong beaver scent up high. Sound like a good plan?

Thanks for your input.
 
you are definitely not over thinking it. That hole is pretty important, and if you have seen as many bears with hairless arms, and heads to their ears you'd know why.

I came up with a solution years ago that works like a charm.

I call them "bear all" feeders.

Works best with a lid and ring on a standing barrel.

Are the barrels going to be standing up?
 
We have never used a hole bigger than a loonie for a "slurry" mixture of molasses / grease / oats etc. We use popcorn otherwise and for that maybe a 2" hole max. The bears seem to be very persistent about getting the good sfrom inside. Try doing your popcorn on a Coleman stove or similar using bacon grease as the oil substrate - it makes for some good smelling popcorn.
 
that tire on a string is a neat idea, and might work for dinker bears, but when they start pulling the chain right through the side of a 45 gallon barrel full of meat and hauling it away, that little string wouldn't last for long.

a couple of my old tricks for establishing a new bait:
buy a cheap super soaker water gun from the dollar store, fill it with liquid fryer grease and paint the trees as high as it will shoot. (strain the grease first and it will work longer.
Saturate the ground in front of your barrel with fryer grease, the bears that do show up will track it into the bush for others to follow back.
Get a loaf or 2 of day old white bread and toss it on the ground around the bait. The bread will bring the birds, the birds will bring the bears.
Keep in mind that natural spring feed for bears is usually includes winter kill so old deer meat is a great attractant. A few pieces in an old onion bag hung high do wonders.
Bait as early as legal, the big guys come out first and if they find a food source they are more likely to hang around.

Spring bear season is a great time to be out watching nature come back to life. Enjoy it!
 
We don't use a drum... we use onion bags (the large ones) and hang them on a bait wall... the wall or V-wall is constructed of logs spiked horizontally between trees... the bait goes into onion bags and/or garbage bags if it is molasses soaked bread... and is hung on the top wrung of the wall... the wall forces the bears to come in broadside for a good shot... this is cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than barrels and is easier to pack bait in, in our Trapper John packs... has worked well for 40 years. We use pork fat in an onion bag, swung high from a rope for a strike bait.
 
westcoastshooter said:
Is that even considered hunting?
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Oh brother! A long time ago I learned that hunting is about having a positive wildlife experience. It is about being in the woods and enjoying nature. (If you think it is about killing, you don't belong in the woods.) The concept of baiting is to attract bears in order to decide which bears are in the woods and which ones are suited to your hunting preferences. The laws are very clear on which bears can be taken; baiting makes that decision more rigourous. Fair chase means the bears have just as much freedom to not come to the bait or to avoid your scent as anything. Frankly I feel that shooting a running deer or a shadowy patch of black fur is unethical because there is no proof the shot will kill the animal without suffering.
 
Gotta agree with Maple_leaf_eh on this one. Personally, I don't like bear hunting over bait because most people don't eat the bear, but I can still see the legitimacy of it. It is a lot of fun watching big bears come in right at last light.
 
Here's what works for me:

Don't place the bait in an open area, bears like to approach from cover. If you're rifle hunting, place your stand 60 yards or further away, that way you don't have to worry about movement or scent as much. Make sure you don't place the stand so you're looking directly into the setting sun toward your bait.

I use a 45 gallon drum, punch a hole through the lip, attach a chain about 6-8 feet long to a nearby tree, with a swivel in the chain. Fill 1/2 to 3/4 with oats and old fryer grease through the large bung hole. Once the bait is hit, close up the large hole and only leave the small one open. It's also a good idea to dump some grease around the bait so bears track it into the area and other bears will catch the scent and follow the trail.

It's easy to tell when the bait is hit as the drum will be knocked over. When you check it daily, stand it up and pour some fresh grease on top. Don't let them empty the drum, once it gets down to 1/4 full, rebait.
You can also soak a small rag with Anise scent and hang it as high as possible.I usually bend a 15 ft. poplar tree over, hang the rag at the tip and let it spring back up.

If you have beaver, chop up the meat into baseball size chunks and spread it around the bait site, burying quite a bit of it so the birds don't get it. This is also good to do right before you hunt in the evening. Don't throw a whole carcass at the bait, the bears will grab it and run off to eat it under cover. After eating a whole beaver, they probably won't return that night.

Set up a trail cam so you can see what's coming in and get a general idea of times, though they come at all hours and not necessarily at the same times every day. Best times to hunt are evenings, though some will show up early mornings and at night, especially on very warm days. Don't hunt the bait when the wind is bad (blowing from stand to bait).

And last but not least, if you're using an ATV to get to the bait, park it where you can see it while hunting, otherwise you may be buying a new seat, they love to chew them up. :D
 
Lot's of good info, thanks guys. I'll be making the main feedhole smaller and in such a manner as to be smooth. I was thinking more of meals, sound like I need to think more of a taste to get them coming in. (especially since space/weight is limited)

I've hunted the same general area before, it's a 2 day drive to the trailhead followed by a solid day of ugly muskeg, winching through holes and building bridges over muskeg creeks in the argo to where I'm hoping to camp(start hunting from). Two falls ago I called in two bears, "this" side of the ugliest muskeg; biggest boar I've ever seen but simply didn't have a good shot with the thick boreal, the other was all legs and ears so passed. Saw one more nice one but it was pouring rain and just about dark, so passed on it as well. Assuming I can make it through to where I want to be I'll be camped between two lakes so mornings I'll throw out a line. May take the canoe if there's room. A little luck and I'll find a good place to hunt moose this fall.
I don't know, Westcoaster, that sounds like enough of a solo adventure to me to qualify as a hunt. :popCorn:
Been trying for a bear last couple years half heartedly, figure it'll make some dandy hams. If I'm successful, yes, I'll do a shoulder mount, his back claws will go in my hatband.
Figure it's time to get more serious about it and between moose spotting and spring bear season that's all the excuse I need.

Thanks again for the bait/barrel thoughts guys, this will definitely be a learning experience.
 
For those of you who don't "like" hunting over bait, consider that you would never even see a bear in many places if not for bait.
Even though it's not hard to get bears into a bait sight, getting what some of us consider a shooter bear in to shoot can be a trial, especially bow hunting. Any body can shoot any bear, but unless you get lucky, those big fellas don't just walz in and offer up a broadside shot. I sat 3 seasons in a row once without taking a bear, still did all the work, but Mondo wasn't having any so I didn't draw my bow. Consider that was back before quads and we used to carry 5 gallon pails of meat a few miles into the bait sites, and there were 4 of them to have the winds. The actual sitting to hunt was a small fraction of the time spent but seeing a bear was the reward for all the back breaking labor.
There is no better time to be in the bush than in the spring. Whether you take a worthy bear or not, just being part of the awakening is worth the time spent.

...and remember...
There's more to a bear than just the meat and hide.
bearclaws2h.jpg

bearteeth2.jpg

bearjaw2.jpg
 
The whole argument as to the ethical or fair chase nature of baiting bears is only coming from those who have either never tried it or have been "guided" and therefore have done the shooting part, not the hunting part... look at the harvest success stats for bear hunters... it is roughly equivalent to deer success rates... if someone has a beef with bear baiting, they shouldn't hunt apple orchards or alfalfa fields for deer.
 
I like doing honey burns, it’s fun, lets me be mobile and able to go to different locations whenever desired. Meadows and beaver ponds in creek valleys work well, the scent can drift down the valley a long ways.

Bear crack burn attractant

Need:
-Two metal cans, a medium sized coffee can and a standard size bean/corn/pea can.
-Two straight pieces of coat hanger
-sterno type fuel can, the new wick style with a cap work excellent
-molasses or maple syrup (I prefer molasses)
-bag of small marshmallows
-box of strawberry jello powder mix

On the medium sized coffee can cut three or four squares out of the can about 1/2” or so higher than the height of the sterno can you have. This will provide air for the flame.

Above the cut out air hole squares, punch four holes through the can at 90 degrees to each other and at the same level to slide pieces of coat hanger through. This will serve as the rack that the normal sized empty bean can will sit on.

Using two straight lengths of coat hanger put a 90 degree bend on one side that will serve as a handle and will stop the wire from sliding inside the can and cut to length about an inch longer than the diameter of the coffee can.

Using the device
Take the bean can and fill it a quarter full of molasses or maple syrup, toss in some small marshmallows and a few big spoon full’s of strawberry jello powder. Mix it together.

Light the sterno can and drop it into the medium sized coffee can.

Insert the coat hanger wires through the holes in the coffee can.

Place the bean can with the molasses mix on the coat hanger wires.

Let it burn to create smoke, it’ll smoke for a half hour or so.

Note:
There is a definite fire hazard doing this, this molasses mixture will expand four fold when it is bubbling and cooking. If it overflows the can it can start on fire.
Do not hang this thing in a tree, put it on the ground and make the area around it fire proof.

Once the molasses mixture has burned fully it will be a black hardened crust, you will need to have a screwdriver or similar scraping tool with you to break out all the burned residue to do another burn.

This can also be done using a honey and water mix.
The more water the longer the burn.





 
Thanks Norton for the description. I had this described to me before, but it was described as putting bacon into a can and heating it with a blow torch. I like your idea better.

Rockeye, those works are outstanding. If and when I ever get a bear, I'll be back here looking at those pics for some guidance.
 
Suka said:
Wow, Rockeye, that's some nice work. Especially love the knife handle made from the jaw.
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waterwheel said:
Rockeye, those works are outstanding. If and when I ever get a bear, I'll be back here looking at those pics for some guidance.
Click to expand...

Thanks gents.
Actually kind of funny...I started out making a brush chopper for putting in baits and got carried away. It turned into a tribute to my first bear.
His jaw, a rear claw split to cover the rivet, his hide/fur for the scabbard and sharpening stone holder. I used buffalo for the balance of the tanned hide and even found a piece of petrified wood for the stone.
I made another more utilitarian rig for hacking bush...
bearknife2.jpg
 
100% inaccurate. I have done it. Never been guided. Got out and tracked. Baiting to me seems like an unfair system. Sit in a blind, wait for a hungry bear to show up...

hoytcanon said:
The whole argument as to the ethical or fair chase nature of baiting bears is only coming from those who have either never tried it or have been "guided" and therefore have done the shooting part, not the hunting part... look at the harvest success stats for bear hunters... it is roughly equivalent to deer success rates... if someone has a beef with bear baiting, they shouldn't hunt apple orchards or alfalfa fields for deer.
Click to expand...
 
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