Anybody run bears with hounds or know anybody who does? I've done a few hunts over baits but I prefer to get up and move. A buddy and I have used an outfitter the last few years because we never had any luck with trying to bait and get a bear in a week. He said he can set me up with the guys from the US once the borders open but looking around for this spring. I talked to another guy that has hounds but it was a bit pricey. I love running coons, rabbits and yotes with dogs so thought why not take a bear!
Bear Hunting with Hounds
- Thread starter Cor.375
- Start date
I'm still looking to hunt in Ontario. Red usually has guys up from Michigan that bring their dogs. Once their tags are full he said they love to run the dogs if someone still has a tag to use up. Guess I'll see what happens.
We ran dogs 30 years ago... gave it up due to the work and cost and time commitment it requires. Whatever the price was, it is not enough... if you can still find a hound hunt in Ontario, jump on it for the experience, it has a different vibe and energy output... but it sure as heck is not for everyone. The worst shots I have ever seen on game were made by clients all jacked up with adrenaline and out of breath... even if there was time to bring the heart rate down, the adrenaline buzz lasts a long time. Much of the time, dilly-dallying puts the dogs at risk.
freddyfour
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County, Ontario
There are a couple guys north of Tweed that run dogs. Not a fan though, the one outfitter close to were I hunt runs those dogs over an insane amount of acres. Very disruptive to anyone else hunting.
I hunted deer with hounds in WMU 63A ( Ontario ) for 17 years and we would get about 1 bear every season.One year,we picked up 2 bluetick hounds that were trained on bears.The owner didn't want them because they wouldn't stay around the tree after the bear climbed up.They seemed more like me,interested mostly in the chase.We ended up shooting 3 bears that deer season ( 2000 ).None of the bears climbed before they were shot.
I enjoyed hunting with dogs for deer,bears and coyotes ( we did pick up dogs trained to run just coyotes,as long as they were put on a fresh track,during the winter months ) but I liked the fresh air and excercise as opposed to the shooting.Unfortunately,there were a few guys in camp that became very annoyed if they didn't shoot something ( sometimes anything,no matter how small ).They became more and more miserable as the season progressed.
For this reason,I left it all behind in 2006,but still remember some good chases,lot's of excercise and just being around the dogs.Sometimes we would have over 20 dogs at the deer camp,both seasoned,experienced hounds as well as pups and new dogs that we would train with the older dogs.
I enjoyed hunting with dogs for deer,bears and coyotes ( we did pick up dogs trained to run just coyotes,as long as they were put on a fresh track,during the winter months ) but I liked the fresh air and excercise as opposed to the shooting.Unfortunately,there were a few guys in camp that became very annoyed if they didn't shoot something ( sometimes anything,no matter how small ).They became more and more miserable as the season progressed.
For this reason,I left it all behind in 2006,but still remember some good chases,lot's of excercise and just being around the dogs.Sometimes we would have over 20 dogs at the deer camp,both seasoned,experienced hounds as well as pups and new dogs that we would train with the older dogs.
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Yes, hound hunts aren't everyone's favourite thing. If hounds break off on a non target species it creates issue and no matter how much permission you have sometimes the dogs end up where they aren't supposed to. I've had coon hounds that could go through a group of 8-9 deer within 40-80 yards and not bat an eye at them. Didn't think twice about bow hunting the bush the next morning. No everyone's hounds are the same though and I've ended up with dogs that will break on a coyote or deer instead of a coon or rabbit over the years. I love running and hearing hounds tongue though so thought it would be a more exciting mix up then sitting on a bait. Spring bear has been awesome the last few years, nice relaxing hunt between turkey and fall.
Electricity fixes that
