First year bear hunting (ON) when to start preparing??

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NewToTheGame

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Embro, Ontario!!
This year I would like to try bear hunting... WMU 49. None of the guys I hunt with hunt bear, just swamp donkey and deer...

I will be hunting on my own land (800 acres)... when is a good time to start baiting and set out my trail cams? Any tips in general on bear hunting? Should I use a tree stand or use my regular deer stand? I will be using my 6.5x55 as my harvesting tool....

Thanks.
 
Your 800 acres may be great or it may be useless for bear... don't limit yourself to just 800 acres. If your property is roughly square, you really only have room for a single bait without having repeat bears hitting multiple baits. Try to find a thick area near water... bears will try to get down wind of the bait site to scent for danger, so if you can put a clearing or lake/river on the downwind side, you will increase your chances. Your 6.5X55 will do the job just fine with a standard cup and core bullet. I assume that you are talking about a fall hunt, if you mean the spring, you are already late getting your bait out. Start with a strike bait... use a large onion bag filled with pork fat and hang it high in a tree... I pound in a 10" spike to hang the bag and then wrap a rope around the bag and tree, tying it tight, so the bears can't run off with it... they will tear out the bottom and feed on the pieces that fall out. Once they are coming in, switch to lots of fresh bait, such as donuts, pork, apples, grains with molasses etc... and bait regularly, every second day, and then every day just prior to starting your actual hunting. Good luck.
 
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Strike bait, that sounds like a good idea! I never really thought about being limited by the area... yes it is roughly square... The area I am thinking has a small river to the east, a beaver pond to the north and a ridge running north south to the west... yes, I am talking about the fall hunt, I didn't know that 49 had spring bear.

One problem I foresee is that it is a 3-4h drive to my hunting land... is it possible to bait weekly with large amounts of bait? Unfortunately I have to work all week....
 
NewToTheGame said:
Strike bait, that sounds like a good idea! I never really thought about being limited by the area... yes it is roughly square... The area I am thinking has a small river to the east, a beaver pond to the north and a ridge running north south to the west... yes, I am talking about the fall hunt, I didn't know that 49 had spring bear.

One problem I foresee is that it is a 3-4h drive to my hunting land... is it possible to bait weekly with large amounts of bait? Unfortunately I have to work all week....
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It can be pretty amazing how much one bear can eat, not even taking into account having multiple hitting a site. They lose interest quick if the food runs out for any significant period of time. Once my sites start getting hit I bring at least 25lbs bait/day; not sure how much would disappear if they had a week to eat at it. Gotta work with what you have though, unless you can bait closer.
 
NewToTheGame said:
One problem I foresee is that it is a 3-4h drive to my hunting land... is it possible to bait weekly with large amounts of bait? Unfortunately I have to work all week....
Click to expand...

You do what you gotta do... but weekly baiting is far from ideal... you will want to use a 40 gallon blue plastic barrel, with a 5"X5" paw hole... to allow the bears to scoop... and then fill it up when you can go. Start baiting daily when you go up to hunt.
 
Parry Sound/Huntsville and South River/Wallbridge Could be good. Have you done any scouting?

I haven't hunted bears so I can't offer any advice, except ... ground blind or tree stand, shooting lanes, channeling structures, and bait techniques? Got your bug juice ready? Got your transportation ready? Got a place to hang the bear? How about knowledge of where to shoot the bear (they aren't the same as a deer or moose)?
 
gillmeister692 said:
The answer to your question is to NEVER begin preparing to hunt a bear. What has a bear ever done to you, bwana?
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And my answer to you is please visit another section of the board. This is the hunting section and as long as the hunting being discussed is legal, it will be allowed. If you don't like it, move on please.
 
I'm no pro bear hunter but last year I put out tin pails that I had poured a mix of sugar, water, corn syrup and strawberry jello into. Cooked it to candy temperature on the stove and poured into tin buckets to set. If you get it hot enough, it solidifies to true candy, hard as a rock. Chained around a tree around 5' off the ground, they aren't easily depleted, so they may be able to extend your times between baiting. I have heard of guys using a 5g pail and having it last all season.

And in contrast to above I would say "It's NEVER TOO EARLY to start prepping for a bear hunt." But a month before your planned hunt is probably ok. There are some guys who head north to hunt in the fall, bait on Monday and try to hunt that week.

Good Luck.
 
I figure that you know there are bears in the area you are in.... or why setup for there.
Setup: I found this site helpful... http://www.sweetbearbait.com/black-bear-baiting-tips-2/
I have bagged my first bruin this year and my bait setup was as follows: Tree blind/stand set up in an elevated position, with the only really clearing being my shooting lane. For the bait area, I had a medal drum with holes in in turned upside down with food underneath. I left about 1/2 a 5 gal pail of leftover food from suppers and such. smellier the better. In a nearby tree, I hooked a small pail to a rope and strung it over a branch and hung it about 7' from the ground. Inside was really smelly food.... not much as this was only my scent bait. I brought the food out and left it there until I got a hit. After I got one in, I baited in the morning, and brought it out in the evening. Be loud in the morning so they get used to the sound, be quiet in the evening when taking it out. This will have them think another bear has come earlier and eaten it, bringing them in mostly during the daytime when you can hunt.
Bait: Left over food, high calorie food like sweets, small things they can grab and run with and come back for more, BACON FAT, Deep fryer oil (use it to pour on the ground around your bait. They step in it and bring the scent deep in the woods to attract more bears).
When to setup cam and food: I set my bait and cam up 2 weeks before the hunt. I knew the bears were in the area, so more time would be required if you were unsure.

This is just what I did this year and worked. I had about 3-4 bears hitting my bait.

Hope this helps.
 
gillmeister692 said:
The answer to your question is to NEVER begin preparing to hunt a bear. What has a bear ever done to you, bwana?
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A bear is a legitimate game animal, and while we might have lively discussions concerning the most appropriate hunting techniques, objecting to bear hunting in general is to object to all big game hunting. It would be hypocritical for example say that deer hunting is good, but that bear hunting is bad; hunting is either good, neutral, or bad in it's morality, from the point of view of the speaker. If you prefer not to hunt bears that's fine, if you prefer to hunt with dogs rather than from a stand, that's fine as well, but at the moment it appears that you oppose all hunting. Some gun enthusiasts are cool on the subject, and choose not to hunt. But if you're a hunter who simply doesn't approve of one hunting method, that's another matter entirely, and you should state your position. But if in fact you do oppose hunting, the hunting section is not the correct one for you.
 
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