PLS REMOVE I'm trying for bear next fall - Advice please

I baited one for the whole fall. Laid eyes on him once. Twice he cornered me up on my way out from the bait. I could hear him grunting but never laid eyes on him either of these times. The second time, my wife and her sister was with me. It was actually a little scary. I would have had no chance had he charged me in the place we were in.
 
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Spring bears like rotting carcasses for some reason ,if you know a trapper try and get some beaver carcasses .
Other than that go to your butcher and get the stinkiest scraps and bones you can get , this will lure in any bears in your area garanteed.

The worst thing to do imo is to bait late in the day :rey2 cause bears will then come out at night try baiting in the mornings if possible .
The bigger bears are shy and will usually know you are there so try and fool them by asking someone to acompany you to the bait and then leave while you stay :evil:.

Also chain those barrels to a big tree if you don't want to be hunting for them , and a square hole in the side of the barrel laying on it's side with a 8 inch or so log sticking in it will give you a better shot when the bear has to get it out to get the bait.

Cover scent is your friend and for god's sake bring some bug spray for the later spring , good luck.
 
The biggest one I've ever shot was right around 400 lbs (spring). He was a whole different animal in more ways than just his size compared to the immature one I shot 3 days earlier on the same bait. Very wary, and didn't mess around at the bait, just started eating like he meant business. If a big one does come in to your bait, don't waste time. They eat and leave. Good luck!
 
NShunter1254 said:
Do you see anywhere in the original post that this guy wants his bear displayed at cabellas?For god sake man he wants to setup a bait and see some bears.In my area that means a week of cooking oil covered popcorn,dog food.bread or if you can land some timmies doughnuts they are irresistible.And i will guarantee he will enjoy himself whether he shoots a small one or a large one.
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This entire conversation began with "your" assertion that "blackbears are the dumbest of the big game species..." Which in my opinion is a skewed perspective and not reflected in the experience of vetran bear hunters... The point was, that "all" jeuvenile animals are less wary (if not "dumb")... Applying your bias to bears specifically is not fair to a fine game animal.
 
no sense gettin any ruffled feathers over this lads...

if all a fella ever saw was youngish bears he may well believe all bears are stupid.

You'd see a lot of those bears over 25 years with a camera, especially if the big guys busted you and knew you were there. You'd never see the smart ones to know they existed.

Bears of any size are enjoyable to watch imo. Got some great footage of a pair of cubs playing with a plastic pop bottle. Had to drop it on one of their heads to stop it coming up the tree for a visit.
Was the sows first set of cubs. She started coming in with her Mother years before. It was her that brought in my last big boar. He had killed one of her cubs and was after the other but it and the sow were treed down to the creek. A couple of kicks on the barrel (we called it the dinner bell) and that sow came for grub...with the boar in tow. A 2317 showed him it doesn't pay to kill cubs just to breed their mom!
Had a lot of fun with bears years past.
 
I don't bait bears. BC its not allowed. I spot them usually head down and grazing. Get in range and let em have it. heart lung shot works great like on everything. I did take a high sholder shot on a 350lb blackey this fall at 30yrds. not intended that high but due to close range and the bear popped out of nowhere. That was the fastest dirt nap I have ever seen a animal take. not even a twitch. that was with a 30-06 165g SST.7

Cheers and good luck. bear hunting is great. gets me out in the spring from a long winter.
 
Thanks for all the input fellow hunters much appreciated. In Ontario where I hunt (fall bear hunt) the only chance of seeing a bear (unless it is chewin on my barbeque in the summer) is over bait - The bush is waayy to thick for a spot & stalk and the natural food sources (berries, nuts, etc) have been cleaned out so hunting over them would be futile. To put it in prespective, the three deer that we have taken on the property in the past two years have been at ranges of 40m, 20m and 15m. And the 40 was across a small river so one of the rare spots where there is some open space. I figure I'll target a reasonable size bear - Small enough to be tasty and easier to handle, but large enough to make a decent rug. Plus personally I want them to mature somewhat and play their part in nature before they are harvested. Hey if I see one it'll be a thrill!
 
One thing I've learned baiting bears is there's alot of work involved and be prepared to get busted by the big bears. Big bears get big by using their smarts, the same smarts they use to do a 180 around you just out of sight, enough they can smell the area and probobly you. When they catch your scent they walk off laughing at you sitting there, I know, it has happened to me the last couple seasons a few times.
 
I have zero experience shooting bears but for shot placement I`ve been using this guide:

http://www.ballistics101.com/images/bear_images/bearshotplacement.pdf

I`ve baited bears and had great luck with the combo of dog food mixed with both sugar and baking sugar and bacon fat. Every time I cook bacon I pour the pan drippings into a jar and put them in the freezer. I use a 45 gallon blue plastic drum chained through the top with aircraft cable.

Any bear I take will be a trophy for me.
 
I hunt WMU49 for bears. I set my bait up 1 month before the opener. Bait every weekend with about 150lbs of corn/oats mollasses. I have had bears come to the bait a couple hours after FIRST time baiting. I have shot 4 bears in 5 years. My stand is 18 yards from my bait. My stand is about 20 feet in the air.

I agree with others that young bears (100-200lb) are pretty easy to get to come to the bait. Older bears are MUCH more weery, Mostly noctural and very skittish. One bit of human scent and they are GONE. Bears are very smart and so silent. They can sneek in and appear out of nowhere, Very good eye sight and smell.




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rhino519 said:
don't know if someone said it yet but beware, bears can magically shrink after being shot ;)
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My Bear look so much bigger in the scope... Boy was I disappointed when I found him... lol...

Small bear are very tasty... Might get me a small bear again this year....
 
I'll only say what's already been said: Bears aren't stupid... and to say they are... IS STUPID!!!

I have baited them every year for the past 25 and prior to that I hunted with an outfitter on the east of Algonquin Park for 8 straight seasons! And, I've taken my fair share. I've learned a lot about bears and their smarts... but still learning. It's been said: "If you know what a bear is going to do next, then you know more than the bear does".

I don't shoot one each year because I don't want to shoot "just any bear". For the past 4 seasons a VERY crafty bear has been hitting my baits, sneaking in behind me, checking me out, yet will hit my bait within hours of my first baiting each season. He killed a stallion on the property I hunt 4 years ago. I't private land adjacent to wilderness.

Just now my blogs are about some rifles I've used in huntin' them. And, I've written a series on baiting them.

One thing I'll mention, however, that contradicts a majority opinion here that seems to be PC... I let them hear me and smell me! It's like a dinner bell, or the ice cream man on the street doing his thing! I've had them waiting for my appearance! And, there is competition!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
bearkilr said:
Very poor eyesight actually. Great sense of smell and hearing though.
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No, DVXDUDE is correct -- very GOOD senses -- eyes, nose and ears. Eyesight normal as compared to humans. Ears extra special and nose!!! Well, almost supernatural! And intelligent! Tests show more intelligence than the wolf! And FAR more than the (dumb) moose... ever see a moose open a jar of peanut butter!
(Apologies to mooses... just kidding!)

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
bigborefan said:
No, DVXDUDE is correct -- very GOOD senses -- eyes, nose and ears. Eyesight normal as compared to humans. Ears extra special and nose!!! Well, almost supernatural! And intelligent! Tests show more intelligence than the wolf! And FAR more than the (dumb) moose... ever see a moose open a jar of peanut butter!
(Apologies to mooses... just kidding!)

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
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No, bear have poor eyesight. If your (read:human) eyesight is equal to a bear's, I'd suggest to go see an optometrist.
 
In my hunting area we may have low numbers of deer and other game animals but there is an abundance of Bears! I saw 13 in the first 2 weekends of the season but all were smaller bears or mother and cubs. Had pics of a big one once but never again.

Young bears are pretty dumb and clumsy, I nicknamed one "little stupid" last year as he tried to step on me twice. I let him keep walking once and at 6 feet I told him to back up, he agreed with the suggestion!

Mature bears are the quietest thing in the woods and in light of this I much prefer a tree stand over a ground blind. Usually set the bait 20-30 yds away. Boiler room works fine but the last one I popped in the neck at 20 yds with a .270 and it was a bang-flop.

Good luck OP, it's a rush!
 
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