Who is hunting spring bear

[Ardent]

Pretty well bear'd out, unless my Grizzly draw gets picked, then I'll be out in the fall. That said, I have a tag in case I come across a really impressive colour phase. Best I've taken so far is a white blaze for colour, seen a cinnamon that bordered on blonde last year. If I do hunt it'll be 12 gauge again, as that's just what's always with me.

 

[ljones]

Here on the West Coast the fall bears are into the salmon. Much better eating in the spring. The sausage I made last spring was amazing. I will be out with my .30-06 with 150gr Federal Fusion hopefully soon.

 

[jables]

I'm hoping to get out in WMU 42 whenever the Ontario MNR get the regs out (supposedly May 1st...). Hoping to arrow one this year with my PSE, if not I'll have the Sendero SFII 300 win mag with 180gr Hornady Superformance SSTs or the Marlin model 1936 30-30 with 170gr Winchester Silvertips. Hoping to call one in close during the spring hunt this year!

 

[MD]

I'll go in May if I'm not called to work on the boat again.

 

[regulate34]

I'm hoping to get out in WMU 42 whenever the Ontario MNR get the regs out (supposedly May 1st...). Hoping to arrow one this year with my PSE, if not I'll have the Sendero SFII 300 win mag with 180gr Hornady Superformance SSTs or the Marlin model 1936 30-30 with 170gr Winchester Silvertips. Hoping to call one in close during the spring hunt this year!

please share. never hear of that

 

[jables]

On the last day of wolf/coyote season two years ago (March 31) it was an early spring and I called in a fair sized boar that I ended up spooking away with a warning shot because he was coming in hot, even though I was yelling at him and trying to make myself look big, just a big hungry guy in the spring. Last spring I also had one run towards my truck when I saw him on the side of the highway when I blew into my Primos Raspy Coaxer. If I get out and anything exciting happens I'll keep you posted, and hopefully have a camera and gun with me.

 

[hoytcanon]

I have been bear hunting for close to 40 years... I have called bears for almost all of those... literally hundreds of hours of calling... I have successfully called IN THREE bears for clients and one for myself... and called another 15 or so into close proximity... you need to be realistic about the odds of harvesting an Ontario timber bear using this tactic... you could go many years without an opportunity to harvest an animal... if you are willing to accept those terms and put in all of the work, I applaud you. There are some tips that will significantly up your odds... the prime time for calling is during the breeding season using a cub squaller... be warned though, the bear will likely be a mature boar with an aggressive posture (as was the one I took by this method, the only "chest-on" shot I have ever taken, and because I was significantly concerned about my safety)... the other method is to call in conjunction with a known food source (sucker run, berry patch, bait site etc...) Mature bears are protective of their food sources... for the most part a big boar will not show himself until after dark, but may appear to drive off other bears. I once hunted a stand and watched a very big boar drive of a series of half a dozen subordinate bears over a three hour span, before I was able to arrow him. So, sounding like a young bear on a food source may illicit a prompt rebuttal... You can also try bawling like a sow in heat, using calf/fawn distress calls etc... the typical rabbit squallers that we use for coyotes are the least successful. Here is your dilemma; Bears have a huge territory, most are 10 square MILES... smaller male bears are nomadic and are continually driven off by larger boars until they are large enough to establish their own range... radio collared juvenile males often end up as far as 150 miles from their birth location. So the biggest hurdle to overcome using calling as a hunting tactic is to actually get yourself into the hearing proximity of a bear. There is no short cut to scouting... but that is another story...

 

[jables]

I understand the chances are slim, and calling is definitely NOT my first approach or tactic to taking a bear, but after having it happen so quickly with little effort, it sure was exciting! I understand that I was extremely "lucky", if you want to call it that, to have a nice boar come in to a rabbit distress call, especially with that time being the very first time I've ever used a predator call. If it happens again, awesome, but its not something I will expect, or waste too much time on. Thanks for the tips though, being fairly new to bear hunting its good to hear your experiences and opinions with calling, especially since you have significantly more experience bear hunting than myself.
Bear hunting is more of an excuse for me to get out and put some miles on in the bush, but with the bonus of having a chance at a bear and learning a little along the way.

 

[Ardent]

I learned you could call bears this past fall by accident, their curiosity gets the best of them at times- and these aren't black bears.

 

[hoytcanon]

I learned you could call bears this past fall by accident, their curiosity gets the best of them at times- and these aren't black bears.

Yikes...

The large blackie that I took back in the 80's (400+) came in to a cub squaller... and he was rarin' ta go... he ran past me on the first charge at about ten feet... but then realized he had gone too far and turned back... my body posture was completely wrong to draw on him as he made his way back toward me... he winded some bear castor that I had put out about 30 yards in front of me, which redirected him into a better position... but half way there he spotted something or "sensed" something wrong and turned toward me... he was huffing and stamping the ground... when his head dipped down and his back hair scruff went up, I knew what was coming, I have seen it many times before and I wasn't much into gambling on whether it would be a bluff charge or a real charge, so when his chin came up, I released... the arrow struck him squarely and completely penetrated the full length of his body... he charged straight forward went by my right shoulder at about 15 feet and bowled over 20 yards behind me... I was shaking like a leaf and wondering about the sanity of calling... but a few moments later, standing over his carcass, I thought "that was freakin' awesome!"

And that was only a black bear... that same experience with a griz may have cause a massive coronary...

 

[Ardent]

It is certainly healthy to offer a good deal of respect when you're looking at a Grizzly, that's looking at you from not far away. More so when accompanied by cubs. This said, the Grizzlies are less of a worry where I am than Black Bears- the Blacks Bears are less predictable. We have problems with the Black Bears, but never once has there been a Grizzly issue despite them being in ample supply. They just seem to mind their own business more.