Black bear hunting tips

[Thunderbird]

I have a few question for the bear hunters on here I'm new to bear hunting this will be my first season .My questions are How often do I have to bait to be effective ,what type of bait seems to work best ,I'm not to crazy about heights is 10 to 12 feet ample for a treestand ,does anyone use ground blinds ,are morning or afternoon hunts more productive ,if driving atv to hunting spot how far do you recommend to park from stand when hunting ,one last question how long before the season opens do you think I should start baiting .sorry for the long list if anyone can guide me in the right direction it would be much appreciated Thank you Thunderbird

[Big John]

Well, after many years of this, the recipe I found that works well is very aromatic! Spreading smell as much as possible is important.
You can use darn near any food in barrels or buckets, including dog food, but the most important element is smell!
So my choice is molasses and Pure vanilla. This is pre-hunt especially. Smell lasts for days on end if spread properly.
Pre-bait for two weeks before hunting.

Big John

[hunter with MS]

I have had good results using Anise oil . Apply it every time you bait . I all so use used deep fryer oil on the ground on logs trees .

[Thunderbird]

Thanks guys ! Question for Big John do you place the vanilla on scent wicks or rags and place on branches or do get a large amounts of it and pour it over the bait just curious I can't wait to get started with bear hunting I'm hoping to take one with my crossbow this season does anyone recommend a good taxidermist in the Ottawa area as my guy Rick that I use to use past away .I know I should worry about getting a nice bear first but I like to ahead of the game and I'm pretty picky when it comes to taxidermy.Thanks Again

[L. E. Carroll]

Back when it was still legal to bait bears in WA state, Burning Honey in an old can over open flame at the bait site did not hurt....also don't be afraid to make some noise while baiting your siite. Bears soon realize that noise equals food and will respond pretty quickly.. We often made some noise and freshened the bait before spraying the area down on hunting days, with water mixed with anise oil to help cover our scent in the event of a vagrant breeze..... have fun !!!!

Our main food source for bears was used deep fry and cooking we got from behind convenience stores ( after asking, of course )..and pouring over stale bread and pasteries we got from a couple local bread return outlets.... we also covered logs with the cooking oil as they would walk in it, and track it back into the woods after eating. .... creating a road map back to the bait site for other, hopefully, "Really Big bears" to follow back to the bait.

Contain your movement, if you have to move, do it slowly and have some hard lemon drops to suck on as they give you something to do and prevent involuntary coughing or clearing your throat while up in the stand.

BTW, We have had them climb up with us too see what we are doing.

Gene

[Hunt it]

If you know any trappers that can get you some beaver carcasses that is the way to go. Hang them just out of reach over your bait or nail to a tree through the tail about 6-7 ft high. Bears love beaver meat more than all the sweet stuff. No fish as they don't like rotten fish at all.

[foofoo]

you can hunt off the ground. i prefer natural fallen trees to sit on or a rock or stump with cover around it.just like any hunting you need to play the the wind though.dont overbait. make it a competition when theres several bears workin a bait.the idea is to have them come in before dark or the bait will be gone.i would start off with marshmellos, popcorn or dog food. i hit up the dollar store or make your own popcorn.used cooking oil like turkey fryer oil or bacon grease poured around the area on the ground will make it stick to there feet and make a trail for other bears to pick up on back to your bait.get a good spray bottle and mix some artificial or real Vanilla and mix with some vegetable oil and spray it up high on the tree limbs into the pine tree needles or spruce limbs works great. the oil makes the vanilla not dry out as fast.pick up a trail camera so you know whats comin to the bait. dont overthink things. keep it as cheap as possible. there is no magic potion.

[Hunt it]

Best taxidermist in Ontario is Pineridge Taxidermy just north of Coburg, closer to Ottawa than most.

[Bullzeye]

Fresh popped popcorn.......Mmmmmmmmmm, giant bag weighs nothing to carry into the woods, smell travels well too. Then again, if I put a little whole corn out for the deer, the Bears always find it, and hang around till it's all gone.

[racking up points]

Great thread, and as a first time bear hunter this fall, I'm taking notes!

[munch]

if you find the bears are not coming into your bait during daylight a trick ive used is find bear scat at another location and dump it near your bait and remove the bait for a day so the bear hitting yours thinks he got there to late and it may come in faster the next day

[Freddyalmost]

Been baitin em for a while now in Maine. I start a month.before the season,vanilla gets em in,so does oil of anise,feed em as many doughnuts as we can get from dunkin and such.keep the barrels as full as possible.they don't like empty barrels too much.slack off the amount to create competition before the season comes in.fryalator grease around the bait site ,it gets all over them and they lay a scent trail with every visit,bringing in more bears.recently I tried a trail mix.bought a few barrels of the stuff and the Bears loved it,easy to use but pricey if you can find it.the guys are right about the beaver,#1 if you can get it.popcorn works great topped off with a little molasses .i hope I've been a little help.ps,I also make candy in steel buckets and they can't get enough of it.a little work but gives them something to lick when the good stuff is gone.remember they don't like a bait site with nothing to eat.good luck be still.and I've shot em in a ground blind,they look a lot bigger then.really gets the ticker going

[Thunderbird]

Thanks Everyone !!!! Looks like I'm off to a good start thanks for all the great info .Couple more Questions is the hunting normally better in the spring or in the fall as for the fur spring or fall and lastly is bear meat better in spring or fall or is there no difference in the taste of the meat .Thanks Pete

[Freddyalmost]

No spring hunt in Maine,thanks to the antis,but the hide should be better in the spring,the went in the hole in prime shape for the winter and come out with a beautiful coat.as far as the meat goes,I don't hunt near towns or dumps so the meat is always the same.you are what you eat,grasses,beach nut,berries,it's all good.hunting evenings has always been best but have seen many a bear in the mornings and mid day,sit your bait and use a trail camera and take the guesswork out of it.good luck

[galamb]

We are just (widely) getting our spring bear hunt back this spring after being "cruel and unusual" for quite a number of years.

This will be my first spring hunt since 1998 (think the last year it ran).

A few things effect the taste of bear, which in my opinion is the best tasting of all the wild meats we can harvest in Ontario.

First off - what are they eating? - absolutely stay away from "dump bears" - I haven't seen the new regs yet but I remember at some point it was illegal to hunt bears (and were talking blacks here) within (whatever) distance from a dump. The more remote the bear, in general, the better it will taste.

Second, and don't know if there is any science to this or not, but have personally found that bears that have very "white" fat always taste better than those with yellowish fat (again, might be what they are eating?) - of course you can't tell before you shoot them, but when I'm cleaning them if they are more "yellowish" those tend to get ground up for burgers, sausages or cubed for stewing meat as opposed to steaks and roasts.

Third, younger bears always taste better than older bears. If I can pop a yearling that's what I want for the freezer (of course, talking about eating here, not a mount or a rug).

Spring bears taste better than fall bears - they haven't been "on the go" all year. There is way less fat to trim out as well - just super lean meat and it's not as "wild tasting" because they haven't been eating much of anything "nasty" when they come out of hibernation.

What they are eating in the spring is primarily "vegetation", the more (meat) they eat, the more it effects their flavour.

In the fall, particularly if they have been eating a great deal of fish, when you clean them and even cook them there is "no doubt" - if you have ever eaten a diving duck, you know what I'm talking about

If find bear meat is fairly close to pork, and particularly wild pork in terms of texture etc. Bears also share many of the same parasites that pigs do, so cook it the same way you would pork - done fairly well - no "rare" stuff unless you are not concerned with that parasite (trica-whatever - never remember that name).

I will only give you one tip on shooting them, because like many animals they go down well with a "boiler room broadside shot" whether using bow or bullet. Wait until their front leg is "stepped forward" on the side you shooting. That is one of their toughest bones. When the front leg (on the side you are shooting at) is extended forward that fully opens up the entire vital area.

In this diagram you can see the "optimum" vital zone - in this case the leg bones/shoulder blade is (partially) "in the way" - which for "ME" means, that's what I will hit



Once it steps forward, you get some extra room for error.



edit - last thing on my uber-long post.

If you have never skinned/cleaned a bear or seen it done it might really freak you out. I looks quite a bit like a human when you get the skin off - I know more than a couple of guys who couldn't bring themselves to ever eat bear meat after seeing one skinned out - so if you are "queezy", pack some gravol and a 26'er of Rye (the good Canadian stuff of course)