Black Bear Hunting
Let’s start off by answering the most common question asked about bear hunting:
“Where can I hunt them?” - This question is usually followed by “There are no bears where I deer hunt”.
This may be true in some locations but I’ll bet in a lot of locales there are more bears than most people think. I know from a personal experience I never dreamed the general location where I have been deer hunting for the past 20 years contains as many bears as it does. Point is: You may be closer to great bear hunting than you think.
Just remember that while whitetails may practically live in our back yards Black bears need plenty of room to roam in which to live and prosper. When looking for potential bear hunting areas, check out old secluded logging or access roads that offer plenty of cover, also try small secluded lake edges, small riverbanks, or heavy covered areas. Ask locals if there has been any bear sightings in the area, and finally I found that asking local farmers if they have been encountering crop damage due to bears feeding in their crops, BINGO!
Once you have an area selected, the next thing to do (especially in new areas) is post the area with a few signs notifying land owners, passer-by’s (hikers, trespassers, etc) that the area is baited for the purpose of Black bear hunting. Prior to this, always consult with your local MNR before putting out any bait’s to ensure adherence with provincial laws.
When attempting to have a site hit for the first time - think STINK! You may have great bait such as some type of sweets or pastries but unless a bear stumbles across it you won’t have any luck.
What is required is something sufficiently smelly to draw the bears in to your site. One of the best ways to create such an attracting scent is to use a bran-sack filled with fish remains collected from the summers catch or from your local fish processing plant (if you could be so lucky) tie and hoist this “stink bag” 10 or 12 feet into the tree-tops ensuring to utilise a limb that a bear cannot crawl out on or your bag will be gone. There are also commercially sold “stink baits”. I’ve also used a new burning type scent sticks called “12 miles of dead fish” (Self Explained scent), “Anise” (Licorice scent), “Wild Berry” (Sweet Berry scent) and believe me they work great as they smell exactly like their description (Here’s a tip: do not sit down-wind of the 12 miles of dead fish attractant). Whatever method you choose just be sure it has lots of smell in order to bring in the bears!
Once the bears are coming you can use whatever bait you have to keep them coming back. Of course, you can continue to use meat scraps if you want because after the bears become accustomed to eating at the site, the meat won’t be there long enough to go rotten!
Other forms of bait can be fish, doughnuts, grain, dry dog food mixed with molasses and just about anything else you can get in large enough quantities to keep the bears fed. They eat a pile of bait in a hurry because; well....... they’re as hungry as.......well........ bears. I’ve found that for most part a bear’s preference is sweets.
Be forewarned however, simply just dumping a bunch of food in the woods does not qualify as a good site. Much thought and care will have to go into your site if you want to be successful. Use the same amount of care as if hunting a mature whitetail buck.
Once you have a site being hit, the next thing to do is set up a bait-site for hunting over. There are many ways to do this but what I prefer is a plastic 45 gallon drum to put the bait in. The way to prepare the barrel is to cut the top out and then put a hinge on it so you can open it and close it. This is so you can put your bait in with relative ease. The only other modification is to cut a hole in the middle of the barrel. This is where ol’ Mr. Bruin will take the bait from.
A barrel set up in this fashion will keep your bait dry and prevent other scavengers from taking the bait. If the bait was simply left out in the open any forest critter could be taking your bait. Here’s one last hint with respect to using a 45 gallon drum, wait until the bears are hammering your site on a regular and consistent basis prior to actually placing the bait (especially meat or fish) in the barrel. The reason for this is it’s much nicer to handle a maggot free bait can in the event that you must move to a new hunting location for one reason or another. As mentioned earlier, once the bears are hitting the site consistently, bait going bad won’t be a problem, often the barrel will be licked spotless!
Other baiting tactics are to make a crib out of logs to place the bait in, leaving one end open in which to position the bear for a broadside shot. Be sure to check before cutting down any trees though before building such a log crib. On a number of occasions I’ve simply used a common, plastic garbage can with a piece of plywood laid over the top to protect the bait.
When putting up your stand be sure to bring a compass to ensure the sun will be setting on your back for the evening hunt (most black bear hunters only hunt the evenings). Ensure that you are high enough to stay out of sight or have a heavy backdrop of cover behind you. Mature spruce or cedar trees are good for this. I also try to set up in such a manner so that when entering (to actually hunt) or exiting the site I don’t have to walk right past the barrel.
It should go without saying that once on stand you must be unquestionably quiet and near motionless. In spite of what you may have heard, a bear’s eyesight is quite good and I’d be willing to bet my favourite bow their sense of smell is every bit as good as any whitetail’s.
My next (and last) bit of bear savvy would be to not rush your shot. Once the bear begins approaching the barrel, wait until he gets there and starts feeding before unleashing your broadhead tipped arrow. Just stay calm and cherish the show, you can be sure he’s already tested the site out and has made his mistake - the rest is up to you.
Now, let’s talk about gear.
Bows (Compound, Recurve, Long)
Draw weight: in the
Minimum Arrow Length: must be at least 23.6 inches, or 600 mm in length.
Broadhead: must be at least 0.87 inches, or 22 mm at the widest point, two cutting edges of straight, sharp, unserrated, barbless steel.
My preferred bow is the PSE X-Force Dream Season™ and a draw weight of 63 Lbs. My arrow of choice is the Carbon Force™ Radial X-Weave™ 200, and my universal ultimate broadhead is the cut on contact 100gr NAP Spitfire XP Pro.
Crossbows
Draw weight: in the
Broadhead: must be at least 0.87 inches, or 22 mm at the widest point, two cutting edges of straight, sharp, unserrated, barbless steel.
My preferred crossbow is the TenPoint™ “Pro Fusion” with 175# of draw weight and 292 FPS. Bolt of choice is the GoldTip™ Laser II tipped with the cut on contact 100gr NAP Spitfire XP, there’s no stopping this setup……… it takes second to nobody!
Hunting Apparel
Scent FREE! Scent FREE! Scent FREE! Could I say it anymore? Be rest assured, you will not beat the nose of a black bear, one whiff and he’s GONE!
My preferred choice of scent eliminating apparel is X-Scent™ which utilises X-Static™ Silver Thread technology to totally eliminate body odor, and the ultimate concealment of Mossy Oak™ New BreakUp Camouflage.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. Anyone who has not experienced bear hunting should give it a try. It has all the elements required to make an outstanding hunt. Bears are truly a beautiful creature deserving of every article and bit of praise they have ever received. If I may, I feel obligated to dispel a couple of rumours that I hear over and over.
1. Bears stink: I have been part of a ½ dozen or so bear harvests and not one of those bears had any more odour than any other recently harvested game animal providing you do not hunt near dumping facilities, the old expression here is “you are what you eat!”, normally bears are a clean animal.
2. Bear meat is inedible: Bull-ony! Bear meat is delicious. Of course, like all animals, younger animals tend to make better table fare.
3. Bears aren’t challenging to hunt: Usually, such statements come from someone who has never hunted bears before. All I know is this: I know and speak to a group of dedicated bear hunters on a reasonably regular basis. I should add that these folks are experienced hunters who don’t go about bear hunting (or any hunting) lightly. They are humbled often enough by so called “dumb bears” to convince me of the animal’s true intelligence.
If you’re ever lucky enough to find yourself kneeling over such a handsome animal as the September sun slowly slips below the rapidly darkening tree line you will know of what I write.....
Long live the mighty Black Bear!
Good Hunting!