first time bear hunting...help?

[backwoodsboy]

my cousin and i have gathered together some buddies and decided to do a bear camp this spring in upstate ny adirondacks area and 320 acres of some old farm land (i have seen bear scat around several times and never sighted one myself but others have), it will be all of our first times bear hunting and i have the basic idea of how to hunt black bears with bait but if someone could touch on preparation of baits and what works best to bring in the bears in  it would be much appreciated by the rookie(s). i have a scoped 30/06 for deer hunting ,i am assuming this is addequete for bear? but what kind of rounds should i use, and lastly treestands or blinds? these are just several questions i have and ANYTHING you may think is helpful to the first time bear hunter is much appreciated , and remember im clueless so tell me anything thats worked for you, thank you all!

-cory

[nabob]

If the NY DEC catches you with bait, they'll collect your gun and your license. That's the first step - don't use any bait. Bait is considered anything ingestible, so that includes grease, honey burners, gels, etc. Spray cans of bear bomb scent cannot be ingested so I asked about them and got the word from the local game warden that bear bombs were OK. Your deer rifle is fine. 180 grain is OK, so is lower. The bears up that way aren't that big or hard to kill.

I tagged on one this year - my first. I examined the scat to see where it was feeding and hung out there. They have tremendous sniffers so be very careful about your own scent. I hunted them on the ground but lots of guys use the trees. I hunted from about 2PM to last shooting light and it took a while but I got one.

Good luck.

Don't bait!

[alaskacajun]

I don't know about legality in your area concerning bait but I use dogfood mixed with used fry grease. Also I use thrown out donuts or pastries. Fish bones or meat scraps collected from dumpsters or from a meat market also work well. I usually soak a few rags with Anise or Vanilla extract and hang them in the nearby trees! I have heard of people using peanut butter with good results. Whatever you decide to use is going to have to be replenished regularly once it's hit, so make sure you have a ton of it on hand....

The 30/06 will be plenty for black bear, you should choose a heavy weight bullet like a 180gr Nosler Partition or Barnes X... If you reload, get some 200 gr Nosler Patition's these are my favorite.... Make sure you site your rifle in on the new ammo you get....

As far as treestands or blinds go I personally have used a piece of plywood nail between a couple of trees. But if you have a climbing stand I'm sure that would suffice. 

Good Luck!

- Clint

[backwoodsboy]

nabob- just checked the local regs and your right so i wont be using bait forgive me for my ignorance on this one i just figured it was how it was done after reading so much about it,thanks though. i did just talk to a freind you runs hounds in Vermont and my uncle owns 800 or so acres up there so i may tag along on a hunt with him, is baiting legal in VT perhaps?

[nabob]

Dunno about VT, so you are on your own there. Sorry.

Good luck out there!! Check out the predator calling boards. I picked up some good tips there about calling in the shaggies.

[bearfat]

Going to be a tough hunt with scents only esp since even a liquid is illegal?



The only thing I could say is make the kill shot a lung shot. An old wives tale says to hit them in the shoulder, "And bust them up good." I knew a guy that actually listened to the advice and of course wounded two bear before he made a lung shot and anchored the third bear.

I don't think you can go too heavy of a bullet on bear. I use 30-06 on them but prefer 200-220 grain bullets. They are an extremely powerful animals that can take a pounding.

I've used 150 gr with poor results, 180 gr were OK, 200-220 gr hit them hard.

[Dusty Miller]

I'm wonder'n if they could get ya fer just spread'n all the bear smell'm stuff all over yer clothes?  Then stand upwind of the bear and let the smell drift to him.

[jro45]

I don't think I'd want that bear smelling stuff on me. Maybe around me but not on me. I heard this guy fell asleep in bear stand woke up when bear had climbed the tree and grabed his arm.

[Dusty Miller]

He fell asleep?     Must'v been a boring hunt!

[greenmtnboy]

Hey Cory,
         I live in Vt and baiting here is a big NO NO as well.  Its been a big subject for the last few years, even so much that the state fish and wildlife officers here have ticketed and fined Hunters for moving wild apples from one tree to another.   I think a lot of it has to do with them trying to increase the number of bear in the state. In my area they seam to be doing well  almost to the point where there starting to be a nusance in places.  Youll get hooked on it once you get started its quite a challege.    Good Luck      But no bait here          Rod