getting ready..

[shooter]

Getting ready for my 3rd out of state bear hunt but my 1st with the options of using dogs and /or bait.This year i'm going to try to bag one using my 45LC blackhawk with millet reddot scope.My buddy from mich. will hopefully be bagging his 1st bear....Even his wife is telling him "dont come home without a bear".1st day of the hunt is monday the 15th,will post results whenever we get back from maine.Last one was a rug,this one will be a 3/4 mount.
                                                                           Shooter

[Border]

Shooter, You are going with spruce Mtn right?? I think my buddy Pete will be up there running his dogs too.He will know me by my Border handle.He has some real super nice hounds.Good Luck !!!

[Border]

Hey Shooter, how did you make out in Maine

[shooter]

Hey border,
     Pete from vermont ? yea,he helped us out with his dogs.The week we went 1st 3 days,too warm and dry.We ended up shooting 2x250lb'ers and one small ,maybe 100lbs all with dogs.Only one tiny bear was sighted by any of the 5 hunters on stand that week.I didnt see a bear.I was rather disappointed by the whole thing.These dogs were running coyote,racoon and porkypine..i thought these dogs were trained not to go off scent ? Pete seems like a real nut.Funny guy.Are you paul B. pb guide service?
                                                                        shooter

[Border]

Well Shooter, Pete has as good as bear dogs as there are.They are dogs though.I Have been killing a bear an average of every other day this seasonI ran and caught bears 3 days in a row this week.Dogs looked like a million bucks.Yetserday they ran a coyote for 2 hours.Why??? Who knows !!!.Anyone who tells you they havent run off game isnt telling you the truth.Dogs are animals.If they were more like machines it would be different.How come the fastest horse can win a race one day and then lose to the same horses the following week?The Kentucky Derby winner rarely wins the preakness and the belmont and its racing against the same horses ,basically. Taking 3 bears in a week ,with one pack of dogs,in Maine, is pretty darn good.I was guiding hunters not too far from where you guys are.I am not Paul B Guide service.

[shooter]

boarder,
  we actually had 5 diff sets of bear dogs we were running.Pete's,some other guys from vermont,a guy from boston and another guy that guides in the same area-from maine.You're right,maybe all the stories i've read failed to mention some of the downsides of hunting.I just question why myself,on the last day of the hunt ,had to personally help chase down dogs they were convinced werent chasing a bear while two other sets of dogs /guides were resting on their laurels instead of trying to strike off another bait.This was at 8:15 in the am after we treed 2 coon in same tree.They should have set off on their own,checked other baits and if they striked,call me in.All im saying they didint give 100% to make it happen.As far as pete goes,he's ok,he didnt have anything to do with the decision making-he was just following orders.My guide was trying to buy one of petes dogs,offered him $4000.Says pete has some great dogs.Also these guys start whipping out pistols wanting to shoot your bear ,when its already down.You'll have to ask pete why he took the hunters pistol and shot his bear for him,before the hunter even had a chance.if that was me,i'd refuse to tag it.....ask pete about this.The conn. hunters sow he shot in the boulder cave.
                                                                             Shooter

[Border]

Well Shooter, I dont know about guides shooting bears for no reason.I never fired my handgun all season and we killed quite a few bears.I have had to backup hunters with it in the past though.I tell everyone,I dont fire unless a dog or person is in danger.I have seen hunters freeze up more times than you could imagine.Bear coming out of a tree or bayup right into us and the dogs,I am yelling shoot shoot shoot, and the hunter just staring at the whole scene,scared to death or worse, running away.I have seen this several times.
 Sure doesnt sound like hound hunting is for you.It is not for everybody that is for sure.The hunters I had this year who didnt take a bear,have all booked for next year already.It seems like you just wanted to be brought in for the kill  and not get the whole experience of the hunt,good and bad,and the work involved.Nothing wrong with that I guess.I am just glad I didnt have any hunters like that this year.All the guys I had were more than happy to help out with the dogs,the baits,dragging,etc... I guess I just had a good bunch again this year.

[shooter]

border,
          i am a ethical hunter...i said hunter...get it,not shooter.Dont go by the name.I've hunted bear three times with guides now and many years on my own in the adirondacks and catskills.I dont appreciate you implying i just want to be brought into a site for the kill.What your buddy pete did was wrong,the hunter didnt freeze up.Also,when my buddy shot his bear and it was in its death throws(not going anywhere) one of the guides shot it from 1 foot away in the head and probably screwed up the rug..it was unnecessary both times.If thats the way you and yours call hunting I'D rather not be part of it.After getting a lecture from pete on how these bears arent anything to fear 99% of the time and then have all these men jumping in and shooting a clients bear when it isnt necessary,well,something dont seem right to me.Perhaps you folks tree so many bear during your practice season it kinda leaves you thirsting for your own kill.Sorry for the strong words,but you shouldnt have attacked my credability or hunting ethics.Im a 45 yr old man who's been hunting since i was 8 yrs old.I also fought NYPIRG and others who ended up getting in the way of NY having a bear/hound season.I was all for such a season.I supported you hound hunters....and still will.All i did was tell the truth.You speak to Pete and ask him what the deal was with him shoting the clients bear...
                                                                     shooter

[shooter]

I apologize to all of you out there for my last post to border.I just didnt think is was right that he implied that i was a lazy hunter or a slob hunter.I worked very closely with the guide and his dogs all week to get my friend a bear.I gave my friend all the chances with the dogs for 5 straight days till he scored.I had my chance on the final day but we ended up chasing racoons.I'm not putting down this type of hunting,just this particular hunt.I met several houndsman and made friends with them all.I dont think i said anything to deserve what boarder implied of me in my earlier posts regarding this hunt nor have i ever in any of my posts ever been critical of another member on this site.Again,my apologies.
                                                                        shooter

[Border]

Shooter, I dont see anywhere where I said you were an unethical or slob hunter.If you took my post as such I am sorry.I was just going by the quote that you made " checked other baits and if they striked,call me in".That sure sounds like you just wanted to be brought in after things got going.I have had hunters ask me if they can stay at camp till things get going and I have always told them no.I just dont go for calling people in on a chase or tree.I feel they should be there from start to finish,good or bad.
   I was glad to see that you werent cutting down the hound hunting,just that hunt.I hate it when people get down on a type of hunting because of one bad experience.I have had people do the same with bait hunting.One thing I have noticed is that when we limit ourselves to only 2 hunters per week,it is a much more enjoyable experience for everyone.
Again,I apoligize if you took my post as a slam on you.
 Funny you mentioned the coons treed.I started off bait a couple weeks ago.Had 3 dogs go right out with a bear.They caught right up to it and were walking it.My partner got the hunter in position and he missed 2 shots at 20 yards walking across a road.I took the other hunter with me on foot and followed the chase.We caught up to the bear when the dogs bayed it in a jungle thicket.It was wild.Pushed the hunter up to 10 yards from the bear.Took 4 30-06 rounds before it dropped. 420 lbs.
  Went back to look for my fourth dog that had never made it.Shes about my best dog.Straight as an arrow on bear.She was treed by herself.We walked the hunter,who had missed the big bear,into the tree.There was the first and only coon that dog has ever treed for me !!! Hunter was kind of mad that he had to walk in to the tree for a coon?

[shooter]

Sorry back to ya.I meant that since it was early on my last day and we were trying to recover 2 lost dogs that the other guides helping us could have striked off another bait,then i could have met them at that bait and gone from there.Seeing as it was my last day and i hadnt really had a chance to shoot.As i said,my friend had all the chances,thats the way i wanted it to maximize his chances at taking his 1st bear.No,i was involved in all his chases and helping track down and recovering the dogs each time.Just figured maybe they would put in the extra 10% to tree me a bear.And its not just about shooting one.I told them i wouldnt shoot a bear smaller than the one i shot in 2001(200 lbs).Sorry i mistook what you said"im glad i dint have any of those hunters this year" for a insult.
                                                                         shooter