Bear hunt

[Buckskin]

Heading up north for a bear hunt with the smoothbore 20ga tomorrow, throw in some sturgeon and other fishing as well. Should be a fun 10 or so days away from it all and hopefully first big game taken with a flintlock! 

[Ranger99]

Good Luck
They were using similar trade guns
and HBC smoothbores for big moose
and bear long long ago

[ironglow]

  Have a great  time..and here's hoping you score big !

[billy_56081]

Good luck. My nephew is heading up to Northern MN bear hunting tomorrow.

[Buckskin]

Well, it took 6 days in the stand but finally got my bear!  Saw a small one first day that I let go and another later that day that I would have taken but wouldn't give me a good shot, so didn't push it. 
This one came on the last day of my hunt, 383# sow without cubs, by the head I figured it was a boar.  She was nearly dry so must have kicked the cubs out few weeks ago. Big beast that was a real chore getting out of the woods, luckily it was only 70 yds drag to the river where we could float it down to the truck and river was only about 18" at deepest.  Fun hunt and hard to be back in real world aside from being back with the family...

[Lloyd Smale]

wish you were up here. Ive got a bear that has to go over 500 lbs screwing with my deer feeding. Have him on my camera every day. Had a feeder on an 15 foor 1 1/2 pipe cemented into the ground,  and not a thin walled pipe. He bent it down like it was a stick of Licorish.  2 years in a row i lost feeders now. Not flimsy cheap ones either. the moutrie magnums. This boar is so big his belly about drags on the ground. Michigan in there wisdom doesnt give a rip about the deer heard but the bear licenses you have to get on a lottery and shoot one illegally and your probably going to spend a year in jail. My buddy does bear guiding and i called him yesterday and left a message. Hopefully he gets the dogs out there and at least chase it off. Right now ive got a fawn and a doe for the only deer comming in and at least 4 different bear!

[Lloyd Smale]

By the way buckskin thats a beautiful bear with the brown in its face. Hope you get a rug made out of it. I laughed at your get it out of the woods. People that have never handled one dont have a clue how hard they are to deal with. Sure aint like throwing a deer up into your truck. I had a buddy that was as big as me with me years ago when i shot a 400lb bear and i had my chev that was lifted 6 inches and we couldnt get it up there for nothing. Ended up having to find a small hill and backing the tailgate into it then sliding the bear on. Just dragging a 400 lb bear is impossible for one man and a hell of a job for two.

[Buckskin]

I am thinking of doing a rug. Thankfully we had 4 people to help with the drag, but still was a bugger - nothing like a deer.  Wisconsin has loosened up their permits, what used to take 8 points now take 2-3 in one area that has a lot of ag. This is one of many cornfields near where I hunted with bear damage.  They plant smaller fields to draw bears away from their larger more productive land and get what that can out of the donor fields, crazy damage.  The guy that has the plane said he saw as many as 8 bear in one field.

[Lloyd Smale]

michigan wont give crop damage permits for bear. Just deer.