bear hunting

[rustin9989]

Hey everybody, I'm looking to bowhunt bear in the Adirondacks this fall up around tounge mountain or maybe even around lake placid area. Just looking for any and all advice and tips all you experienced Hunters may feel like talking about. I'm basically brand new to hunting bear so all input would be greatly appreciated. I have literally no time to scout so i am wringing it. I do have honey burn, jelly donut spray and bear urine tho, and bear pepper spray. that's about it. So, advice, tips, past experiences will all be helpful and appreciated. Thanks!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Not familiar with those areas but without the ability to lay your boots onteh ground prior you may be better off just buying a lotery ticket...LOL

 

Seriously though, It will be long shot odds. Best two words I can say to you is Google Earth. check the terrain. and then when you get there you are going to have to look to three things during that time of year. Food, Food and then there is Food.

 

Berries will probably be gone. so I would focus moreon the hard mast types like beech nuts and acorns. Grasses are always good and if you can find some marshes on Google earth there may be two things a bear like. Grass and beaver. The ground is aslo softer making looking for tracks and sign a little easier. You are probably going to reallllly be covering some ground. If your time is limited I would head towards the marshes firt and try to find one with heavery cover adjacent and if there are ridges with the hard mast you have as good a spot as any.

[mmkay]

If you are not going to scout.  Maybe you know some farmers / land owners up there.  Pay them a finders fee to loacte likely bears spots for you.  But I think you would be better off going to Maine and booking a hunt.

[growalot]

A real good article in NYODN this week you should read it...predator calls squealing rabbit and fawn decoys with a fawn distress ...near any good mast ..that article has a lot of tips and how not to get fined with lures...not allowed to have more than 1 1/2 oz.  whether being used and on you...but that is fluid ozs...scent free rags ...something that can soak up alot and dry are not fluid....and using motion with the decoying...say a remote mojo scented with a trappers musk scent....Good Luck

[rustin9989]

Excellent, excellent info! Thank you my friends for the very helpful info and tips!

[Cabin Fever]

Are you going alone? Have you thought about how you would get a bear out of there??

[rustin9989]

Yes, i would be going alone. I did think about that. Only two ideas i came up with, a tarp and brute strength. That's all i have to work with...

[Cabin Fever]

One of those deer carts might be helpful, if you can get your hands on one.? Those stinkin' bear don't come with good dragging "handles" or slide very well for that matter... 

[rustin9989]

I actually thought about the Deer carts but ill have to google earth the areas i may choose to hunt. Forest may be too dense for a cart

[A Sportsman]

You may want to consider getting someone to come with you. Or peerhaps be ready to quarter the bear in the woods and bring it out pieces.

[A Sportsman]

You may want to consider getting someone to come with you. Or peerhaps be ready to quarter the bear in the woods and bring it out pieces.

[A Sportsman]

Or pick a spot where the drag is straight down. If you have to worry about dragging sidehill to skirt private land your not going to be happy.

[Water Rat]

If you find beechnuts or blueberries , you'll find the bears. Good luck !

[rustin9989]

More excellent advice. Thanks Sportsman and Water Rat!

[NFA-ADK]

Not sure how big/strong you are but...  I have dragged out a 200lb + buck and the antlers were excellent handles.  I had 4 other hunters helping me and it was not easy to say the least.  Down hills is easy but go through some rough territory and the drag will tire you out...  I am about 170 and can pull my weight with no problem but a bear over 250lbs is Extremely hard to move, nothing like a deer.  Like Cabin Fever says those things don't come with handles and their fur and claws catch and drag everything!  I was told once by the forest ranger how horrible a long drag is and how bad it wears the hide with a heavy bear.  He said if they are by the camp WACK them!  Deep woods, let them go.  If you take one deep in the woods and can't move him, tag, clean and go for help...  The cart will work if you can get him in it by yourself...  I debate one for deer but doubt I would come out just to get the cart.  Good luck!  Every time I see one they are running away...  Cute when small, adults not so much! 

 

PS: Not sure how experienced you are at hunting/navigating these areas.  Map, compass, GPS, proper survival clothes, fire starting items, first aid kit, extra food, flashlights, batteries, bulbs, knifes and rope (possible water purifier) are some essential tools along with woods wise experience to know how to use them and properly navigate even if your compass point the wrong way due to metal in the rocks...  Think about getting a partner unless you are confident in your skills, in the ADK it should be extreme confidence as many perish who are ill prepared.  NFA - No Fooling Around!!!  Good Luck and take pictures!!!  Hope you need 7 guys to drag him out!!!  Now that would be a story!!!

[G-Man]

You better know how to skin and butcher it in the woods or you will not get it out. 5 Guys on mine to movee it.250yards. and that was with snow. Then used tractor to bring it 3/4 mile uphill

[rustin9989]

Well NFA, that has been a serious concern of mine. I doubt i am any where near as experienced as any of you. I am going to heed all the warnings you have given me and bring all those items you have just talked about. I really do not have anyone to go out with. I am a small guy but i am pretty strong considering my small 5 foot 6 165 pound frame but i need to give this a go regardless. I probably will not harvest a bear this season because i will not venture so far as to get lost and end up dying in there, which i do believe could be s real possibility if i venture beyond my comfort and skill level. I do appreciate the concern but even if i don't go in far and don't harvest anything still should be pretty fun. I.have been concerned with false readings from my compass as well. All this talk of getting lost tho has compelled me in the last few hours to try to convince a friend or two to at least accompany me on a scouting trip up there. I live in Albany but deliver produce up there so i know how dense and deep the forest can be up there...

[rustin9989]

Wow G man that's pretty intense

[rustin9989]

Growalot, what article specifically are you talking about i. Nyodn?

[Cabin Fever]

It's the New York Outdoor News paper. The bear hunting article is on the front page.

[Doc]

I am by no means any kind of bear hunting expert. I have never hunted them before. But, for what it's worth, I can pass on one observation that I made one year when we were down in PA hunting for deer. One of the farms that we were hunting on had a small corn field nestled into a heavily wooded area. In the corner of this field were heavy trails littered with bear scat and about an eighth of an acre of mashed over corn that looked like somebody had driven a roller around in the field. That area was littered with bear scat as well. Sure enough, we saw bears there in legal shooting hours (no bear license).

 

I'm not sure how you singled out the areas that you did for a bear hunt, but you might want to check out some country around agriculture/woods for that kind of hunting involving going in blind.

[growalot]

I don't know how far you planned on driving or where you planned on staying...but I'd look at the bear density report and just perhaps find a more populated public hunting area in less demanding terrain if I were you...also remember with a bow hunt...your more than likely going to shoot later in the day...with a bow that means if he travels after the shot .....you'll have to wait him out....going in after a wounded bear especially alone is not something to do and especially in the dark....I tell ya going into a stand set in bear country in the pre dawn hours is some scary scary stuff when all your carrying is a bow and a knife...because they are up and searching for food...so remember that when carrying food scented lures...like doughnuts in a can...they are faster than one may think...just ask G-man...

[rustin9989]

Damn man, you are so right. I'm glad i posted on here because i probably would not have thought about many of these situations and scenarios that are being talked about. Which means i did not properly think this hunt out. Much more dangerous than i would have thought. For safety sake i will most likely postpone this hunt until 2014 so i can plan much more thoroughly and hopefully find a buddy to hunt with. At this point so much good advice had been given where safety is concerned (which i honestly was not really thinking about) that perhaps i will stick to deer hunting for one more season. Not 100 percent yet but a lot can go wrong and I'm feeling I'm not properly prepared for this hunt yet...

[rustin9989]

Probably better to postpone the hunt for a year than make a dumbass newbie mistake and wind up lost in the Adirondacks or mauled to death by a black bear

[defrazzle]

Not sure how big/strong you are but...  I have dragged out a 200lb + buck and the antlers were excellent handles.  I had 4 other hunters helping me and it was not easy to say the least.  Down hills is easy but go through some rough territory and the drag will tire you out...  I am about 170 and can pull my weight with no problem but a bear over 250lbs is Extremely hard to move, nothing like a deer.  Like Cabin Fever says those things don't come with handles and their fur and claws catch and drag everything!  I was told once by the forest ranger how horrible a long drag is and how bad it wears the hide with a heavy bear.  He said if they are by the camp WACK them!  Deep woods, let them go.  If you take one deep in the woods and can't move him, tag, clean and go for help...  The cart will work if you can get him in it by yourself...  I debate one for deer but doubt I would come out just to get the cart.  Good luck!  Every time I see one they are running away...  Cute when small, adults not so much! 

 

PS: Not sure how experienced you are at hunting/navigating these areas.  Map, compass, GPS, proper survival clothes, fire starting items, first aid kit, extra food, flashlights, batteries, bulbs, knifes and rope (possible water purifier) are some essential tools along with woods wise experience to know how to use them and properly navigate even if your compass point the wrong way due to metal in the rocks...  Think about getting a partner unless you are confident in your skills, in the ADK it should be extreme confidence as many perish who are ill prepared.  NFA - No Fooling Around!!!  Good Luck and take pictures!!!  Hope you need 7 guys to drag him out!!!  Now that would be a story!!!

 

NFA-ADK is right on the money!  Here are my thoughts and input: 

 

Bear hunting in the Adirondacks or for that matter in New York State is sort of a misnomer.  Let me explain - Bears are NOT territorial such as the whitetail deer.  That being said, it is difficult to "scout" for bear.  The best is to look at the NYS bear take statistics and hunt those areas where bear are normally taken.   So "hunting" for bear in this state is the luck of the draw and statistics will prove that most bear are taken while deer hunting.  You can not bait bear (legaly) in NYS, so the only chance you have is stumbling on one.

 

As far as shooting one in the ADK back woods, you better have 4-5 people that will help you pull out the bear.  As NFA-ADK said, dragging a deer of XXX weight is nothing at all like dragging a bear of the same XXX weight.  Even a small bear will take all your strength to get out.  They are so flexible that their carcass catches every little stone and twig.  The last bear I shot was in the Long Lake area of NYS and getting the bear out was a P.I the A.. I even had two other helping me.  On the good side, I like bear meat better than venison.  When prepared and cooked correctly, it is great.  Bear meat is like beef, short grain and red.  Venison is like goat or sheep.....long grain.  So cooking them is much different.

 

I wish you well and if there one hunting area I would head to is the Blue Mountain, Long Lake are of New York State.  Look at Rt.28! 

 

Good luck