So, How Do You Do It????

[Doc]

Ok, so no dogs, no bait. So how do you guys go about hunting bears in NYS? Are all the bear kills strictly targets of opportunity when guys are out deer hunting? I know bears are not as numerous as deer, and they have some rather large territories, and are not particularly creatures of habit, So I have to wonder when hunters decide to go out specifically for bears in NYS, what kinds of tricks or techniques do they use. Anyone got any ideas?

[First-light]

The bears by me 8P use the same travel rout year after year. Most of the time it is at night but you do catch them being lazy when my field is full of corn. They hang around longer in the security of the stalks but then expose themselves when traveling back to the bedding areas. I also like to hunt an escape rout at the bottom of my property when my neighbors field is being harvested. Saw 6 bear in one sit. So i guess you can say hunt the travel routs to and from corn.

[Pygmy]

I hide behind a tree and make a sound like a Pic-A-Nic basket....

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Scouting and find travel routes from bedding to food source. Scent "baiting" from an upwind location from the bedding area. Honey burns seem to be popular and I took one using it.

 

Also drives are a popular method. I know a group of 12 guys that go to PA to do them during their bear season.

[bluecoupe]

Phew, you scared the H out of me with the thread title!

I personally don't hunt 'em but know people that do.  A lot of the time they're taken by locals who already know the animals habits which helps a lot in scouting but luck still is a big part of it.  Not that much different than hunting deer, just a lot less of 'em.   At least that my thoughts on it, right or wrong.

[fasteddie]

I hide behind a tree and make a sound like a Pic-A-Nic basket....

 

Sometimes I think you are a few sandwiches shy of a Picnic Basket !

[UpstateNomad90]

Same thing goes for where I hunt. The bears main travel trail that I set cams up leads to a food source (Beechnuts and berries) and in areas where generally there are not a lot of people hunting. I pick up most of the bears at night and overcast days on camera too, never really seen them during sunny bright days. 

[fasteddie]

Interesting Topic , Doc . If I , personally , had the opportunity to shoot a bear , I think I would pass ( unless I was in danger ) .  I doubt I would care to eat bear meat and to kill one for the sake of doing so just doesn't appeal to me .

Others would probably eat the bear meat and do something with the hide , etc .

I have heard of hunters soaking material in bacon grease and using it like scent wicks to draw the bear in close . Not sure if that would be legal though .

[A Sportsman]

Excellent thread Doc.  I'm interested in what some of the other big woods hunters have to say about this.

 

I've never hunted them specifically, but have seen a bunch over the years while hunting deer in Catskills.  If I were to map my sightings, they would seem pretty random.  I hunt a pretty large area, maybe 8 square miles or so, and have seen them in a number of different areas.

 

Some years I'll notice a lot of bear sign (droppings/tracks) in specific areas. If I was going to target them, I would look for that sign and focus a little bit on those areas.

 

It may sound silly, but perhaps the best way to target bears would be to look at the DECs published bear take by County and then simply spend a lot of time in the areas that seem to hold the most bears per square mile.  Sorta takes the romance out of the hunting end of it.  But then again, like I said, my sightings have been  pretty random, so....

 

I will say that if you spot a bear up wind of you, they are not that tough to stalk.  So walking, spotting and stalking, same way I hunt deer, i think is a pretty good strategy. 

[UpstateNomad90]

Interesting Topic , Doc . If I , personally , had the opportunity to shoot a bear , I think I would pass ( unless I was in danger ) .  I doubt I would care to eat bear meat and to kill one for the sake of doing so just doesn't appeal to me .

Others would probably eat the bear meat and do something with the hide , etc .

I have heard of hunters soaking material in bacon grease and using it like scent wicks to draw the bear in close . Not sure if that would be legal though .

 

 

I know NY allows for 1.5 fluid ounces of a liquid for baiting while bear hunting in NYS, So if you dipped the wick into the grease while it was still hot it might pass, but this is all pure guessing. I have also heard of people bringing a metal coffee can into the woods stuffed with marshmellows and burning them so the burnt sugar scent would be in the woods. I don't know the legality on that either, but as you said I will only shoot a bear if I am in danger, I am not overly interested in what they have to offer so I just like to get pictures of them. 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

A+ on the taste of bear if they aren't taken near dumps and areas like that. I have 5 jars that I canned left and I guard it like gold.

[Sogaard]

Anyone that I know who has killed a bear (legally) in NY was deer hunting and a bear happened to come by.

 

 

When I was younger, I use to know a guy that would almost always get a nice sized bear every season.  After he moved away, I found out he would dump doughnuts on his land in the spring and summer, then kill a fattened bear in the fall.  He had some deal with the local doughnut shop and would buy anything headed to the dumpster.  Never liked that guy...

 

 

[growalot]

Well I've hunted camp several years during bow just for bear...some close encounters just not close enough...and the one where he was standing on the other side of truck when I opened the door...but we have a very old and very large honey bee tree...so I hunt near it...I have soaked kindling in bacon grease and then cleared and area and took a portable grill out and lit it up...I have used bear and hog bombs....soaked rags in anise oil.... used scented candles and fawn and rabbit cries...I think that they are hunted heavily in our camp area...I know that one camp trains dogs...for they are out using them quit a bit when I'm at camp...they are hounds so I am not sure what they are training them for...they run them in a large pine plantation bordered by the oak hard woods...

Edited January 22, 2014 by growalot

[A Sportsman]

Culvercreek, I agree on the taste. Good stuff for sure.

My problem with hunting bear is that if I shoot one, I feel obligated to get either a rug or 3/4 mount done. I just can't see myself discarding the fur. both are pretty expensive. Plus I just had a bear mount done in 2011. Wife would not be pleased at the expense, again.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Culvercreek, I agree on the taste. Good stuff for sure.

My problem with hunting bear is that if I shoot one, I feel obligated to get either a rug or 3/4 mount done. I just can't see myself discarding the fur. both are pretty expensive. Plus I just had a bear mount done in 2011. Wife would not be pleased at the expense, again.

Bear rugs are very marketable. Often taxidermists I have dealt with didn't even take a deposit on them because they know they can make their money and then some on the sale if you don't pick it up. You may be able to work a deal with the taxidermist to give you credit towards a mount you want to do for giving them the hide.  The biggest issue with bear skins in early season is getting them cooled down quickly and getting all the fat off the skin. The hair will begin to fall out (slip) quickly because the fat is so prone to bacteria growth in the decay process. The fat on a bear is nothing like that on a deer. I lost the skin on the one I got 2 years ago. even though I had it skinned and in the freezer with 5 hours of shooting it, I screwed up and rolled it tightly and the cold didn't penetrate the big ball of fur I had. Live and learn.

[A Sportsman]

Sorry to hear it. Thanks for the information. Great to know. Next year maybe I won't hesitate if the shot comes along...

[RangerClay]

I hunt in 6C.  Most of the guys around me hunt the trails where the bears come to and from the corn fields.

 

I personally to go out and hunt for bears but I did try it once about 8 years ago.  It was quite comical.  I used this scent during the early season http://awayhunting.com/shop/scent-web-vanilla-acorn/

 

The first morning out I heard something walking up behind me softly.  I knew it wasn't a deer.  Everyone says that bears make little noise when they walk and my adrenaline went through the roof.  I ever so slowly turned around, expecting to see the mighty bruin.  And there he was, the biggest boar coon you ever saw.  My adrenaline released so hard that I laughed out loud and scared the coon away.  Still to this day, it's the closest I've ever been to a bear in the woods.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Sorry to hear it. Thanks for the information. Great to know. Next year maybe I won't hesitate if the shot comes along...

 

Once the fat is off the skin...salt, salt and more salt. When you think there is enough on it, put more...lol

[Red]

The year I got my bear I was out deer hunting on a Friday and for the first time seen bear tracks on this farm that I was hunting there were bear tracks all over this orchard my brother seen the ass end of a bear that day the. Next day a few of us went out in hopes of finding the bear and with in 30 minutes she was on the ground it was lucky finding her but we know that farm and the plan just seem to fall into place

[the blur]

My friend the eagle scout hunts beer over his gut piles.   He goes right back in the woods after dropping his deer at the butcher, and says it's legal.  I say it's natural baiting.    He cuts up the heart, so the scent travels further.