General Bear Hunting Info

[pitweiler]

I'm thinking about expanding my big game hunting opportunities and pursuing black bear in 2019. Is there a good resource available with some guidelines about what lures are legal, what is not, how people remove the carcass, etc? I'm really interested in how people get a bear out of the woods. I grew up going to camp in ADK and interacting with black bears that used the camps as food sources and I remember some of them being rather large. I found some good resources about field dressing, etc. I'm probably going to focus on Early Bear in the Catskills. Maybe the ADK for some adventure, but success rates seems to be much higher in the southern zone. Any information is appreciated.

[G-Man]

Lure for a bear in nys is pretty useless. Previous sightings and finding an active feed area are your best chances. Surprisingly bears are very patternable if you can find them. Trails are used by generations of bears even if you remove one another takes it place. We have had 3 bears in 6 years taken within 50 yards of each other off my property . Seems ever 2 years someone gets a shot and they are spotted every year. Tried anise oil, honey burns.. seems best to find an established trail and just wait. 

Now if baiting were legal.....

[Bionic]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:35 PM, G-Man said:

Lure for a bear in nys is pretty useless. Previous sightings and finding an active feed area are your best chances. Surprisingly bears are very patternable if you can find them. Trails are used by generations of bears even if you remove one another takes it place. We have had 3 bears in 6 years taken within 50 yards of each other off my property . Seems ever 2 years someone gets a shot and they are spotted every year. Tried anise oil, honey burns.. seems best to find an established trail and just wait. 

Now if baiting were legal.....

Is there a rough average of days/weeks you see a bear come back through typically? I seem to have a lot of bear sightings in spring/summer, but once fall comes, very very minimal, if any sightings.  I lost count at 23 sightings one spring summer here at home.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Bionic

[G-Man]

1 minute ago, Bionic said:

Is there a rough average of days/weeks you see a bear come back through typically? I seem to have a lot of bear sightings in spring/summer, but once fall comes, very very minimal, if any sightings.  I lost count at 23 sightings one spring summer here at home.

I'll get a bear on a pattern of every 3 to 5 days coming to food in fall and about every 10 days to 2 weeks in summer. It sounds like you have Berry's in summer and perhaps greens in spring but are lacking a fall food source. 

[Bionic]

2 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I'll get a bear on a pattern of every 3 to 5 days coming to food in fall and about every 10 days to 2 weeks in summer. It sounds like you have Berry's in summer and perhaps greens in spring but are lacking a fall food source. 

I hate to hijack this guy’s thread, but I feel it’s not really a hijack.  Thank you for that G-Man.  Mind sharing what a typical fall food source would be in NY? Do you feel the longer time frame in summer is due to your specific land/foods?  I have no seen berry’s here actually, but that does not necessarily mean they aren’t here.  Do you see a specific beaten trail from these bears, or is it not frequent enough to notice a weared path, or do they tend to follow the same vicinity? I have 2 swamps here, with deep dark spooky dense forest, I have spooked bears in before while walking.  Would love to dial in more on them even just for trail cam fun.  

Hope you don’t mind all the questions, if so just ignore me.  No biggy.

thanks!

[CapDistPatriot]

7 minutes ago, Bionic said:

I hate to hijack this guy’s thread, but I feel it’s not really a hijack.  Thank you for that G-Man.  Mind sharing what a typical fall food source would be in NY? Do you feel the longer time frame in summer is due to your specific land/foods?  I have no seen berry’s here actually, but that does not necessarily mean they aren’t here.  Do you see a specific beaten trail from these bears, or is it not frequent enough to notice a weared path, or do they tend to follow the same vicinity? I have 2 swamps here, with deep dark spooky dense forest, I have spooked bears in before while walking.  Would love to dial in more on them even just for trail cam fun.  

Hope you don’t mind all the questions, if so just ignore me.  No biggy.

thanks!

Go to Dunkin Doughnuts in a suburban area, far away from people that hunt. Ask for throwaway doughnuts. They will give you garbage bags full of them. Drop them deep in woods in front of your tree stand. Do this weekly, about four to five weeks before season starts. Then when season starts, drop about half as much day before your sit. Then go to your sit.

[Bionic]

Just now, CapDistPatriot said:

Go to Dunkin Doughnuts in a suburban area, far away from people that hunt. Ask for throwaway doughnuts. They will give you garbage bags full of them. Drop them deep in woods in front of your tree stand. Do this weekly, about four to five weeks before season starts. Then when season starts, drop about half as much day before your sit. Then go to your sit.

Pathetic losers I work with do this! I am not kidding, still they don’t see bears, and I love it!

[CapDistPatriot]

Just now, Bionic said:

Pathetic losers I work with do this! I am not kidding, still they don’t see bears, and I love it!

Same @$$hholes that use dogs to pin them up in trees and shoot them while they are defenseless or like that prick who shot the bear cubs and the sow up north

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Ejlz6ugGc

[G-Man]

23 minutes ago, Bionic said:

I hate to hijack this guy’s thread, but I feel it’s not really a hijack.  Thank you for that G-Man.  Mind sharing what a typical fall food source would be in NY? Do you feel the longer time frame in summer is due to your specific land/foods?  I have no seen berry’s here actually, but that does not necessarily mean they aren’t here.  Do you see a specific beaten trail from these bears, or is it not frequent enough to notice a weared path, or do they tend to follow the same vicinity? I have 2 swamps here, with deep dark spooky dense forest, I have spooked bears in before while walking.  Would love to dial in more on them even just for trail cam fun.  

Hope you don’t mind all the questions, if so just ignore me.  No biggy.

thanks!

The bear here hit my apple orchard and cornfields, I have seen then in my turnips as well. I would say apples are the biggest draw for me. Had one pull an apple tree over to get to them on the top of tree..  food could be a good years mast crop of beach or hickory or acorn.. if your not familiar with tree types I suggest you get a tree identification guide and use it . Not only for bear but deer and turkeys all have their favorite foods.

Bear trails if used often are wider than a deers and are flat from with of paws. Leaves are not removed but are pressed into ground like rolling out pie dough. 

My experiance with trails are they are about exactly the same year in and year out as sightings are always on a trail or in a feed area.

[Bionic]

5 minutes ago, G-Man said:

The bear here hit my apple orchard and cornfields, I have seen then in my turnips as well. I would say apples are the biggest draw for me. Had one pull an apple tree over to get to them on the top of tree..  food could be a good years mast crop of beach or hickory or acorn.. if your not familiar with tree types I suggest you get a tree identification guide and use it . Not only for bear but deer and turkeys all have their favorite foods.

Bear trails if used often are wider than a deers and are flat from with of paws. Leaves are not removed but are pressed into ground like rolling out pie dough. 

My experiance with trails are they are about exactly the same year in and year out as sightings are always on a trail or in a feed area.

Thank you

i am familiar with tree ID to a point.  It’s just here it seems every animal just walks aimlessly.  No crops, no big hills, just a difficult area to figure out.  

Looking to really change things up this coming year, I’ve had enough.

appreciate the input G-Man thank you 

[G-Man]

12 minutes ago, Bionic said:

Thank you

i am familiar with tree ID to a point.  It’s just here it seems every animal just walks aimlessly.  No crops, no big hills, just a difficult area to figure out.  

Looking to really change things up this coming year, I’ve had enough.

appreciate the input G-Man thank you 

10 ft change in elevation is enough to control trails and movements, you can also steer game by falling trees and making a fence of sorts.. it's not easy work but it is effective. 

[Bionic]

2 minutes ago, G-Man said:

10 ft change in elevation is enough to control trails and movements, you can also steer game by falling trees and making a fence of sorts.. it's not easy work but it is effective. 

I plan on setting up a bunch of cams this spring summer, and allowing them to soak for a good 2 months to figure out more natural movement, talking deer now.  I have a couple small parallel “hills” but the deer seem to walk up them, along them, angling up/down them, and so on.

i tried Topo maps of neighboring wood lots, to see where movement may come from, but it’s all just so subtle.  This is my 20th deer season, I wish I would have started learning/studying/scouting more back then, instead of the past 4 years.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

Great thread here!

[G-Man]

29 minutes ago, Bionic said:

I plan on setting up a bunch of cams this spring summer, and allowing them to soak for a good 2 months to figure out more natural movement, talking deer now.  I have a couple small parallel “hills” but the deer seem to walk up them, along them, angling up/down them, and so on.

i tried Topo maps of neighboring wood lots, to see where movement may come from, but it’s all just so subtle.  This is my 20th deer season, I wish I would have started learning/studying/scouting more back then, instead of the past 4 years.

 

Sounds like some hinge cutting and falling some blocking trees could help you a lot..another thing to look at is soft edges created by tree type or density.. old maps showing fence lines long gone are also useful as game learns trail.from previous generations and will follow them seemingly haphazardly although 60 years ago a fence line or hedge row was there..

[pitweiler]

Does DEC put out a bear density map by town or county? 

[Bionic]

14 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Sounds like some hinge cutting and falling some blocking trees could help you a lot..another thing to look at is soft edges created by tree type or density.. old maps showing fence lines long gone are also useful as game learns trail.from previous generations and will follow them seemingly haphazardly although 60 years ago a fence line or hedge row was there..

Good food for thought, I have a lot to think about, that’s for sure.  I have a difficult time figuring out exactly where to apply what is learned too.  

[Bionic]

10 minutes ago, pitweiler said:

Does DEC put out a bear density map by town or county? 

I find charts on how many animals per square mile were killed, whether it’s bear, or bear, per zone, county, town, etc.  different years, etc.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/42232.html

Edited November 29, 2018 by Bionic

[G-Man]

6 hours ago, Bionic said:

Good food for thought, I have a lot to think about, that’s for sure.  I have a difficult time figuring out exactly where to apply what is learned too.  

Fortunately I have always been able to envision what I want to do and how.. I've made some mistakes changing an area before I knew what it was actually used for.. for example fallow fields are important they are not simply a ready made food plot..what you lose can be a lot more than what you gain..if you can find biologics farming for wildlife publication, or an old whitetail visions video called tricking whitetail bucks both are very helpful.

[Robhuntandfish]

G-MAN , you should write a book on setting up land to hunt or do consulting on the side.   Great info there.  

If I had the land to do it I would follow those ideas for sure. 

[pitweiler]

I agree. My off season scouting suffered this year due to work commitments, but next year I’ll pick it back up. Especially since my son will be 6 and is willing and able to locate sign/tag along. Great info. Thanks for a good thread guys!

G-Man, my rifle is chambered in .243Win. I have other options, but that is my favorite rifle. I’ve toyed with having it bored out by JES in Oregon to .338 Federal since he said he could do it and I have a 5.56mm, which in my opinion when shooting copper a 62gr TSX is not going to be much different than an 85gr TSX for deer. Now, for bears I’ve read all sorts of stuff from you need a 987 Super Magnum to a .223 with good bullets will do them in. From my interactions with them I know they can get big. I think a .243 Win with an 85gr TSX would probably do the trick just fine, however, I’d like to hear your opinion because it sounds like you’ve poked a few. 

[Five Seasons]

right on the dec website is a pretty good starter kit specific to new york. It's not all inclusive but will get you headed in the right direction. I'm only 2 seasons in to trying this thing myself and the weather for early bear in the daks has not played ball. A few recommendations I would make is to look into the gray area of a honey pot. It's not bait when being heated, but you do need to stay under the legal ounce rule.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/bbhunting10.pdf

Also have a plan to get it out. They're not like deer and you may even need to skin and quarter. i found these to be helpful and would recommend a big ass cooler too if you're traveling. 

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Belo

[pitweiler]

Thanks, great info! I wonder if making some sort of sled would help. Even if I quartered it that’s still a lot of meat. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by pitweiler

[G-Man]

3 hours ago, pitweiler said:

I agree. My off season scouting suffered this year due to work commitments, but next year I’ll pick it back up. Especially since my son will be 6 and is willing and able to locate sign/tag along. Great info. Thanks for a good thread guys!

G-Man, my rifle is chambered in .243Win. I have other options, but that is my favorite rifle. I’ve toyed with having it bored out by JES in Oregon to .338 Federal since he said he could do it and I have a 5.56mm, which in my opinion when shooting copper a 62gr TSX is not going to be much different than an 85gr TSX for deer. Now, for bears I’ve read all sorts of stuff from you need a 987 Super Magnum to a .223 with good bullets will do them in. From my interactions with them I know they can get big. I think a .243 Win with an 85gr TSX would probably do the trick just fine, however, I’d like to hear your opinion because it sounds like you’ve poked a few. 

A .243 with a factory load is not a good bear gun. I've seen one shot 5x with one and the bullet that's fine for deer never made it past the ribs ..went thru 4 in of fat and hide and exploded against ribs.. as was told to me many years ago .30 cal and up for bear.12 ga slugs are very effective and recommended by many guides as well.

Yes with proper bullet and hand load and ect any gun will kill a bear..heck a whale bone with sharpened ends rolled up in. A ball a fat will kill a polar bear but do you want to track it for 3 days till it dies? 

Perfect shots on an unbaited bear are rare. Imo your better off with 30 cal and up as many guides told me.  Even using bait. Heavy thick bones and thick hide with nearly 6 in of thick hair need to be taken into account.  I am by no means an expert and people will tell you oh I killed a bear with my .223 ..perhaps 2 or 300 lbs yes but will it take a large bear.. should opportunity arise... . A little room for human error is a good thing imo. Just dont over gun where you are afraid of shooting it and pulling or flinching

[G-Man]

My 1st bear 6 years ago off my place was shot multiple times by myself and others helping me track . A well placed shot was not possible as it was coming at me or going away from me . At 400 plus lbs it took. 5 guys to move it to where I could get to it with a tractor. They are like jello.. as for skinning or quartering if your gonna mount it the cuts are different for rug, or full or half body.. I suggest making the smallest opening to gut as is possible and full length gloves are a must.. they carry a ton of parasite.  

[Five Seasons]

3 hours ago, pitweiler said:

Thanks, great info! I wonder if making some sort of sled would help. Even if I quartered it that’s still a lot of meat. 

yes or a quad or cart. Like g-man said, jello. Nothing to pull and drag easily. This isn't a super popular opinion, but something to consider with black bear, especially in NY. Unless they've been eating well and certain types of food, generally they are what they eat. The meat isn't high on the list of game animals, but of course is edible and delicious if done well. If i'm successful i will absolutely get mine tested and depending on location of the kill, I'm considering just saving the back straps. Yes I know that's not great and why I'm just considering it. I do know that a good portion of ny bear hunters dont save any meat though.