So I was lucky enough to get a black bear hunt from Santa! I am going next August in Maine. I have shot deer, hogs, and all manner of varmints, but not a bear. Any tips that you all have would be greatly appreciated!
-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
Black Bear Hunt
- Thread starter Magungo1066
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
Walkingeagle
54 Cal.
What type of hunting will it be? Over bait? Spot n stalk?
Walk
Walk
Over bait. Maine summer woods are so dense, that if bait is not used, you will never see one
Walkingeagle
54 Cal.
Be prepared to sit and watch. Don’t get too excited at the first bear that comes in, sometimes cubs are held back for a bit then come to momma after several minutes. Mosquitoes might be an issue. Don’t fret over caliber, they are no harder to kill than a whitetail.
You’ll have a great time. Enjoy every minute.
Walk
You’ll have a great time. Enjoy every minute.
Walk
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,642
- Reaction score
- 4,097
Which guide service are you using?
North Country Lodge
What gun are you using? Iam here in State-0-Maine and the end of sept hunts are quite hot..its been 90 some days.Ihave chances to go but it dont feel like hunting season in the woods with that weather.Lots of sitting waiting.Lots of bear here,and very good odds.GOOD LUCK
Either my .58 Fowler or my .54 rifle. I haven't decided yet. I have a long time to practice with both. And Maine heat! Nice haha.
I owned a Maine bear camp for 12-years prior to retirement. Just to be clear, ME required a Registered Maine Guide to "supervise" hunts and I employed 2 of them as I am not a resident and could not put in the time to become registered.
My tip is to figure out how to be silent. A bear is not wired to stop and stare. When you want to get your deer to stop you grunt, bleat, whistle or whatever. The deer will oblige and stop and stare. Some species will wander off a little and stop and look back. None of this applies to black bear. The instant a bear hears a noise it immediately goes into high gear and is gone. One of the biggest challenges for a black powder hunter is readying the rifle or gun silently! You cannot cock the action or set the trigger and allow an audible "click". I've had many clients with modern arms loose their opportunity by wantonly taking off a noisy safety.
Another tip is to sight-in as the outfitter says. Our baits were a maximum of 25-yards and a minimum of 15-yards. We told hunters to sight in dead on at 25-yards (and they'd shoot from an elevated platform). I can't tell you how many hunters knew more than me and left their rifle sighted in at 100-yards or even 3-inches high at 100-yards. There were misses and high hits that had poor results. Please, do what your outfitter says!
I could go on with a couple more pet peaves, but let me give others time to chime in, there's a lot of knowledge on this forum.
My tip is to figure out how to be silent. A bear is not wired to stop and stare. When you want to get your deer to stop you grunt, bleat, whistle or whatever. The deer will oblige and stop and stare. Some species will wander off a little and stop and look back. None of this applies to black bear. The instant a bear hears a noise it immediately goes into high gear and is gone. One of the biggest challenges for a black powder hunter is readying the rifle or gun silently! You cannot cock the action or set the trigger and allow an audible "click". I've had many clients with modern arms loose their opportunity by wantonly taking off a noisy safety.
Another tip is to sight-in as the outfitter says. Our baits were a maximum of 25-yards and a minimum of 15-yards. We told hunters to sight in dead on at 25-yards (and they'd shoot from an elevated platform). I can't tell you how many hunters knew more than me and left their rifle sighted in at 100-yards or even 3-inches high at 100-yards. There were misses and high hits that had poor results. Please, do what your outfitter says!
I could go on with a couple more pet peaves, but let me give others time to chime in, there's a lot of knowledge on this forum.
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,642
- Reaction score
- 4,097
Scent control. Do everything you can to keep it to a minimum. Use scent-free soap and deodorant. Arm & Hammer Scent-free is fine. About two or three weeks before departing, wash your hunting clothes with a scent-free detergent such as Scent Free Gold and then tightly bag them. Clean your boots and do the same thing, bag them.
Use another pair of boots or shoes for traveling and running around camp. When you get to Maine, take some small branches or boughs from the area and stick them in those bags with your boots and clothes.
When your guide puts you in a stand, stay there until the last minute of legal hunting time. A big mistake I see is hunters leave as it starts to get dark or 15-20 minutes prior to the end of hunting time. Stay put. It will pay off.
Good luck.
Use another pair of boots or shoes for traveling and running around camp. When you get to Maine, take some small branches or boughs from the area and stick them in those bags with your boots and clothes.
When your guide puts you in a stand, stay there until the last minute of legal hunting time. A big mistake I see is hunters leave as it starts to get dark or 15-20 minutes prior to the end of hunting time. Stay put. It will pay off.
Good luck.
Tell me if this is a good/safe/bad idea. To avoid scaring the bear by cocking the gun, I was planning to have it already cocked with a frizzen stall on it once I get into the stand...good or no?
Only you can decide if that is going to be safe.
Some folks leave the cock down and squeeze the trigger, then bring it back and release the trigger. That wouldn't keep a pan primed if you started with it all the way forward. Maybe you can do the same from half-cock notch, but even that requires and abundance of safety. Putting your finger on the trigger before you want the gun to fire is always going to violate basic rules of safety. One year I wore a thick leather glove on my left hand (I'm right handed). It has a "double palm" that is two layers in the palm area. I primed and left the cock in the half-notch. When it came time to ready the rifle I pulled the flint back by using my whole left hand. Kind of put the flint right in the palm of the glove. Simultaneously I held the trigger with my right hand trigger finger. When it was all the way back I let go of the trigger and eased the flint forward until it stopped in the cocked position. A few ideas with that technique that seemed to work. 1 - the whole hand is moving the cock (not just a thumb). 2- The glove helped muffle any noise 3- if I somehow failed to get the sear engaged the gloved hand provided a measure of safety with silence. There is still some risk, a sharp flint can cut through the leather glove. You should still use a frizzen stall. I always felt if the rifle fell from a treestand, between the half-notch and frizzen stall I hope it wouldn't discharge but you never know. At least two is better than one.
Some folks leave the cock down and squeeze the trigger, then bring it back and release the trigger. That wouldn't keep a pan primed if you started with it all the way forward. Maybe you can do the same from half-cock notch, but even that requires and abundance of safety. Putting your finger on the trigger before you want the gun to fire is always going to violate basic rules of safety. One year I wore a thick leather glove on my left hand (I'm right handed). It has a "double palm" that is two layers in the palm area. I primed and left the cock in the half-notch. When it came time to ready the rifle I pulled the flint back by using my whole left hand. Kind of put the flint right in the palm of the glove. Simultaneously I held the trigger with my right hand trigger finger. When it was all the way back I let go of the trigger and eased the flint forward until it stopped in the cocked position. A few ideas with that technique that seemed to work. 1 - the whole hand is moving the cock (not just a thumb). 2- The glove helped muffle any noise 3- if I somehow failed to get the sear engaged the gloved hand provided a measure of safety with silence. There is still some risk, a sharp flint can cut through the leather glove. You should still use a frizzen stall. I always felt if the rifle fell from a treestand, between the half-notch and frizzen stall I hope it wouldn't discharge but you never know. At least two is better than one.
Sparkitoff, you made a good point about adding a frizzen stall. I use one on my trade gun. One time I was turkey hunting and with the excitement of maybe getting my 1st turkey with the flintlock, i forgot I had it on. When I squeezed the trigger I heard a thump. Oh no I thought. Took the cover off, re-cocked. Squeezed trigger, BOOM. I did get my turkey. I got real lucky. So, it does work. Don't forget to take the frizzen stall off before you shoot the bear.
I haven’t taken bear personally, so my knowledge is all second hand. We did attempt in Virginia last year during archery though. Virginia does not allow bait, and we aren’t into the whole dog method, so we were hunting bear as we do deer, from treestands along areas where they were caught on cameras.
Our “guide” was actually not much of one—just a guy who owned some land. Nevertheless, he really emphasized to us that the aim point for a bear is NOT the same as a deer, and a lot of guys shoot too far forward. On a deer, you typically aim straight up the back line of the front leg (if that makes sense), but on bear, the boiler room is a little further back. Some say aim for “the middle of the middle,” essentially half way (or a little forward) between front and back legs, and half way from the top of the animal to the bottom of the belly.
Our “guide” was actually not much of one—just a guy who owned some land. Nevertheless, he really emphasized to us that the aim point for a bear is NOT the same as a deer, and a lot of guys shoot too far forward. On a deer, you typically aim straight up the back line of the front leg (if that makes sense), but on bear, the boiler room is a little further back. Some say aim for “the middle of the middle,” essentially half way (or a little forward) between front and back legs, and half way from the top of the animal to the bottom of the belly.
hanshi
Cannon
I rely on a hammer stall in any deer stand. The cock is on half cock for the most part. I've never hunted bear but have had them come up close to me while I was deer hunting. An old saying that is actually pretty true: When a leaf falls in the forest the hawk sees it, the deer hears it and the bear smells it.
Walkingeagle
54 Cal.
Up here it goes “the whitetail sees it, the moose hears it and the bear smells it”.
Them moose got ears I tell ya!
Walk
Them moose got ears I tell ya!
Walk
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2016
- Messages
- 3,515
- Reaction score
- 3,803
Yep. Cause they don't have eyes. 
I've stood still and had them walk within 8 yards!
I've stood still and had them walk within 8 yards!
Its been a little bit... Happy new year of course! I have decided to use my New England Fowler for the hunt. I am a New Englander hunting in New England so I might as well do it right lol. I want to make it as historically accurate of a hunt as possible. I wake every day and have visions of bears in my sites haha. To say I am exited is a gross understatement. Any other tips that you fellas have? I am told the shots will VERY likely be within 50 yards.
Look at bear anatomy. The lungs are higher and further back than other species of big game. If you can, shoot from the same height that your stand will be (roughly). It does make a difference. Be scent free with body washes and clothing detergents. Doesn't hurt to use UV blocker on your clothes. If you can make the investment I recommend a HECS suit. They work and they work especially well with any predatory species. If the outfitter says there will be mosquitoes, get a Therma-Cell. However, either order the "nature" scent repellent pads or put one drop of pure vanilla extract on a standard blue pad and let it dry for a while before using it. Get a small piece of thick fleece. 2X2 foot or bigger if you want. Use it to pad the rail on your stand, window sill or whatever. There are going to be some areas that make noise if you accidentally clink against them. The fleece will muffle it. Sometimes there is noise from the stand where frame junctions come together or where it attaches to the try. If you identify these areas you can wrap and tie and piece of fleece to muffle that. (I've had some clients bring a rolled up bicycle inner-tube for this purpose. Said they saw it on internet. New tubes smell - a rubber smell. Don't use one.)
There's a book Ask the Bear Guides. It's not specific to a Maine bear hunt but some info is good. If you're up at night ponder your hunt you might as well read a book.
There's a book Ask the Bear Guides. It's not specific to a Maine bear hunt but some info is good. If you're up at night ponder your hunt you might as well read a book.
Thermacell (and extra pads and butane cartridges) are certainly not HC but are a must. Gloves, bug head net, etc. A traditional hunt is fun until the bugs bleed you dry! I have spoken to the owner of North Country about a hunt and he seems like a good guy. Let him know about your rifle and work out a hunt plan.
