Do your own Bear hunt/HELP

[deerhound]

Hello to everyone out there,
I need some help to do my own bear hunt in my
own state MA.Were in my state there are estimated
2,900 to 3,000 bears. So here is my question for those people who hunt black bear.I plan on seeing a bear biologist.What questions should I ask Him
or Her? An are there any good books or dvds out there?Any infomation is helpful and appreciated
Thank you Scott

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. deerhound,
Are you going to hunt over bait or spot and stalk?
Best Wishes

 

[longcruise]

Without bait or dogs, the best way to hunt them is over their natural feeding areas. The feeding schedule probably varies in MA from here in CO, but out here the bears go on a feeding binge about the end of August and continue to the end of September. This is typical pre denning behaviour of black bears. What they eat and when they eat in MA is the thing to find out.

Also, it varies with what wild mast crops are the most successful in bearing fruit and nuts. Here in CO the go after acorns from the scrub oak and service berries along with pin cherries, etc.

If early frosts derail the natural feed crops, they go to town and start dumpster diving! :haha:

 

[deerhound]

In my state you can not hunt over bait or use hounds.Spot and stalk is the way to go.

 

[gmww]

It also depends if your Spring hunting or Fall hunting. Spring hunting you want to watch the logging roads as they will be looking to feed off the dandelions. They will also be on the south facing side of the hills to soak up the sun.

In the Fall you will want to look for them in the feeding areas such as berries.

 

[peter hawbaker]

Spot and stalk hunting is tough in the East, at least in PA where I am originally from, too much cover, not enough open areas (at least where bears are). I believe your best bet is to find out where most of the bears in your state are harvested, and look for food sources in those areas. Food sources (tender greens in spring, grapes, berrys, corn, acorns in fall) plus cover equals an area worth checking out. Look for bear poop, and when you find fresh sign, set or still hunt these areas. I killed two bears in Pennsylvania in a five year period by doing this. Both of them were shot in early morning sitting in an area with food and cover (grapes and mountain laurel). PA does not allow bait or dogs either, and the season is only three days long. Hunter success runs about 3% annually. When is MA's season ? How long do you have to hunt ? I believe the best things to ask the biologist would be areas with highest harvest numbers, and any areas with high reports of bear problems.

 

[David W.]

When bear hunting, just remember who is the hunt-er and who is the hunt-ee. Hunting over bait is not neccesary, you can learn to be to be own bait!

 

[Headhunter]

I spot and stalk spring bears in Montana solo. But that country is a TAD different than the east.

HH

 

When bear hunting, just remember who is the hunt-er and who is the hunt-ee. Hunting over bait is not neccesary, you can learn to be to be own bait!

Yep practice running daliy. Remember you can't out run a bear, you just have to out run your hunting partner.

 

[hawk]

when i hunt them i find were they have been seen,then find fresh sign,a food source and start stalking that territory...if you do it right they will want to see you, i find they are curious maybe the new sent in the nieghbourhood?? maybe?...hopefully you see them first ,they will usually avoid you if it's the other way around.
most people will tell you they are near the dump or local grease trap disposal...i would get a little father out of town.lol

good luck :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

See what there are for garbage dumps in the hills/Mts. I know some guys here who used to find their trails on public or timber Company land and buchwhack them comming or going to the dumps.

 

[longcruise]

When I was a kid, my grampa would go down to the town dump just before bear season and shoot the bears in the ass with #8 shot. After a couple days of that they were no longer sitting ducks for hunters.

 

[Supercracker]

When I was a kid, my grampa would go down to the town dump just before bear season and shoot the bears in the ass with #8 shot. After a couple days of that they were no longer sitting ducks for hunters.

He must have been VERY popular among the hunters there. HAHAHA

Sounds like something I'd do

 

[longcruise]

This was in the UP and most of the bear hunters came from south of the Straits. They didn't even know it had happened!

He called them "appleknockers". Never was sure what he meant but years later my dad told me it was his derogatory term for people south of the straits from the apple growing country and to him they were prople who made their living growing and picking apples. It did not seem to bother him that his mother was an "appleknocker"

Locals had no interest in killing bears.

 

[bigbore442001]

Hello There:

I am a Mass resident and have hunted black bear in the Berkshires a number of times. I will add that I have never seen one nor taken a shot at one while hunting. I pretty much gave up because the odds are very much against you.

You cannot use bait. You cannot use dogs. You cannot use scents to attract the bear such as anise oil,etc.

Most of the bear taken in the Bay State have been taken north of the Mass Pike and west of the Connecticut River.

Your best bet to me would be to look at the towns between Rte 9 and Rte 2. Ask farmers who plant corn. Often they have damage from bears feeding and rolling around in the fields.

Good luck

 

[gmww]

Around here in Wa. They also hunt them in apple orchards. I would think any orchard with sweet fruit and near bear habitat would attract them. Also talk to the local bee keepers who have hives in the woods. See if they are having bear problems.

 

[steve nagy]

The best advice I can offer is to find where they are feeding. If you see scat in an area then it s best to keep looking, The old guys around here would say that the scat tells you that a bear has moved to feed in a new area as they don't poo where they eat. Bears are also quite loud when they want to be; they bellow and grunt like cattle.

 

[peter hawbaker]

Hmmm......never heard that before, I always looked for fresh bear poop and hunted nearby. Worked for me. So in the fall when a bear is feeding heavily, he will travel to another area to poop ? And then return to feed on the food source ? Sounds like a good way to ambush one, wait for one on his way to the outhouse !!

 

[bigbore442001]

One thing I might try is using a bear call. I looked at the regulations regarding bear hunting in Massachusetts and I do believe you could use some bear urine as a cover or maybe even an attractant.

You are planning a very tough hunt. The state of Massachusetts gives out a couple thousand permits and less than 150 bear are taken each season. That gives you a clue how successful one can be. I do know that a number of bear are taken on bait. I know it is against the regulations but someone with a friend as a landowner/farmer who just wants the thing shot may not care. Again I am not advocating the breaking of the law but you hear many stories how someone actually got their bear.

Massachusetts is thick and brushy. You can spot and stalk all day long out West. It does not work in the East.

 

[longcruise]

Well, on one of my elk hunts a few years ago our camp was surrounded by feeding bears in the sugar plums. One took a stab at our camp but did not get much to eat before we returned and ran him off.

Anyway, we were surrounded by bears and bear poop. Maybe the DOW forgot to put the porta pottis out?