Bear hunting

[clfergus]

So I am a deer and Turkey hunter. But I have been watching 278 on comcast and see a fair amount of bear hunting shows.

I can't see what the fun of shooting a bear that has been lured in by a barrel of bread and food. They never seem to be skiddish like a deer. They are so into the bait they don't look around.

Other than population control...do you think these guys eat the bear meat or is it pure sport?

I'm not a tree hugger but I hate hearing these bears off in the distance crying out as they die from being shot with a bow.

 

[Tactical Dave]

I have talked to Black bear hunters and they say it really is not a hunt and you have to be carefull cutting them up and cooking them.. brown bear/grizzly is a different story..... it is a true hunt then and hopefully it is you that win.

A lot of the people I have known that have done it doe eat and or sell the meat but many just want the skin.....

I am also not a fan of animal suffering.

 

[IndyMonkey]

You guys are comparing bait hunting bears with ambushing whitetails.

If you put a salt block out, there wouldn't be much sport in killing the deer.

Put some effort into researching spot and stalk bear hunting. It's the whole experience and not easy b any means.

I have killed 6 bears in the wilderness of Idaho spot and stalking.

 

[IndyMonkey]

Oh, deer make a bellowing noise too sometimes when shot with a bow.

 

[tedbower]

I have killed black bear with a bow at 6 1/2 yards , it is quite the rush and i ate the meat and it was good.

 

[doug1980]

It's alot more work than you think. Me being from Indiana and only hunting whitetail I wasn't sure about bear baiting either. Seemed a little unfair. It's a legal practice and honestly the only real issue it causes up here is people leave the bait barrels in the woods because they are too lazy to take them out. I miss hunting whitetail but bear, moose, caribou and sheep hunting keeps me busy. Each animal provides a different way to hunt and I like that. Unless you have hunted bear it would be hard to understand that it is still very rewarding.

 

[Britton]

Unless you have hunted bear it would be hard to understand that it is still very rewarding.

Exactly! You think you get buck fever? Wait until you are up against something that will climb a tree and try and become friends with you. I got mine in Canada in 2000, after killing it we had bear ribs on the grill, very good! Now when I am faced with a big buck the fever is all gone.

 

[Mike H]

I have bowhunted Canada 5 times for black bear killing 4. I love to hear the death moan. It means you did your job well. Killing a BIG bear over bait is not that easy. Most of the TV shows guys are killing BooBoo. The big ones ....if they come in it is usually about dark. My last bear scored 19 1/8" P&Y, and weighed over 400#. Shot him at 5 yds. 10 minutes before legal shooting ended. Being that close to a big bear was an awesome experience. He made a beautiful full body mount.
I have found that the only way I can eat bear meat is to grind it into hamburger and then fire up the grill. It's pretty good that way.
For those of you that are knocking bear hunting over bait and have not tried it I will suggest you give it a try. BTW leave the firearms at home and take a bow.
As hunters we should all be in this together. PETA and the HS of the US love infighting. I support all legal means of hunting whether I participate in it or not.

 

[huntall50]

I hunted the Bitterroot National Forrest of ID, at the time was over-populated with black bear, and with 5 hunters we harvested 3 bears in 5 days of hunting. We only hunted in the late afternoons till after dark. The first bear I saw was at big cinnamon just after dusk, I was on the ground near a bait site and hunting with a muzzleloader. I saw the bear as it slipped into the area and then it disappeared. Much like a deer it will circle to catch the wind before moving in, also much like a deer if they were hunting us, we would be extinct. Even with baiting it is not nearly as easy as it sounds, but is very thrilling walking out of the woods after dark knowing there is somthhing close by that could be hunting you.

 

[clfergus]

It's alot more work than you think. Me being from Indiana and only hunting whitetail I wasn't sure about bear baiting either. Seemed a little unfair. It's a legal practice and honestly the only real issue it causes up here is people leave the bait barrels in the woods because they are too lazy to take them out. I miss hunting whitetail but bear, moose, caribou and sheep hunting keeps me busy. Each animal provides a different way to hunt and I like that. Unless you have hunted bear it would be hard to understand that it is still very rewarding.

Thanks, this is the kind of info I was looking for having never done it.

 

[griff5687]

IMO its guys who just want to kill a bear to kill it. Don't see the sport in baiting them. Doubt that any portion of the animal is utilized besides the hide

 

[seamusalaska]

The bear tastes like what it eats. Berry eating bear is tasty. Salmon bear...well...