Bear hunters??

[Pugnacious]

Any on here? Anyone who lives for bear hunting? Not just buying a tag for just in case they see one.

[fishhead]

I don't hunt them but this spring I've found tracks from at least 4 adults and a set of twin cubs. I may have seen a 5th but it was only a couple of miles from a previous track so it may have been the same bear.

Normally I don't see more than a track every couple of years.

[RonM]

Have hynted them in Maine and Pa over the years, havent been in the last few years, still hunt deer and turkey.......

[TedH71]

In Minnesota, lots of bears don't see their first year due to hard hunting with hounds from what I hear. So the bears that survive their first year are much more savvy.

[Nimrod]

Ted, Please post a link to where you got that info. I don't think you can hunt bear with hounds in MN. We do put out bait and wait for them to come to the bait. I 've never hunted bear because if I got one I would have to eat it.

[TedH71]

Apparently I was thinking about Michigan but Minnesota is seriously considering allowing bear hunting with dogs: MPR: DNR supports plan to allow bear hunters to use dogs

[alleyyooper]

Hunting bear in Michigan is a draw permit system. So to run bears with hounds you still need a permit to do that and hunt them. Biggest problem useing hounds in Michigan is the tresspass issue. You need the land owners permission period to be on there land.

I went once to Ont. Ca. to bow hunt one. Hunting partners with guns each harvested one over bait. I never seen one at the bait station where they placed me.

Al

[Pugnacious]

Originally Posted by TedH71

In Minnesota, lots of bears don't see their first year due to hard hunting with hounds from what I hear. So the bears that survive their first year are much more savvy.

Right. So the most effective way of sexing and sizing an animal is the reason for their early demise? I'd love for you to supply some information from any state game agency that implies that hounds are the reason for yearlings being killed. That is ignorance at it's finest. People need to remember that when they repeat nonsense like that, they are messing with other peoples lives! Spot and stalk hunters are responsible for 70-80% of the females and sub adults killed in my state. Which allows baiting and hounding.

[Pugnacious]

Originally Posted by alleyyooper

Hunting bear in Michigan is a draw permit system. So to run bears with hounds you still need a permit to do that and hunt them. Biggest problem useing hounds in Michigan is the tresspass issue. You need the land owners permission period to be on there land.

I went once to Ont. Ca. to bow hunt one. Hunting partners with guns each harvested one over bait. I never seen one at the bait station where they placed me.

Al

Not to retrieve a hunting dog:

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT (EXCERPT)
Act 451 of 1994


324.73102 Entering or remaining on property of another; consent; exceptions.

Sec. 73102.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person shall not enter or remain upon the property of another person, other than farm property or a wooded area connected to farm property, to engage in any recreational activity or trapping on that property without the consent of the owner or his or her lessee or agent, if either of the following circumstances exists:

(a) The property is fenced or enclosed and is maintained in such a manner as to exclude intruders.

(b) The property is posted in a conspicuous manner against entry. The minimum letter height on the posting signs shall be 1 inch. Each posting sign shall be not less than 50 square inches, and the signs shall be spaced to enable a person to observe not less than 1 sign at any point of entry upon the property.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (4), a person shall not enter or remain upon farm property or a wooded area connected to farm property for any recreational activity or trapping without the consent of the owner or his or her lessee or agent, whether or not the farm property or wooded area connected to farm property is fenced, enclosed, or posted.

(3) On fenced or posted property or farm property, a fisherman wading or floating a navigable public stream may, without written or oral consent, enter upon property within the clearly defined banks of the stream or, without damaging farm products, walk a route as closely proximate to the clearly defined bank as possible when necessary to avoid a natural or artificial hazard or obstruction, including, but not limited to, a dam, deep hole, or a fence or other exercise of ownership by the riparian owner.

(4) A person other than a person possessing a firearm may, unless previously prohibited in writing or orally by the property owner or his or her lessee or agent, enter on foot upon the property of another person for the sole purpose of retrieving a hunting dog. The person shall not remain on the property beyond the reasonable time necessary to retrieve the dog. In an action under section 73109 or 73110, the burden of showing that the property owner or his or her lessee or agent previously prohibited entry under this subsection is on the plaintiff or prosecuting attorney, respectively.

[TedH71]

Am just repeating something I saw quoted on a National Geographic special about bears and bear hunting. I don't hunt bears with dogs but would love to do some day but I currently hunt wild hogs with my dogs off and on.

[Nimrod]

Ted, National Geographic aired a show titled "Hunting in America". It was a totally antihunting piece of carp. I canceled my subscription and don't watch NG. Be very hesitent to use them as a refrerence.

They did call me up and argue that the show was balanced. It had a segment on a trophy hunter, another on a survival hunter, and a segment on a bear kept as a mascot for a college??? None of these reflect my type of hunting with the dog training, the scouting, and the walking to hunt.

[Jimmy B]

I've killed two Black Bear in New Hampshire. I have a cabin in the Alleghenney National forest in PA which as Bear about. I see Bear in PA while Archery hunting deer but never in their limited, well regulated, no baiting, no dogs season. As previously mentioned they are not the best tasting in my opinion. I favor venison over Bear anytime.

[Pugnacious]

Originally Posted by Jimmy B

As previously mentioned they are not the best tasting in my opinion. I favor venison over Bear anytime.

This, to me, is a huge misconception. For a steak or roast, I agree. But for sausage (any kind) or jerky. My favorite is bear. It has a rich flavor. The biggest thing is to make sure ALL of the fat is off. I always offer my butcher an extra 20 bucks to get all of the fat off. They never have charged me but I want them to know I'm serious about it. haha

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by Pugnacious

Right. So the most effective way of sexing and sizing an animal is the reason for their early demise? I'd love for you to supply some information from any state game agency that implies that hounds are the reason for yearlings being killed. That is ignorance at it's finest. People need to remember that when they repeat nonsense like that, they are messing with other peoples lives! Spot and stalk hunters are responsible for 70-80% of the females and sub adults killed in my state. Which allows baiting and hounding.

deer shooters (mostly in tree stands) areresponsible for 100 % of cubs & over 80% of yearlings & sows tagged in NC. AND the state WRC refuses to raise the minimum legal size to 100# despite the NC dog hunters association & the dogger dominated NCbear hunter's association asking for the increas EVERY YEAR.

[bajiay]

My husband hunts bear here in Montana. I did not think that I would like it, but I do!
We process all of our meat ourselves, and I had been told to cut off all of the fat, which I did. I even canned some. It didn't taste too much different than beef to me.

[Pops2]

i've been told, if you render the fat it makes the best lard for pie crust & other pastries.

[TedH71]

American Indians used bear fat to keep the mosquitoes off themselves.

[RonM]

I got on a website today telling me that the WORLD RECORD black bear was harvestedd last year (2011) in Monroe County , Pa. a skull measurement of 23 9/16 by Boone and Crockett...Pa black bears are bigger that Rockie Mountain black bears, better food supply.....

[Pops2]

Originally Posted by RonM

I got on a website today telling me that the WORLD RECORD black bear was harvestedd last year (2011) in Monroe County , Pa. a skull measurement of 23 9/16 by Boone and Crockett...Pa black bears are bigger that Rockie Mountain black bears, better food supply.....

what was the weight on that? in 1998 the heaviest ever on record was taken in coastal NC w/ a certified weight of 880# it scored #3 B&C

[Qhorseman]

I like Spot and Stalk and Calling in Northern California.

[RonM]

POPS, it didnt list the weight , I was curious myself.....

[rabbitgeek]

I mis-read. I thought the subject was BEER hunters?

Have a good day!