# Getting into bears



## maverick9465 (Nov 21, 2016)

The idea of bear hunting intrigues me. I've started exploring the idea a bit more. I've read through the guidebook and taken the course. I plan to start applying. It looks like it'll take a few years to draw a tag. What advice would you give someone with no experience bear hunting? I'll be doing spot-and-stalk. No dogs. Not opposed to bait, but probably will stick with spot-and-stalk for a bit. 

Pros/cons of spring vs. summer vs. fall?


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## Brettski7 (May 11, 2020)

Actually considering this year also applying. I have an area I know bears are in and will be spot and stalk also. I’d like to try some first though. Don’t like the idea of hunting something I won’t actually like and then have to try and find someone who might want it etc. it’s why I haven’t put in for Antelope also. 


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I have I think 18 bear points. Don't know the first thing about hunting bears, nor the time to run a bait pile... so I just keep putting in for more points.


-DallanC


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## maverick9465 (Nov 21, 2016)

Brettski7 said:


> Actually considering this year also applying. I have an area I know bears are in and will be spot and stalk also. I'd like to try some first though. Don't like the idea of hunting something I won't actually like and then have to try and find someone who might want it etc. it's why I haven't put in for Antelope also.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Everything I've read or watched seems to indicate the meat is awesome unless the bear got into some rancid carcass. Seems like the best-tasting bears are those who have been hitting berries hard. I actually like antelope! I think it's all about how it's prepared or handled.

Steve Rinella has sufficiently scared me enough about trichinosis, that were I to harvest a bear that sucker would certainly be cooked to over 160 degrees! :smile:


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## maverick9465 (Nov 21, 2016)

DallanC said:


> I have I think 18 bear points. Don't know the first thing about hunting bears, nor the time to run a bait pile... so I just keep putting in for more points.
> 
> -DallanC


Learning how to bait just seems like a bridge too far for me. I can barely figure out spot and stalk!


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## Brettski7 (May 11, 2020)

maverick9465 said:


> Learning how to bait just seems like a bridge too far for me. I can barely figure out spot and stalk!


Bait:

You figure out where they travel and are and then this lol:










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## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

Brettski7 said:


> Actually considering this year also applying. I have an area I know bears are in and will be spot and stalk also. I'd like to try some first though. Don't like the idea of hunting something I won't actually like and then have to try and find someone who might want it etc. it's why I haven't put in for Antelope also.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Just an FYI. You don't have to take any of the meat from the bear once you kill it if you don't want to. Same with lions.


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## Brettski7 (May 11, 2020)

MooseMeat said:


> Just an FYI. You don't have to take any of the meat from the bear once you kill it if you don't want to. Same with lions.


I'm really not one to just go out and kill stuff just to kill it. Part of the reason I don't lion or coyote hunt, although I do see the purpose for it. I have looked into those more and considered them. I still may, I just have a hard enough time finding time to hunt what I already do hunt.

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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I had the opportunity to try bear meat last year. It was better than I expected. I had my 10 year old daughter with me and she said she liked it too.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Vanilla said:


> I had the opportunity to try bear meat last year. It was better than I expected. I had my 10 year old daughter with me and she said she liked it too.


I'd like to give bear meat a try. A mountain lion smells like your cats litter box went 3 months without changing but then it cooks up like a pork tenderloin. My daughter won't eat elk but enjoyed mountain lion. Go figure.

I imagine eating a bear is similar.

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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

The bear I've tried was a bit on the greasy side but good.

But according to all my family and friends antelope is one of the best of all game animals. They defiantly prefer it over deer and a close second with elk.

There are few things out there I don't have a problem killing and not eating. Maybe it is considered wasteful but I'm not too worried about it. Other critters need to eat too.

Years ago I went to some gathering, I don't remember who put it on but it was kind of a smorgasbord of wild game meat. Everything from cougar to rattlesnake and and exotic African game. There was really nothing I didn't like.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

middlefork said:


> But according to all my family and friends antelope is one of the best of all


Yep.

Get it on ice ASAP. Seriously minutes count. On ice in under 20 min and you will have some great tasting meat. We've never had a bad one, and we've killed a couple dozen (used to hit wyoming yearly when you could get a tag every year, we'd hunt unit 17).

Tried Packout's suggestion once: Set the Loin on a plate in your fridge with a breathable cloth over it... let'er sit, for a week. Cook it slow, dont over cook it... in a little bacon grease. Finest table fare out there. I'd eat it over any other big game animal.

-DallanC


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## BigT (Mar 11, 2011)

Unless something has changed, I believe the spot and stalk bear is only in the fall. 

This is an extremely difficult hunt with very low success rate. But if you are like me, and don't have the extra cash to pay for hounds, then this is the best route. The nice thing about spot and stalk is that it's far easier to draw. I think 2-3 points in some cases. My brother and I have both drawn La Sal, and both of us harvested bear on the spot and stalk. We were both part of a small amount of success, but we also know the area and where we've seen a lot of bear over the years. 

The bear I harvested back in 2015 was really good eating. Now I did the entire bear in mild Italian sausage.. And I would certainly do it again. We had "bearghetti" once a week for probably two years. My kids loved it! I did have a couple packages of steak made up. I would definitely not do this. 

I have three points again and will likely put in again this year. It's pretty cheap, and my kids will likely be down there on the black powder deer. Spot and Stalk bear opens at the same time. 

Good luck! I would highly recommend, but just be cool with a tough hunt with nearly zero chance of harvesting according to statistics. 

First two picks are of my bear rug, the third pick is of a bear that was chilling out in the sun one afternoon down there. I would have punched a tag on this one for sure. Nice bear...


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Bear hunting is awesome and it tastes great. It is dark red meat and soft. I baited mine. It was ridiculously hard and fun.


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## Bearbait49 (Jun 16, 2020)

I had a summer tag last year took me 13 years to draw the tag. It was the hardest but most rewarding hunt I think I have ever done. I ran two bait sites and had a tota ofl 3 BIG. shooter boars hitting my sites but only at night I never could turn them to come in during legal shooting ligh no matter what I triedt but man it sure was a blast trying. I would do that hunt again in a heart beat even thou my tag went unfilled. I learned a lot and can't wait until my son draws his summer bait tag this year (fingers crossed as he is right on the cusp of getting a reserved tag) and we .can put what I learned last year into action and get him a whopper.

A word of caution thou the bear bug bites hard and you'll almost certainly be hooked once you try it 👌.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

your a few years out from drawing but, if you want some things to think on during that time I would recommend PASTRIES!! any kind of pastries.. Piles of pastries.

On my Bear hunt last year (2020) I had dog food, IFA sweet feed, meat scraps and mountains of pastries and they touched the meat scraps the least. In fact, based off my trail camera pictures I would say that Maggots ate most (or all) the meat. The only thing the meat scraps did for me to my benefit was stink the place up.

I should say, I did dump 3 gallons of syrup and sprinkled 2 lbs of sugar all over my bait every time I went in. 

When I hunt bears in UT again, I wont even wast my time with all that other nonsense.

A good heavy bacon burn, dump 200lbs or assorted pastries 
and dump a 5gal bucket of fryer grease all in front and around the bait pile. Repeat that process every time you go bait but, in the area I hunted the pastries were the clear winner. Hands down. 

On my hunt, I started baiting 2 weeks early as allowed. I baited both weekends and 1 time during the week during the last week. 3 times total.

first time in I dumped 1 bag of dog food, 1 bag of IFA sweet feed, 2 5gal buckets of meat scraps, 1 bag of pastries and I did a Honey burn (wish I would have done bacon) and dumped grease all around and hung a 20lb bear sucker that I made.

I then took a spray bottle with 24oz of Anise oil and I sprayed in on the trees and ground as I walked away from the bait pile for about 100 yds. I did that in 4 directions.

the second time I went up I took only pastries. We dumped roughly 180 more lbs of pastries and did a bacon burn this time and threw more sugar all over the pile.

the 3rd and last time I baited was 4 days later ( a couple days before the hunt)

again, I went in only with pastries. We only dumped 1 bag this time because there was still a good pile already there and the hunt was in a couple days.
I also did another bacon burn while I was in there. 
every time I went in I sprayed anise oil as I walked into my site the last 300 yards and in all directions of the pile. 

Once the bears find the site, it wont take long for more bears to show up and it also wont take long to eat the whole pile gone.
For me, once the bears found my site, I had a bear on my camera at least every 4 hours. Either the same bear for half the day, or another bear for the other half. 

Also, what was helpful for me. An idea given to me by a buddy who is a bear guy told me to use Heavy Duty garbage bags like the constructional grade kind. So thats what I did, I put what I believed to be close to 50lbs in each bag. I was surprised those bags were that stront but, we would squeeze all the air our and condense it down a bit to make sure all the air was out. Then I would twist it up and then zip-tie it so you could throw it over your shoulder like Santa Clause taking yoggie a sack full of goodies and walk it in but, I put one over each shoulder and whoever was with me took the other 2. 

A lot of bears in the Country I hunt but, I didnt even set my site up in the best spot. I chose an easy to get to spot because I didnt want to pack all that crap further then I needed to but, the place i did pick still had bear activity in it.

I chose a heavily wooded area with mostly pines in an area where it was a long gradual plain over a wide amount of country and then it plateau off into a huge deep dark long canyon that ran perpendicular to the gradual plain of the plateau. It was just a great spot. the smell of the pile could freely travel in any direction for a long ways. 

I kept my bear meat. I took it to a private butcher and made 100% breakfast sausage out of it, with like 30%-40% pork fat and country seasoning. Its different but, its good. I Fed my inlaws breakfast and made sausage but, didnt tell them it was bear. They commented on the sausage about how good it was before I told them. 

When I say its different, its mostly the texture. 
Bear hunting is a blast!!


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Bear is my favorite game meat. You’ll be kickin yourself if you leave it behind. Spring bear may be leaner too.


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## StorminNorman (Nov 11, 2021)

Brettski7 said:


> Actually considering this year also applying. I have an area I know bears are in and will be spot and stalk also. I’d like to try some first though. Don’t like the idea of hunting something I won’t actually like and then have to try and find someone who might want it etc. it’s why I haven’t put in for Antelope also.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Put in for both, if you end up not liking it I'll take it off your hands lol


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## bthewilde (Feb 8, 2018)

maverick9465 said:


> The idea of bear hunting intrigues me. I've started exploring the idea a bit more. I've read through the guidebook and taken the course. I plan to start applying. It looks like it'll take a few years to draw a tag. What advice would you give someone with no experience bear hunting? I'll be doing spot-and-stalk. No dogs. Not opposed to bait, but probably will stick with spot-and-stalk for a bit.
> 
> Pros/cons of spring vs. summer vs. fall?


I would honestly just go North to Idaho, where you have OTC tags in both Spring and Fall. I think I will head up this Spring if I escape Tax Season unscathed, otherwise definitely this Fall. I went up a few years ago, but didn't get close enough for a shot. It's about $600ish all in.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

goosefreak said:


> your a few years out from drawing but, if you want some things to think on during that time I would recommend PASTRIES!! any kind of pastries.. Piles of pastries.
> 
> On my Bear hunt last year (2020) I had dog food, IFA sweet feed, meat scraps and mountains of pastries and they touched the meat scraps the least. In fact, based off my trail camera pictures I would say that Maggots ate most (or all) the meat. The only thing the meat scraps did for me to my benefit was stink the place up.
> 
> ...


I discovered the same thing you did in my bear baiting experience. Bears are all about sweet stuff! Donuts, cakes, cookies, anything like that will get scarfed down quickly. My buddy put out some raw bacon last year and the bears moved it aside to get to the sweet stuff. When I baited the Manti a few years back the bears would eventually eat anything I put out, but the sweet stuff went first. 

Unfortunately, I have also discovered that getting a lead on expired pastries from a bakery is A LOT harder than folks make it out to be. My new favorite bear bait is popcorn. Cheap, easy to pack, and the bears love it! I have decided that the best way to bait with popcorn is to buy the cheapest bags of unpopped kernels you can find, pack them in with a little oil, an old pot and a gas burner and pop it all up right at the site. Bear crack mixed with it is a great addition but kool-aid packets are much easier and lighter. Whole feeder corn is also cheap, easy to get a hold of and bear approved, but it is heavy to pack in. This spring I will be doing the bulk of my baiting with popcorn, feeder corn, table scraps I have been saving in a chest freezer, and whatever pastries I can line up.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I still don't have a clue to start hunting bears, so I put in for another point. I have 16 now.

-DallanC


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Unfortunately, I have also discovered that getting a lead on expired pastries from a bakery is A LOT harder than folks make it out to be.


I think this used to be easier than it is now because lots of people try to do it. When it was new I think it was easier.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

DallanC said:


> I still don't have a clue to start hunting bears, so I put in for another point. I have 16 now.
> 
> -DallanC


Myself and plenty of others here can help you with any questions you might have about selecting and setting up a bait. You have the points to draw pretty much anywhere. Just saying!


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Vanilla said:


> I think this used to be easier than it is now because lots of people try to do it. When it was new I think it was easier.


That is one reason for sure. Some companies like Walmart have company policies that forbid them from giving away expired product. People who raise pigs and other stock will also compete with you for expired baked goods. There are companies that act as an intermediary between food producers and bear hunters looking for bait. It can be a little expensive going through them though.


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## 2:22 (Jan 31, 2013)

There are SOOOOOO many YouTube vids that show how to set up a bait site, tree stands, scents to use etc... They even say what to look for in a bait site. Bear hunting is a blast. Don't be afraid to jump right in. I would however not burn a bunch of points on my first attempt. I would try a neighboring state over the counter first. As they say at Lagoon....Keep your arms and legs inside at all times and HAVE FUN!


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## jlofthouse16 (Oct 18, 2021)

I Have hunted these woods (Northern Utah} for many years. Kept hounds for hunting the the cats. Never saw a bear track.


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