# Need Help with Bear Strategy



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

This is my first bear hunt and I'm having an absolute blast! I've done everything right so far and I've got multiple bears coming into my station. But being the novice that I am, I really underestimated how smart these animals are. I'd surely welcome any advice that experienced bear hunters can give me because at this point, I'm at a stalemate. Don't want to just play Grub Hub delivery dude for the next 2 weeks.

I'm solo with a bow in very steep pinion terrain with lots of deadfall. Visibility is very limited and there's no long range visibility into the station. I've even had to hang some orange tapes on the pathway to the station just so I can find it. I'm currently hunting afternoons and evenings every other day. I'm retired and live only 5 miles from my bait station, so I have the time to hunt every day. But after making the climb into the station with 40-50 lbs on my back, my aging bones prefer a day to recover.

The bears know when I come and they know when I leave. Yesterday, 2 different bears spotted me in my treestand from 50 yards away. After burning a little honey, I think I spent too much time fiddling around on the ground and I actually think they watched me climb up into the stand. *So is my treestand useless, now? *I mean, given how smart they are, will they remember to look up after having seen me up there before? My first impulse is to set up a ground blind, but given their skills at finding and destroying anything I leave up there, it seems like just another way to burn some money.

Since they always hit the station when I'm gone and often only 10-15 minutes after I've left, my impulse is to sit there every day from dawn 'til dusk. But given that they know what's going on, *will I just end up encouraging them to come in at night if I'm always there during the day?*

Finally, when I got to the station yesterday, there were 4 big piles of scat right at the station. I know what I usually do after a big meal, but none of the previous bears have done this. At least 2 different bears made a contribution - 3 of the piles were grassy but one was loaded with deer hair. And 2 separate boars have hit the station within a couple days of each other. *So are these scat piles telling me something (territorial), or are they just poop?*

Wish I'd discovered bear hunting when I was a young man and If I had to end this hunt today, I'd consider it a success. But I really want a shot at this guy (one of the bears who spotted me in the treestand yesterday).


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Might try bring a rifle n find a ground spot farther back you can see the bait from?


----------



## CHIEF_10_BEERS (Mar 24, 2021)

Do you have someone who can hike in with you? If so they could help pack and set the bait while you get in the tree stand. Then have them leave in a not so quiet way. The bears might figure you just refreshed the bait site and left. A similar tactic worked for a friend of mine.
BTW that's a good looking bear.


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I agree with trying to find a buddy to hike in with you then leave while you stay. Another option would be to go in prepped to spend the night.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

johnnycake said:


> Another option would be to go in prepped to spend the night.


Knowing there are likely several bears within a few hundred yards, I wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Every time I heard a twig snap, I'd be sitting up and shining my flashlight with one hand on my side arm.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

35whelen said:


> Might try bring a rifle n find a ground spot farther back you can see the bait from?


Not possible - no shooting lanes available. Besides, I already feel like I'm cheating by using one of my compound bows. The original plan was to shoot a recurve and I even built some arrows designed specifically for bears. But when it came time to hunt, I just wasn't confident with it.


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Finnegan said:


> Knowing there are likely several bears within a few hundred yards, I wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Every time I heard a twig snap, I'd be sitting up and shining my flashlight with one hand on my side arm.


C'mon now! Black bears are basically puppy dogs . . .


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I have heard of people leaving a battery operated radio playing at the bait site while they are gone to keep the bears away, then turning it off when they get there to hunt. It's worth a shot!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I hope you get a shot at that guy too! They probably aren't coming in because you aren't using the recurve. They probably can't "bear" the thought of falling to some guy that's wussing it up with a compound 😜


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Leave a shirt with your scent by the bait on a tree branch? Or have someone else top the bait off or walk by it as you’re climbing the stand and do an extra long sit?


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

The scat is a dominate bear leaving his calling card. If your in the stand every other day they should be use to having you there. They will continue to come in to eat either way. There is the possibility of going nocturnal as you mentioned though. I don't think that will happen in your case with the bear hitting it at 6:30am. Especially when they are in the Rut. The Bores will normally make their rounds every three days looking for Sow's to breed. Now is when you want to get the bear killed. About the second weak of July is when the Rut ends and activity in the daylight hours will be cut to about 20%. 

That's a good bear in the pic. Nice Boar I'm guessing to be about a 6-6.7 long bear. Could be a contender for a P&Y.


----------



## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Here are a couple of thoughts from my limited baiting experience (I shot a bear over bait in 2015 and helped a friend in 2017ish).

1. Switching to a ground blind is a plausible idea. I shot mine from a blind and would fold it and hoist it up between trees at night when I left to prevent damage. The bears can't see, hear, or smell you in the blind so they might come in right after set your bait (which is what mine did). I could loan you an old blind if you're interested and live close to UT Co.

2. Hiking in with two people and having one hike out is also a good idea. I did this with my friend and he killed a bear after I hiked out. We didn't do that strategically, but it might have contributed to his success.

3. Start packing in less bait. The less food there is, the more competition there is and the more likely the bears will come quickly after you ring the dinner bell.

4. Start hunting early morning. My bears were coming in at 6:30am. I hiked in and baited early morning. Missed a huge boar on the bait who was waiting for me when I showed up. I set the bait and climbed into my blind. One minute later, a smaller boar came in and I drilled him.

Good luck. You're gonna' get one, be patient.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Thanks, everybody. I've now got a few different ideas to try thanks to your input. I'm just so amazed at the response to my bait station...not at all what I expected. Gonna be embarrassing if I don't kill something with all this action. So cool!!!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Finnegan said:


> Thanks, everybody. I've now got a few different ideas to try thanks to your input. I'm just so amazed at the response to my bait station...not at all what I expected. Gonna be embarrassing if I don't kill something with all this action. So cool!!!
> View attachment 152252


That is a very nice bear.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I'm sure you'll get a bear. It can be one of the hardest, most frustrating hunts one can have.

Just keep at it. Seat time is the key to harvesting a bear.

Cake is correct. The bear in the 1st pic is a shooter for sure IMO.


----------



## Bearbait49 (Jun 16, 2020)

You are getting great daytime activity! I would think a hero pic is coming soon 👍


----------



## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

Take another adult and a younger kid in with you to bait. Kids make tons of noise and are very easily heard by animals in the area. Bait the area. Leave. Making noise the whole time. Do it again the next day. Same thing, all leave together. Day 3, everyone goes in, you stay, they leave, making noise the whole way out. I bet that bear makes an appearance within the hour. They are smart, but they also get very comfortable with human routines and once they think they have a person patterned, they believe in it until they have an experience that lets them know something has changed. You might consider changing tree locations a few trees over, but it you hold still and the wind isn’t hosing you, I think you’ll be ok when he thinks everyone has left.


----------



## 2:22 (Jan 31, 2013)

After hunting 7 years in a row for Bear, placing over 4,000 lbs of bait just this year, watching over 1,000 YouTube videos on bear hunting, baiting, boar vs. Sow, field judging, spending 11 days in the field this year then totally screwing up and shooting the wrong bear by mistaking it for another that I had seen on camera.............I got nothing for you. Last week I knew EVERYTHING about bears. Now I know nothing. Good luck.


----------



## 2:22 (Jan 31, 2013)

Back when I knew about bears, I would say that your first three pics are a sow. The next section of pics with the dark chocolate is a boar. The next pic of the two, the top is a sow and the bottom looks to be the same bear in the following pic which I would say is a boar. Look at the ankles of the bears. Sows have a small front ankle and boars have a big front ankle. That has been the best determining factor for me other than seeing their junk. The pear shape, big but vs. big front shoulders, belly hanging to the ground etc... have all left me with misjudging the genders but ankles don't lie.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

2:22 said:


> Back when I knew about bears, I would say that your first three pics are a sow. The next section of pics with the dark chocolate is a boar. The next pic of the two, the top is a sow and the bottom looks to be the same bear in the following pic which I would say is a boar. Look at the ankles of the bears. Sows have a small front ankle and boars have a big front ankle. That has been the best determining factor for me other than seeing their junk. The pear shape, big but vs. big front shoulders, belly hanging to the ground etc... have all left me with misjudging the genders but ankles don't lie.


Thank you very much for that input. I hadn't heard that before, but I think you're right. Everything about this hunt is new to me - the baiting, the tree stand, the cameras. And most of all, the bears. I've seen more bears during this hunt than I've seen in my entire lifetime put together and I never really witnessed bear behavior before at all.

So I was thinking that I had the cast of characters figured out until I was studying the latest batch of photos last night. The top photo is the first bear that showed up and one of only 2 bears that I've had in shooting range. Fortunately, it never gave me a shot opportunity.










And if you zoom in, this latest photo explains why it was fortunate that I didn't get that shot opportunity. Surprised the hell out of me.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Awesome pics! Looks like you are in a really target rich environment there. I hope you pull it off!


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I've had plenty of bears in trees running hounds years back. One noticeable factor when determining a boar from a sow, (other than the junk) was looking at the mussel as it leads into the skull. If it looks like the face of the bear takes a 90 degree angle from the mussel, the bear was likely a boar. This happens in mature bears of the larger spectrum I've found.


----------



## stripey22 (Oct 12, 2009)

“then totally screwing up and shooting the wrong bear by mistaking it for another that I had seen on camera.............I got nothing for you”. 

I can relate. I had this same thing happen last night. 
Hauled a crap ton of bait multiple times. Sat in my blind more than 40 hours total. Hunted 3 weeks. Only two bears on camera and hundreds of videos . I knew them well. Both very obviously boars. The one I wanted was on the bait yesterday morning. I snuck in to the blind and a few hours later that bear came in. I was rifle hunting and about 70 yards away. Low light and I watched him for 20 minutes . I was sure it was him. Same color same Mohawk. I shot him high shoulder and he dropped on the spot. Waited 20 minutes and went to check him out. It was a sow(((. I was really upset with myself. I felt awful. Did I just ruin my whole experience I thought. On the positive side she had no cubs and was not nursing and is very beautiful. That was the first and only time that bear had hit my bait.
Anyway, my advice to the OP, take your time and be very sure of your goals and exactly what you’re looking at. Bears are really hard to judge. Add in Adrenalin and pressure to close the deal and a lot of other small variables and it is downright tough. 
Good luck!


----------



## 2:22 (Jan 31, 2013)

Usually 22 is my lucky number. In this case the Two Two's had other things in mind. Sorry to hear Stripey 22. I very much know that sick feeling.


----------



## ISHY (Dec 4, 2015)

Trying multiple people go in and you stay is a good idea. Leaving a sweaty shirt in your stand each trip in and out will acclimate them to your scent. I have baited a bunch and one other suggestion I would throw out is maybe to hang a second stand. Not sure what your wind is doing? How high in the tree are you? We always assume bears know when we are there with the nose they have. But changing your scent cast may make a difference, especially if your scent is crossing their path into the bait. Moving the actual bait pile 50-100 yards to get your wind better can accomplish the same thing. Bears live and die by their nose-I doubt them hearing you come in keeps them away. Pain to do, but you've put in a ton of work already.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Microburst winds have shut me out for the past couple of days, but calm is finally in the forecast. I won't risk the widow makers in that kind of wind and they're unavoidable. 6 bears are hitting the station regularly at all hours of the day and night; 2 are mature boars. I'm now thinking that my movements aren't influencing them as much as I thought, or they're less concerned than they were. I also see that they visit the station and hang out whether there's bait left or not. I think the boars may be more interested in all the scent left by the sows than they are in the bait.

To modify the station would require moving far enough to make my COR questionable, but I've added a ground blind made out of deadfall and started leaving my sweaty shirts and headbands at the station. I deliberately picked a site that is thick and nasty, but the down side of that choice is a very limited shooting lane. So I really need that big boy to be right at the station if I'm going to get a shot.

The most recent cast member in this drama is the only black black bear I've seen and the bigger of the 2 boars. Every other bear has been some color phase variety. It would be interesting to know how many of these bears are related. But taking a cue from you guys, I'm going to be really careful if a black black bear gives me a shot opportunity.

With a little luck, I'll be back here posting about my kill later this week. But even if that don't happen, this has been a very successful hunt for this old novice. And either way, I'll be glad when I've made my last climb into this station.


----------



## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Stick to it. You've come this far. Good luck!


----------



## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Good luck! Sounds like you are having fun.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

So how did your hunt go for you?


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> So how did your hunt go for you?


Outstanding! But I didn't kill a bear.
Leaving sweaty clothing at the station and reducing bait seemed to make a difference that got 2 bears in the sweet spot. One was a sow and the other was a youngster. But just watching from 20 yards away was satisfying - especially watching the sow take a nap right in the bait crib. 8 different bears on camera, 2 were great boars. Bad timing (not enough hours in the tree) but fantastic hunt.

Thanks to y'all for responding. I appreciate the help.


----------

