Honey burn question

[bean0568]

Going on bear hunt in Sept. and have never hunted them. So, I have been reading all I can get my hands on, subscribing to magazines, buying DVD's, and searching the web. I have read alot about the honey burn and how to do one, but have a few questions:

1. Do you do one everytime you go out?
2. I know you let it burn til it goes out but what happens if the bear comes in before then?
3. If a small bear comes in and messes with it what do you do?
4. Even if the bait site is getting hit, do you still try and do one?

These are just a few questions. Trust me there will me more to come.

Thanks....

[Carbon Caster]

I do one to START the bait.  I do not leave the burn can until it is OUT!!!  I use bacon grease, honey, oil of anise, and maybe some other things if the mood hits me.  I use a Propane torch to heat it until it catches fire, then I put a bit of water in the can until it starts to smoke heavily and continue to heat it until it is done.  Make sure you have some water with you.  If a bear comes in while doing the burn, just woof him away or wrestle him for the burn can, your choice.  Bears are really big overgrown 2 year old kids with a bit of circus performer and junkyard dog thrown in for good measure.  I sure wish I had time to hunt them this year.  I have to move right in the middle of our season and just don't have the time or finances to play with them this year.

Have fun!!!!!

[Lechwe]

Bean,

You can also try taking a package or two of licorice and cooking it in water until it is all melted. boil on low for a few minutes. Put it in a bucket and take it to the bait. We pour just a little on the bait and then throw the rest as high as you can into the trees. It will drip and leave sent for days and bring bears in.

Ab bucket of molasses poured in front of the bait works great too. Bears will track it everywhere and others will come across it and find the bait.

Good luck, one of my favorite animals to hunt.

[bean0568]

I guess to clarify: what I have read has been with mostly sterno, and they burn for a bit and then go out (while you are up in the tree). Lot to learn and having fun doing it.

The licorice sounds like a good idea. Seems less intrusive.

[Carbon Caster]

The smell in licorice they like is Oil of Anise.  You can buy bottles of it in your local grocery store.  If you do boil licorice, make sure it is the black licorice.

Good Luck

[Brian Krebs]

liuid smoke works well- but I do not advise tossing any scent into the air onto places it will stick- well like branches and sticks.
 I want the bears nose aas close to the ground as I can- to lessen the chances of it smelling me.

[Bert Frelink]

Hey Carbon dude,
Sorry to hear about your bear dilemma, any luck on the recurve ???? haven't seen any pic's yet.
Where ya movin too ??

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

Brian, as suggested above, do the honey burn to get you bait started, but I'll add another tip or two that will help. Do this before you do your honey burn.

Get a big bucket (about 5 gallons) of used cooking oil (I use to get mine from KFC, for free). Add one bottle of Liquid Smoke to the oil. Take an old towel or tee shirt and tie it on a rope about five or six feet long. Starting at your bait site, dunk the rag in the bucket of oil, saturating it well. Now start walking, dragging the rag behind you. Make a big loop that extends about about 1/4 mile from your bait site and then coming back to the bait. Dunk the rag again and make another loop in the opposite direction. Do this until you have laid out a 4 leaf clover pattern of scent trails that all lead back to your bait site.

Next, pour all remaining grease onto the ground around your bait site.

The clover-leaf trails will lead any bear crossing it right to your bait - no matter which direction the bear follows the scent trail (and they often DO follow it backwards too). At the bait site, each bear will also step in the grease/Liquid Smoke mixture that you've pored on the ground and, as they depart, they will leave yet another scent trail leading back to your bait site.

If it rains heavily, freshen your 'drags' again, and pour more of the mixture onto the ground around your bait.

This is very similar to the scent drages we used in Africa for lions, etcetera. I've used it many times, and it definitely helps the bears locate your bait site quickly, and last longer than using the air-born trail of a honey burn alone.

Works on pig baits too. Hope you tag a big one!

Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow

[akdd]

In Alaska you have to clean up and remove all signs of you bait site at the end of the season. This includes any ground that is contaminated with grease. So I don't use grease for this reason. To much trouble to cleanup. Check the regs where you are hunting. I have used the honey burn technique but burnt marshmallows and raspberry jello instead of honey   and a mixture of anise oil and vanilla for a scent. Sprayed the scent around the bait site and hung a sponge soaked in it above the bait.

[dave hiltz]

I have been baiting bears a long time and I think that dumping grease (from KFC McDonalds or where ever) around the area you are hunting will have the greatest effect.  Once a bear comes to the bait and steps in the grease, when they leave they will track that quite a ways from the bait site and when another bear comes across that trail they will find there way to the bait.  If you have acess to any beaver carcasses they are like candy to a kid.  If you have any other questions let me know I will try to help. Dave.

[tippit]

We tend to save a honey burn for a bear that we are seeing but won't come in.  That tends to be our Ace-in-the-Hole!  We re-bate every morning and always use a spray in the trees of anise, liquid smoke, and vanilla.  Trail cams will tell us what bears and what time they are coming in.  Doc

[bamboo]

ask joe skipp what happens when a bear comes in to a burn thats still hot!!LOL!!

[bean0568]

Thanks for all your information. I have found out the hard part about bear hunting is the waiting on the hunt to get here....

[jrchambers]

as far as cleaning up the grease, them bears will do a fine job of it, they will take up to a foot of dirt out of the whole area you spread it

[Dr. Ed Ashby]

TTT

[PAPA BEAR]

the trail drag method works great with donut grease,i have also used this method on elk with estrus scents while still hunting trails when the bulls were quiet.they walk right by with noses slobbering and when in position one quick cow call and they freeze...dead bull...

[Grant Young]

Last year I used a honey burn that got excellent results pretty quickley- used sterno and a "stove" frame to set the honey can on over the sterno that Rick Stillman had built. Worked great-but like Tippet said- we knew the bear was there.  GY

[calgarychef]

You can burn different things we (humans) seem to like honey/sugar because it makes thick clouds of smoke that we can see.  We have poor senses so we think that more is better.  

I've used a sardein can filled with bacon grease, put a wick in it and made a "bacon candle" and it worked fine.  there is little smoke but it still carries for miles.  I put my candle into a pail and hoisted it into a tree to get the odor further off the ground so it would carry further.

You can use a pail of used deep fry oil. hoist it into a tree after you've poked a tiny little hole in the pail so the oil slowly drips out.  This scent will travel for miles too.  

When Mr.Bear comes in you can help him to stay around by providing lots of interesting treats.  honey,molasses,peanutbutter,bacon grease spread onto the trees etc.  Dog food,donuts,bread, rotten meat etc.  I once set up on a gutpile from a moose and did the bacon burn, added some treats and had bears there within the day.

You can also take a t-shirt you've worn for 2 or 3 days and toss it right on top of the food pile.  Mr. bear will have to brave your stench to get to the rotten beavers or whatever it is that smells better than we do.  This will associate your scent with food in the bears mind. This is a good idea if you want to see lots of bears while they can smell you in your treestand/groundblind because they won't spook nearly as badly.  It's also a bad idea because you might get mistaken for a tasty snack and eaten. Bears can easily smell you on your stand, we can't really fool them.  But we can associate our scent with food and it will help a lot.

You can put your food into a "crib" you've made of logs etc.  so that the bear will have to come into a certain location to eat.  The location incidentally will also put the bear in the best position for a shot.  This is especially important so give it some thought.  After you've set it up go into your stand and really be critical of your set up and be sure it's going to work.  If you can see something that should be changed then go change it, don't rely on luck that the bear will get into a good posititon for a shot.


mmmmm bear stew

the chef

[elktalker]

Great post lots of good ideas, here in oregon we cant bait during hunting season. This year Im going to bait infront of trail cams right before season to locate.

[Conner Parry]

The honey burn is the ticket, a guy here in Utah has some mix that he calls "Bear Cocaine." I guess it is just a bottle of jelly, marshmellows, mollases and honey.