First time black bear hunt- any advice?

[Legolas]

Hunting Northern Minnesota next fall. Hunt is over bait. What advice do you all have.

Thanks,
Paul

[doug77]

wait for the perftic shot it will come and take the time to judge the size of the bear,they will fool you if you have never seen a bear before. i had to learn the hard way once.

doug77

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Practice, Practice,Practice, then Practice some more.

Find out the hight of the stand You'll be in... Study up on the vitals... If You can get a 3-D target of a bear would be good...

[akdd]

I agree with the practice at the height you will be at. I also have taken a couple practice arrows and taken a couple of practice shots from the stand. Take your time as the bears will most generally hang around for a while so you will get a chance for the perfect shot. But be careful because bear hunting is addicting.

[Bowshot]

Remember, bears look huge when you first see them, especially if you haven't been exposed to a bunch of them, take your time and calm down, have something set up to help judge their body size, precut logs, branches, barrels etc.

Terry

[longbowben]

Bowshot good info ,i made that mistake the first bear that came out i thought was big ,i shot 150 lb bear.Not going to make that mistake again.

[Legolas]

Well my motto with whitetails is "If its brown its goin down"
so for Black bears maybe it will turn out "If its black put it on its back"    

I plan to use a 57lb longbow with cedars with wensels on the business end. I will probably use my treesuit.

Paul

[bvalentine002]

160gr Snuffers.
-Brett

[Lechwe]

Longbowman,

A 150lb bear is a respectable bear. That is at least a 2 year old if a boar and could be 6 or 7 as a sow. Michigan bears average around 120.

Legolas,

Bowshot has goo advice. If you can take your time and watch they are a fascinating animal. Your setup will crush any black bear on the continent.

Good luck

[mnbwhtr]

Take yor time! Calm down...relax... Don't rush a shot if it sprints away....it came in once it'll be back. Watch and enjoy! Magic time. That was the advice I got before my first bear hunt in 1972... good then...good now... many bears later.

[RUSS GRIMES]

Went to Canada 2 years ago and shot a 250 pounder out of a double bull blind at six yards.I shoot a zipper recurve with woodman heads.Bear went 40 yards double lunged the bear,shot it at 11oclock in the moring.11 of us went and brout back 7 bears...zipperman

[Legolas]

Where can I get a good bear pepper spray?
Thanks,
Paul

[joe skipp]

You have a PM>>>>

[Curveman]

If it is parallel, wait until it steps and moves that big shoulder bone forward. You only have a relatively small sliver of kill zone if that bone is back. There is no rush; they will almost invariably come in and out again and again. If you wait a bigger one might come in. Of course, I have usually gone with "The Legolas Motto"   :D  but I missed taking a 250+ bear by my impatience!  

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Leave the pepper spray at home...you've got more chance of accidentally spraying it down your pants than needing it for a blackie.

Get him a bit quartering away and shoot him in the middle.  If you hear any sound out of him after he runs off...moan, gurgle, heavy breathing etc. he's down for the count.  Silence doesn't mean he isn't dead, but the sounds above means he is 99% of the time.  I've never had problems with blood trailing bears contrary to what I've heard - but then mine were all shot with big Snuffers.  Thin skin and light ribs compared to a whitetail (except the shoulder is heavier).

Hunting black bears over bait is a circus - really a blast.  Relax and enjoy it, don't overthink things.

Have fun!

Ryan

[Hoytman]

Take your time and look over plenty of bears. A shot will come so don't rush it. Most problems come from shooting to soon. Let the bear settle down and give yourself time to relax while studying the spot to put your arrow. Slightly quartering,too broadside a little above center mass. Remember. A bear has 6 to 8 inches of hair hanging down. Do not go up from the bottom to pick a spot like you might on a deer. Go from the center up, or the top down. A bears lungs are very small in relation to it's body size. Try to wait til the front leg is reaching forward. It exposes more lung area without hitting shoulder blade. The sooner you recover your bear and get it dressed the better. Bears bone sour very quickly and is the reason most people say bear meat is no good. Good Luck

[Coldfingers]

find the trails the bear will approach the bait from. Set up a story pole over each trail (basicly a stick over the trail at about crotch high...34 inches or so) when the bear walks under it, if his shoulder touches it he's "usually" a shooter.

Bears are judged by skull size...big bears have ears that have migrated down the side of the head and not the perky "top mount" ears of the sows & cubs.

Take your time and do not shoot the firt bear you see. It is possible, in good areas, to see a dozen different bears over a bait. Size em up and enjoy them.

DON"T FORGET THE BUG DOPE!

Again, bears are subject to massive amounts of ground shrink...they ALL look big till they are down. Then, lots of em will fit in a five gallon bucket.

[Curveman]

I recommend the Thermacell.

[Legolas]

Guys thanks for all this education. I really  really appreciate it.

Got a thermacell and will get a good netted facemask.

Paul

[Kingstaken]

Besides all the pre-hunt prer and practice, practice, practice, Be  very patient.
Allow the bear to come in a few times. They like to run in knock the rock off the cover, grab a piece of food and run out to eat to the side so let him get relaxed before you shoot. He'll come back in. Unless of course he doesn't run to the side and offers ya the perfect shoot.
As above posts, my brother while rifle hunting took a bear at 80 yds that looked real big in the field. The way the fur stands up came deceive you as to the size. Got back it was only 60lbs.  :(  
Use the drum which are typically cut in half as a guide. There are some great tapes out there.

Black flies, if their there you will know it without good netting.    

One final important note, if the outfitter packs you a lunch to take with as mine did at Slipp Brothers which I highly recommend, keep it high in your pack.
You wouldn't want one climbing up the stand your in to get a bag you let by your feet.