Black Bear

[Captain*Kirk]

I was just notified by my son that his landlord offered him (and me) access to his private property in Northern WI. Says there are very few, if any, deer there, but plenty of Black Bear. Not sure if black bear is considered 'dangerous game' but a gut-shot blackie seams like he might be reasonably dangerous to me...
I've never hunted any large game other than whitetails, and since it's getting late in the year for a 'pop-up hunt', am somewhat setting my sights on 2017 if the opportunity still exists. What would you guys recommend to someone who has never hunted bears in way of equipment, prep, strategies, etc?
Thanks in advance.

[Sam McMichael]

I have never hunted bear, either, so this thread will interest me also. From what I have read, the same equipment used on deer should be quite adequate for bear. Essentially, tuned gear, sharp broad heads, and accurate shooting are paramount, the same as in all hunting.

Scouting, stand selection, and bait preparation are all interesting aspects. I look forward to the various bait smells that people find effective. This should be educational.

[larry f]

Not to burst your bubble but you need to apply for preference points in order to get a kill tag. It has been taking about 6 - 7 years to get a tag.

[Captain*Kirk]

Originally posted by larry f:
Not to burst your bubble but you need to apply for preference points in order to get a kill tag. It has been taking about 6 - 7 years to get a tag.

Good to know, thank you! I will look into that. In the meantime, still looking or those tips and suggestions!

[Captain*Kirk]

Hmm... by the lack of responses, maybe black bear is not considered dangerous game? If not, moderators please feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum.

[goingoldskool]

I've hunted 'Blackie' on and off for about the last 10years or so...  The camp that I've been to has guided since 1968 and has never had an incident....  charges, yes, but no harm to any hunter....  that being said, a gut shot one would not be fun to follow up on!  I've only lost one due to a low impact and have been on many a blood trail.  If hit right, they go down quick!  My son's arrow shot bear from this spring went a total of 9 yards!  Try to stay away from the front shoulder!  You will have a VERY hard time getting through it.

Good luck,shoot straight and God Bless,

Rodd

[V I Archer]

My first black bear way back in 2001. 54 pound 21st century constellation, 2016 xx78 arrow and a Zwickey Eskimo broadhead.  Shot at 8 yards.  Bear ran straight up a tree, hung out for a few minutes and dropped.  No blood trail to follow.

Bears are pretty thinned skinned and fairly easy to punch through, but the heavy hair can soak up a lot of blood before it hits the ground.

[JohnV]

Pretty much any large animal can be dangerous under the right circumstances.  That said, I am more concerned being attacked by a wild dog or escaped convict than I am a black bear.  And yes, I have hunted black bears multiple times and have encountered them while hunting other animals like elk.  Healthy respect for them?  Yes.  Afraid of them?  No!

Your best bet to learn more about bears may be to go on a bear hunt with an outfitter so when you finally draw that Wisconsin tag you will know a bit about hunting them.

[beendare]

Those are my thoughts too, John V

Bears are taylor made for stickbow hunting....

[Joseph71]

black bears are indeed dangerous animals to hunt...a big, mature, and smart, poorly hit black bear if not dealt with wisely after the shot, can cost a man his life for sure!
55 pds with at least 10 grains per pound will punch right through any large black bear... if hit in the lung/heart area...the key is practice with a 3d life like target with bow set up properly, then start the mental challege by daily watching footage of black bears in the wild, put a pic on your wall paper, everytime you look at it note the vitals, do this daily, once your bow is right until your hunt...it will all come together with the right outfitter and Gods blessings!

[Kip]

I shot the one in my avatar with a 50lb. Bob Lee.He went 18 yards at most.Dead in seconds.Kip

[Bowguy67]

I've skinned for a few camps and shot quite a few bears. Mostly with bow. Personally I don't call them dangerous game.
If you want a tip, find the preferred food source in the area and than check for sign.
Bears seem to visit the same areas while a source lasts.
Check your berries, mast, etc but you find the food you're way ahead.
Bears by nature die incredibly easy when hit right. When hit bad you almost never find them, even with a tracking dog.
Oh yea and they taste awesome so good luck!

[Etter]

I have a pretty extensive history with black bears from Canada to Georgia, and I dont have any concern about being injured by one, wounded or otherwise. It does happen, but when you consider the millions upon millions of bear/human encounters that happen every year, it just seems silly to me to worry about them much. I carry a fixed blade buck knife on my belt. I guess if it ever gets bad, Ill go down like Trystan.

As far as killing them, they die real easy when double lunged but are incredibly hard to find otherwise. Little ones seem to be like deer and die real easy no matter where but once they hit the 150lb area, they get a lot tougher. Their bones are much thicker than a deer's and they bleed a lot less. Ive killed several that were double lunged that didnt leave a drop of blood on the ground. Just followed the death moan.

I killed one in ga a few years ago. Shot her as she climbed down an oak tree. Arrow entered just in front of her hips and exited through her sternum. With a tree shark mind you, and there was zero blood on the ground.

Theyre truly amazing animals and by far my favorite.

[mnbwhtr]

I've shot several and the only time I was concerned was a spring hunt in Manitoba when I had cubs in my tree 4 nights in a row. Keep them below you or you're going to be in trouble when the sow comes back.

[Derek virtual]

I have never hunted a bear, the truth is that I do not know if I would be able to face an animal like this if it were not with virtual reality glasses haha ​​I guess I'll still have to wait a few years to get more practice as I face a bear still seems too risky for me.

[acolobowhunter]

Have never shot a black bear, but shot a grizzly in British Columbia.  It was a hair raising event.  I shot it from 20 yards, it spun around and ran right back on me.  There were no trees or rocks to get behind as I was up on the tundra.  I was lucky I was up hill some and the bear dropped at 10 feet in front of me.  It was so fast, I couldn't get another arrow out of my quiver.  Wife was about 100 yards off to my right watching the whole thing.  I think she was counting the insurance money. ha

[smokin joe]

About 30 years ago I was in the hospital for some spine surgery. The day after the surgery I was allowed to go to the patients' day room for a little change of scenery. In the day room I met another patient who had been chewed up by a black bear. His injuries were awful looking and I was shocked at the amount of damage the bear had done to him. A black bear probably won't kill a person, but it has the equipment to make a mess of you and have you in the hospital for a while.

[Mark2323]

black bears are indeed dangerous animals to hunt...a big, mature, and smart, poorly hit black bear if not dealt with wisely after the shot, can cost a man his life for sure!

I think brown bears are smarter than black bears. They are very dangerous animals, no doubt to that but brown bears scare me more for some reason. Maybe it's because my uncle was attacked by an east siberian black bear 5 years ago in front of my eyes and lost his arm. I was preparing to move to Siberia in these days but this incident traumatized me so much that right after this incident I've changed my mind and decided to buy apartment in Torrevieja, the further away from east siberian black bears the better 

[carl390]

My first black bear way back in 2001. 54 pound 21st century constellation, 2016 xx78 arrow and a Zwickey Eskimo broadhead.  Shot at 8 yards.  Bear ran straight up a tree, hung out for a few minutes and dropped.  No blood trail to follow.

Bears are pretty thinned skinned and fairly easy to punch through, but the heavy hair can soak up a lot of blood before it hits the ground.

I first time heard about bear hunting ... really wonderful