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Bear Hunting without Bait

ADKMtnTrapper

ADKMtnTrapper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
283
New York doesn't allow hunting over bait and I would really like to shoot a bear. Other then hunting over bear sign does anyone have any other recommendations?

At the moment I am thinking of laying out scents and using the wind to my advantage but other then that I am at a loss.
 
I have a few spots that bears tend to travel through pretty often, but even then it might be 50 yards here, 50 yards there. Besides some sign, I really only know they come through there often from observations.

I was reading something about NY bear hunting recently and they talked about focusing on the beechnuts, that's where you'll find the bears.
 
Varmint calls might be an option. The use of scents in conjunction with, preferably an electronic call that can be placed near the scent might get you some action. Bear will respond to calls but I don't know how well....
 
Yeah ive heard that about beech nuts. Ive found where they have trashed beech tree tops. You just have to have a good beech nut crop lol

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I'm next door in vermont. One thing that works here is walking edges of cornfields and seeing where they freshly went in. Setup early morning on the trail and catch them coming off the corn. You'll be able to get a good quartering away or broadside shot. Wind is critical as well as the thermals. After eating they'll want a drink before bedding. If you find a trail coming out of corn that crosses a stream or brook I'd focus there. When we run dogs we use the same tactic of starting on the corn.
 
I was in the same boat this last fall and finally got lucky and made it happen. There's a good book I read called "No Bait Just Bears" that gave me some great insight.
Good luck man

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trapper,
you can use a bear brawl but that may bring in sow and cubs, you can use a honey burn that works for bait hunts without bait but those bears are used to bait. blueberry feeding bears in swamps, acorn or beechnut hunts over natural bait. Is that bait hunting? hounds always work well. locate dens scratch trees they also tend to knock over trees to feed on termites and grubs. local park trash cans, soak punkie wood in grease is that bait hunting? when the conservation officer shows up to your feed pile you simply explain thats a feed pile not a bait pile. lol
 
Were you ever able to solve your issue for Bear? I live in Ontario where you can bait. But for mebto get to a WMU that has a decent population and find a spot suitable to bait and run baits for a few weeks would take a lot of extra time and money. So I'm interested in hunting bear without bait for purely economic and time management reasons.

I found a thread on hunting beast related to this issue. A fella there recommends a book called "The ultimate guide to black bear hunting"

I'd be curious to know if you were successful and how.
 
Look for sign, and game paths.do your homework...same as whitetail, just get more elevation and get into more rocky terrain
 
My buddy has shot several bears using this in NH:

https://www.sportsmans.com/hunting-...me-calls/carltons-bear-call-with-cd/p/1204880

It involves covering a lot of ground and setting up with his .30-06

I've never hunted over bait but I've arrowed 2 NH bears in the same beechnut grove as it's next to a denning area along a steep mountainside (my avatar pic is me in this grove). It's also next to an old logging operation so there's tons of raspberries that the bears are feeding on as well.

There's a larger beechnut grove on an adjacent ridge where the trees are absolutely covered with the claw marks from years and years of being climbed. It was here that I started stalking 2 bears I saw maybe 80-90 yards away. I was bowhunting and trying close the distance for a shot under 40 yards. I was within 50 when they stopped and looked back at me. At this point I realized it was a Sow with a 1.5 year old cub.

The bears ended up trotting off just as I heard something behind me. I turned and there a huge boar that was 30 yards immediately in my backtrack. I drew my bow as he circled around me and continued on after the Sow. I never had a clean shot as he was moving quickly and I didn't want to risk a gut shot.

My strategy has been to take morning and evening stands and then I'm hiking & scouting in between, which sets you up for spot & stalks like the one above.
 
redsquirrel said:
I have a few spots that bears tend to travel through pretty often, but even then it might be 50 yards here, 50 yards there. Besides some sign, I really only know they come through there often from observations.

I was reading something about NY bear hunting recently and they talked about focusing on the beechnuts, that's where you'll find the bears.
Click to expand...

And Sawtooth Oak trees!!!! Although they are not naturally occurring in New York, bears like these as much as beechnuts. My friend and I planted 50 of these back in 2004 when he first acquired the property. The local soil & water conservation district recommended them as they are fast growing and unlike white oaks, they begin bearing fruit within 8-10 years after initial planting. Last year, several of these sawtooths were ravaged by bears!!! I mean they broke several of the upper branches of these trees gorging on the acorns. The Sawtooths we planted average from about 18- 25 feet tall now. They climb up these trees (as they do in Beech trees as well) and sit/lay across the trees' branches and pull the other branches into them so they can gorge on the nuts or acorns. In the process they make "nests" that look like large squirrels nests and break several branches virtually ruining the trees. Incidentally, that's another type of bear sign to look for too in your scouting forays. We suspect the bears have fed on the acorns in the past but never have they nested in the trees like they did last year. I suspect now that the trees are well established and healthy, they are producing more acorns and that in itself creates greater attraction for the bears. They weren't going to expend the energy to climb up if they didn't have a lot of them to eat. Or, perhaps this was the first time they noticed them but I'm thinking it just wasn't worth it to them before.

I know planting trees doesn't help with your current or short term needs/concerns but the nesting characteristic in mast trees like beechnuts and other types may be another good bit of sign to look for during your bear scouting forays.
 
Finding their natural food in your area is always a good place to start. Here in Arkansas when bear season opens the paw paw patches you can find in the mountains is where I generally start. The bears generally destroy the trees getting to that sweet fruit. If it has been a very dry year I also look for sign around water holes.
 
White oak acorns here in Virginia bears gorge themselves on these also if there is field corn around hunt the trails leading to it you will have success
 
Kill them every august and September here in virginia on cornfields

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Our state hunting and fishing publication ran an article about two hunting partners that seemed to always tag a bear. They interviewed them on tactics, scouting etc. The next year they ran an article about those same two guys getting ticketed for hunting near over bait. Apparently smearing peanut butter on trees surrounding your stand was a secret tactic they didn’t mention in their article.
 
ADKMtnTrapper said:
New York doesn't allow hunting over bait and I would really like to shoot a bear. Other then hunting over bear sign does anyone have any other recommendations?

At the moment I am thinking of laying out scents and using the wind to my advantage but other then that I am at a loss.
Click to expand...

NJ still has a bear hunt on private property. You can use bait. There are outfitters that are pretty reasonable. I did it last year. Had some very close opportunities on some juvenile bears, but none that I wanted to shoot. They have an archery, muzzy, and shotgun season. The archery and muzzy is in October which is a good time for bears. Shotgun is December which is not as good but plenty shot each year. PM me if you the contact of the outfitter I used.
 
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