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Black Bear Size?

RMcDonald7

RMcDonald7

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Messages
385
Location
WV
I've hunted this property since I was 8 and i'm now 40... Until last year i've never seen a bear on the property. Thoughts on weight of this bear?
my guess would be 150ish? I may be way off lol. Not much experience with bears. Located in WV. On the tree in the back is a
 

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I think your probably about right. make a good full body mount.
 
I'd say he's a shooter, but not a trophy. The bigger they get, the smaller the ears look.

Next time you check that camera, put out some 6' birch logs or sticks, and put some anisette or clove or vanilla extract on a tree at about chest level. Cut a blaze, or mark the tree, at about the same height. You can compare the body against the birch logs, and see how tall he his when he checks out your extract on the tree. Birch logs show up better on night cameras than other species due to the white bark.
 
In WV you can get tags over the counter correct? I'd get a bear tag if I were you. Better to have one and not see a bear then kicking yourself for not having one and the bear coming by.
I just hit 8 preference points here in Wisconsin and applied for a tag for next year, fingers crossed I pull a tag.
 
We can buy over the counter. I'm just hesitant about killing near bait.
 
RMcDonald7 said:
We can buy over the counter. I'm just hesitant about killing near bait.
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Are you talking bait for deer? I don't know the Regs for your state but I would definitely make sure you are following them.

Where I hunt in Wisconsin it is illegal to bait deer, but I will be hunting over bait for bear, I can't get on board running them with dogs. I know its tradition for a lot of guys and I don't have a problem with it, but just doesn't seem fair to me.
 
I wont be using dogs, however thats done around me for sure. Bait and deer are ok here, but bait and bear arent.
I feel like I need to get this bear out of the area tho to make the deer feel more welcome.. I guess.
I'll dig into the regulations for WV and see what i can find
 
Bear meat is excellent, like a richer and more flavorful pork. The exception is a bear that's been eating a bunch of trash or fish. A bear shot in a blueberry patch down the hill from a bunch of oaks and hazelnuts... it doesn't get much better than that. Doublecheck your regs, call a game warden, and see what your options are. Remember that a bear's vitals are in a different place that a deer's.
 
What regulations say:

IT IS ILLEGAL TO: • hunt bears with the use of bait (includes, but not limited to, corn and other grains, animal carcasses or animal remains, grease, sugars in any form, scent attractants and other edible enticements, and an area is considered baited for ten days after all bait has been removed). • bait or feed bears at any time

not limited to... how do you read this? I have corn out for deer. however the bear keeps coming back in....
 
RMcDonald7 said:
What regulations say:

IT IS ILLEGAL TO: • hunt bears with the use of bait (includes, but not limited to, corn and other grains, animal carcasses or animal remains, grease, sugars in any form, scent attractants and other edible enticements, and an area is considered baited for ten days after all bait has been removed). • bait or feed bears at any time

not limited to... how do you read this? I have corn out for deer. however the bear keeps coming back in....
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“IT IS ILLEGAL TO: *bait or feed bears at any time”. IMO once you see that the bear keeps coming back for corn you are for all intents and purposes “feeding the bear”. Doesn’t matter why you put it out, all the matters is what is happening and that you are aware of it.
 
I'd ask the game warden but I'd expect it's going to be something like MN. "Hunting over bait" includes the bait pile itself, and trails leading to and from the bait pile. Also, I'd expect it would be irrelevant that you set corn out for deer; bait is bait is bait. Every year or so a couple of MN 'hunters' will put bird feeders (full of corn) under their ladder stands and try to convince a game warden that it's a bird feeder, not a deer feeder; it's not their problem the deer keep eating bird food.

Tough break about the scent attractants bit. I would have suggested doing a honey burn in the a few hundred yards away but that sounds like a no-go as well. Call the game warden and see what his advice is.
 
Just spoke with my DNR and he guided me to remove the feeder for a week or so to see if the bear moves on. It wont, i'm pretty sure its the same as last year. I asked him if I wanted to harvest this bear what can I do. He explained to me that the feeder needed to be removed for 10 days prior to season. soooo. we shall see
 
RMcDonald7 said:
Just spoke with my DNR and he guided me to remove the feeder for a week or so to see if the bear moves on. It wont, i'm pretty sure its the same as last year. I asked him if I wanted to harvest this bear what can I do. He explained to me that the feeder needed to be removed for 10 days prior to season. soooo. we shall see
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Just be careful, because many of the regulations say “10 days after all the bait is gone” vice 10 days after the feeder is removed. So all the kernels would have to be gone and then the 10 day period would start. So you might actually have to remove it several weeks before the season for it to be legal.
 
Sow and cubs, not shooters.

So, you might be able to haze the bears away from your stand, if you're worried about them. Soda bottle full of ammonia, slathered in peanut butter. When I lived on the North Shore people would put these in their trash cans to teach the bears not to raid garbage cans. Anecdotally, it worked about half the time.

But, bear and deer share the woods, they can share a bait pile. Are you still getting deer on cam?
 
Iron_llama said:
Sow and cubs, not shooters.

So, you might be able to haze the bears away from your stand, if you're worried about them. Soda bottle full of ammonia, slathered in peanut butter. When I lived on the North Shore people would put these in their trash cans to teach the bears not to raid garbage cans. Anecdotally, it worked about half the time.

But, bear and deer share the woods, they can share a bait pile. Are you still getting deer on cam?
Click to expand...

Not a single deer yet. I’ve run corn for 2 weeks, and not 1 deer. Just bear and coons


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