Black bear

rockin · 12-06-2011, 07:40 PM

Has anyone ever hunted Black Bear? What type of gun did you use? Did you need a special license? We have had several Black Bears on our property and I’m thinking it would be great if someone wanted to come and hunt them! Of course I’m not asking anyone here to do that, just wondered what you needed to do so.

hummingbird · 12-06-2011, 08:03 PM

I've never hunted one but they are a bother to us. They have been trying to get into our trash but we have it in a bear proof building on our property until it's time for the garbage truck. They are a nuisance when they get a taste for garbage.

Grandpa · 12-06-2011, 09:36 PM

Each state Dept of Wildlife will have it's own regs. Idaho has bear hunting. All units are on a draw system. CO's will determine the number of bear needing removal to maintain a healthy herd and issue that many permits on a draw basis. Some of the northern units have an extra tag available as well because of overpopulation. Non resident elk and deer hunters are allowed to kill bear and cougar if necessary but they have to use their game tag (elk or deer) if they do kill one.

In Idaho, they have special archery hunts, black powder hunts, as well as rifle hunts. With Archery and black powder, you had better know what you are doing and have a lot of experience hunting lesser animals. With a rifle, any of the medium to large guns would be okay. .270, .280 rem or .284 win, .308 win or 30-06 on up through the magnums. Accuracy is more important than size with a bear. A person who knew what he was doing could probably do fine with a .243 win or 6mm Rem but it would have to be a well placed shot with a penetrating bullet. Plenty of bear have been killed with the old .30-30.

Also in Idaho, bear baiting and hounds require more mandatory training to get an additional permit for that usage. I know nothing more about what that entails. The biggest issue here (and I have stressed this in other threads) is target identification. We are getting overloaded with grizz and they are still on the endangered list. You have to be able to tell the difference before you pull that trigger. (This is why I was so shocked about the Oregon hunter mistaking a human for a bear. We have to be certain not only that it is a bear but the species of the bear before we dare shoot)

Pathfinder1 · 12-07-2011, 09:52 AM

Hi...

Most firearms suitable for deer are also used for black bear. My favorite deer rifle was a Savage lever action .308.

In NY State it was typical that deer and bear could be taken with one big game license.

We cannot hunt them with dogs, traps, bait piles, etc., like you can in Maine, for example.

ppine · 12-07-2011, 12:03 PM

I liked Grandpa's post.

I hunted bears on one trip for several days. It was a depredation hunt in the Coast Range of CA and the liscense cost $1. We got keys to the fire roads and saw some great country in winter. I brought my cow dog Snuffy that was very good with predators. I was carrying a Marlin in .444 lever gun. My partner had a large caliber wildcat pistol, I think it was a .357Herret.

Snuffy put us on fresh tracks in the snow that went up a steep canyon. The dog was doing a low growl with her hackles up the whole time. As we got closer to the bear, the brush got thicker and thicker until I was moving it out of the way with my rifle barrel. I asked my partner "Do want to go up in there with that bear at 15 yards?". "Not really", he replied. We turned around. There was no doubt the bear was there, but were going to imperil our selves by persuing him.

The next day Snuffy found fresh tracks of a sow and cubs which we did not follow. We had a couple of bait stations near our camp, and did not sleep well at night. We never saw a bear, but were close them several times. It was my first and last bear hunt.

hippieP · 12-07-2011, 01:18 PM

I am thankful that we do not have any large animals in our area, we need to travel to visit them. There is a place close that does a drive through of being able to feed wild animals but nothing like a bear. I bet if I even seen a bear close up I would pass out from shock and then be lunch for him.

Susie · 12-07-2011, 04:20 PM

Where I live people can hunt for bear. They need a special hunting tag to do so. We occasionally see bear near where we live, but they avoid people and haven't been a problem.

Lamebeaver · 12-07-2011, 04:50 PM

You're almost certainly going to need a license, and there's usually a season. You can't just shoot them whenever you want.

Grandpa · 12-07-2011, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susie

Where I live people can hunt for bear. They need a special hunting tag to do so. We occasionally see bear near where we live, but they avoid people and haven't been a problem.

This seems to be the key to getting along with bears. Where hunting is allowed to maintain the population, the bears shy away from human interaction. Those states or areas that do not allow bear hunting have the biggest problems. It was the same with wolves. When they were not protected, they didn't come out and bother us even though we knew they were there. But slap an endangered label on them and they are creating havoc everywhere they go.

Pathfinder · 12-07-2011, 05:16 PM

I understand how everyone feels, we have plenty of black bears that gather around the dump and they do make such a mess. I believe in some years we can hunt the black bears in Central Ontario Canada, but not every year. For a long time they were protected, but then the bears started getting like the beavers. The beavers had lost their natural enemy were seriously interbreading in many areas. We had 'nutty' beavers near us. They would just chop down a tree and not make any use of it. The beavers were deforesting around a number of lakes. So now the beavers are trapped every year, but only a certain number.