Bear calling?

W

WNYstalker

Member
OK folks, here goes.

I have the opportunity to hunt bear during the early season this year for three days in the Adirondaks. I have hunted bear before, but always in snow, and in very large areas of land....mostly hike until you cut a fresh track and go from there with your Topo maps and a good set of boots.

September in NY is not likely to have a lot of snow on the ground, and I have no way of scouting before the hunt.

Any suggestions on tactics? calling?

I wish I knew more about the land and population, but I just don't have the info. Any help you might be able to afford would be welcome.

Thanks,

WNYS
 
wnys>As far as calling goes,I would be sure to stay at least an hour on each stand.I don't know what kind of calls your going to use.I like a course sounding call.I use hand calls a lot and if you can try to keep the racket going pretty continuously that won't hurt you.I've noticed that when you see a bear and quit calling a lot of times he will stop where he is until you start calling again.You might be able to use that to manuever him into a shooting lane for you.I also try to give him something to zero in on.I use fishing line to hang a predator supreme from a limb.That dances around pretty good.

Also if you can figure out in your area what their eating,Berries and whatever other grub their munching on.You can maybe position yourself in the middle of the grocery store where they will hear you when you start calling.Also have you talked to the game & fish person in the area you plan on hunting.A lot of times they are pretty helpful in pointing you in a good general direction in where to get started.

I'm no expert by any means,just trying to help you with some of the things that have worked for me.There are other much more knowledgable hunters on here that hunt bears with calls and hopefully some of them will jump in here and help you out.Just be ready.If your on the ground and call one in and he comes into 30 or 40 yards from you,I can assure you your adrenaline will kick in like you've never felt before /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.Good luck on your hunt and be sure to post some pictures if everything works out for you and you nail one. take care,daveyboy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 
I have hunted bear a long time. I have seen videos of folks calling in bear. But that has always been during the spring mating season. Not saying it can't be done in the fall as well.

I would look for an area that had some water, slough, marsh or bog and was near to a good natural food source. In the fall, berries and acorns are top on the list.

Talk to as many locals as possible. Farmers and forestry workers are especially good because of the time they spend outdoors.

Good luck on the hunt.
 
You can call blind or do a spot and stalk depending on the terrain.

Calling blind you are basically setting up in the areas you are finding fresh sign. When doing a rapid "on the fly" scouting listen for the sounds of bears working berry patches. On some of big area you can see the brush shake and then settle as the bear strips the downed food. If you can circle down wind and set up in an area that has some visibility you may be able to pull the bear from the berries. There are situations where there are more than one bear in the area. The territory a bear will defend shrinks when there is an ample supply of food. Small bears may rush in to steal the "meat" before the big boy ambles over.

The type of call can be a deer in distress. Fawns should be fairly large so going for a deeper voice of a young doe may not be a bad idea. Rabbit in distress also will work.

I normally start off with a softer call that would be a deer equivalent of "Mom" "where are you". After 5 minutes of calling through a little more emotion into it. If the bear is close you don't blast them into the next county. By the 1/2 hour mark I am in the panic mode and then kick it into a fight and death throng. The fight and slow death would be like a young bear trying to kill its first deer and not doing a very good job of it. Extend it out for 20 minutes or more in good bear areas. A big bear will think it can walk in an bluff the young bear off the kill. After you stop calling I normally wait 15 minutes just to see who may amble in.

The other technique I have used is call while walking. I walk at a slow pace and while scouting out a new area I use a slightly distressed fawn call. Any sound you make while walking would be what a bear would expect to hear. I only do this when I have 25 or more yards of visibility. Always look behind you because you are walking into the wind and the bear will circle down wind.

In Oregon it is unlawful to kill a sow with young cubs and calling in a bear you my call in a sow. Be careful
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'm really looking forward to the hunt. Even if I don't so much as see a bear, the break from work and other responsibilities will be a welcome respite. If I should bring one home, the pics will be here post haste.

Again, thank you all for the insight.

WNYS
 


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