bear hunting for this dummy

[Caeden4]

(continued from original post in "243?").  to recap, i have never hunted deer/bear or any other big game since i dont know anyone that does and I hadnt wanted to learn through trial and error on my own. after that mindset cost me an opportunity at what i consider to be a real nice buck last year, i was considering trying to fill that tag this fall. thats how the conversation started over whether 243 would suffice since its what i had to work with. But now, we've got an increasing bear population in my immediate area here in the corner of 4G /4H/4R and my wife is increasingly unhappy at how frequently they are very close to the house. last night one tried to break into the shed next to the driveway and, long story short, i've now got a no-price-limit and argument-free chance to get another gun with the understanding that i am to try and tag a local bear this season. only issue is, i still dont know the first thing about hunting bear.. aside from "stay home," any/all advice is appreciated (as to the gun and the hunt). and hey if anyone is nearby and wants to scout/sit with me and mentor, please do! lol   

[corydd7]

7mm08 or .270 will do the job for a bear. Look for mountain laurel, bears like that stuff. Swamps as well. I had luck using a fawn call drawing one out of the swamp about five years ago on stateland.

[mowin]

Honestly, I wouldn't focus on the bear, but don't tell your wife that.  Your most likely to see a bear when your sitting waiting for a deer, and your most likely going to see lots of deer while sitting on stand waiting for a bear, so concentrate on the deer, and I'd yogi stops by, great. 

Food sources, bedding areas, pinch points.  All things to focus on, and as always, pay attention to the wind. 

[Trial153]

Use the gun you have, bear aren’t tough at all. pound for pound a whitetail is harder to kill. You 243 will be fine 

[Caeden4]

47 minutes ago, mowin said:

Honestly, I wouldn't focus on the bear, but don't tell your wife that.  Your most likely to see a bear when your sitting waiting for a deer, and your most likely going to see lots of deer while sitting on stand waiting for a bear, so concentrate on the deer, and I'd yogi stops by, great. 

Food sources, bedding areas, pinch points.  All things to focus on, and as always, pay attention to the wind. 

i work from home and that usually means i end up working out back down in the woods. last fall i had one walk up the hill in front of me -  couldnt have been more than 15 yards from where i was sitting. season was open too, but all i had was a laptop lol its very likely that happens again this fall given how often we are seeing them already.  if not, i know where they spend their time on public down the road.   

my concern is the shot if/when i do get on one. obviously the anatomy is not exactly the same, but is shot placement/angle comparable to deer?   deer dont have the same amount of fat and hair as a bear, which -at least for me- makes its hard to tell what exactly is where beneath it all on a bear.  is it better to aim high in that case?  

 

[mowin]

A bears shoulder is dense.  Definitely want to avoid it.  Broadside with facing shoulder forward or slightly quartering away is your best bet.  

Just because you had one walk up to you last yr, doesn't mean one will this yr, but ya never know.  I'd still focus on the deer, they do eat a lot of the same stuff.  Not as many bears in my area, and I've been hunting the same properties for almost 40 yrs, and I've yet to see a bear in the woods.  But I've only started getting pics of them about 3 years ago, and have seen 3 different bear crossing the road a few weeks ago. 

[Robhuntandfish]

15 minutes ago, Caeden4 said:

i work from home and that usually means i end up working out back down in the woods. last fall i had one walk up the hill in front of me -  couldnt have been more than 15 yards from where i was sitting. season was open too, but all i had was a laptop lol its very likely that happens again this fall given how often we are seeing them already.  if not, i know where they spend their time on public down the road.   

my concern is the shot if/when i do get on one. obviously the anatomy is not exactly the same, but is shot placement/angle comparable to deer?   deer dont have the same amount of fat and hair as a bear, which -at least for me- makes its hard to tell what exactly is where beneath it all on a bear.  is it better to aim high in that case?  

 

i was always told for bear to "aim middle of middle" 

[Caeden4]

10 minutes ago, mowin said:

A bears shoulder is dense.  Definitely want to avoid it.  Broadside with facing shoulder forward or slightly quartering away is your best bet.  

Just because you had one walk up to you last yr, doesn't mean one will this yr, but ya never know.  I'd still focus on the deer, they do eat a lot of the same stuff.  Not as many bears in my area, and I've been hunting the same properties for almost 40 yrs, and I've yet to see a bear in the woods.  But I've only started getting pics of them about 3 years ago, and have seen 3 different bear crossing the road a few weeks ago. 

so basically avoid quartering to, hope for quartering away?  broadside still middle of the middle but if anything better to be low and back a bit than too high or forward and hit the shoulder?

oh of course not, but with the number of hours i spend out there and the number of bears that seem to be in the area lately, i just think theres a decent chance it could happen.  i hadnt seen any in all my time in the woods here until that one last fall. i saw some sign but not much and only that one bear. not even anything on the cameras. then all of a sudden in the same woods i saw two different ones this spring while turkey hunting and now this one showing up here at least once every other week on camera. my closest neighbors said theyve been seeing a bunch around too this summer. im guessing theyre coming up from just south of here where the population is dense, but who knows. 

[Buckmaster7600]

I’m not married and never will be but I can’t get over the “permission” part but anyways…

 

find nuts and you’ll find bears, you’ll also see deer. Set up a few blinds/stands  around the edges of the nuts and hunt the wind. On a rainy/windy day don’t be afraid to go for a walk. If there’s bears around they aren’t hard to find and kill, I think most struggle with finding them more than the seeing and killing part.

[lucky118]

Hope you have alot of people to help get it out. They suuuucckk to drag. 

[Caeden4]

1 hour ago, lucky118 said:

Hope you have alot of people to help get it out. They suuuucckk to drag. 

i do not, which is its own issue.

[mowin]

3 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i was always told for bear to "aim middle of middle" 

Most outfitters say that for the main reason of getting a passthrough to aid in blood trailing. I shot both of mine a couple inches forward of middle. Both died within earshot, and had passthroughs with good blood trails. 

[mowin]

3 minutes ago, Caeden4 said:

i do not, which is its own issue.

Ice fishing tote sled.  

[Caeden4]

49 minutes ago, mowin said:

Ice fishing tote sled.  

if on the property i could use the UTV, but depending on size the struggle would then be getting it up and into the UTV lol 

[Buckmaster7600]

2 minutes ago, Caeden4 said:

if on the property i could use the UTV, but depending on size the struggle would then be getting it up and into the UTV lol 

Put it in a jet sled and drag with utv. You aren’t getting a bear in a utv by yourself.