bear questions

[Adirondack Hunter]

i made up my mind im gonna bear hunt this season... with my bow. i would assume a 27in draw at 60lbs would be sufficient, if not my browning .30-06 will do it. do any calls work good? where should i look, theres lots of streams and lakes around, would that be a good place to look? baiting is illegal,how about scents, would you happen to know if there illegal as well, and if not which ones work the best. i hunt in the adirondacks in ny(if you couldnt tell by my name)

[billythekidrock]

Usually if bait is illegal, then scents are illegal as well. Check with F&G/DNR. Your bow set up will work fine. Use a solid broadhead and only a broadside shot. I use predator calls all the time and they do work. You will need to find the prefered food choice for the area and time of year. Good luck.

[Wimuzzleman]

your bow will work fine just use a very very sharp broadhead. Bear hair dulls broadheads like crazy. As for calls I like the Carlton's Calls bear call and the knight& hale bear cub distress.
http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=apc&product=Bear&exact_matc h=exact

[Elkcrazy8]

Check your in box, I sent you a PM. The adirondacks are my old stomping grounds. The info should help quite a bit.

[MinnFinn]

Aside from mating and of course sows raising their cubs, of all other things black bears relate to,95% of it is food. That is meat they've killed, road kill, grubs, all sorts of grasses, fruits/berries, nuts, etc.

They are generally, although be no means exclusively, most active at night. Since they have to put on the body mass for the whole winter hibernation in just around 6 months, there are times they're foraging and feeding nearly round the clock.

So, if you hope to get a chance at one and by law you can't put out food to draw them in during the day, you'll need to find the signs of where they are feeding on the types of vegatation that's in abundance during the season (e.g.areas with wild blueberries, gooseberriesor high bush cranberries)and make you plans to hunt those higher probability feeding areas. At least that is what I would do.

[game4lunch]

If you can't bait, then maybe you can hunt near homes or campgrounds where trash is prevelent. You aren't baiting . . . but you are hunting "over bait." Got to stay legal though. Hunt area, regs, etc.
You may even find an area or community that has a bear problem and wants it taken care of.

[StillHunter90]

They can be called in with either a rabbit in distress call or fawn in distress call, etc. They are definately oppertunistsandwill take an easy meal any time for sure.Find the location you would want to start at and start calling. I usuallySTARTat natural food sources like where ever the berries are even if its not a good year for them. If its relatively warm hit food sources near water. Start at medium a pitchandwork up to a louder pitch. Call for 30min - 1hr and if nothingmove about a 1/4 mile away and repeat.Continue this process making a giant circleending close to where you started.Rememberthat they are kinda lazy and just mozy around looking for foodand will lose interest in a call fast if you dont call steadily. I dont think its worth it to them sometimesto travel a huge distance for a little meal like a rabbitbut on the other hand some will come in so fast that it will definately test your nerves. This is why moving in the huge circle is so effective. When I call I prefer to have 2 people because of how close they can get to you without you hearing themdue to there padded feet. I have had one experience where it wastoo close forcomfort. Butif you do call one in you will definately become an addict. Again be careful with it and remember they are now hunting you thinking your something your not. But thats what gives you the rush. Invest in a scent lok suit if you can swing it, watch the wind and Good luck with it.