Muley Hunter

I don't know how they act on bait. It seems with bait they aren't bothered by humans being there. I've seen in videos of bears climbing the tree the hunter is in, and then going back to the bait.


I know without bait like in my state if they catch a wiff of a human they take off.

Mickey Finn

Hmmm, might be your cologne.

ATB

bsums

You need to find a place to hunt, public or private and than check the laws. Can you bait or are you going to have to stalk, sit water holes, etc. Is your father, mother, older sibling etc taking you and how knowledgable are they? Do you have proper clothing? Bears have a great sense of smell and a whiff of your scent and their gone. You probably won't ever see them if they smell you. Last year I got an old black bear in Arizona over bait. From around 200 yards but he took his time coming down. Somewhere between an hour to an hour 45 minutes from when we first saw him till I could get a shot. He was on the opposite mountain and he came right over the top, he'd walk 20 yards stop, sniff the air and continue down. When he first got to the bait he ran to it, grabbed one piece and ran back up half the mountain before doing the same routine back down again were he finally was comfortable enough to stay at the bait which was about 20 minutes from dark. I shot him perfectly and he ran about 20 yards, flopped on his back than got back up and started walking up the mountain. I shot him again in the gut before he disappeared into the brush. We didn't got after him as it was dark by then and didn't hear a "death groan". The next morning we found him 100 yards up the mountain stone dead. But bears are tough! A bad shot that doesn't hit them in the heart or lungs they will go for miles before stopping and often won't die. Bears tend to be most active at dusk/after dark and I and many other people don't even bother hunting mornings. If your able to bait your going to need to pre bait at least a week before your hunting and able to see if any big bears are going to the baits. If your only able to hunt weekends its going to be much tougher. I don't know the bear hunting season in Maryland but if you can get a week off or something you'd have good chances. Than for actually hunting them your best off with like a 375. Just google search how to field dress a bear and Im assuming your going to want to get it turned into a rug or what not and you'll need to find a taxidermist. I also don't know if you can take females or males but in many places you can't take females or just not females with cubs. Good luck and make sure to do your research.

Muley Hunter

I have a beard.

Mickey Finn

Oh, it doesn't show up in your avatar picture. lol

It's a little different back east I think. Maryland is not known for wilderness areas, and the places he will be hunting will have most likely had numerous complaints for bear damage. So, these will be bears which are accustomed to human presence, and moving around in populated areas. Ones that have had bad experiences associated with human presence will most likely take off as you said. But at the time he will be hunting their stomachs will be making most of the decisions for them. That's the reason they climb up stands and peer at the hunters.

Some day soon, I'd like to do a spot and stalk bear hunt out west. You guys are very lucky with what you have.

ATB

Muley Hunter

I was clean shaved in my avatar pic.

Mickey Finn

..........

Oldtimr

If you are 14 years old, you should be asking the adult who will be hunting with you these questions. There is more to bear hunting than shooting a bear. Once te bear is killed, the real work begins and if you have not made arrangements for help, do not go bear hunting, you aren't hunting rabbits.