I don't think that black bears are hard to kill, but hunting with a bow is a little trickier than hunting with the rifle.

1. I would recommend leaving your mechanical broadheads at home. I don't know if they are actually bad or not, but there is enough argument on the subject to make me take notice, especially when traditional broadheads work perfectly fine!

2. Don't get too high in the tree. You are going to want to double lung this bear to take him out quickly. If you are at too steep an angle you have a good chance of having the arrow go out of the bottom of the bear before it hits the off side lung.

3. Use enough bow. I would say that anything over 50 pounds for draw weight will be fine for black bear.

4. As far as distance, I would recommend going no further than 40 yards with the bow, and only that far if you are a 40 yard marksman. Basically, shoot within your limitations. Seeing a big bear in the woods, brings an entirely different kind of fever than a buck does. So, be ready for a little shakiness.

5. If for some reason, your bear doesn't take off like a bat out of hell, please do yourself a favor and put another stick in him. If for some reason you shot too low, or too far back you will want to send another stick through his lungs to make sure he's finished.

6. Study bear anatomy. This will help you make a good shot. Some good advice when hunting bear with the bow is to use the quartering away shot whenever possible. This will put the arrow through the near lung, and maybe through the heart and the off lung too, then it sends the broadhead up into the throat and head area doing more damage. This is your BEST angle for bear.