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Old 02-21-2002 | 02:27 PM
  #9  
RNZ
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 66
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From: Remsen NY USA
Default RE: Calling for black bear.

Well as far as the dying rabbit calls go, two or three guys would take 15 min. turns calling. You have to blow loudly and pretty continuously. Five 3 second blows then take a big breath and then repeat that pattern for 15 minutes until the next guy relieved you. Beyond 15 minutes and he says you'll get pretty light headed. If you're alone wait 15 minutes, then start up again for another 15 minutes, and repeat that pattern. In NH this worked Spring - Fall. My friend and his brother used this technique to call in an Adirondack black bear in October during the regular bear season near Piseco lake. So it is possible to call in a NYS bear.
No he did not publish a paper, he was only a student/assistant at the time working towards his degree, but he was out there with the prof. all the time. He would crawl into dens in the winter, worked with tranquilized animals, and tracked/observed them at other times of the year which gives him tons of up close and personal experience and knowledge about bear behavior besides all of the scientific knowledge gained in class. He was also a bear hunter before even entering college.
As far as the fawn bleats go, he said that these worked best in the spring when the fawns were just born. He said the bears came a runnin' to this call, unlike the rabbit calls which they generally approached more cautiously. He said that fawn calls could work in the fall if it is a year with low nut/berry production. Bears are opportunists, and fawns make an easy meal. If the bears are hungry, meaning easier preferred foods such as beech nuts and acorns are not plentiful, they will respond to animal calls. I didn't ask him what pattern he used for the fawn bleats because at that time I figured it was a spring only tactic.
However, since then I talked with another Adk bear hunter who shot a deer in Oct, and the next day he went back to that same spot and found a bear eating the gut pile. This tells me that bears still have a taste for deer even in the fall, meaning a fawn call could work. So the next time I see my friend I'll ask for more specifics on the fawn bleat.
I hope this was specific enough for you.

Oh yeah, even if the fawn bleats aren't the trick for fall hunting, he did mention that using that call in the spring is a great way to scout, sight, and count the bears in the area you intend to hunt in the fall, making it a useful call nontheless. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
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