i hunt wnc on public lands no dogs lots of walking and i see a supriseing number of bears if i stay away from the dog hunters if nothing else its a good view of the mountians i saw one last year that was well over 300lbs but had my son with me and we only had a 22 rifle. i hunt east buncombe county e-mail at hunting [email protected] and i will give directions to some of the lands we see them on