BEAR BARREL BAITING
09-24-2005, 07:12 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: ONTARIO
Posts: 128
BEAR BARREL BAITING
PLEASE HELP. I WILL NEED TO START HUNTING BEAR AT THE HUNT CAMP SINCE THEY STARTED BREAKING IN INTO OUR HUNT CAMP. OVER 16 BREAK IN'S SINCE SPRING. HOW SHOULD I BAIT WITH THE BARREL? I KNOW YOU CHAIN IT DOWN AND PLACE FOOD INSIDE ON A REGULAR BASIS. DO YOU HAVE THE BARREL UPRIGHT OR ON IT'S SIDE? DO YOU CUT BOTH ENDS OUT OR IS ONLY ONE SIDE OPEN? DO I CHAIN IT DOWN CLOSE TO MY STAND OR AS FAR AS CONFIDENT SHOT? DO I HUNT MORNING AND EVENING OR MID DAY? AT FIRST THEY JUST SMASHED WINDOWS, THEN THE FRONT DOORS, AND ON THE TRAILERS THEY'VE RIPPED HOLES RIGHT THROUGH THE WALL. IN ONE TRAILER IT BIT INTO A CAN OF EXPANDING FOAM WHICH EXPLODED THROUGHOUT THE TRAILER, WHAT A MESS. I COULD FEED THE BEAR T-BONE STEAKS AND IT WOULD COME OUT CHEAPER THAN THE REPAIRS. I WISH THEY WOULD BRING BACK THE ONTARIO SPRING BEAR HUNT. NEAR OUR PROPERTY, WE ARE RECEIVING BEARS RELOCATED FROM OTHER AREAS. THAT IS WHY THEY ARE SO SMART, AND NOT A CONCERN BEFORE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, PLEASE ADVISE.
09-24-2005, 09:18 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Bradford, Ontario
Posts: 2,205
RE: BEAR BARREL BAITING
Big Tuna,
I understand your dilemma, although we haven't been broke into yet in our camp ( WMU 49 near Dunchurch ). What you need to do is cut a hole in the the side of the barrel about 12"x12" max and also chain or cable barrel to a tree. The bears will bat it around to get at the bait. Some of the best bait is a 5 gallon pail of lard that you buy from grocery wholesalers for about 40 bucks each. They keep coming back and licking it like a popsicle. Also my buddy used sacks of corn he bought from a CO-OP this year and he says the bears loved that too. But you also need some stink bait like meat scraps also. I baited this year and unfortunately only had a couple days to hunt and had the biggest friggen sow I have ever seen come in with her cub so I let her walk. They did raid our game pole a couple years ago and messed up a couple deer while we were sleeping. You better start immediately if you want to hunt them this fall as its getting cooler and they will be tougher to to get in to a bait. As for distance to bait from your stand, I was about 15 yds but I bowhunted them so whatever works for you. If rifle hunting back off a bit and it will increase your odds. They are quite smart and cagey buggers. The good thing is you can pick a good spot and they come to you
I understand your dilemma, although we haven't been broke into yet in our camp ( WMU 49 near Dunchurch ). What you need to do is cut a hole in the the side of the barrel about 12"x12" max and also chain or cable barrel to a tree. The bears will bat it around to get at the bait. Some of the best bait is a 5 gallon pail of lard that you buy from grocery wholesalers for about 40 bucks each. They keep coming back and licking it like a popsicle. Also my buddy used sacks of corn he bought from a CO-OP this year and he says the bears loved that too. But you also need some stink bait like meat scraps also. I baited this year and unfortunately only had a couple days to hunt and had the biggest friggen sow I have ever seen come in with her cub so I let her walk. They did raid our game pole a couple years ago and messed up a couple deer while we were sleeping. You better start immediately if you want to hunt them this fall as its getting cooler and they will be tougher to to get in to a bait. As for distance to bait from your stand, I was about 15 yds but I bowhunted them so whatever works for you. If rifle hunting back off a bit and it will increase your odds. They are quite smart and cagey buggers. The good thing is you can pick a good spot and they come to you
09-25-2005, 01:39 AM
#3
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 6,921
RE: BEAR BARREL BAITING
First off the greenpeacer's and politicians who think they are doing good need to be given a reality check. With the recent rash of attacks in the west, you'd think they get the picture that hunter's play an important role in management. Eliminating seasons, relocating problems bears and tougher laws obviously aren't the solution!
Chain or steel aircraft cable, make sure the lead from the treeis not to long (6-10' is plenty). Bears are powerful so even a small bear can move a full barrel with little effort. It doesn't matter how you leave as when they find it will be different any ways. We cut 6-8" hole in the top, just enough so they can get the paw or nose in to get to the bait. As far as distance of placement, depends on the terrain but I like it further than closer. One reason is they often cirle the barrel before coming in &the other is angle of shot that maybe presented. Obviously it should be placed in your comfort level/ability and give you good lanes when a shot is presented.
As far as bait goes. Grease is a great attraction for bears, we pour fryer grease in a circle around the barrel. This does 2 things; creates smell and leaves a scent trail for any bear or other critter that may cross over it's path for others to come on in. We get the grease for nothing by going to fast food joints, chinese restraunts, etc and asking if they wouldn't mind putting their change out fryer oil in a barrel(we provide)or aside for us in the plastic jugs. Haven't had any troubles finding sources this way. You can also do a bacon, honey or black licorice burn at the bait site if legal. Heat a soup or coffee can with a sterno until it burns and smolders. Just be sure to have it out of the wind and reach of animals. If at all dry never leave it!!! Like Terry mentioned, you could also buy Lard. As far as what we put in the barrel we use oatsthen mix in fryer grease and mollasses to coat and make a sticky substance. We have also used breads, donunts, cookie's, etc that we get the toss aways from bakery's, robins, tims, etc. Have even used cheap dog food, fryer grease and icing sugar mixed together. Meat scraps for us have never been great unless they are kept reasonably fresh. If you can get your hands on some beavers then use them as well. Bears go crazy over them. We cut them up and mix in the barrel, hang them in the trees out of reach or wire them intoa barrel. We like to make them work for the buck tooth critters and they lay down a matt trying to get to them,
As far as when to hunt them, personally evening just because they feed/moveat night and we bowhunt. Bumping bears off food during darkness isn't easy onmy pumper with a string and stick in hand..hell I have a tough enough time when I climb down! Which leads me to another point be very attentive when approaching your bait, pay particular attention to the tree tops for any cubs that may have been sent up by mama. I like to make noise when approaching a bait that I can't see well at a distance, alarming younger bearsand sow with puff balls are the onesI ammost concerned with!!
Best of luck
Chain or steel aircraft cable, make sure the lead from the treeis not to long (6-10' is plenty). Bears are powerful so even a small bear can move a full barrel with little effort. It doesn't matter how you leave as when they find it will be different any ways. We cut 6-8" hole in the top, just enough so they can get the paw or nose in to get to the bait. As far as distance of placement, depends on the terrain but I like it further than closer. One reason is they often cirle the barrel before coming in &the other is angle of shot that maybe presented. Obviously it should be placed in your comfort level/ability and give you good lanes when a shot is presented.
As far as bait goes. Grease is a great attraction for bears, we pour fryer grease in a circle around the barrel. This does 2 things; creates smell and leaves a scent trail for any bear or other critter that may cross over it's path for others to come on in. We get the grease for nothing by going to fast food joints, chinese restraunts, etc and asking if they wouldn't mind putting their change out fryer oil in a barrel(we provide)or aside for us in the plastic jugs. Haven't had any troubles finding sources this way. You can also do a bacon, honey or black licorice burn at the bait site if legal. Heat a soup or coffee can with a sterno until it burns and smolders. Just be sure to have it out of the wind and reach of animals. If at all dry never leave it!!! Like Terry mentioned, you could also buy Lard. As far as what we put in the barrel we use oatsthen mix in fryer grease and mollasses to coat and make a sticky substance. We have also used breads, donunts, cookie's, etc that we get the toss aways from bakery's, robins, tims, etc. Have even used cheap dog food, fryer grease and icing sugar mixed together. Meat scraps for us have never been great unless they are kept reasonably fresh. If you can get your hands on some beavers then use them as well. Bears go crazy over them. We cut them up and mix in the barrel, hang them in the trees out of reach or wire them intoa barrel. We like to make them work for the buck tooth critters and they lay down a matt trying to get to them,
As far as when to hunt them, personally evening just because they feed/moveat night and we bowhunt. Bumping bears off food during darkness isn't easy onmy pumper with a string and stick in hand..hell I have a tough enough time when I climb down! Which leads me to another point be very attentive when approaching your bait, pay particular attention to the tree tops for any cubs that may have been sent up by mama. I like to make noise when approaching a bait that I can't see well at a distance, alarming younger bearsand sow with puff balls are the onesI ammost concerned with!!
Best of luck
09-25-2005, 10:44 AM
#4
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location:
Posts: 480
RE: BEAR BARREL BAITING
The easiest bait station to set up is a simple suspended bucket. It won't take much effort on your part, and if the bears are already feeding in your area it won't take them too long to find it.
Take some steel cable and affix it to two trees like a clothes line. These two trees should be about six to eight feet apart, and your cable should be about six feet off the ground.
In the middle of this cable you need to attach a dropper hook. This doesn't have to be rocket science. A good dropper hook can be made a heavy "S" hook attached to the cable on one end, and then opened up to about an 80 degree angle on the other end.
As far as the actual bucket goes I would recommend a five gallon pail with a lid. I would take a few minutes to drill some air holes in the side of the bucket about two to three inches down from the top. This will help get the scent in the air, to attract bears to the bait.
When considering bait for your station you need to keep two things in mind, smells good and tastes good. A good mixture for bait is a combination of out dated pastries, molasses, and some peanut butter. If you leave the molasses and the peanut butter in the sun before mixing your bait you will find that it becomes much thinner in consistency, and it will allow you to really stir things up pretty easily. I personally try not to break the donuts when mixing bait, but I don't think that it makes a difference.
After you fill your bucket half full of bait and hang it up on the hook, it would be a good idea to add some more scent to the area. Draw an imaginary six foot circle around your baitbucket and saturate the soil there with a few gallons of well used fryer grease. When a bear eats at your bucket he will get the grease on his feet and leave an easy to follow scent trail to and from the bait which other bears will follow. You should also do a honey burn to get new bears into the area. Clear a small patch of leaf litter down to the damp soil and set up a small propane tank and a burner. Then place a coffee can full of honey on top of the burner and heat it until all of the honey burns off and saturates the area with sweet honey smoke.
After all of this you have to consider your stand or blind location. Just try to keep the wind blowing toward you from the bait, and try to remain as camouflaged as possible.
Good luck!
Take some steel cable and affix it to two trees like a clothes line. These two trees should be about six to eight feet apart, and your cable should be about six feet off the ground.
In the middle of this cable you need to attach a dropper hook. This doesn't have to be rocket science. A good dropper hook can be made a heavy "S" hook attached to the cable on one end, and then opened up to about an 80 degree angle on the other end.
As far as the actual bucket goes I would recommend a five gallon pail with a lid. I would take a few minutes to drill some air holes in the side of the bucket about two to three inches down from the top. This will help get the scent in the air, to attract bears to the bait.
When considering bait for your station you need to keep two things in mind, smells good and tastes good. A good mixture for bait is a combination of out dated pastries, molasses, and some peanut butter. If you leave the molasses and the peanut butter in the sun before mixing your bait you will find that it becomes much thinner in consistency, and it will allow you to really stir things up pretty easily. I personally try not to break the donuts when mixing bait, but I don't think that it makes a difference.
After you fill your bucket half full of bait and hang it up on the hook, it would be a good idea to add some more scent to the area. Draw an imaginary six foot circle around your baitbucket and saturate the soil there with a few gallons of well used fryer grease. When a bear eats at your bucket he will get the grease on his feet and leave an easy to follow scent trail to and from the bait which other bears will follow. You should also do a honey burn to get new bears into the area. Clear a small patch of leaf litter down to the damp soil and set up a small propane tank and a burner. Then place a coffee can full of honey on top of the burner and heat it until all of the honey burns off and saturates the area with sweet honey smoke.
After all of this you have to consider your stand or blind location. Just try to keep the wind blowing toward you from the bait, and try to remain as camouflaged as possible.
Good luck!
