Ive never been bear hunting before, but im going for the first time this spring. I will be hunting over bait and am planning on going with the bow. My question is if you have been bow hunting black bears, do you bring along some type of firearm as a backup? I have a call into the outfitter to see if its legal, still waiting to hear, but just trying to hear what others have done.

i dont think youll need the firearm, but its just me.

here in wyoming in bow season we cant even carry em anyway.

i've never bear hunted but i can't imagine needing a firearm as back up if you are hunting from a tree stand. if you are stalking or hunting from the ground, that might be a different story. important thing is good shot placement and allow plenty of time before you run out and track him.

Is it legal? Well to my knowledge, there are no bow-only spring bear seasons. Spring bear is an any weapon hunt. It's fine if you chose to hunt with a bow for the extra challenge, but there will be other hunters in the woods with rifles at the same time since there is only one spring bear season. If you want to bring a gun with you, that's fine.

If you are talking about hunting bear during the fall archery season however, I'm not completely sure. I think with most states you can carry a pistol during archery season for self defence, but you can't use it to finish a kill after initially shooting it with a bow.

I guess my first question would be...where will you be hunting? Differentregulations for different places.In Canada for example, no handguns are allowed period.

i really wanna try to hunt with the bow , ive never did it before lol


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My guess is going to be: NO hand guns allowed. Honestly, I have a little problem with this as I also would feel a little more confident with a backup. Get the biggest "pepper spray" canister that money can buy!

I would not see any reason to carry one on your person. If you get a shot at a bear, it will most likely run off. However, if you get a marginal hit on a bear, you may want to grab a rifle back at camp (if legal) and have a second person carry it while you are tracking.

As stated above, it is illegal to possess a hand gun in Canada. It is also illegal to take pepper spray into Canada. It is however legal to take bear maize. I was checked last year and since the can said bear on it it was legal. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but thats how the border patrol explained it to me.

I wouldn't worry about taking a gun for a backup. My experience has been that black bears are more interested in running away than at you. You just need to watch out for sows w/ cubs as they are protective. I am assuming your hunting w/ an outfitter and he should be able to fill you in on any safety requirements. The one I hunted w/ would always take a slug gun along when tracking. He indicated that in 20+ years of guiding he had never used it.

I heard back from a friend who has hunted at the lodge a number of times. He said it is illegal to bring a handgun and there is no reason to anyhow. This hunt being my first actual bear hunt ( ive seen them while deer hunting before) i guess i was just alittle nervous. Thank you all for your input.