Why do people hunt bears?
08-13-2011, 12:49 PM
#41
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern WI
Posts: 853
With respect to whether or not they ate the meat, most, if not all, states or provinces require you by law not to waste the meat. See http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodcons...ent/239841.pdf
I am thankful for the bear hunters around where I live in N. WI. Without them, we would be plagued with all kinds of bears ripping up our orchards and breaking into sheds. But when numbers are kept down to reasonable levels, such nuisance animals are rare. Also, (black) bears are known around here to prey on deer fawns.
I tried baiting and hunting bears one time. Saw a tiny cub that I did not shoot and brought in a whole troop of nuisance raccoons. Once the season ended, all deer were pushed out. So never again for me, at least not on my property here.
I am thankful for the bear hunters around where I live in N. WI. Without them, we would be plagued with all kinds of bears ripping up our orchards and breaking into sheds. But when numbers are kept down to reasonable levels, such nuisance animals are rare. Also, (black) bears are known around here to prey on deer fawns.
I tried baiting and hunting bears one time. Saw a tiny cub that I did not shoot and brought in a whole troop of nuisance raccoons. Once the season ended, all deer were pushed out. So never again for me, at least not on my property here.
Last edited by MZS; 08-13-2011 at 12:54 PM.
08-14-2011, 05:01 AM
#42
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 2,175
That's what I said. Everybody can hunt the way they want. I was just trying to understand the hard part of stand hunting? I know getting it setup is the hardest part, but those that hire an outfitter don't even do that part. Anyway, not important.
btw.. Many times as i'm sneaking along looking for muley's or elk. I see a bear that doesn't see me. I could have shot it if I had a tag. So, still hunting for bear will work.
btw.. Many times as i'm sneaking along looking for muley's or elk. I see a bear that doesn't see me. I could have shot it if I had a tag. So, still hunting for bear will work.
from the second you decide to look at an area and check it out before,during and after a hunt. the excitement is in the planning.when you find the prime location and climb a tree its no different then when you decide to stalk a ridge or glass a flield and stand in a spot silently looking for game. i think the answers to your questioning are cause you hunt in Colarado. you couldnt march through the areas i hunt bear in. i know guys who get bored quick and just have to keep moving. i call them the fidgety type guys.there all hepped up on coffee and need a cigarette every 15 minutes. not saying its your case.stand hunting isint just morning and late afternoon hunting all the time. some hunters dont have the patience or appreciatte the all day sit on the stand that was a well thought out plan weeks in the making. there is no one style of hunting and we should support each others methods.
08-14-2011, 05:58 AM
#43
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tug Hill NY
Posts: 420
[QUOTE=Muley Hunter;3832543]How did I know the thread would go like this. Very predictable. Even though I stated more than once. I don't give a rats arse how you hunt. How many times do I have to say that?
The title and topic of this thread was ..."Why do people hunt bears?"
Not even your thread to take this up, and it isnt about your expertise. This is a perfect example of why dang few of the hunting and shooting forums arent worth looking at: the individuals who have to turn everything into "I am the expert, I shoot the biggest and baddest, if I dont do it, it sucks". I have friends who live and hunt in Colorado and love the Rockies (and are expert outdoorsmen in the areas) but if they like to come to the northeast forest for the different challenges it presents ( big woods, limited distance, sometimes extremely harsh winter conditions).
The title and topic of this thread was ..."Why do people hunt bears?"
Not even your thread to take this up, and it isnt about your expertise. This is a perfect example of why dang few of the hunting and shooting forums arent worth looking at: the individuals who have to turn everything into "I am the expert, I shoot the biggest and baddest, if I dont do it, it sucks". I have friends who live and hunt in Colorado and love the Rockies (and are expert outdoorsmen in the areas) but if they like to come to the northeast forest for the different challenges it presents ( big woods, limited distance, sometimes extremely harsh winter conditions).
08-14-2011, 07:25 AM
#44
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
[QUOTE=Daveboone;3834409]
As I stated in an earlier post. I was born and brought up in New England (Mass). I hunted all over New England. I was taught to still hunt by my dad, and I find it effective in every state i've hunted.
Most guys think of Colorado as being all open country. That's not really true. The timber that I hunt is just like the east coast. That's probably why I like it. It's hard to give up on your roots. I don't know anybody in Colorado who hunts like me. Most will spot and stalk. I don't even own any binos. My hunting is too close to need them. I don't stalk after spotting game from a distance. Stalking is knowing where the animal is. My hunting is so close that I don't need to stalk. When I spot it. It's close enough to shoot.
Most don't understand still hunting. It's moving very very slow. I take one step, and stop. I look for game. I stay as still as possible. (still hunting). The one more step. That gives me another angle at the terrain. I'm looking for a small part of a deer/elk. A piece of antler behind a tree. An ear etc. It might take me an hour to go 50ft. Think of it as a moving tree stand if you will.
I like snow on the ground, because it's easier to track. Reading tracks is a big part of still hunting. Reading all signs is a big part.
I don't know where the game is, but I could see one any second. That's what makes it exciting. I'm sure being in a tree stand is the same way. Just like putting a stand in a good area. I have to still hunt good areas too. That's where all the scouting pays off.
Because game will bed down during the day. I can still hunt all day. As a matter of fact. Too early, or too late the game will be out of the timber feeding. So, when most hunters are hunting. I'm not. When i'm hunting. Most hunters are back at camp.
What I do has a lot in common with stand hunting. I'm just always moving my stand without being seen, heard, or smelled. We all know that isn't easy.
I guess where I have a problem is bait. It's just hard for me to accept for a hunter. If the goal is to control the game numbers. I can accept it. If the goal is the sport of hunting. I'm not seeing it.
I guess it's easier if I just keep it to myself. I do a lot. You hardly see me in every thread ragging on someone. Sometimes I say something. It never turns out good. Even if others agree with me. They would rather stay out of it. So, all I hear from are the ones offended, and would rather rag on me. So be it. I'm not thinned skinned.
How did I know the thread would go like this. Very predictable. Even though I stated more than once. I don't give a rats arse how you hunt. How many times do I have to say that?
The title and topic of this thread was ..."Why do people hunt bears?"
Not even your thread to take this up, and it isnt about your expertise. This is a perfect example of why dang few of the hunting and shooting forums arent worth looking at: the individuals who have to turn everything into "I am the expert, I shoot the biggest and baddest, if I dont do it, it sucks". I have friends who live and hunt in Colorado and love the Rockies (and are expert outdoorsmen in the areas) but if they like to come to the northeast forest for the different challenges it presents ( big woods, limited distance, sometimes extremely harsh winter conditions).
The title and topic of this thread was ..."Why do people hunt bears?"
Not even your thread to take this up, and it isnt about your expertise. This is a perfect example of why dang few of the hunting and shooting forums arent worth looking at: the individuals who have to turn everything into "I am the expert, I shoot the biggest and baddest, if I dont do it, it sucks". I have friends who live and hunt in Colorado and love the Rockies (and are expert outdoorsmen in the areas) but if they like to come to the northeast forest for the different challenges it presents ( big woods, limited distance, sometimes extremely harsh winter conditions).
Most guys think of Colorado as being all open country. That's not really true. The timber that I hunt is just like the east coast. That's probably why I like it. It's hard to give up on your roots. I don't know anybody in Colorado who hunts like me. Most will spot and stalk. I don't even own any binos. My hunting is too close to need them. I don't stalk after spotting game from a distance. Stalking is knowing where the animal is. My hunting is so close that I don't need to stalk. When I spot it. It's close enough to shoot.
Most don't understand still hunting. It's moving very very slow. I take one step, and stop. I look for game. I stay as still as possible. (still hunting). The one more step. That gives me another angle at the terrain. I'm looking for a small part of a deer/elk. A piece of antler behind a tree. An ear etc. It might take me an hour to go 50ft. Think of it as a moving tree stand if you will.
I like snow on the ground, because it's easier to track. Reading tracks is a big part of still hunting. Reading all signs is a big part.
I don't know where the game is, but I could see one any second. That's what makes it exciting. I'm sure being in a tree stand is the same way. Just like putting a stand in a good area. I have to still hunt good areas too. That's where all the scouting pays off.
Because game will bed down during the day. I can still hunt all day. As a matter of fact. Too early, or too late the game will be out of the timber feeding. So, when most hunters are hunting. I'm not. When i'm hunting. Most hunters are back at camp.
What I do has a lot in common with stand hunting. I'm just always moving my stand without being seen, heard, or smelled. We all know that isn't easy.
I guess where I have a problem is bait. It's just hard for me to accept for a hunter. If the goal is to control the game numbers. I can accept it. If the goal is the sport of hunting. I'm not seeing it.
I guess it's easier if I just keep it to myself. I do a lot. You hardly see me in every thread ragging on someone. Sometimes I say something. It never turns out good. Even if others agree with me. They would rather stay out of it. So, all I hear from are the ones offended, and would rather rag on me. So be it. I'm not thinned skinned.
08-14-2011, 02:16 PM
#45
Typical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 612
It seems like your addressing two different things Muley Hunter. One is why hunt bear? The other is why hunt over bait? I suppose people hunt bear because they want to get a bear. Different strokes for different folks. Different people get different things out of their style of hunting. I've mostly still hunted timber. A couple of years ago I started glassing during the deer hunt. Saw a lot more animals and observed and learned behaviors that I'd not observed before. Once I sat in a tree stand over a bear bait of a friend's (I hauled some more bait up to the site. It was a mile hike up a steep ridge to get it there. He told me to spend the evening). I didn't see a bear, but saw a lot of other wildlife and noticed other things that I wouldn't have if I'd just been passing through. It surprised me that it wasn't boring.
People have answered the question. But knowing why people do what they do and understanding it are different things. Some things are too outside of our own frame of reference to make much sense to us.
People have answered the question. But knowing why people do what they do and understanding it are different things. Some things are too outside of our own frame of reference to make much sense to us.
08-14-2011, 03:12 PM
#46
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
It seems like your addressing two different things Muley Hunter. One is why hunt bear? The other is why hunt over bait? I suppose people hunt bear because they want to get a bear. Different strokes for different folks. Different people get different things out of their style of hunting. I've mostly still hunted timber. A couple of years ago I started glassing during the deer hunt. Saw a lot more animals and observed and learned behaviors that I'd not observed before. Once I sat in a tree stand over a bear bait of a friend's (I hauled some more bait up to the site. It was a mile hike up a steep ridge to get it there. He told me to spend the evening). I didn't see a bear, but saw a lot of other wildlife and noticed other things that I wouldn't have if I'd just been passing through. It surprised me that it wasn't boring.
People have answered the question. But knowing why people do what they do and understanding it are different things. Some things are too outside of our own frame of reference to make much sense to us.
People have answered the question. But knowing why people do what they do and understanding it are different things. Some things are too outside of our own frame of reference to make much sense to us.
So, I didn't go off topic.
02-07-2015, 09:10 PM
#48
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 2
They just like it
I was watching a show on one of the hunting/outdoor channels "Savage Outdoors." From Savage Arms. I like Accutrigger but I don't understand something. Sportsman Channel.
They were in Canada somewhere an there were about five or six of them. Briefly, they had set up barrels in the woods that appeared to have food in them, some kind of a attractant (illegal in my state from what I can read, Georgia.) Anyway, they waited for the bears to come eat and then two women shot some bears with a bow and later another guy with a Savage rifle.
My question. How is that hunting? Am I missing something? First, why are they using attractants? And why do they hunt the bears in the first place? Do they eat them? Does it thin the herd so bears don't starve like deer?
I can eat a deer and thin the population but I just didn't get the bear hunting on this show. It looks pointless and unsporting (if you can have such a thing killing animals.)
I know that sounds like trolling. Sorry. I was genuinely puzzled.
They were in Canada somewhere an there were about five or six of them. Briefly, they had set up barrels in the woods that appeared to have food in them, some kind of a attractant (illegal in my state from what I can read, Georgia.) Anyway, they waited for the bears to come eat and then two women shot some bears with a bow and later another guy with a Savage rifle.
My question. How is that hunting? Am I missing something? First, why are they using attractants? And why do they hunt the bears in the first place? Do they eat them? Does it thin the herd so bears don't starve like deer?
I can eat a deer and thin the population but I just didn't get the bear hunting on this show. It looks pointless and unsporting (if you can have such a thing killing animals.)
I know that sounds like trolling. Sorry. I was genuinely puzzled.
God bless your next reload.
Last edited by CalHunter; 02-08-2015 at 12:54 PM. Reason: Permabanned--anti-hunter
02-07-2015, 09:26 PM
#49
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 2
Those overpopulated bears
Why do they hunt coyotes, why do they hunt prairie dogs, why do they hunt wolves, why do they hunt cougars, why do they hunt lions, why do they hunt leopards? I can go on and on and on.
A bear has no natural predators any more other than other bears. Something has to control the bear population....
A bear has no natural predators any more other than other bears. Something has to control the bear population....
Last edited by CalHunter; 02-08-2015 at 12:54 PM. Reason: Permabanned--anti-hunter
02-08-2015, 05:45 AM
#50
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 9,230
My question. How is that hunting?
There are many different types of hunting that differ depending on the region. For instance in the South, including your state of Georgia, people sit in blinds and shoot deer in man made food plots (which is a form of baiting) and they also hunt deer with dogs. Neither of these methods is used in my native CO but are legal in your GA. So is hunting a deer over a food plot and shooting it from a blind hunting? What about shooting one being run by dogs to a hiding hunter?
Am I missing something?
Yep. See the above for an answer.
First, why are they using attractants?
Bear in the spring want to fatten up after hibernation and in Canada where this was filmed the cover is often very thick. So they use attractants to bring the bear out and to allow a clean shot. Wounded bear in heavy cover are dangerous. Plus in spring hunts only males or barren sows are legal. Baiting allows them to look over the animal and be sure there are no cubs.
Now, why do hunters in the South hunt deer over food plots when there are hundreds of thousands of acres of acorn producing oak trees and thousands upon thousands of square miles of crops to hunt? Why do they send packs of dogs into the thick woods and swamps to run deer to the hunters? Can't they just stalk into the woods and swamps for their game? Answer those questions.
And why do they hunt the bears in the first place?
Because it is legal, it employs a lot of people and it is fun. Why do you hunt deer or rabbits?
Do they eat them?
Yes. Even though the program may not have shown it, bear meat is utilized. I've hunted bear in Canada and every scrap of meat was salvaged. In many areas it is required to be.
Does it thin the herd so bears don't starve like deer?
Man has tipped the balance of nature so just about all game animals need some management. Do you realize that in many areas of Africa they have to aggressively manage the elephant herds because they can no longer migrate like they used to and elephants will destroy ecosystems if not thinned? So, yes they need to mange bear populations. By the way, bear don't form "herds" they tend to be loners for the most part unless there is a big food supply in one area.
I can eat a deer and thin the population but I just didn't get the bear hunting on this show. It looks pointless and unsporting (if you can have such a thing killing animals.)
Probably because you're sitting in GA and trying to judge what they are doing in another country despite the fact you really know nothing about it and have obviously never tried it. Assumption is the mother of all screw ups.
Last edited by flags; 02-08-2015 at 06:10 AM.