jnicholes

Thanks. I appreciate it.

mrbb

and since I am NOT sure if your asking for real here or finding some sarcasm in my posts for you??
but I will be nice and add HONEST info trying to help you

but since your planning a NEW rifle here, I would suggest getting one with a LOW Power scope, due to most hunting over bait is close and NO need for high magnification optic's!
and then sighting in at the ranges your baits will be set up and PRACTICE shooting at them, as it seems like your maybe NOT a very experienced hunter or possibly shooter.
and like all things in life, skills take time and practice to get better and good at!

but having a plan on how to hunt, where to hunt, and how to get game , and the after an animal down is a BIG part, of things many can forget, and get caught off guard when a LARGE animal is down
Black bears can weight up to close to 800 lbs, so its something MOST guys cannot handle alone, and even with help can be hard pending where it dies!
even when you quarter them, its a LOT of trips to haul one out(if even legal to quarter them, many places its NOT)
so having and KNOWING you have help, is a big thing to make sure you have, hunting over BAIT , you have VERY high odds of being successful

I would also pay a LOT of attention to your set up's, on how you can get IN and OUT< so not to be detected when baiting or hunting!

you also being NEW, might do you some good to go to some places where there ARE black bears you can look at to learn HOW to judge sizes and sexes of them
most places prefer you DON"T shoot sows , all the more so if they have cubs, and sows with cubs in Aug, if you shoot MOM< odds are the cubs will NOT make it thru the winter on there own, too small and don;t know what to do!

Cubs do NOT always be NEAR mothers , many time females bears(sows) will leave them behind or tree them else where, and they will come into bait alone!
so being able to ID a female, over a male , can be valuable information and a SKILL one can try to learn before hunting time, if they wish to make the effort!
I see bears almost every day now, and have a TON of bear experience, and I still say JUDGING a bear is one of the hardest animal to judge in the wild,
so, any help you can get will only make you a better hunter if, you so choose to learn things!

jnicholes

just so you know, I was not being sarcastic whatsoever. I was really asking for advice. No offense taken. I see what you're saying, though. I've got until September to form my plan, so plenty of time to figure things out. Also, I will not be hunting alone. I have somebody else coming with me.

This Saturday I will be going out looking at the spot I was recommended. I'll see if I can post some videos. You guys could give me some good Advice then. The advice you have given me so far is already good, just so you know.

one last thing before I hit the sack, I am more than willing to learn how to hunt bear. I hunted deer before, and Duck and goose. Used to be a big turkey hunter when I lived up in North Idaho.

I am willing to learn,

Jared

jnicholes

Hey everyone, I've made a decision, and I think it's a good decision. I don't think I'll be able to do a bear hunt this fall because I need a lot more time to learn the ropes. I pushed it back until spring of next year. After everything you guys said, I realized there is still a lot of stuff I need to learn. If I'm going to enjoy this hunt and pull it off, I need to learn all the necessities. I don't think I'll be able to learn it all by September.

I think I'll just do my deer hunt and my duck and goose hunts this year in October. I already know how to hunt deer and duck and goose.

Thank you all for teaching me that I still have a lot to learn.

Jared

mrbb

well I think there is time to do if you wanted to enough! but everyone can make this call themselves and no one know's your experiences better than you do!

BUT< also don;t forget that there is also other ways to hunt bears than over bait, that can help relieve some of the baiting issue's and up keep and like steps to hunting that way

Spot and stalk is another method used pretty often out west(ID< MT, WY, CO and other like places )
this way you can have more time to maybe watch and observe them to look for cubs, and or just get yourself more experience watching and learning how bears act in the wild
after all hunting doesn;t always mean a KILL, yes a kill is the goal for most
but the experiences and learning side of each and every outing is what many enjoy the most! and nothing beats boots on the ground, time in the field to LEARN anything!

so, before I would maybe tap out, I would consider just spending the season trying, , who know's maybe a BIG male bear will show itself and you can fill the tag, if not, again, you will just be gaining experience and learning bear hunting!
your call here, but if I had plans to be a bear hunter, I wouldn;t be sitting out any season if I could help it!, we all got to start some where!

jnicholes

Thank you. You have a good point. I think I will try to go out this season and gain experience. I wont aim to get a bear then.

The only thing I am worried about is that if I do get a bear, I won't be able to lift it, and load it into my vehicle after dressing it, even with help. You said it yourself, those things can weigh up to 800 pounds. Perhaps I can process it in the field? I'll have to check my regulations on that first.

Don't want it to spoil either. That would be very bad.

I'm actually going out today to look at the spot I was recommended. I'll post a video and pictures for you guys.

Jared

mrbb

well like anything, yes, a bear can be BIG and heavy and hard to move, load, care for after one is down, this is why , as I said, making sure your either up to the task, or know you have help iff needed

but like hunting in general, WHERE you make a shot, is always up to you, if your FAR away from vehicle or help, you can always let things walk and just watch and learn, and MAYBE if closer to things, then decide what to do !

the average Black bear killed , most likely is NO where near 800 lbs, most are closer to about 200 lbs too , being honest here, LBS of kills, get inflated I think doe to most folks that see a bear ALWAYS THINK its way larger than it really is LOL
this is one of the main reasons there so hard to field judge accurate , add in that angles make them look larger or smaller in second s too, just by changing the angle your looking at them

learning to be GOOD at field judging bears , is a VERY hard skill to earn for most all folks, as they just DON"T have the chance to really be about bears often and all the more so KNOW what one weights when they are!,

so don;t feel bad if you find it hard as well, , and its also why I said, sometimes , places like zoo's and or wildlife re-hab places are great tools for learning, as most there have KNOWN weights and sizes!

I wouldn't NOT hunt because felt I didn;t know everything, , we all start out as rookies, and only way to gain experience is by doing!

I would be hunting to Learn things,, I am a 100% self taught hunter here, came from a NON hunting family, and hunted all over and been very successful, I blame it on me having desire to learn and be good at it, and wa willing to learn any way I could, even if it meant making mistakes, as some times them mistakes were great teaching lessons, and , made me HAVE to over come some harder things, I would learn to NOT repeat LOL(like a 12 hour deer drag due to being so far in , a very remote area)

and just hunting, there is always the chance of scoring,/ walking into one,
this doesn';t mean you HAVE TO SHOOT IT!
I would base my decision on that call based on IF I can get it out!
and if not, call it a learning experience and watch and learn all I could of the animals doings!
afterall again, hunting is hunting and its a never ending game of learning, there is NO one that know's it all, so the best time to start learning is,a s soon as one can IMO!

jnicholes

you know what? You're right. And truth be told, I taught myself some hunting also. These days, I have help, and people to learn from, but when I first started out, I was teaching Myself by reading the regulations. My very first hunting trip I got a shot off at a grouse.

I missed, but thats when I started to like hunting.

And to think it all started when I saw a live turkey at the fair, and thought to myself, " I wonder what it's like to hunt these."

But, that's beside the point. It takes time to learn. It took me a good two years to learn about hunting deer on my own and finally get my first buck.

I'm glad to have friends like you guys helping me out. I really appreciate it. I'm actually heading Into the mountains later today to scout out a spot for bear. I'll post pictures.

Jared

CalHunter

It sounds like you're on the right track and have received some invaluable advice above. Enjoy the hunts and tell us how well they worked out.

jnicholes

Well, I couldn't scout out the spots because my car was having problems. I probably won't be able to scout for at least a month, because I have a surgery on my nose in two days.