OK, I have a question for you all. I got a 55 gallon barrel, I bought it for $20 off Craigslist. How exactly do I modify it into a Bear bait container?

55 gallons is the maximum size in Idaho, by the way.

I know you need to have a hole for the bear to put its paw in, I also know that you need to have a way to secure it to a tree.

i’m still trying to figure out how to do everything for the bait barrel. If someone could give me some advice, I’d appreciate it.

A friend of mine who’s a bear hunter here, he said he uses a mixture of dog food and honey for bait. I’m going to try it when the season opens.

Jared

well the name of the game is you want to be able to keep bait AT bait site and not allow a bear to come in grab some and carry off

when cutting hole in drum, be careful to not leave jagged edges, as no reason to injure the bears that eat out of it with sharp edges
I would watch some hunting videos to see designs of other baited stand sites, as for securing barrel, I would think wrapping some good sized chains around drum and chaining to tree strong enough to hold it would work!
as for what bait to use, , always remember a few things, 1 bears find things by smell
so foods with scent that lasts and is strong would be at top of my list,
but also keep in mind that after the season ALL bait has to be removed and that means even residue ion many states!
more liquid scents/baits , can mean having to dig dirt up to remove evidence of it at the end!

NEXT< bears are little kids IMO< they like JUNK food, sweets, fats, corn

guides I know, that used to bait always used things like bacon grease, fat, fish, donuts and candy's, even old cooking oils/ry oils!

but again, where they baited they could use and wasn't an issue for them after the season on removal as rules maybe different !

another thing many baiters due, is place logs over top of bait, this way bears have to DIG to get to it, and this allows time for them to judge bears(which is also why many use 55 gallon drums, they use the drum as a TOOL to measure the size of the bear in comparison to the drum, but when doing this, keep in mind father away from drum, larger bear will look to it, and NOT be as BIG as drum at all!, think how some folks take pic trues of fish or game they kill making game look larger than it really is, by holding out father from the person HAHA)

so, like stated, what you carry in will need to be carried out after season
this can get tricky and messy pending bait used!
but scent is top of list to me, then flavor of things, sweeter the better IMO, and smaller the pieces, the longer a bear has to stay at bait to eat it, big pieces they can grab and walk off with, as even bears know MOST bait sites are traps, some will be dumb for easy meals, but many will be smarter than you think about it
and again, females with cubs many times will show up and leave CUBS behind, (due to many times MALE bears are at sites and or just out of fear bait site is a trap) so, try and learn how to ID females, all the more so if there NOT allowed in your zone/unit/area!
no one wants to see a cub die due to shooting its Mom I gather(but it also happens and can be 100% legal too, its just something I suggest before pulling the trigger to look closer females due have things you can id MOST times, if you have time to look)

Thank you. I’ll get on YouTube and take a look. As for sows with cubs, NOT legal to take in my state.

I will also look up gender IDs. That way I don’t make a mistake.

cutting a small hole in lid and bottom and then running a chain thru that way and around a tree would be MY suggestion on HOW to secure it

and then cutting a smaller hole in one side to add bait would be my suggestion too
just think about size of hole, don;t want a cub to get stuck inside, yet also don't want too large a bear can pull everything out too easy!

also make sure the barrel didn;t used to hold any chemicals or harmful things, you can poison animals that eat out of it, a well, as the odors can scare away possible animals too!
food grade drums are out there if you look!

Well, everything is all set. All that’s left now is to wait for the season to open on the 30th. I got all my supplies, my ammo, the bait barrel is all ready, the rifle is sighted in, and I got my tag and baiting permit.

Now I just have to wait.

well part of hunting is waiting, , so your already hunting bears LOL

remember that a successful hunt is, just a hunt you had a good time, the kill isn't the main part of hunting in the modern world,(were Long past the days for 99% of hunters, that HAVE to hunt to survive, hunting now is a luxury being honest)
and in the REAL world, only about small % of hunters kill there big game animal., the die hards maybe don't get this,a s they tend to be more involved and a such kill more often, but the average hunter , its a small percentage of them that tag out each yr!
here in PA< its less than 10% of those that buy a bear tag that fill it!

which again, isn't really needed to have a successful hunt or hunting season!
sure a kill is nice and all, but for many its just about being out in natures TRYING and enjoying the time afield,!
hunting is all about how YOU enjoy things, and you should enjoy it, , not enjoying it would defeat the point of it IMO!

just have fun and enjoy it all, and again, best of luck to you!

Exactly! Thats why its called Hunting and not Shooting. Where is the fun if it was easy and there was a kill every time?

Hunting is like cake, Sometimes there is icing, like when you get something, and sometimes there is no icing when you get skunked. Either way, there is DELICIOUS cake.

The cake is the fun parts of hunting, like being in nature, observing wildlife, etc. The icing on the cake is there if you get something.

Weird analogy, I know.

Hunting is the PROCESS of TRYING to get an animal. Its not about actually getting the animal, thats just an added bonus if it happens. Hunting is about getting away from civilization and being around nature, learning about nature, and working with nature on occasion.

Truth be told, I dont know if I will get a bear this season. Whether I do or do not, either way, its okay because I will have fun.

By the way, I did research on gender identification for black bears. I think I got it down, but I will continue to research. Even though its legal, I dont want to take a female without cubs. Females with cubs are protected, by the way.

3 days till the first day of the hunt.

Jared

Well, day after tomorrow is the beginning of the hunt. As you can see from all my posting every day, I’m excited. Tomorrow’s going to be my busy day, I need to get a lot of food prepared for my trip tomorrow. I’m gonna stay out most of the day. After that, I need to clean out my car and get it ready for the drive to the spot.

it’s almost here!

I’ll probably post day after tomorrow to let you all know I am heading out. I probably won’t post again unless I either get a bear or I come home after the day is over.

Jared

So it begins......

best of luck to you