Muzzleloading for bear
 

I got an Over The Counter Either sex bear tag for muzzleloading season. I've never hunted bear in my life, know Zip about them and such. In Colorado, it says we're not allowed to use bait or sticks that smell like food. My #1 option as always is Spot and stalk. Would a call work for bear? I have a dying rabbit call i use for Yotes and was just curious if that would work for bear. I think urine scent is okay but im going to call and make sure first.

Any websites or writes up's on bear hunting that you bear hunters know of? I really could use a couple big hands on this.

Spot and stalk takes a LOT of pre scouting or just dumb luck. Normally the second it seems. Find the food sources and you normally find the bear. A good way is set up high on hills above and around food sources and glass the area for movement. WE go into trees. Also watch for sign in your travels as bear will make routes. In my travels through the forest here, I tend to locate them near water too. It is not all that uncommon to come across them. Look for mast crops... acorns, berries, that kind of thing. If there is some agriculture fields out there, keep them in mind. Here in Wisconsin we bait them. Or run them with hounds.

And when you set up camp in the woods, be careful not to burn bacon in a fry pan over the campfire (grease too). If you do that, you get no breakfast, and then you have to watch up wind for creatures that might have smelt it... ;)

Just slather yourself with bacon grease and go sit in a bush. It's not bait, it's mosquito repellent.

I hunted them on the sucker runs in Canada. Bear tend to move more in the evening you really need to locate a food source as they have a sense of smell like a hound dog and a sense of hearing like a deer but they are a little near sighted. If you can not bait you need to locate a natural food source ahead of the season and I have found that a elevated position works well with them. Only 3 of the 11 I have taken were spot and stalk and two of those were near an obvious food source.

Look for areas that have food sources and lots of fresh scat. These things are a pretty good indication that bears are using the area.

a call will not work on bears ..look for a blueberry patch ,rasberry and wild apple trees .also look for scat ,and a tree with claw marks they love to show other bears how tall they are .also a rubbing tree ,they like to rub they're back ..when the moment comes to shot aim for the shoulder that will nail them .don't go for a head shot too risky ..word of caution they get very NASTY when wounded . try to save the skull i had my taxidermist use the origional skull of the bear i harvested ..looks much better than the plastic one they sometimes use ..below is a mount of a female i shot ...

MD - Unless you are in an area with a large concentration of bears its gonna definately be a hit and miss thing. If I were you I would look for a good size clear cut and a good vantage point to watch it. If you see one feeding you can try to determine which way he is heading or plan a stock.
I haven't taken as many as Lee but the ones I have taken were all taken on known travel routes while I was on stand. Only one bear I shot I actually snuck up on.
And as for killing them, I've found that they aren't to difficult to kill. IMO a whitetail has more tenacity to life than a blackie. The farthest any traveled after being shot was about 50 yds. I've used a 30-06, 300 WM and 45-70. I like the 45-70 the best, especially for short range.

BTW MD - I didn't mean for you to stock them - I meant stalk them. Hey, what can I say, Hukd on fonics wurked for me. Anyway, this year is going to be my second year trying for blackies with the ML. I want to bust one bad with the 50 cal Hawken. I still need to work up a load. But it will be somewhere between 80 and 100 gr of Pyro P and a 300 gr SW or XTP. I may even try the 300 gr Sierra SP .451" bullet. Whatever is the most accurate.
My shot placement I usually try to slip in behind the front shoulder and wreck the lungs. Same as deer.

Perhaps you will find this interesting. Click on the thumbnails for enlargement.

Lee - that's my shot, tight behind the front shoulder about 1/3 up the body. Now this is with blackies in the 200-300 lb class. If i were to get a whack at something bigger and I was using a centerfire, yes I would probably try and break down the shouder because I would still have enough oomph to enter the vitals .
But with the Muzzy, I think I would still go behind the shoulder - especially on a slight quartering away shot unless I was using a very heavy solid lead bullet. I don't think the XTPs or SWs would stand up to a solid shoulder shot and still be able to enter the vitals.
What do you think?