A Dominant Black Bear – P3

Here in Ontario, Canada, we have both a Spring Hunt and a Fall Hunt for black bears. I started with a Spring Hunt with an Outfitter in 1988. It was about a 3 hour drive from home to the northeast of our Province of Ontario, and I was scheduled to hunt for four days and stayed at Algonguin Lodge. From there were multiple forest roads and trails that took me into vast rough and ready wilderness areas where my guide/outfitter, Norm Easto, had some 85 well hidden bear-bait set-ups.

Norm had a very positive reputation that attracted most of his clients from the USA, and some Europeans but few Canadians. I became one of his first Canadian clients and returned annually for 6 years and eight hunts. My first bear was on my second year, a spring hunt in May, 1989 in which I killed a very good bear using an 1895 Marlin in .45-70 with handloads. I’ve written lots about that experience, but I got hooked on spring bear hunts. I looked forward to them as usually temperatures were warming up after a typically long and cold winter for our region in North America. Plus bears were out and about looking for food sources or just enjoying the freshness of May weather in contrast to having been huddled in their cramped quarters of a den over the winter months. So there was no lack of bears – females with cubs as well as males – out and about as patches of green grasses of various species were sprouting, as well as carrion from dead and frozen fauna that was beginning to scent the atmosphere.

Then bears are also notoriously curious and quickly scent the airwaves for anything different or that might satiate their palates.

Lucky for me! I loved springtime! Getting out of the house and office, and other routines lifted my own spirit and gave a fresh sense of purpose. How I loved May hunts! But I also did a couple of fall hunts with Norm if I didn’t score in the spring, which meant a couple of bear hunts – spring and fall – for two of the six years, giving a total of 8 bear hunt experiences under Norm’s guidance.

Then it became time to launch out on my own in the spring of 1995. I’ve previously explained where I started and why in the Haliburton Highlands about an hour’s drive during light traffic, and about 15 – 20 minutes more with vacationers arriving at their cottages on various lakes. Today, with traffic having about doubled since 1995, It’s rare to make that trip in an hour, but the fall travel time is better than the spring and summer, especially after Labour Day – which is the current situation. And that is not to say that the flow of traffic is abruptly decreased after Labour Day because cottagers gradually work at closing up their homes away from home – depending on if they’re winterized cottages. But by Oct – Nov there is a significant drop in traffic volume, which I greatly appreciate.

So now I prefer the Fall Hunts for these reasons: 1) No bugs or mosquitoes. 2) Less traffic congestion on major routes. 3) Bears are ravenous to put on weight for denning. 4) No critical concern over females with cubs, as either are legal. Not that I’d shoot either, but if charged by a female, I’d have no qualms over shooting her. 5) The fall season brings coolness and colour to the forest. Though daylight hours are shorter, that means that bears are also aware that their time for hibernation is fast approaching, so they tend to show up earlier as the sun is setting at 5:30- 6 pm rather than at 9 pm. That means less time in a tree stand or blind. 6) The fall season is a full 3 months from Sept 1 to Nov 30 that allows more time for a casual hunt (relaxed hunt) versus the spring hunt of 1.5 months from May 1 to June 15.

Which brings us to my first seen Dominant Black Bear encounter:

It has been described in various previous blogs but not all significant details in one piece. So this will be an attempt to do that very thing.

The season was getting late in October with the hardwoods having lost most of their colourful maple leaves, exposing my blind 100 yards from the favorite bear bait site. The ground blind was situated near the top of the ridge with a drop-off of about 30 feet to the bait below. This was my “traditional site” for over a decade, the same location as previously described as where I had more encounters with dominant bruins than any others having already hunted bears to the northeast of our province with the late Norm Easto as guuide/outfitter for 8 hunts over six previous years. And I never hunted the same location twice.

Then, my own developement of a bear-bait setup in the Haliburton Highlands mostly involved what I’ll call “my traditional site”as I’d also developed another site east of that one, across a major highway, on a sideroad 3 km to the east. For that one I had the assistance of a friend and at times partner, Ken, who was a full-time CO. So his partnership was dependant on his work schedule. But he mostly did his hunting on the 2nd bear-bait site 3kms to the east of my favorite site.

< Ken delivering bait to my site on private property several years later, which through his contacts was made possible. While he too did some hunting on this property, he never connected on a bear here. But he did on a neighbouring property 1 mile away – and shot a “monster” of 400 lbs.

Back to the main theme: Ken was hunting site 2, 3 klm east of me at my “favorite site”. I had as yet an unseen dominant bruin hitting the bait set-up after hours or when I wasn’t in the blind. Ken asked to join me when able. It was getting late in the season, daylight was shorter as the sun was setting much earlier. Also temps near the finish of legal hunting were dropping near the freezing point, so the pressure was on for a new strategy.

< The yet unseen bruin was always lurking nearby and hitting the bait 100 yards downhill from directly in front of this scene, but never in daylight if I was in the blind. And there were no other bears showing up at the bait site during hunting hours, which was a sure sign that the bruin that was hitting it, was dominant. I mostly was hunting that bear alone, and was quite certain that he was sneaking up the ridge to my right where there was ample cover from conifers, and where I couldn’t see him. The coverage for the blind and directly out front was largely hardwood maples that had lost most of their leaves and that exposed the blind with me there to the wary bruin. Though very quiet in climbing up through the softwoods, when he came in behind of where I was seated, I could smell him.

I shared all this with my friend, Ken, and though he was hunting the alternate site 3 kms east of me when able, he asked to sit with me (when free from work) in the blind to get in on the drama there. I, of course, was happy for his presence and potential assistance.

The first afternoon and early evening with Ken seated close to my left side (just left of the plastic chair in the pic above), we were whispering back and forth over strategy with me pointing where I was quite certain that this smart and controlling bruin was quietly climbing the hill to my right and then behind me to see if I was there. The bush was so thick that he couldn’t be seen even at a few feet away – but I did smell him.

As we were still talking in whispers and sign language, suddenly Ken looked directly at me with wide eyes, and then with his left hand reached across his body, and pointing over his right shoulder (next to me), and turning his eyes in the same direction mouthed “bear!” without so much as a whisper! Without body movement or sound, I slowly turned my head to the left and glanced in that direction. . . .

It took but a milli-second for that bear to turn and crash out of there for maybe 25 yards, and then dead silence until darkness fell upon us!

“Where’s that bear?” was the unspoken and present reality that shrouded our very existence! But mustering our bravest demeanor, we gathered our belongings, turned on our lights and tiptoed cautiously outta there!

End of story? Nada!

I don’t exactly recall, but within a day, or two at the most, I was back there. . . . alone! Hence the pic above. I’ve recently retold it! I fully expected that dominant bear to rehearse his antics, but I hoped this time it would be in daylight.

I stood, backed away from my seat, rested the Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT against the outdoor remnant green carpet and took the pic. Then a single step to return to my seat and that bear gave his performance again! He’d been all along just behind my seat – within inches – and I never knew it! I became habituated to smelling him, but never realized how dangerous that situation could become in an instant!

I knew he was commanding the area as not another creature had been near that bait for weeks until the hardwoods had lost their leaves. . . . Yet he still came as long as I fed him! That is without doubt why he didn’t attack me – I was the grocery man.

Another time and another location – I was delivering bear groceries, and where I shot my last bear – trophy quality but not dominant, but could have become one in a few more years.

<7 ft from heel to top of head.

More next time: P4 – to the finale of the first seen dominant black bear!

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

About BEAR Hunting – P1

* During the next four months (May, June, July and August) I’ll be writing 2x monthly rather than 4x, due to an increase in other activities such as: outdoor and indoor work on our property, vacation and increased involvement with some family members. Plus, I want and need to get back to handloading and range activities which basically have been shut down over the winter and early spring. Also, I’ve started baiting for bear again that will continue to June 15 – the end of the spring bear hunt. September 1st will be the startup of the fall hunt that ends November 30. And God willing, I’ll start writing 4x monthly again.

“Ballistic Realities” will begin as a series once the current “ABOUT BEAR HUNTING” series is done.

Black bear hunting has become more popular in the 21 st century over a broader North American area for a number of reasons: 1) easier access to their ranges; 2) increase in black bear population; 3) bears showing up in new areas; 4) nuisance bears on streets and lawns of recent suburban developments that were formerly bear habitats – as big and small communities have expanded exponentially with dramatic population growth; 5) black bear hunting is second only to deer hunting in hunter involvement; 6) it can be done as a solo hunt; 7) it’s much cheaper than an elk, caribou, moose or brown bear hunt, 7) it has an element of danger – which is real, especially in remote wildernesses. 1000 miles/1600 kms from home on a bull moose hunt, and a bear tag in my wallet. Lots of big bear “pies” scattered around including one about ten yards from the camera. Bears are only hunted incidentally in this area in conjunction with a moose or deer hunt, so they live a long time and grow big.

This is an article involving some specifics in black bear hunting, not based on generalizations and hearsay, but my personal experiences over a period of three and a-half decades in the Province of Ontario. Since my first bear hunt, involving an outfitter in May of 1989, I’ve only missed 2 years without a hunt for a black bear, making a total of 33 years, plus another 5 years where I did both a spring and a fall hunt = 38 bear hunts. Some involved a few days and others a few weeks, and still a few lasted for the season which extended to 3 months in the fall from Sept 1st to Nov 30 th. And the fall season was only shortened recently to November 30 from December 15. Also, when I got started in 1989, the spring season got underway in mid-April, not the first of May. No, I didn’t take 38 bears, as my intent was selective for particular bears. I also wounded a couple that were lost and passed on others that I could have shot.

The longer I hunted bears, the more I became interested in them, their habitats, behavior and personalities. In short, a lot of my hunting became a study of them and fascination with them.

There is a type of person that hangs out on Internet hunting forums, who believes himself God’s gift to others in knowledge of firearms, shooting and hunting. He lives in a game-rich area and basically can walk out his back door and shoot game. No doubt he has knowedge, but doubtful that it is as extensive as claimed. In a word, I’m very skeptical of someone of that disposition making claims that bears are easy to kill, making them seem like killing pests or varmints with a firearm suited to that activity. And there are several Internet inhabitants who make such rediculous claims with a know-it-all attitude, and demean others whom they consider “not in their league”.

I’m not one of them! I’ve learned (the hard way) that bears are very intelligent and mostly know where I am before I know where they are. They also quickly become aware of any situation that spells danger. Dominant bruins live long lives because of that, and perform their activities after darkness arrives – they become nocturnal and will not be seen during daylight hours in an area of human habitation. The exception is if easy food is available in a district where hunting is not permitted – they get to know that and do become “pests” and are potentially dangerous. Property owners in non-hunting areas may treat the yearlings and juveniles as “pets”, thinking there’re cute and cuddly until they grow up and begin to take over the property – I’ve had several requests to eliminate them!

One came from a law officer who was a trainer in handgun use. His wife wanted an outsized black bruin eliminated from their property that was aggressive and destroying their bird feeders! He was recovering from a serious heart problem so didn’t feel ready to deal with an urgent problem. He walked me through their property in an agricultural area that had heavy and thick alders from which the bear was approaching the bird feeders hanging from trees within 30 yards of the house. That bear had also killed a local cow on an adjacent property. From descriptions, that bear would easily have gone 500 lbs! After settling on where I’d set up an ambush to kill the bear, that would have been within 25 yards from me, the wife disagreed and insisted it be more in the open and closer to the house. I then backed out because of my experience with bears in baiting them, and she really knew nothing more than wanting that bear gone! And, it was obvious in discussing the matter with her law officer husband, that she was calling the shots! I mention it only to say that most people, regardless of status, don’t know how to deal with problem bears.

A by-times partner through contacts gained access to a private farm property, no longer in use as such, and the owner – into heavy machinery operations – wanted the bears killed that had become a problem, especially with small grandchildren around. So, with my partner, the cousin (who was the contact person) of the owner took us on a tour of the property of several hundred acres. It was parceled out into several pastures separated by full-grown trees where fences had at times past divided them. There was also lots of brush and thorn bushes in some pastures while others were still decent for grass growning that was rarely cut but loaned to outsiders for cattle and/or horses. In addition there were four local horses, including a black stallion – that later, on the last night of our first season, after our hunt was finished, got killed by the dominant bear, and partially eaten. Altogether, I hunted that property off and on from 2008 to 2015, with the 2011 season at my old-favorite Crown Land site.

The 4 horses (3 under the tree). The black stallion (to the left of the tree) got chased by the dominant bruin down over the escarpment to the east (top of photo), and killed it. When found the next morning it was partly consumed and I got a call from the cousin – who had arranged this hunt on the property of the landowner. The previous evening was the last few hours of legal hunting for the season. Though I continued to hunt this property for the next several years, and shot three bears (two of my own, that were good bears) that dominant bruin was never around and had moved on.

My last bear taken on that private property was in October, 2015, and my last bear, period. It’s 7 feet from heels to top of head. And he was very clever, always knowing when I was hunting him and where. Except when I left early to go 200 yds to my van and didn’t return for 1/2 hour. Then I caught him on the bait and shot him with my 9.3 x 62.

I don’t hunt in built-up areas, but mostly on Crown Land that’s somewhat remote wilderness. But also on privately owned farm land that’s been abandoned as such, and has lots of brush and woodland where bears may hangout and feel safe. Such bears are still wild, but not extremely so, and mature ones will know your every move, and trust no one. You will not see them walking about, but hidden in the darkest and most remote parts. The only way they can be tempted to come very cautiously and sneakily to the border of where open fields and forest meets is by baits they can’t resist (hopefully). Usually, those are younger bears and/or females with cubs (which we don’t want or can lawfully shoot). I’ve only shot one dry female of 165 lbs by mistake, but she was lawful.

The point is that the bears hunters want are not easy to find or kill. In some more open areas of the West, often they can be spotted or stalked from a distance and shots may be taken at rather long distances with a suitable scoped-rifle. That would be a rare occasion here in the northeastern part of North America with our thick forests and small farms, relatively speaking. Usually, here in Eastern Canada shots on bear are less than 100 yds, and glimpses are fleeting. Usually, they hear or smell you long before you’d get a chance to pull the trigger on one. And that one may be lawful but a juvenile!

Hence, baiting bear, to get an opportunity on a bear wanted or dreamed of, is by far the best way to be successful. And baiting successfully takes a lot of knowledge, skill, hard work and patience! Working with hounds takes a special skill set, and bear-baiting is no less demanding if done right by the hunter who is not using an outfitter. If someone is hiring an outfitter they may think it’s easy, like buying meat at a supermarket, while knowing practically nothing about all that’s involved in agracultural practices.

Last year, on October 15, I saw for the first time the bear I’d been hunting over bait on Crown Land for two years! Knowing he was the dominant bear of the region, I was armed with my .375 H&H. It turned out that he was bigger than anticipated at ~+500 lbs, and I let him approach me to ~20 yards before I turned and walked away. He was too big for me to deal with alone in that wilderness, and I’d already shot “trophies” early on in my career as a bear hunter. As a fall bear ready for denning, he was magnificant! The best bear I’d ever seen that close in my lifetime! Alas, I didn’t get a pic of him as it all happened very quickly in tight quarters, and I put my crosshairs on him for protection with only the intent to shoot if he charged me – which he didn’t. At 20 yards I turned and walked away.

Was my .375 H&H too much gun? Is a .375 H&H “too much gun” to deal with a 400 to 500 lb lion? I certainly don’t think so! Plus, I was sure that bruin had killed and eaten some big game in that area because he could not have survived only on the desserts I was feeding him! And there was not a single living creature left in the neighbourhood. . . even to bears! And that location has traditionally been a “hot spot” for both deer and moose, as well as lesser fauna.

Will I hunt him again? Not specifically. But if I moved my bait location a mile or two away, he could still show up as that’s a mere overnight stroll for him. Even 5 miles away, he could easily smell it. He’s no threat to me as I’ve been his care giver, and he knows my scent intimately . . . but if he got really hungry and pissed-off, what then if we had an encounter? So I’m not yet sure about this spring hunt, I may let the current site cool off for the spring so he’ll have to go elsewhere. Then, I’ll commence baiting again come September. Maybe. . . .

What do bears eat and what do they like most?

They’ll even chew the containers of food if there’s still a smell of food in them!

They’ll eat most anything they can chew and swallow, but sweets are their downfall – more like humans than beasts! I feed them bird seed, marshmallows, licorice and anything from the freezer that needs to be thrown out. . . . occasionally apples, but they’ve become very expensive.

Any bear food must release a smell that pulls bears in to the bait site. Therefore, a barrel or containers with oppenings to release attractive scents must also protect the food from other creatures like coons, squirrels, fox, coyote, large birds or even deer! These are the types of containers that I’ve successfully used:

Buckets:

Barrels

Totes

Till the next: where other important details will be discussed, like

Scouting:

Location and placement of the bait site is also critical:

Having a clear view is necessary

Replenish frequently

Then following that will be:

Blind or Treestand?

Rifle

Retrieving

Value: is it worth it?

Till the next: About bear hunting – P2

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

When to NOT Shoot . . .

At the end of last week’s blog, in reference to not shooting the dominant bruin I’d been hunting for the past two years when I had it in my sights at 20 – 25 yards, I wrote: . . . . “there’s a time to shoot and a time to NOT shoot!” In that particular case, I gave the reasons why I didn’t shoot. After all, I’d humbly requested the GOD of all creation to let me see him, in these words: “Lord, it would be nice to see him.” , NOT “to shoot him”! Plus the fact that he was too beautiful and too big!

So, have you ever passed on shooting the animal dreamed of when it was in your sights and it would have been a relatively typical shot? If so, why?

Lets discuss that. . . .

You can read the details of that hunt in my previous blog of October 19.

My primary reason for not shooting that bear in my crosshairs at 20 to 25 yards was its magnificence and because I’d requested to SEE him – not to SHOOT him!

Again, as mentioned in the last line of that post, I’m NOT a trophy hunter per se! I’ve shot game that might qualify based on the usual means of judgment, but not because of that. A “trophy” to me might mean several things, without going into finite details :

• A “unique” animal

• A “special” circumstance

• An unplanned for game

• A “surprise”

• A much greater challenge than anticipated, like this one: He’s seven feet from heel to top of head. The story of this bear being one of my greatest challenges has previously been told.

Then, in addition to all those potentials, I’m no fan at all of the sole emphasis in commercial media on the biggest with the most points on antlered game being the most cherished game animal, and the main reason for hunting! In other words: Hunting has become far too commercialized, and most magazine articles and TV shows shove it in your face!

I love hunting for its own sake, not to become the greatest “hero” in the media, or in my own eyes based on a compilation of statistics!

My Secondary reasons were also given in that blog: a) He was at least twice the size of what I’d planned for and what, as a solo hunter, I could deal with. And b) I’d have needed at least a couple more able-bodied men to get him up out of there after field dressing to reduce weight by ~50 lbs! I well recall my first bear – a spring bear (1989) – that would have weighed another 50 – 100 lbs by late fall -, and it took 4 of us to drag it up hill to the outfitter’s pickup, and struggle in loading it after guts were out, and it was not as big as “my bear” on Tuesday, Oct 15/24.

Note to self: Don’t shoot another spring bear! No matter how “big” it might be because it’s coat will never be like a fall coat! A “big” bear during winter months sleeps in cramped quarters that has (perhaps) dirt walls, ceiling and floor. And he’ll not be immobile, but will change positions dozens of times while still half asleep to get comfortable. Imagine the beating his beautiful fall coat will take by spring! Yup, it’ll look just like you imagined! Of course, a taxidermist can do wonders but it can’t restore it to a FALL coat!

Would you like your wife to wear a coat for a special event that she had slept in overnight?

Another reason to NOT shoot a “trophy” spring bear in June!

By June it will have been rubbed against rocks and trees to remove it! I’ve seen published material of a spring bear that had been shot by a celebrity under the guidance of a reputable outfitter that was seriously rubbed. It was done, in this case for a committed magazine article, within a time frame! But it was referred to as a “trophy” bear because it was his first bear of several previous attempts on the island province of Newfoundland! And efforts were made in the video to hide the hyde that was rubbed!

I’ve shot several spring bears that didn’t suffer the ignominy of a loss of fur from a bear’s work to rub it off against trees or boulders, because they were all shot in May, not June. And the best looking bears are late fall, shortly before denning.

There is another issue rarely mentioned in media or in personal conversation and counsel: That spectacular big black bear that I chose to not shoot, had exceptional genes to pass on to a new generation of bears of the region. That also was somewhere in the back of my mind when I immediately noticed his unusual elegance and grandeur. Bar none, the most impressive animal, ever, in my sights! The bull moose was 3x larger but far less in sheer magnificence!

I was present when my long-time hunting partner shot a large male bear, and found it for him after darkness had fallen. Together we pulled it out of the thorn-bush it had dived into, and slid it down hill for retrieval. My friend asked me, “What do you think it weighs?” I replied: “350 to 400 lbs”. The land owner heard the shot and came with a tractor and a bucket on the front, we loaded it and at the barn with scales it weighed 399 lbs before gutting. I helped skin it the next day and he had a rug made. But that bear was not “spectacular” in any other way than its 3 – 4″ of fat all over! < A very nice rug with the actual skull beside it.

I prefer to remember “my bear” of last week as I saw him from 65 yds to 20 yds, rather than in a rug. Yes, I had a rug made of my first bear in 1989 – nearly identical to the one pictured above – and that was “special” because of the story and challenge of that particular day that I’ve shared in several blogs. And I recall the details very vividly, and they are unique, but that bear was not as magnificant, nor any others since, as that sighting on October 15, 2024!

My first bear in May, 1989, on my office wall. He was shot with my first 1895 Marlin lever-action in .45-70. I used a handloaded 400gr Speer at 1865 fps. Impact was at ~100 yds.

The rifle and load I was using for this fall’s bear hunt was the .375 H&H loaded with the 300gr Sierra BT. And, as mentioned, I had that great black bruin in the crosshairs of the Burris Fullfield II scope at 20 yards, and then lowered the rifle and walked away without the bear ever seeing me – at least as far as I know. The Zastava M70 in .375 H&H, loaded with the 300gr Sierra BTs at 2675 fps . Early October, 2024. It had become quite natural by then in handling and aiming offhand as I had toted it exclusively during the fall bear hunt.

The above is all about choices. . . . and why I didn’t shoot that magnificent bear!

Till the next . . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL