About Bear Hunting – P2

Last time (P1) I made some remarks about why and how I got involved in black bear hunting. For eight seasons I hired a very good “bear man”, as he was known, in the northeastern part of our Province of Ontario. From the late Norm Easto, and my experiences in bait-hunting bear in wilderness conditions, I learned how and where to find black bears and hunt them over bait.

The first took place in a very rugged and remote part of Northeastern Ontario in the second week of May, 1989. I didn’t shoot a bear, but I was hooked! And I’d bought a new 1895 Marlin chambered for the .45-70 cartridge especially for the occasion. But factory ammo was never purchased; instead handloading dies along with cases, bullets and powders were bought for assembling much more potent loads for whatever size and disposition of bruin that might tempt fate in making an appearance at one of several bait sites that Norm had made available. In early May, 1990, I shot my first bear ever with that rifle and my handload. That is a story worth telling again, but I’ll refrain for now. Yet my handload worked as hoped and planned for: a 400gr SPEER FP at 1865 fps slammed the big boar broadside through the chest as he came in to the bait setup at 100 yards. He went over backwards landing on all fours and took off like lightning for ten yards into an alder patch and that was it! I gave him another between shoulder and neck for insurance while standing on a moose-hunting platform from offhand that wasn’t really necessary because he was fini!

The topic before us in P2 (part 2) is: scouting and location of bait setup.

SCOUTING: My eight seasons with Norm as opperator and guide, plus the thirty seasons on my own as planner and in self-guiding, have taught me where to look and search out best locations for finding natural habitats where bears make a living. Then identifying bear sign within those locations. Norm was a good teacher and I a fast learner!

When I started on my own the year following my last season with Norm, I already knew where to start and what to look for:

There were two options: Private property or Crown Land (public land). I’d hunted both with Norm, but mostly Crown Land. And I had plenty of that within an hour’s drive from home: Unspoiled, rugged wilderness with lots of forest, bush, ridges, ravines, bogs and marshes, streams and rivers, and lakes large and small, plus adequate dirt roads (former logging roads) and trails for exploration. I’d previously hunted deer in that area without ever spotting or running into a black bear, but knew from my time with Norm that Haliburton Highlands was perfect bear habitat!

LOCATION: And I chose a spot I was adequately familar with, having hunted deer in that area. Do you know it’s possible to spend a hunting or working lifetime in bear habitat without ever seeing or noticing a black bear. . . . yet heard, seen and smelled by them? That’s why we use baits. . . . and some others use hounds!

So scouting in the Northeast of North America is not primarily intended for sighting bear but for searching for bear habitat and signs of them within that region. Then finding a suitable access route in and out of that region prior to locating a bear-bait setup. It’s futile to shoot a big bear five miles from the nearest access route!

This is the access route to my bear bait setup this spring (May, 2025) on the way in from the main dirt road. The foliage is current for the beginning of the third week of May. The bait setup is in the dense background beyond the large boulder in the foreground – witth a hint of red just over the left corner of that boulder- that would be my red/orange tote with bear grub. My blind location will be on the ridge to the right (out of sight in this pic).

< May 5, 2025< May 12, 2025< May 19, 2025. That’s my .35 Whelen. The bait is being “hit”, but not yet by the large bruin of the last couple of years.

For toting “bear grub” I use a blue plastic bucket. In it is about 7 – 8 lbs of mixed bird seed, a large pac of marshmallows and another pac of real licorice. All of the bird seed goes into the tote, and the marshmallows and licorice go partly inside the tote and the rest is scattered around on the ground and on top of the tote and logs to create two obvious conditions: 1) The licorice in particular gives off a distinct smell of anise (seed), it’s main ingredient which bears “would die for”! They can smell it from miles away, especially in warm weather that releases that scent, and if a gentle breeze is carrying it far beyond its source. And 2), a bear will find each individual piece of licorice and marshmallows by scent, that keeps him close to the tote before he has to dismantle the tote setup for the bird seed and anything else inside the tote. A big bruin will clean-up everything within a day or two (or nights if he’s gone nocturnal), but remain hidden in the immediate area if “food” shows up regularly every 3 to 4 days. I often “hide” a few pieces of licorice at 40 – 50 yds or so from the tote, but “he” always finds it before I return a few days later. If we’re paying attention, we can learn a lot about bears and their intelligence.

This pic is from the 2nd (fall) hunt beginning September 1, 2023.

Another point in all this activity is in the discovery of where the bear (if a single dominant bruin) is coming from as he will try to take the bucket or tote “home” with him. We have videos of bears grabbing full buckets of “goodies” and running off with them. I’ve found some of them months and, sometimes, years later!

<This one has seen a lot of country!

< And so has this one. It’s currently used as a “hunter’s seat” (when turned upright using its bottom as the “seat”) by deer and moose hunters, and yes, by myself 40 yds from my bear-bait site!

< This scene was taken from the bait-site. The white plastic bucket is only 40 yds distant (center of pic). My blind goes in front with a comfy lawn chair behind. The main points of a compass can be taken from that white bucket: It is directly south of the bait, and for good reason: I don’t want the sun shinning in my eyes, or being exposed in bright sunlight, as the sun sinks toward the west until it sets with the bait location west of me!

Location, location, location is everything!

Also clear visability for a shot, plus around the site to be able to see the bear approaching the site and/or his smelling and picking up morsels that have been scattered about. But wait for a favourable presentation, and when he’s still. He will spend still moments in chewing/digesting morsels of food – almost like he’s a human thinking over how tasty it is!

Should you be the main person attending the bait site, and delivering the food, don’t try to cover your scent! Let him get used to you as the “grocery man”! He will get used to the sound of your vehicle, doors closing, your walking and direction of approach. Don’t necessarily try to be quiet! There is no such thing as walking quietly over natural debris on a forest floor! And especially when attending the bait site. . . let him know you’re there because after you leave he’ll check it out within a half-hour or so. You may not know it, but he will. . . or soon after the sun goes down, depending on his state of maturity.

Remember: he’ll know if you’ve left or not! At least, he’ll think he knows, and that might prove his demise if you’re really sneaky and quiet in returning to a spot chosen beforehand that may give a clear shot. It doesn’t always work, but it does raise the odds for success – if you’re after a real “big boy” trophy!

From 75 yards (2023) and a ninety-degree change of direction! It’s wise to have alternate positions for shooting a wary bear which may become too familiar with your blind or stand. Also it may defeat wind coming from the wrong direction for a fixed stand or blind. And it’s a good idea to consider “an ambush” of an unsuspecting bear that has become too acquainted with your setup and timing. That may sound contradictory to some previous comments, but we need to be flexible with bears that don’t “follow the rules”! He will check your stand or circle your blind. . . if you’re not there he’ll likely show up at your bait thinking it’s safe to do so. But we need to be patient because bears have excellent hearing and powerful scent capabilities – 10x more than a blood hound! I’ve caught several bears using that strategy.

Till the next: About Bear Hunting – P3 (coming up in two weeks): Escape routes for bears, and bear rifles for scouting and/or watching from blind or tree stand. It might be advantageous to have a distinct rifle for each task – walking about or sitting/watching. Physical conditions are important factors that should determine strategies. Prevailing wind directions change from warm-hot months to cool-colder months (spring-summer to fall-winter), so stands or blinds should be located with that in mind. Or the bait itself could be relocated to reflect those changes in weather patterns.

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL