Any body here ever bear hunt?

I would like to do a bear hunt in TN and know nothing about it at all other than in TN we can not bait for them. We have a couple of WMAs that are open to bear hunting but I really dont know where to start as far as prep, habits, stand or stalk or anything else.

Any body got suggestions?

RB,

Good luck on the Bear Hunt! I don't specifically go out for Bear, but when we run across them...I'll usually take one. Follow their stomachs, you will find them!

I used to watch a show about bears. They are known to steal picnic baskets. They usually have a small sidekick.

This post has been edited by Gmountain: August 31st 2009 12:34 AM

I am glad to see you are in a better mood tonight.

Bears are where you find them and never far from food. Look for a product called buck snort in sweet corn and persimmon flavors, they are a lure not a bait so should be OK for you. Find a persimmon tree and if there is a bear around he will visit it, ditto for Paw-paw trees. Using a predator call for them is fun. Hunt with a friend and sit back to back, and carry more than a .223. I called in one in MT while coyote hunting, BIGGEST bear I have ever seen and it had a white chevron on his chest. Of course the size may have been a result of me trying to be so small I could hide in the bark of a pine tree. Most bears are killed by deer hunters incidentally or by guys with dogs. Setting out to kill a bear back east in the big woods without dogs might be one of the hardest hunts there is.

I prefer to do it with a bow but dont mind taking my .308 or .50ML.

I will not however hunt for them with dogs. I am not knocking the pratice it just is not my style.

Good luck!

Without using bait I think my only chances are spot and stalk (with a gun) or sitting on a stand with some doughnut smelling scent bombs.

Not much for hound hunting either. I bait hunt bears myself, not being aloud to bait leaves few options. Calling bears does work. I was hunting coyotes one fall using Fawne in distress on my foxpro, when a bear showed up. Finding areas that they are using to get food and waiting for them to show up does also work.
Are there any agricultural areas around?
Around here bears can do some considerable damage to corn crops. Apple orchards are also good places to find bear activity.

Good luck, hope you get a big one.

Man I love following the hounds on a hot track. Find what they eat and you find bears. Remember bears have a great sense of smell. Calling is fun too. This time of year around here fawn in distress works real well for them and lions.

We bowhunted them from tree stands in central West Virginia for a few years. I never did get one but got to see quite a few that were out of bow range. They have a sense of smell that puts a Whitetail to shame, unreal.
It takes a few sightings to differentiate between a big bear and one that is not so big. The first couple you see will appear to be large, that is until you see one thats freaking huge.
We tried setting up in between their preferred den sites and food sources at crosswind angles from known trails. The problem with that is they go anywhere they feel like so trying to pattern one is a moot point.
Good luck Red, I hope you get one.