Hunt bear from a tree or from the ground?

[bogwalker]

I went from tree stands to sitting on the ground. I don't use blinds,just find a good size tree and sit in front of it.

[jay83196]

Tree for this cat.... I am not very into one of those sneaky devils walking up on me with a couple cubs and we see each other for the first time 20 feet away, thats just me.

[bogwalker]

If I know I have a sow with cubs hitting a particular bait site I abandon that site. I never intentionally take a sow.

[Boar]

I's a thrill on the ground now doubt, but when ya have a bear poke his nose through a blind I cant sit in the same pair of pants. Boar

[jay83196]

Lol I bet!

[pulleye16]

I'm to much of a chicken to be on the ground with a bear!!!! I darn near started a war when I stepped on a grouse one time walking out from my bear stand!

[jerkbait]

Boar, do you still hunt from a ground blind?

[bogwalker]

A blind on the ground offers no protection. A stand in a tree will not keep a black bear from attacking you if it wants to. Fortunately they don't want to.It is my opinion that black bear know your location when you are watching them. There are ways they may be fooled but not very often. A bear takes a chance by feeding from your crib. If your presence is perceived to be too risky the bear will wait you out until after dark to come in to feed. I watched one young adult crawl on it's belly from heavy cover to my crib. It eventually fed from 3 sides of the crib still crawling before it crawled out of sight back into heavy cover where it stood up and walked away. This was a site where I was placing over 100 pounds of bait every other day.

[Boar]

On occasion when the situation calls for it, last year I did but shot my bear out of tree stand on another site. i agree with bog for the most part, when a mature boar just saunters in like john wayne, he owns everything including you, but since your up a tree, he sees you as a lesser bear submiting to his pressence an sees you as no threat. But there are exceptuions to every rule, an every mature boar has a different attitude. They also have extreamly good hearing an better eyesite than most give them credit for. Aperson cant sit still for long, an if anyone can stop swatting mosquitos on stand you need to sell that info cause I'll by it. Ive shot bear that acted like john wayne, an ones that circle the site before comitting, ones that grab an leave, one I didnt shoot was a day feeder but just was to smart, I threw every trick I could think of at him, he had me dialed in. Thats whats so awsome about bear hunting, trying to out smart one of natures top preditors. Boar

[bogwalker]

My wife started using a ground blind 2 years ago for bear hunting. That year she shot a nice brown color phase bear. I have a self imposed limit of not shooting bear that weigh less than 300 pounds. My bait sites usually have fewer bears hitting them and almost always get hit shortly after sunset or later so I don't worry about sows with cubs wandering around the site while I sit on the ground. Sitting in the open on the ground at a site with many bears coming and going you run a much greater risk of ruining that site.