Next Wednesday

[lungdeflator]

I have one site gettin hit no later than 30 mins after i bait every time. Whats gonna happen when i climb into the stand and dont leave? Will they still come that early?

[LOTWSvirgin]

I dont know what will happen but could you bring a second person in and have them leave in hopes that you can trick the bear into thinking you left??

[buckhunter21]

If possible I would have someone come in with you and do the baiting for you while you are getting set up in your stand. Have them do the same routine you do, like if you bang the buckets together to get all the bait out or whatever noises you make. Are you are coming in on a 4-wheeler, have them take off on it after you get set up and they have the pit covered back up. The bear is probably close by everyday and after he hears you making noise and leaving it is probably like the dinner bell ringing for them. If you have someone do the same routine for you you and you are set up in your stand I would be willing to bet it will come in on schedule after they leave and you are sitting there waiting for it.

[bogwalker]

I have one site gettin hit no later than 30 mins after i bait every time. Whats gonna happen when i climb into the stand and dont leave? Will they still come that early?

It will be tough to fool this bear. He figures this is his site. He is close by and paying close attention to what is going on in his kitchen. The best bet is to have someone else bait with you between now and the first day you will hunt this site. Get his scent in the area too before he goes in with you on opener. The other option is to go in alone to hunt acting like everything is normal. Make noise bang buckets etc.. Then silently climb to your stand and remain totally still. No movement or noise at all. If this is a young bear he will still come in but it will take a while. If the bear is mature he will lay close by (if you don't move around) and wait until it starts getting dark. If you do not spook him he will almost certainly come in at last light. If this is a big mature boar you will only get by with this one time. Make it count. Good luck!!

[cherokee]

I agree, he is close by and probably within 100 yards. How do you feel walking into your bait knowing one is watching you? Are using a gun or bow? I would use the two person trick as it worked for me. Or, if using a gun, walk out like you normally do and sneak back to where you can see the bait (not back to the stand). Wait on him there. Good luck with this one. Hope you tag him 1st 30 minutes.

[Boar]

First I'd make sure I knew where he was entering the site at before I waited on the ground. When i started bear hunting, i had only myself to work with, I took my largest to date with going in an baiting, setting logs an banging the buckets a few times, then quietly climbing into my stand, he came in less than an hour later with an attitude of this is mine an nobody elses. I'm not totally agreeing with bring someone else into the picture just yet. I think I'd would play this hand as it sits. If he dosent show the first sit, then I'd bring a partner, spray him down really good with a confidence spray make sure the wind is in my favor, have him stay at the site enterence, as I rebait an cover logs an ect, I'd Hand the buckets for him to bang on the way out as i climb into stand. My 2 cents, but to each their own. I just feel that if he's waiting so close, which it seems like he is, then he has claimed that food source an he's the boss bear. I might even consider doing a burn before I bring someone into the picture. Anywho, good luck Boar

[lungdeflator]

Ok ive thought about it and after baiting for awhile wouldnt bears get used to my scent as the lone baiter and not think to much of it? add another persons NEW scent to the area and that might trip em off. I am thinking about bringing a rake in with me next time and raking a path to the stand so I can be ultra stealth and not make any noise at all climbing up. At this particular site I have 3-4 different bears hitting with the biggest coming in and out later in the evening. Would short baiting the days before opener get the big one to come in earlier?

[CANOPY SAM]

BW's advice is spot on here. I think the real key to taking this bear will be to sit perfectly still, and perfectly quiet in stand until he comes in. Any movement or even the slightest sound out of place, and he'll wait till well after dark to come in, or not come in till you leave.

When I was still hunting bear over bait, about fifteen minutes before that "magic time", I would position myself in stand with gun trained on the pile, ready to shoot, so I didn't need to move at all when an animal walked in. It's a challenge to remain perfectly still in this position, but it can be done. Also, I exercised painfully slow motion movement of any kind in stand.

Bear do not have terrific eyesight so you can get away with very slow movements, but I really emphasize slow.

Another trick I've heard of is to place some of your hunting clothes, ones you've worn a few times in and out of the bait station, in your stand - sort of creating a profile of someone sitting in the stand, and leave em' there a few days before season opens. I wouldn't leave good hunting clothes cause there's a pretty good chance that your bear will go up, grab them, and chew them up. But create some sort of profile body to sit in the stand for you (it needs to smell like you as well).

If your bear gets used to seeing, and smelling "someone" in the stand "supposedly" watching him, he'll saunter in as normal when you're really sitting there in place of your duds. Does that make sense?

[CANOPY SAM]

deflator, this last info you shared tells a much different story. If you've definately got multiple bear coming into your site, you're in much better shape than many other hunters out there.

You don't need to do the two in and one out trick. Bait as usual, climb into your stand plenty early, and watch the magic unfold. Several bear will typically compete for a site, so someone will eventually give into temptation and make his way into the station.

You can often read the actions of the first bears in by the way they look around them while eating (nervous about a larger bear coming in), or if they run in, grab a couple mouthfulls, and run back out (almost definately a larger boar nearby).

The older animal will eventually come in to chase the subordinates away and claim his prize. Just wait him out. It may even take several days of your waiting for him to get used to your presence in stand, but eventually, with other bear working the site during daylight hours, he'll give in and offer you a shot.

Short baiting, or baiting successively earlier in the day (or both) just prior to season should help to bring them in a little earlier.

Man I wish I was in your shoes right now. It's fun to watch several bears visit a bait pile! Good luck.

[Boar]

To all you crazy bear hunters out there, good luck an God bless, be safe Later, Boarsquatch fungus

[HunterLee]

Well, I would do the normal routine by myself and slip up my stand quietly. Like others have said more than one bear is a good thing. I always bait early in the day like 11a-2pm so I bait as normal and then slip in quietly.

I had one last year that was laying by my route in. I bumped him on the way in one night but quietly kept going and quietly got up the tree. Half hour later he came crunching in pretty loud. He got to within 10 yds of me, and surveyed the bait.

I would like to say i shot him, but he was there only to see what was going on. If i would of had a gun it would of been over, but with the bow i didn't have any good shots.

That was the only time that he ever came in before dark with me there or not. Most pictures of him were 1-2 hours after dark, he was a tad bigger than the one i got and that one dressed at 270lbs.

[lungdeflator]

Thanks Bog. Thanks everyone else for the ideas. First time baiting and huntin bears and doing it all myself so lots of ???. Hopefully I can post some pics next Thursday!

[bogwalker]

lunger, You are in for a real treat. Nothing beats that black movement through the brush closing in on your bait. Good luck! bog

[cherokee]

They are like ghosts appearing out of nowhere. One minute nothing, next minute looking at a bear. You will find yourself thinking, "Now where did you come from".

[lichen fox]

Or, why is this bear climbing up to my stand??!!

[cherokee]

lichen, that happened to a guy I used to work with. He said the bear came in under him and put its paw on his stand. He was in a short ladder stand at the time. He just about messed his shorts when that happened. He ended up shooting the bear as it went to take off. About a 200 pounder.

[lichen fox]

I've had two different bears "in the tree" with me over the years...one was a cub and the other was about a 150 #er that came up and ran right into the bottom of my stand! He was spooked off the bait by a larger bear...my partner had his stand on the opposite side of the tree so there was no way around for the bear to get above us...we kept our cool and my buddy put an arrow through the larger bear on the bait and when he took off our "guest" exited down the tree!!

[cherokee]

Now that would be exciting. Good composure on both your parts.

[jerkbait]

Thanks Bog. Thanks everyone else for the ideas. First time baiting and huntin bears and doing it all myself so lots of ???. Hopefully I can post some pics next Thursday!

Ditto, my first year also and lots of questions. Thanks all for the great info.

[cherokee]

Ok, 4 for 4 going right now. Less than a week to go.

[matchset]

Boar; thanks for all the advice and encouragement man!

[bogwalker]

Future bear stories are waiting to be made(and stretched). Now, back to Bear Season 2010!

[HNTNBUX]

This is the slowest start I have had yet for bear hunting. I only put out three baits in areas proven in the past. After the first week I added one more and as of Wednesday only two have been hit but completely cleaned out. Unfortunately one of the cameras was on a bait that has not been hit and the other showed 95 events with a five minute delay. I got the card home and no pictures were recorded. I am in the dark as to when and what size. To add to my dismay I had to pull one of my stands for my wife to sit in next week and it was no longer in the tree I left it in. On a positive note I did get a new stand and sticks. Wednesday can not come fast enough.

[bogwalker]

3 Of the 4 baits I have out so far have not been hit. But those 3 are new sites this year. I like September but my real hunt always seems to be in October. Still, Wednesday has me pumped!

[cherokee]

Bogwalkers right. This place is big enough for everyone.

Now check this out. This bear throws the logs around like match sticks.