Hit list...

[lichen fox]

And...the world's greatest bear hunters just returned from the forest...and guess what...I was right!...Hopefully we'll be settin up stands by next weekend...We never put much stock in a hit until it's been at least 3 times in a row with less than 2 days skipped...

[Boar]

Good luck fox, hope it comes full circle for ya.

[jay83196]

Well wasn't the big one I had coming in but last day for me to hunt and nice looking bear, my first with a bow. I was able to video the shotand that was really cool, 168#.

Good luck everybody else!

[jerkbait]

Congrats Jay on the first with a bow. Looks like a nice bear.

[CANOPY SAM]

Good job Jay!

So Lichen, you seem to establish a similar approach to my own. I don't jump into the fray right away when season starts. I like to wait a few weeks for the cooler weather to set in. Seems like the bear put on a little heavier coat, fewer areas of thin hair, etc.

Would you care to share why you wait till later in the season to really focus your efforts? I mean, being the "World's Greatest Bear Hunters", we should be able to learn much from you!

That's not meant as sarcasm. I really do trust your knowledge and experience.

[lichen fox]

Sam, two reaasons we wait...first, we don't like hunting with the crowds so to speak...80% of the bears harvested in Mn are taken in the first week of season...So, by the time we get baits going, there is hardly anyone, (if there is anyone), left in the area we hunt...second, like you mentioned cooler temps, less bugs, etc....third, my hunting partner doesn't come home from his Ontario lake home until the end of August...And as for the worlds greatest bear hunters, that got started as an inside joke with me and my buddy...I always give him this pep talk before he heads to his stand...

"Just remember, you may not be the world's greatest bear hunter." ..."But, you hunt with the world's greatest bear hunter!" ...."Now go in there and get-em buddy!"

We've ran our baits twice now since we put them out on Sept. 1, on those two occassions, one last Thurs. and the other on Sunday...we didn't see another vehicle or hunter in the first 80 miles of forest we drove...the only place we even seen sign or other hunters was about 2 miles south and about the same west of the Faunce campground...there has been one group of bear hunters there since opener and a different group in another site on the weekends only...And while they can sometimes be a litte tougher to hunt, we do find that when we get bears coming in, they are generaly more mature bears...I think mainly because alot of the younger, dumb ones get pegged in the first 7 days...

[Boar]

Nothing beter than late season, no naturals, alot less hunters an colder temps get the big boys going an they like to put on the feed bag, if a guy has his buffette open for businesss the bear will come. The sows an cubs are the fisrt to den an that leaves the mature boars to belly up to the truogh. As long as there is food mature bear boars will stay on it till the end. Cant wait to get halles age info back, that guy had been to a few rodeo's due to his behavior. Good luck fox.

[certified jumbo]

congrats jay. glad you got one.

very cool first pic with the bow and the bears on the bait. nothing wrong with the bear you shot. excellent eats.

[jay83196]

Thanks, was not huge by any means but still fun...I will say a lot harder from climber stand using a bow, here is video I shot of the kill was fun to tape it too.

[HooknHorns]

Nice. what did you use for videoing?

[Boar]

sweet vid, jay very nice! thats a god freezer bear. Great job once again.

[jay83196]

I used a little cannon cam corder roughly 200$ unit with a gorilla mount strapped to the tree. Works great I also have a mont to use on my bow works well little vibration when shoot but still works ok. I wish I woulda zoomed in more but trying not to move a lot.

[jerkbait]

Cool video Jay! Congrats!

[Matt Breuer]

I haven't been sharing pics, been too busy trying to pin this old boar down. He's playing mind games with me now, and he's all I think about. I don't even chase the wife around the house anymore because I can't get him out of my mind. When I wake up from a dream screeching, "Yeah, baby" it's because I pinned a tag on this donkey...

My other station has a smaller boar, less than 200, hitting nightly. I let my best friend sit over him because he's never shot a bear, and he missed it clean 4 minutes after he climbed in the stand.

It's not over...

[CANOPY SAM]

Ooofda May! Was wondering if you'd tagged this guy yet? He's HUGE! Is it my imagination, or does this bear not have any legs?

Good luck Matt! Glad he's still showing up. You'll get him.

[jerkbait]

Holy tanker batman!!!! That is a big one. Good luck!!!!

[bigbucks]

Nice big boar, got a decent one hitting my bait about every other night, but it's always way after dark. He's not that big, but he looks really short, so I'm thinking that's a good sign. Going to try a burn Friday evening & also Saturday, as well as the radio trick this weekend. New moon next Monday I'm hoping helps too. It's pretty dang dark out there at night now.

Anybody have any experience with the leaving a radio going on stand overnights & during the day when you're not there?

[jerkbait]

can't say that I have tried the radio trick. It does have me wondering though.

[Archerysniper]

Well after the bears had left 2 days before season I am happy to say I'm back on the hit list 4 days in a row now hopefully it will continue. It's looking like I have Fri off. Here is a pic of the one that stopped 2 days before season I hope this is the one hitting it again.

[Matt Breuer]

I know that guessing weight online is nearly impossible, but with the shoulder hump and sag in the back, as well as the 230 or so pics I have of him, I'm guessing 450+. He's every bit of 7' in length. I had him waltz in while it was pouring rain last Monday, looked like a person was pushing a broken down Suzuki Sidekick through the brush... He stood 5-7' from the clearing with his nose in the air for a minute, then bolted. I had him in every day for 8 days straight, almost all during daylight. If the season had opened a day sooner, or 2-3 days sooner, I could've killed him rather easily. But, isn't that how it goes every year?

BigBucks, only problem with the radio trick is that you risk losing them for good... I've also seen it not work at all, radio destroyed, ignoring it, etc...

[bigbucks]

Is there anything to lose if they're 100% nocturnal?

[Matt Breuer]

The chance that they will make a mistake...

Have you tried scat from other bears?

[Odonata]

Matt B. that's a stud bear! Go get him!

[Boar]

The po op trick can work if ya got po op. You could try pulling the bait, but I dont like the idea of leaving the sie after hunting with a hungry bears food. U asked about burns but I have a hard time advising it being so dry. But they do pull bear from the night. Good luck. Good luck on that hippo matt, thats biggun.

[HunterLee]

Just got done skinning mine out. Shot a good looking boar right towards dark. Little surprised he showed up as been lots of hit one night gone for 4 type of deal. Would say he is roughly 250ish. I know he was hard for us to get in the truck. With post a pic tomorrow.