Hounds in Minnesota for Bear?

[Browning83]

Wondering if anyone has heard about allowing dogs for bear hunting in MN recently? And wondering what people think about it. I hunt with hounds in WI and love it. Had a very good season with two bears close to 500lbs....got both within 2 hours of each other too out of same area.

[Perch Jerker]

Personally I'd rather have MN bait only and WI dogs only. Whichever method you choose (bait or dogs), I don't see where you could have both options in the same area.

If your a bait hunter and dogs go running through your stand, I'd personally be ALMOST to the point of shooting the dogs and claim they were hot on the heels of a deer because my hunt (and season) just went down the tubes because any bear in the area will change their patterns and probably go noctournal. However, if I was a hound hunter, I'd want to be able to run my dogs freely as I saw fit. There is room for both methods, but there has to be the seperation of hunting areas/times.

However, the MN population is roughly 20-30 thousand bears, they're not sure. We shoot roughly 3,500 bears a year (last 5 yrs) and hand out 16,500 permits. This equates to a 21% harvest. However if hounds only OR hounds allowed 16 days after opener (3 baiting weekends free of hounds) was allowed then baiters such as myself would need hounds or a guide and both cost big money compared to baiting. Also, baiters would get less permits because houndsmen would get a higher % of bear with their tags.

I like things the way they are. Hunt'em with hounds in WI and bait them in MN. We BOTH can coexist.

[Longline]

I definately hope they don't allow dogs in MN. I have been hunting over baits for 3 years and just love it that way. I hunt up in the Superior National Forest and that would ruin the peace and quite up there having dogs running through the woulds. And think how noisy all the dogs would be in the campgrounds. That is trouble waiting to happen.

[This message has been edited by Longline (edited 10-11-2004).]

[Neiko]

I would have to agree with the last 2 post. It is hard enough dealing with moto,4 wheeler and grouse hunters coming by your bait I couldn't imagine a pack of dogs ruining my baitsite that I have spent numerous hours and dollars keeping up. I personally would not like dog hunting in MN but I believe they have the right to try to get it to pass.

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Neiko

[half2fish]

I hope that dogs dont become allowed. Thats when you get more wild dogs chasing deer and all of the other game animals. Thats where my ole trusty 30/30 comes in handy.

[Browning83]

I respect everyones thoughts about this post....there are just a few things I want to say. First off, there is a bait season in WI which is two weeks before hound season and runs through that as well. Also about hounds running through bait stations....public land is open to all, including bird hunters....just becuase you have a stand there doesnt mean you own that area. And I cannot speak for all hound hunters but our group respects almost "all" private land (dogs can't read no trespassing signs) but we wont through dogs near these areas. This is just some of my opinions, not trying to start an argument but stating my thoughts. Just interested in what people think....Thanks

[Neiko]

Browning83, I understand and respect where you are coming from. You are right about being state land and no one owns it. However I own land that abutts a state forest and if the dogs aren't under control and come on to my land ruining my hunt I will be peeved. I too am not trying to start argument but am merely discussing. Another question I have is have you ever been ice/boat fishing and doing really well and other clowns see that and pull with in 10 feet of you? Or how about sitting in a stand and some guy comes over your ridge and deer hunts 30 yards from your stand. Everyone has the right to be there but it still irks the heck out of you that they have to ruin your spot. That is how I would feel about dogs coming through my bait site. Peace.

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Neiko

[This message has been edited by Neiko (edited 10-12-2004).]

[Perch Jerker]

I can appreciate your viewpoint because if I had hounds I'd want to run them too. As in my previous post, if houndsmen ran their dogs before the first 3 weekends (first 16days of the season) I would NOT be in favor of hounds. After 3 weekends, I could see allowing a limited tag quota per area like the baiters have to do. Limited, but allowed.

I had 2 baits out this year for 1 hunter (good friend). Both were getting whacked for 125-150lb of food every 4 days. Come hunting season he shot the first one that came in after 1hr of being in the stand (125lb dressed). So that was that and we were done.

My neighbor up there had a friend with 1 (and only) bait about 1/2 mile from his house. Thursday around 4pm two guys set up portable stands 75yds from his bait and dump 50lb of food on the ground. Even if he would have gone over to them (don't know if he did) the site that had 2 weeks of prep just got ruined. No bears are going to come into there during daylight hours after that on any consistent basis. Anyway, my neighbor called me ad asked if we were having any other hunters up there and we said 'no'. He then asked if his friend could hunt one of our stands that we weren't using. After I explained to the friend where the stand was and showed him pics of the bears hitting it (6 individual bears) and when they were hitting it he left (thur night). On Fri night he calls me (previously requested) and lets me know that he shot a 225lb dressed bear from my bait. I was glad for him.

The moral of this long winded story is that ALL bear hunters hound or bait can be 'encroaching' at times. Roll with the flow (if you have a backup bait that is ).

PJ

ps. What are the stats of hound hunters in WI? # of hunters? # of bears harvested with dogs? etc.