Bear Hunting Opener - on a Monday!

[Moose99]

Can someone please remind me why Bear Hunting Opener needs to fall on a Monday? It seems like every other hunting season opener falls on a Saturday, so why does the bear opener have to be so inconvenient??

This year it's set to open on Monday, September 1st, which is Labor Day. Sure would be nice to hunt the Sat/Sun before...

[Bowfin]

Take advantage of this. Take the first week of bear season off of work. You will have 5 days to hunt and hopefully get your bear while your competition is waiting for the weekend. Don't think of it as an inconvenience but a head start. I always liked a week day start since heavy competition can quickly ruin a bear hunt.

[Boar]

I agree with bowfin I'm tacking the four days off from labor day to hunt, cant wait. I dont know if I agree with it not opening on a weekend, what other season opens likr bear, Nothing I think, boar

[glenn57]

i agree with moose99. i think its stupid. dont disagree with less pressure thought, but if these bear hunters are true sportsmen they would stay clear of others. which to me is another topic of irritation. naah i wont even start.

[MUSKYMAN1011]

Bear Opener is almost always on SEPT 1st No matter what day it falls on.

[glenn57]

but the question was why? whats the rational for it?

[MUSKYMAN1011]

The reason is to spread out hunting pressure. By opening on a set date, rather than say the Saturday before Labor Day, we don't experience the opening day crush similar to deer season. Hunters generally like to plan their hunts around the long Labor Day weekend, giving them more days to hunt. Not everyone likes it, particularly those who cannot hunt until the weekend. But, 3 out of 7 years it does open on a weekend date. This date has stood the test of time and is an acceptable season structure for most bear hunters. It gives hunters 2 weekends before the small game season opens. Surveys show most bear hunter hunt 5 days, which fits the time slot most bear hunter are looking for. Spreading out hunting pressure also increases harvest success by reducing nocturnal feeding.

It's not perfect but it works for the majority.

[Boar]

IF!!!

[charliepete2]

I'm happy to have it on the Monday. It will leave the woods to the die hards and the sometimers won't be out until the weekend. I've got all the bait bought and ready and I've been shooting the bow every night after work. I can't wait!

[bogwalker]

I'm happy to have it on the Monday. It will leave the woods to the die hards and the sometimers won't be out until the weekend. I've got all the bait bought and ready and I've been shooting the bow every night after work. I can't wait!

I agree.

[Black Bear]

I have to admit....I love a weekday bear opener and dread a weekend bear opener. I hope they keep it the way it is now.

[HNTNBUX]

Most years I would be right there with you guys on Monday night through the first week. This year with the Republican National Convention in town my days off are cancelled for a two week period leading up to and including almost the first week of the season. This is one year I wish it opened on a weekend so I would get to hunt the second week after everyone else had gone home. I will be hunting the first Friday through probobly Wednesday. Like most of you the bow is tuned, the bait is in the garage and the four wheeler gased up and ready to go. I know hunting season is getting close by all the butterflys in my stomach the last two weeks.

[charliepete2]

I'm just glad they moved the hunt to September 1st instead of mid August like it was a couple years back. I remember thinking that I was going to die of heat stroke humping 150#'s of bait into the woods in a Duluth pack in 100 degree weather.

[bogwalker]

Baiting begins in mid August. Bear season in Minnesota has always been September 1St.

[89Bronco]

A few years ago, 2001 I believe, the hunt started in August. I remember because I was one of the few who liked the earlier start. I could hunt before school started. I also remember everyone else sounding off in the Outdoor News how the earlier season sucked for them.

This year, I'll have to wait until the weekend. Missing the first four days of the school year probably wouldn't go over too well.

Moose99...I just realized who this is....I think! I heard that you might be taking a couple of days off. I'll be hunting that morning, but I'll have to leave around noon and come back the next weekend.

[charliepete2]

I cant attest that it didn't always start on September 1st. It started in late August and it was absolutely miserable. I'd never seen bugs so thick and if you didn't have the bear in the deep freeze within a few hours after shooting it you'd have bone rot for sure.

[Moose99]

89Bronco, I'll see you there for the opener! I am taking a couple days off anyway, so I can hunt more than just Sept. 1st (need to save some vacation days for deer hunting, too).

Hopefully we can find some bears who will enjoy the yummy snacks we have for them!