Bear travel large areas, I don't see much affect on deer movement from bear passing through from time to time.
don't let that worry you ONE bit. deer are not afraid of bears. i have had MANY deer walk right next to my bearbaits. even had a spike buck come and pluck a white doughnut right of the bait once.
Not worried about the deer population. Hard to tell the size, the camera is hung about 3 1/2 feet from the ground, and a couple other pictures you can see only the very tip of head/ear. Would rather not cross paths with it when I am walking in or out of the woods, especially if it is momma.
I know how you feel man. 4 years ago here in Wisconsin Opening day of bow season I walked into a spot I was getting good buck pictures. I climbed up in my climber and after getting setup about 10 mins later I heard this loud crash in the direction that i just walked in. 2 mins later here was a black bear walking my scent trail in looking for me. She was making this light growl noise every few steps. Almost sounded like she was frustrated because she couldnt find what she was smelling. She ended up stopping right underneith me and then eventually bolting because she couldnt find me. I was sooooo fricken nervous. I remember texting my dad who was over an hour away telling him i'm not leavin this stand and that he has to come get me out carrying a shotgun with slugs. He was laughing his *** off. Needless to say, I now carry a sidearm when bowhunting. Its probably not the greatest as its a .40 cal but i'm using 200 grain bullets. The odds of me ever using it is soooo slim but it makes me feel comfortable in the woods. I also have bear spray as well that I occasionally carry. Keep in mind i'm in central Wisconsin so at that time bears were honestly very rarely seen in our area, now i'm getting 1 or 2 on cams every year. If I were you, just to make you feel more comfortable is spend the 40 bucks and get a bottle of bear spray. Its honestly some nasty stuff and probably better than carrying a sidearm. Heres one of the pictures that I snapped in between peeing my pants. LOL
I get one on cam about weekly this time of the year. I have yet to walk up on one (have been here for 7 years now). I would not worry a bit. I enjoy the pictures. They are fun to check out. Just remember they are big babies, and don't want to meet a person if they can avoid it.
Oh how I'd love to see one under my tree stand! To bad you didn't get the entire bear on a trail cam photo.
I get at least one on almost all my cameras every time I check them where I am at in Wisconsin. Too bad we have a 6+ year wait to get a tag.
I get bear pics every year and it is not unusual any more to see one in the woods I hunt in PA. Never even thought of getting a bear license or taking one out. Encounters are usually within 30 yards. Most bears spook easily however, you always hear stories about the curious ones not getting the message or angry with cubs.
I have recently been plagued with bear pics. A lot of my big boys left the area recently because of it. I believe that big mature bucks steer clear of bear.
I had 5 deer walk up on me while bear hunting in the U.P. about 45 minutes after a small bear came through.
Well my bear is looking more the size of Boo Boo and less like Yogi. Now as long as I don't run into a POed Cindy.
I've got two giant males, one is about 350lbs the other I would say is pushing 400-450lbs and a big female around 275lbs with 3 cubs. I would prefer not seeing them either because I don't walk in with a light and I watched a video where Sean McVeigh didn't walk with a light and he got within 10 yards before that bear ran up the tree.
I have lost a lot of cameras to bears. most recently I got a picture of the inside of a bears mouth. not good! luckily trhis camera only got a couple of teeth marks. I have tried bear boxes and they don't work at all. the stupid bears always poked the lens out or the motion sensor with their claws. The only good bear is a dead one imo!!! when out bear hunting I am glad to shoot a freakin cub. just one less bear to get in my garbage and scatter it down the road. once I caught one on the roof of my truck in my driveway and of course he caved the roof down a bit. good thing I popped it back out. they are just a nuisance in my area. I live in the area where they bring nuisance bears out and let them go. nothing like inheriting bad bears!
