As many of you know, us okies have been given a new opportunity by the Oklahoma Wildlife Department... a Black Bear season. Now as excited and ready as I am to get after a black bear... I have absolutely no idea where to start. My experience with bears involves the following: 1. Yellowstone National Park 2. Fly Fishing in Alaska and observing from the raft 3. Seeing tracks while hunting elk in Wyoming 4. Seeing tracks while deer hunting in SE Oklahoma. The season starts on October 1st (same day as the deer opener) and there is no baiting allowed on public land. I don't have any private land in that part of the state, so that's out. The country is very steep and is an Oak forest with pines planted for large paper companies. There are lots of large clearcuts that vary in age and regrowth. I'm not worried about what to do when I find a bear as far as getting shot opportunities, I'm just curious as to how I go about finding a bear. Obviously I'll be scouting as I would for anything else, but where do you begin? Where to bears bed, eat, do they drink daily like an elk? How do I tell the difference between a boar and a sow from 500 yards? That's the kinda stuff I'm lookin' for :D Any advice would be great! Oklahoma Bear Regulations
I see that you mentioned oaks, acorns are a favorite for bear so that would be one place to check out later In the year when they start dropping. They don't do much good now. Bear don't pattern much and when their food source runs out there on to the next one where ever that might be. From what I've found In northern Mn they like to bed and spend most of their time In low cool dense area's. They seem to like thick area's as well. I'm sure they do. Like any animal they gotta drink. Good luck on that one. If she doesn't have any cubs with her I doubt you'll be able to tell from that far away. If she was much closer sows tend to have a narrow/longer looking head compared to the boars. Their heads aren't necessarily longer but they look that way when comparing the 2.
I live went to Oklahoma State University... I don't read good :D Thanks Steve. So basically it's a shot in the dark... Elk have to drink every single day whereas whitetails and mule deer don't necessarily have to go to a watering hole every day, I wasn't sure if Elk were the same way or not.
I'd run a **** load of trailcams and try to find a ridge or crossing they use. This is how my buddies got on one in east TN last year. they went around and found what they claimed were bear trails (black hair on trees in the tight spots) and found a huge oak flat hammered with bear sign...set up some stands on the most concentrated area, and lucked into a chip shot the second day of hunting...didn't recover the bear on a hit too far back though. If I were you i'd focus my trail cam efforts there, AND hoof it scouting for sign...if no one is baiting, then find the natural food sources. It does seem like a shot in the dark though.
Thats pretty good, the first season and you can get a tag. Is it a lottery and you drew a tag or over the counter? Wisconsin its a 6 - 9 year wait, either way Good Luck!
Best way in the fall is to find an area that you know bears are using and call them in with a predator call just like you would a coyote. You can spot and stalk to find them then move in to call or set up on food sources that are showing evidence of being hit and do the same. You won't have to worry about ID'ing them at 500 yards this way. You'll just have to ID them FAST!!! It's a real fun and exciting way to hunt. A truly portable treestand helps to get you up so you can see them coming and have a better chance to judge their pelt condition, size and sex.
Awesome Rob, I appreciate the info. Calling predators is probably my second favorite thing to do behind bowhunting, never really imagined calling in a bear. I guess for the fall season we can shoot either sex as long as it's not a sow with a cub.
Ya, well be careful of that. The sow tends to come in and look things over first. I imagine to make sure it's not a danger to her cub that's causing the ruckus. My friend almost tripped the release on one we called in Idaho until the cub popped up from over the edge at the last second. That was a close call! A second set of eyes is always good to have along on a deal like that.
Hmmm...Dustin, My method requires a little more than you might be willing to pay. You see, it involves two airline tickets-one for Rob and one for myself. After you fly us in, we'll help you set up camp. Do you have tides in Oklahoma? I'll be the camp cook while you hunt with Rob. The whole event should take about a week. Of course, you'll see nothing the first six days.-it's ok, that's how Rob works. On the last night and back at camp, Rob will have a bear walk right in to you...I've seen the man in action! I'll be there to catch it all on film! Seriously, call the bear...do your homework (You must scout. Put the word out to your friends-let them be your eyes and ears...spend time questioning locals). When he makes a mistake, drill him! Best of luck! I wanna see the vanity photos!
Well, I do have some Frequent Flier miles :D The only tides you have to worry about in Oklahoma are wind tides that come in front of the Tornados. I'll do all the scouting I can for sure. When you call bears do you call for long periods of time like calling for a mt. lion or is shorter like 20 minute stands? I've called in an killed lots and lots and lots of coyotes and several bobcats but that's about it. My experience is that the feline variety are much more slow coming.
Bear? What's a bear? All I know is..i'm gonna hunt one :d. I'm pumped about this new season, we definatly need to try and get one of us a teddy You're dead to me
Flying Will in to be camp cook would be worth it for you, the guy can cook! And actually my plan is that I'll have you shoot a bear on day two so that you can cook for us while we hunt and enjoy the sunny wilderness the rest of the time while you're in camp. The amount of time I spend calling in one spot depends on how certain I am that there's a bear in hearing distance. If I know a bear can hear me I'll do an intense one shot calling session and wait for the bear. If you call too much he'll have you pegged. You want him searching for you when he comes in. If I'm confident in the spot I may set up all afternoon or even all day making occasional sequenses here and there.
Lol, I didn't even know if you'd get on here before the thread died... that one was just for you and yes, we need to find teddy. Rob, I appreciate your help very much.
How much is a bear tag going to cost? (Non-Res) Also, are there any bears you have heard of being around Atoka?
Not sure how much they're going to cost but you'd have to travel east and south from Atoka to hunt 'em. The bear season is limited to Latimer, Le Flore, McCurtain and Push counties.
Are they going to allow baiting and/or dogs or is it strictly spot and stalk, or incidental take to deer hunting? Just curious.
I'll be interested in finding out how much the tags will run. If a Non-Res deer tag is $265 for a buck and a doe, I'm thinking a Non-res bear tag will be pretty pricey. I'm thinking they'll be $50-100 for residents...
D, for some reason I was thinking I heard $100 plus for residents but I can't remember who told me that. If I renew my lease down there I'll hunt 'em but it would be tough on public land. Rob, Bait is allowed on private land only and the season coincides with deer archery and muzzeloading seasons. Dogs is a no-no. I know some locals who've been running them bears with dogs in the name of hog hunting, but it can't be done legally. That area down there is the worst of the worse when it comes to all forms of poaching. Bear season has been open for years down there truth be known...
Like no place I've ever seen... I wouldn't believe the extremes that it's taken to except for the fact that I've seen it. It is truly unreal, the stuff that goes on down there...
