I have went on a few bear hunts in Maine. I have shot 2 bears and as others have said your setup is fine. Any setup for a whitetail would be good for black bear. Good advice about shot placement, shoot a little farther back from the shoulder than you would a whitetail, middle of the middle is great advice. Of our group that goes and bow hunts we have all shot 2 blade rage broadheads and have had 4 clean kills with 4 shot opportunities with the bears only going about 20 - 40 yards total. I shoot 65 lbs. and our other bow hunter shoots 60 lbs. Bears do not seem as tough as a whitetail, blow a deers heart out and it can still run 100 yards but a bear, no way. I have found that bears are even more sensitive to wind management than whitetails. When they are coming to bait, at least the bigger ones, are very cautious and know the game. Most of the time the bigger ones will circle the area before coming in and they are quiet while they are doing it. Unlike a whitetail that has that distinct crunch, crunch, crunch as they walk on leaves a bear just appears with no warning. It always amazes me that they can move without making noise. Keeping still in the tree is critical especially during prime feeding time. Just some thoughts from my experiences on Maine fall hunts.
Thanks for all of the follow up. I will definitely post pictures and a write up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well, we're back. No luck on my part in the way of kills. But the last day was awesome. I got to watch a sow and 2 cubs play for about 20 minutes. Great thing to watch. One rifle hunter in out party did kill a small black bear (175). While another crossbow hunter got a shot off but just nicked him Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sounds cool!! Sometimes it's about the experience as a whole. It's hard to see it that way in the heat of the moment, but in a few weeks you'll look back on the trip fondly! At least that's how it is for me on my yearly Illinois trip! Any pics of scenery? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here is the view from my cabin, one of the bait stations I sat in and some scenery. The trip was well worth it! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's some awesome views. Took me some time to transition from deer hunting to bear hunting, similar but different. Most don't realize that hunting over bait is not as easy as they think it is.
Good story, but I would be pissed if I came home empty handed. Not so pissed that I would shoot a small bear but I would do all it took to stay longer. I realize that it is wrong to have that attitude but I can't help it. I would not beat up an outfitter attitude wise but I would be hard to pry out of a stand.
Where abouts in Maine were you? That's sunset sure looks like your east of Rangely , but that's a wild guess on my part.
I saw 13 bears this past season.. 9 cubs, 3 sows, and 1 boar that was not up to my expectations. It was a slow year for me, couldn't get away from the damn cubs! Our baits were getting pounded by some monster bears too during daylight, just not when I was there!! We did manage to pull out 5 bears out of our group this year, with 350lbs dressed being the biggest.
