So my dad, brother and I are headed up to northern Wisconsin for our first black bear hunt in September. We are all super pumped about this opportunity and hope we can have an amazing time! I will be using my bow, my dad his crossbow and my brother a gun. We are going with a small guide service and hunting over bait. My questions would be... Is there any gear that would be helpful for a bear hunt? What should I be preparing for before going? Is there any tips in general for bear hunting? Any info really would be appreciated. Thanks
My first bear hunt was 20 years ago in Ontario. At that time there were not a host of YouTube videos of bear hunts, so I found a couple VCR tapes of bear hunting and studied them, along with buying a book on black bear behavior. Then I talked to as many guys as I crossed paths with who had black bear hunted to hear first hand experiences. Even so, I was really not prepared for seeing my first black bear in the woods.......which was exciting and kind of freaky all wrapped together. A couple nights later I killed my first bear and that was a crazy adventure as well. Listen to your guide, don't shoot the first bear you see unless you have something to gauge size and stay calm on the shot. Tracking a wounded bear is a LOT different than tracking a wounded deer.
I've killed many bears w bow n a few w gun. I also skinned for 2 camps for years. First thing is the bugs can be bad, I recommend a thermacell or Shannon's bug tamer suit. Next is learn the anatomy. Its different than a deer. Don't believe that shoot em in the middle of the middle nonsense, the vitals are up forward. In the middle you're gonna gut shoot em. Next to a rabbit bears are the easiest animal to harvest with a well placed arrow often going 10-40 yards after shot. 15-25 being common. Bears are also one of the best eating meats. They're greasy so put em on a rack or grill them. while in camp take a buddys back strap n cut it into chops, throw on grill n brush melted butter n Worcestershire on. Top w green pepper slice and as you're eating one fantastic meal remind your buddy you still have 2 backstraps to bring home! If you can get some hides from local bears taken that time of year look at them, notice the length of belly hair n make sure you aim above that. When blood pressure is in them the hair puffs up. So consider that before you shoot, if you've ever shot at a fox, thought you iced em only to find a dry arrow afterwards you'll understand. Back to the hair standing up, once it hits the ground it seems like the air came out of it, the hair lies flat now n it looks much smaller, we call that ground shrinkage. If it's a good area n the guide says you'll see multiple bears don't shoot the first one, look at a few n determine what big looks like. Shoot straight
Bowguy cover most of it. Just to be safe take either a can of hornet spray or bear spray with you. Its not lethal and will come in handy if you have an over zealous youngest that wants to climb in your stand with you. if you use hornet spray aim for the eyes. The chances are slim but best have it and not need it.
Thermacell refills will be very valuable if you hunt the full week. I ran out on my first trip...huge mistake! It is almost impossible to play the wind on a bear bait as they will circle and know your there. Even though many hunters don't hunt the morning...they will be moving. Our group has shot most of our bears between 9am-1pm.
