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Bear · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Pennsylvania

Is it practicle to try to call in a balck bear during the three day November season in Pennsylvania?

maineguide · Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 250 Location: Downeast, ME USA

If you only have 3 days I would try most anything.

ChesterGolf · Joined: 17 Aug 2002 Posts: 1627 Location: Nova Scotia

I have never called for bear but like mentioned, with only three days I would try almost anything. Just remember that improper calling will scare them away. If baiting is legal in your area, it may be the best bang for your buck(boar :smile:)

expatriate · Joined: 26 Oct 2002 Posts: 1482 Location: Alaska

What call would work for bear? The only thing that comes to mind is a can opener or the sound of bacon frying. Will a black bear respond to a predator call, or are you talking about using something else?

ChesterGolf · Joined: 17 Aug 2002 Posts: 1627 Location: Nova Scotia

You can get boar and sow calls and a distress call(rabbit or other) would probably work as well. I have not needed to call bears as they come easily to bait piles up here.

maineguide · Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 250 Location: Downeast, ME USA

I agree with Chester. Same here they come to bait quit regular but it don't mean that you still are going to put a tag on one.

I know some places have a spring hunt a guy could use a fawn blat call. I know if a bear gets a chance they eat fawns in the spring if they can find them.

I have heard like Chester said dieing rabbit works.

Keepitsimple · Joined: 19 Nov 2002 Posts: 44 Location: Northern Wisconsin

Carlton makes a great Bear call. I got one as a promo and even though I've not hunted over it, I have used it to call for Photo's. It has good sound carry. Under $20.

dougw · Joined: 25 Oct 2002 Posts: 34 Location: Vermont

Anybody have any tips for calling bears (sow or boar,loudness, duration,etc.)? Has anyone had success calling in a bear? We can only hunt them Sept. 1st - 2nd weekend of deer season in Nov. Baiting is not allowed. Anyone have any suggestion regarding scents? Thanks.

Keith · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Phoenix, AZ

Hi Doug,

I have called for black bears in the rugged mountains of Arizona for 10 years. I've used "closed-reed" predator calls with a cottontail rabbit sound, and "open-reed" predator calls that can vary the pitch from a low deep bleat to a high chirp. I have called bears in using both types of calls.

I generally select a place to make a stand in an area where I have 20 to 30 feet of visibility. I know that is not much, but the bear areas I hunt are thickly vegetated, which makes it difficult to find any clearings. I always call for at least one hour before moving locations, and sometimes up to 2 hours if I think something is onto the call. When I call, I call solidly for about two minutes, take a 10 to 15 second break, and start calling again.

The bears that have responded generally approach me without making a sound! I have seen them moving through the bushes so quietly that the sounds they made were not any louder than those made by small jay birds landed on branches next to me. So be sure to have a good sidearm for a backup, or hunt with a partner to watch your back.

In the 10 years I have called bears, I have only shot one, and it was a large boar that came in directly at me, which I finally shot at a distance of 6 to 8 feet.

I wear full camoflauge when I call, including gloves and face net. I also use Scent Blocker Carbon Blast Human Scent Eliminator, which I spray all over my clothing and hunt pack.

My three key points of advice in calling bears is, number one, be sure you have scouted an area well enough to know that bears are in the area. If they are not present, they will not not hear you calling, and they will not come! Second, remain as still and quiet as possible. I quietly enter my bear hunting canyon about two hours before daybreak and essetially stalk my way to my first stand. Once I sit down into calling position, I do not move, except to slowly raise and lower my call between the tiny rest periods I give myself to listen for approaching animals. And finally, be patient! Bears are at the top of the food chain and will generally take their own sweet time coming in to investigate the sound of a wounded animal. Six times out of ten, I will have a fox within a yard of me within five minutes of calling. Then I quietly move my arms around or toss a little pebble to get it to back off. But be patient, and don't stop calling for more than 10 to 20 seconds at a time, or the bear may lose interest and go back to foraging vegetation and grubs.

In summary, call in an area where fresh bear sign exists, exhibit as little movement as possible, and be patient!

Good luck, and I hope this helps. I'll be in the field on August 22, when our fall season opens! Hopefully I'll be able to post a nice bruin for all to see.

Keith · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Posts: 13 Location: Phoenix, AZ

Hello,

I just returned from a bear hunt in the rugged mountains of Arizona. My hunt began poorly when I got hammered by a thunderstorm on the way out to my hunting area. I intended to travel 20 miles on a 4WD road, but was stopped by a flash flood after a mere 5 miles. Needless to say, I was slightly aggrevated and felt disadvantaged to start my opening hunt in a "less than prime area."

However, the following day, the flood waters receded and I proceeded to finish the trek to my prime hunting spot. To make a long story short, I called in an approximate 400 pound chocolate brown colored bear, which actually came running down the 4WD road I was calling on. Unfortunately, there was another hunter parked on the road between me and the bear who had stopped his ATC and was glassing the canyon near him. The bear ran around a bend in the road and came to a complete stop about 10 feet from this individual. This hunter never knew the bear was there, which I might add was a full 20 seconds, until I hiked down the road and showed him the bear tracks that were present.

I had watched the bear slowly retreat back up and over a nearby ridge and planned to try to call it in again the following morning. Again, to make another long story short, I ended up calling in a mountain lion to about 15 feet, which I took with my 30-06. I'll have pictures develpoed in a few days, which I will submit to this site. I know it is a bear forum, but I unfortunately took a mountain lion instead.

Postnote: As I was skinning the lion, two bear hunters approached to congratulate me and mentioned how they really wished they could harvest a lion instead of a bear. I then mentioned that I really wanted a bear and not a lion and that if they hurried up and bagged a bear, I would give them my lion as an even trade!! (lol)

dougw · Joined: 25 Oct 2002 Posts: 34 Location: Vermont

Thanks Keith and everyone else for the ideas re: calling. I'll be trying them out and hope to have a success story to tell you all. Good luck this season and be safe.

cujo · Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 1

for keith from phoenix...can you advise type of call you uses for the bears and where i can get one ( or a variety that you would recommend ) plan on trying it in pa this year and read your comments with much interest... thanks a lot...bill

JonathanD04 · Joined: 13 Nov 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Willis, Texas

I have bought bear calls and other predator calls from http://www.allpredatorcalls.com and had wonderful service. It's quick and they shipped the call to me in about three days, so if your local store doesn't carry bear calls, try them out! Good luck everyone! I am going on a brief hunt starting tomorrow morning and will be using my Knight and Hale bear call once I am in position.