Everything You Need to Know About Hunting Black Bear

I was finishing up my pre-hunt pep talk for a group of out-of-state hunters; two were from Massachusetts, one from Illinois, and one from Alabama. All were experienced deer hunters, but none had ever hunted bears before, so I took my time in explaining the process and the nuances, then finished with my usual last bit of advice. “It doesn’t matter how experienced you are, the first time you see a black bear in the wild, you’re going to lose your shit. Try to compose yourself as best you can and wait for a good shot opportunity.” I could tell they were a bit skeptical.

After the conclusion of the following evening’s hunt, my Alabama hunter failed to appear at the appointed pick-up location, so I hailed him on the radio.

“KC, you copy?” I began.

“Bob, is that you?” he replied in an excited voice.

“Is everything okay? Where are you?” I answered back, anticipating we might be tracking a bear that night.

“I’m still in my stand. There are three bears under me and one of ‘em’s pissed off,” he said, breathlessly.

I’ll be right there,” I advised.

When I arrived at his stand and finally convinced him it was okay to climb down, my first question was, “Why didn’t you shoot?” Without shame or hesitation, he responded, “Bob, I was shaking so bad I thought I had cerebral palsy.” Welcome to bear hunting.

BEAR ESSENTIALS

If you’ve never done it before, there are a few things to know beyond trying to maintain your composure. Black bears have a remarkable skill set for survival. They can walk on a carpet of dry leaves without so much as a sound. In the open, their black bodies stand out starkly, but in the dappled light of the forest, they melt into the shadows. They’re not known for keen eyesight, but they’ll pick out the slightest movement in a fraction of a second, and their sense of smell would put a whitetail’s to shame. With the slightest detection of danger, they might bolt but will more often simply disappear. Lastly, black bears fear only two things: bigger bears and humans.

How you go about hunting them depends on where and when you hunt. Different states have different rules, and different habitats offer different opportunities. We’ll start with some generalities, then move into more specifics.

Bears are more challenging to hunt than whitetails for several reasons. Unlike deer, which are most active around twilight, bears are more nocturnal. They’re far less abundant, have a much larger home range and, at some point during the season, are likely to disappear into their dens for the winter. There’s also a much narrower window on the calendar because bears hibernate. They spend late summer and early fall fattening up and, once they achieve the proper body fat level, will slip off to sleep out the winter. All those things reduce the probability of encountering one in daylight. Still, they can be killed by a variety of techniques and tactics.

FOOD AND HABITAT

First, you need to find them, and we’ll start with the low-hanging fruit. Food is often the key to finding bears. Remember, they’re looking for calories to lay on fat before winter’s hibernation. In late summer, when many bear seasons begin, that process starts with soft mast like cherries, raspberries, blueberries and other fruit. These are pioneer species, so you’ll most often find them in disturbed areas like burns, cuts or along the forest fringe. Later, the bears transition to hard mast. In the north woods, beechnuts are a key food source. Farther south, it might be acorns.

In agricultural areas, it might be crops like corn, soybeans or oats. Bears can be a real nuisance to farmers who might be eager to enlist the help of hunters. If not, you might still be able to find adjacent or nearby public or private land where you can intercept crop-raiding bears. They eat a variety of other foods as well, and learning to identify them will be helpful.

Knowing their non-feeding habitat preferences can also be helpful. They’re secretive and reclusive to begin with. Add a black fur coat to the warmth of late summer, and you get a creature that loves cool, dark places. That can mean a lot of things across the black bear’s range, but it often means softwoods where they occur, low-lying areas where cool air is trapped, and areas around waterways and waterbodies, where vegetation is often the thickest and a cool drink is readily available. Find the places that meet those criteria in the areas you hunt, then connect them to a food source.

TACTICS

There are several methods for hunting bears, and again, which you choose may depend on when and where you hunt. Still-hunting is more suited to areas with extensive open hardwoods, preferably comprised of mast-producing trees. Early and late in the day are the best times, as that’s when bears are more likely to be moving. Unlike deer, where there might be an even split between dawn and dusk, the latter is usually better for bears. If terrain allows, the best approach is to be at or near the top of a ridge or a long a bench where you can look down.

Spot-and-stalk is a more popular practice in the open habitat of the West, but don’t rule it out in the East. You may be able to spot feeding bears in open habitats like blueberry barrens, low crop fields and even open hardwoods. The technique is much the same as for any other species: use the wind and take your time. If the animal is moving, apply a little geometry and take a tangential course to intercept it rather go going straight at it.

Whether hunting over bait, natural food or crops, stand hunting can also be productive. Three key factors when sitting on a stand are scent, movement and noise. Your scent control should be at least as good, if not better than what you would use for bowhunting whitetails. Black bears have very good hearing, and any foreign sound will alert them. And while their eyesight isn’t as keen as a deer’s, any movement will draw their attention. They also have incredible patience. When approaching a food source, they may sit for long periods, even hours, waiting, watching, sniffing the air for any sign of danger. Swat a mosquito, lift your hand to scratch your nose, and they’ll simply melt back into the forest with you never knowing they were there.

I hesitate to use the term “easy” when referring to hunting over bait, but it increases the odds of at least being in the same neighborhood as a bear. The best bait sites are often in dense, dark cover, where bears will be more comfortable moving in daylight. Anything sweet and loaded with calories will work, but donuts, pastries and candy are hard to beat. Cereal grain treated with molasses is another option.

Yet another method, particularly popular in Pennsylvania, is driving. Like a deer drive, this involves a group of hunters, some designated as drivers and others as shooters. The drive line pushes through thick cover in hopes of moving bears toward strategically placed standers. Proper target identification and shot placement are paramount.

SHOT PLACEMENT

If you’ve ever hunted hogs, you’ll understand this. They have more protection in the way of tough shoulder blades and muscle and a smaller vital area. I tell my bear hunters to only take broadside or quartering-away shots, especially the bowhunters. Anything else will only lead to a long, frustrating and ultimately disappointing experience. A black bear can absorb the full impact of a .300 Win Mag in the shoulder from 30 yards and live to fight another day; I’ve witnessed it.

Conversely, if you take out the lungs, you will recover your bear.

That’s bear hunting in an acorn shell. The above should be enough to get you started. With time and experience, you’ll learn more of the nuances and particulars of how to be more successful, which is also part of the enjoyment. Don’t be intimidated; be confident. Just seeing a black bear in the wild is a rare treat, and if you happen to tie your tag on one, it’s icing on the cake.

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