All encompassing calling black bears thread (like the old calling tactics and sounds but for bears)

ackleyman said:
GREAT video!!

I took a retired navy captain from the Korean war varmint calling up near Globe on the Indian Res, lots of bears in the N. section. He had bugged me to go varmint hunting for a couple of years. As we were walking in, we saw some really large bear tracks. We had no tag or permit to take a bear so I told him not to shoot one. I warned him prior to the trip that when the predators run right up to you, things get pretty exciting. He said that he had survived MIG attacks in the war and he was not worried.

Well, about 5 minutes into the stand, we hear what sounds like a Volkswagen coming through the woods. Suddenly a large bear appears and he actually stands up to get a better view...that rascal looked like the statue of Liberty he was so big. I pulled off my face mask, stood up an started waving my arms and yelling at the top of my lungs, he was about 30 yards away. The bear walked off like he was king of the woods. When he stopped and turned around a looked, I thought that I might have to shoot him, but he quickly turned around and left.

The Capt was so scared, he could hardly talk. He was real jittery and shaky on his feet. He informed me he had a heart condition and that he could not take anymore of that kind of thing. I was not so shocked as the bear was a large one, and when you can hear one grunting and smacking his teeth, it is a little un nerving, especially when you are carrying a 788 in 223.

If you have not experienced a bear coming in, you need to. They have a great nose, use scent blocker and Sardines in oil where it is legal.
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Halbach said:
Was tracking a bear, had my recurve and 357. Girlfriend had her camera. We lost the first track and caught a second track but it was a smaller bear and eventual had cub tracks with it. Finally caught up to em across a field and the girlfriend started snapping her pictures of the mama and 2 cubs. They wandered into a patch of bushes and I decided to see if my new double reed fawn would draw them out. BAD IDEA! 3 waaaaas and suddenly mama and THREE cubs come hard charging. I stood up and the mama stopped at about 40-50 yards but the cubs wouldn't quit! I shot the 357 into the ground and the mama walked into the trees but the cubs kept wandering up. The girlfriend loved it, took tons of awesome pictures, and the cubs finally turned and took off once she stood up. Figures. Gonna try sometime this month with the 308 where there's a big bear scratching up the trees. Should be a blast!
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beartaker said:
bear diets change as the summer goes on in the spring i would say yes they would eat it about the aug. 1 they start lookinging for bugs ripping open rotten logs till the berrys and fruit comes on if a bear stinks that is what the meat will taiste like i like to get mine out of the apple orchards not garbage dumps
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Krustyklimber said:
I am as green as you are, but I'll do my best to help... we leave for bear camp Wed. night so I have done a little homework myself.

I wouldn't hunt 460, I'd go to the Olympic Peninsula... this months Washington Hunter has a great article on O.P. bears (I picked it up with my bear tag today).
It had some great information about the changes needed since hounds and baiting were banned in 1996.

The GMUs bordering the Park are your best bet, especially those along the west boundry. There are less gates on the roads over there, but with the fire danger so high expect to find many of the ones there are locked, until we can find some relief from this heat.

Drive the roads (or mtn bike the gated roads) until you find some clearcuts, which will be berry fields at this time of year (the raspberries are looking and tasting particularly good this year)... find ones that have "gone red", where the foliage has changed and with patches of yellow wood (this is a sign of turning or digging in the logs for grubs).
Clearcuts with water and shade close by are going to be the most productive.

The article also said all the O.P. bears are totally black, without any of the cinnamons or blondes, like those of the Cascades or farther east.

If you are dead set on a colored bear, I would suggest Darrington, Index, or the area around Mt Pilchuck for bears... I think you'll find a lot better land access and a whole lots less people.

I hope this helped,

Jeff
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R Buker said:
OH MY FOR BUGS!!!

HA HA

You'll have a great time.

For bugs my wife swears by one of those bug suits in camo. She can wear very little underneath it when it's hot and it still keeps the bugs at bay. I just go for spray. I incorporate spray into my bait sites so they are used to the smell by the time I get there to hunt.

Randy
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Lonny said:
I'd try to spot a bear first, than try calling it in. I don't claim to be an expert bear caller, but I have had much better luck calling one in when you know a bear is close by. I have had no luck calling a bear from a long distance away and poor luck cold calling. I get all types of reactions calling for bears. Some ignore you, some leave, and some come your direction. I prefer to be above the bear and have them come uphill, or around the hill to me. If the wind is right and they are interested it can be quite easy to call them close, even if you aren't camoed and hidden all that well. Bears can't see that well and if you hold reasonably still they don't seem to be able to spot you. As far as calls go, I just happen to use what is in my pack and usually a standard CritR-Call or Screery jack rabbit call get the nod. Let the bears reaction tell you how much calling to do.

It sounds like you already know where to look for bears so you should have some luck. Good luck.
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Back40x2 said:
Try a honey/bacon grease burn. Find a spot where you suspect that bear are and do it there. Try to get it so the wind is carrying the scent towards their direction of travel to you.

Take a fairly good sized coffee can (minus paper) and fill about 1/3 with honey, and about 4 tbsp of bacon grease. Now take a Sterno can and place it on bare grond. Take some rocks or sticks and place around the sterno. Get things tall enough to get the bottom of the coffee can about 2-3 inches off the sterno can. Once the can is secure and not going to tip over, light the sterno and wait. Don't worry about it when she starts to smoke...that's what you want. I will make alot of sweet smelling smoke that will drive them nuts!!!!

Make sure you allow yourself ample time for it to all burn. That will probably take about 2hours start to finish. Let it burn right down to nothing. Once the smoke clears be looking hard!!!! I shot a big male the same way 8 years ago here in Maine that dress at 340 with 19 9/16 skull, 7" across the pad and 7 1/2' tall. According to the Biologist, the tattoo in his lip revealed he was 19 years old and at his largest weight he was 576. They dragged him out his winter den a total of 5 times. The last time he was 11 and that was his weight. They think he would've still weighed that if not larger, had it not been for his lower jaw. It was totally broken and severed just behind his canine teeth. Remarkably it was still attached with the skin and all, but obviously unable to eat and defend himself properly. It just flipped and flopped all over. He was still healthy though! He is now hanging on the wall.

Good luck!
Pete
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ButcherBoy said:
I have been calling high alpine black bears in the blueberry patchs for about 6 years now. The area we hunt you can see up to 3-5 bears feeding in the same general area in the mornings. I have found that in this area with so many bears only the BIG boars will come in. We have watched small bears take off at the sound of a call. Watched one BIG,BIG boar walking away acrossed the canyon in the evening at over 900 yards with the glasses, at the first sound of the call he "puffed up" and looked back over his shoulder as of to say "who is in my kitchen" and took off on a dead run for us. I was hunting with a contender at the time and wanted a shot at 100yards or less. Once he was in the bottom of the canyon (about 150 yards) he circled around in the timber just like a coyote and we never saw him again. In area's that hold alot of bears I think you can scare alot away, but if you do get one to come in he will be a shooter. Plan on calling for at least an hour with a fawn bawl or rasppy jack, calling constantly. By no means a expert just what I have found in my area. Hope this helps.
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bearmanric said:
i'm buying a new bear calling gun next week. going back to a 270. maybe 270 wsm. i've killed a few bear's. Riverswild has killed more than me. when i guided from 93 to 97 the hardest bear's i had to find were both shot with a 338. i got rid of my proHunter 300 win mag. got tired of the recoil scope hitting my eye. i would use a 270 or bigger. dont over gun your self. be comfortble with it. i will be shooting 130 tipped trophy bonded shell's. i'll be calling shooting close range. Rick
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riverswild said:
All of mine have been killed with a .270. My wife has killed a couple with her 30-30.
Anything larger will do just fine.
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bearmanric said:
Yesterday was a great day. got my new custom Foxpro CS-24 pretty cool call. real light weight. Have a Fury to. will be using two sound's at once on it need to get second speaker for the CS-24 to play two sound's. also my my new production barrel's came yesterday. they are cnc machined out of Delrin from my good friend mister Yellerdog. going to be great Howler's and bear call's . getting excited for aug 1st. will be calling ing the cascade mountain's or the coast not sure yet.Rick /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
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Redfrog said:
I've called several black bears to the gun/bow. I never use baits and only call or spot and stalk.

I use deer distress, but you elk call will work.
I don't normally cold call bears unless the area screams "black bear live here."

I find some fresh sign and set up. In my experience they seem to take a while to come in. With coyotes or wolves you can have them come in in just a few minutes sometimes. I've not found this with bears for some reason.
They seem to have ADHD sometimes and forget what is going on. Sometimes they come in slowly and other times they are moving with a purpose. I call loudly and steadily. Once i have one in sight , I will stop to assess the quality and size.
Big head stuck directly on a fat body indicates a larger bear. If it's neck and leg are easily visible and he looks lanky or rangy he's small. I also glass them to make sure the hid is not rubbed. Start to blow again and he will start o come in again.

I have been charged by black bears but never when I'm calling.

Good luck and keep your eyes and ears working. It can get 'Western' in a hurry.
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elks said:
Originally Posted By: SalemDawgerI know others have called in a lot more than me but I have called in 7 bears using a pinch elk call. I start with mews and cow talk then go into distress sounds. My buddy and I blind call in areas where we find a lot of bear sign. Every time we have tried to call to a bear we see first it has not worked for us, and i have no explination for this.
Every bear we have called have come in close (bow range) and fairly fast, within 20 minutes or so. Be careful though they are funny when they come in. They do not like to leave even when we yelled, shot at at ( one and missed) and after they smelled us. I think once they get their mind on an easy meal, they are focused and can't figure out what is happening. I would take knapper along for backup!

Our success rate is probably one in 7 or 8 stands. Make sure you watch your back, or have a solid backing.

They are very callable!

Oh ya, like Redfrog siam, I call almost continuously in short burst then very short pauses. I think that the bears I have called were close when we started calling.
I posted a video of one bear we valled in like 07 on here if you can find it.

Thanks for the tips. Knapper has a full plate this fall. I have a few areas I know the bears hit pretty hard. However the dry weather and lack of water where I hunt are going to be key. I am hoping that I can call in the day and spend the twilight hours at the water holes. I will give it a [beeep] of try.
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4thlaker said:
To add to Muskrat30's point, a good fall bear has lots of fat. That fat can act as a rubber gasket, resealing an entry hole and preventing a blood trail. You'll want a decent sized piece of lead, and preferably enough horsepower for a pass through shot to double your chances at a blood trail. When you have to chase a wounded one into an evergreen stand thick enough to not see you hand at arms length in front of you, and can hear it growling between you and your guide who's less than 10 yards away- you'll understand why.
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masshunter said:
Around here abandoned apple orchards, ridges with beeches, acorns, are a good bet. They feed all day this time of year. Still hunting along these ridges with the wind in your face you can sometimes hear them in the trees or scratching the ground. They do sometimes make a lot of noise feeding. They do sometimes have trails that are heavily used, and if you can find a good setup that would work for bow that may be your best bet. They do like to rest in swamps when its hot out. Unharvested corn is a big draw, and farmers hate them so permission should be easy to get. Good luck, you'll have some good eating!
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