Wisconsin bears

[wipartimer]

Some may say its a little soon, but I've always preferred to start my bear baits early in the year. I enjoy watching the trail cam pictures, and am not overly worried about the cost of a little extra bait. I drew a tag this year and asked my Dad if he would help me with the set up, as I am working in Tulsa and would have a bit of trouble driving to central Wisconsin every weekend. That being said, @justGina and I made the drive this weekend, and am very pleased with the early camera results.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Good luck with it.

 

[Foxi]

Wish you luck and Waidmannsheil.
Two different bears on your cam, isn't it ?
Regards from Munich

 

[CAustin]

What are you baiting with?

 

[wipartimer]

@BRICKBURN - Thank you Sir

@Foxi - waidmannsdank! , and Yes these are two different bait sites ( which is all we have room for on our 100 acres) and we have at least two different bears hitting them so far. we know from past experience that which bears are coming in will change somewhat through the season, but these two will be monsters by fall.

@CAustin In Wisconsin, No meat or meat by-product is allowed, neither is honey, so we use alot of bulk rejected sweets purchased from candy manufacturers, along with a few secret ingredients. I like to vary the make up of the bait as the season goes along as the bears dietary needs and wants will change from emerging from hibernation to summer lazy/growingtime, to fall breeding and gorging to put on fat for hibernation again.

I sometimes hear people that have never done it say things like " it so easy, you just throw out a couple of donuts a shoot a bear" I actually find that type of thinking to be quite offensive, as we spend hundreds of dollars just in gas and bait purchase along with a few month's of time, just try to get the right bear,at the right stand , during daylight. I do truly love this chess game though.

 

[Shootist43]

Congrats on "bagging" Gina, I hope your bear hunting is successful as well. On occasion we have bear pass through our hunting property in Michigan. Accouple of years ago we had different bear on 5 trail cams. We don't hunt them but are excited to see them even though they are just passing through.

 

[CTDolan]

Bears, at least where I hunt (BWCA in northern Minnesota, which does not allow a permanent bait site) have huge ranges, usually traveled over a 5-day period (in other words, unless held in an area for some reason, such as a bumper berry crop, they only show up in a given location about once per week). Much different than deer, that way, they are.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Never hunted bears over bait, but I have read it can be nerve racking waiting on one to turn for a proper shot.

 

[CTDolan]

Never hunted bears over bait, but I have read it can be nerve racking waiting on one to turn for a proper shot.

I’ve not done any baiting myself but some guys advocate placement bait, something the bear is certain to hit on which will, by virtue of placement, force the animal into a good position for a shot.

 

[wipartimer]

I’ve not done any baiting myself but some guys advocate placement bait, something the bear is certain to hit on which will, by virtue of placement, force the animal into a good position for a shot.

Yes we try to consider 1) Location-- where will the bears be likely to be traveling naturally to make sure they find the bait in the first place and are a little less likly to ignore it when acorns or other naturral food sources are in season, 2) prevailing winds- which only seem to be prevailing until the day one actually climbs into the stand to hunt, 3) comfort of the stand- we are usually able to get bears to come during the day time, but we have had them come in at 07:00, 13:30, 19:00, and anytime in between, which can make for a VERY long time to sit absolutely still and remain alert. This actually makes it one of the hardest hunts I've ever done. 4) is the hunter right or left handed, hunting with bow rifle or handgun?- this also helps determine stand and bait placement. 5) By law, we must have the bait completely covered with naturally occurring material-no barrels, buckets, plywood, etc. so we dig a hole in the ground and cover with logs and brush. this is where we try to gauge where the bear is likely to come from, how he will approach and swipe away our cover ( usually throwing the logs aside with one nonchalant swipe what it takes us 15-20 minutes of grunting and stacking to place), and how he is likely to position and feed.

I absolutely love all of it. We only have one hunter per year, know that whether that be myself, a family member, or a close friend that actually gets to be the one pulling the trigger, I know that I hunted that bear.

 

[rookhawk]

I love seeing the bear thread above. I've wanted to hunt bear for the past 4 seasons in WI so i've been putting in preference points. Only 8-9 years to go and I'll have the necessary points to give it a go!

On the other (better) hand, my avid outdoorswoman daughter (age 8) wrote a very thoughtful essay and entered a scholarship program run by WI DNR this past winter. She won a mentored hunt for this August in Wisconsin and I can't wait to accompany her! I've been inactive on this forum for awhile due to work...a ton of work...and 53,000 miles on airplanes thus far this year. When I have a minute to spare, I talk bear hunting with my daughter!

Keep the good thread vibes going!

 

[buckmarkhunter]

I have been working in the central WI area. They have been seeing some nice ones by us. What worked for us is we went to the local co op and bought 5 gal of molasses, pretty cheap and sticks around for a while. Best of luck on your hunt.

 

[Shootist43]

Rookhawk, what will your daughter be hunting, bear or deer? Will she still be using her 243?

 

[rookhawk]

Rookhawk, what will your daughter be hunting, bear or deer? Will she still be using her 243?

Hi @Shootist43 . I'm still on the fence about my 8 year old using her custom .243 for black bear. She is quite accurate with it, a plus. However, there is always the chance she finds a larger bear and it may not be enough gun. I was actually thinking about the idea of her using a 12 gauge slug rifle with a reflex sight I've built. Its crazy too long for her but with its weight (off sticks or a cradle) using truball diminished loads it is roughly 15-18pounds of felt recoil and no matter how bad the fit, the reflex sight will aim true. I thought that may be the best 30-50 yard option I can muster for the compromise of fit, power and recoil for what will be a barely 9 year old girl on the day of the hunt.

In my limited time I've had at home this year I got to take her and her little brother Turkey hunting along with the rest of our little clique of 6-8 year old avid hunters. Every single kid got a turkey this year, 3 in the youth season and my son in the adult 4th season. All of them used a crossbow at 25-52 yards with great effect except my daughter who wouldn't have it. She shot a 12 gauge autoloader a friend lent her using a one ounce #6 2.5" english shell at 1125fps...it was manageable recoil for her and did the job well...her turkey was really nice.

So what should my daughter use for bear this year?

Options:

Fitted to her .243 with the diminished loads? (or maybe with the hottest/heaviest .243 loads I can find?)
Reduced load 12 gauge slug gun with a reflex sight ?
Dad's way too long 7x57 with a reduced load and an extended eye relief scope?

That's about all we have in manageable recoil at present.

Not enough time for kids nor hunting these days with work, but our mind dances with the thoughts of WI bear hunting and we're counting the days!

 

[wipartimer]

My recommendation, if she can handle it, would be the 12 guage slug. Bears, especially in the fall, have a tendanct to have fat seal the wound somewhat, and I fear a .243 at short range would penetrate well but not expand, with the possibility of leaving two small, but leathal holes in a big boar making tracking difficult.
In my very limited experience, bears die somewhat easy, but never without an adrenaline run, no matter how good the shot, unless the CNS is taken out.

Can't wait to see pics and the story of her hunt.

 

[Shootist43]

Rookhawk, sorry for the delay, I've been up North working on my Food Plots. In all honesty the 243 isn't going to cut it. But I think you surmised that when I raised the question. Are you by chance going to be in Michigan any time soon? I know where I can get my hands on a kid sized 6.5 x 55 with a muzzle break on it that you could borrow. If not, how about a 20 Ga. with a slug?

 

[rookhawk]

Rookhawk, sorry for the delay, I've been up North working on my Food Plots. In all honesty the 243 isn't going to cut it. But I think you surmised that when I raised the question. Are you by chance going to be in Michigan any time soon? I know where I can get my hands on a kid sized 6.5 x 55 with a muzzle break on it that you could borrow. If not, how about a 20 Ga. with a slug?

Hi Shootist43, nice hearing from you. I have similar feelings that while the 243 will do just fine on a 200lb sow, it probably isn't a good plan should we run into a 350-450lb boar which could indeed happen. I have a savage 220 slug gun on order for my kids. I figure I can find a diminished recoil slug that is roughly 17lbs of recoil for her to use on the hunt. The trick will be making the gun small enough. Another alternative is that if the law allows, I may have her use her .243 and I'll carry a slug rifle in case we need it, I can hand it to her. (*subject to reviewing the law on this matter)

Incidentally, a 6.5x55 is an amazing weapon for grown ups and kids alike. Same for 7x57. So good. I'm not sure if we'll be in MI anytime soon but will surely look you up if we head that direction.

 

[Shootist43]

Have you seen these before? I have them for smaller statured youngsters that were in my Hunter Education Classes.
The gun is made by H&R or New England Firearms. It is called the Pardner Compact, I believe the LOP is 12 &1/2". Mine are 20 Ga. They are a break open shotgun, however the hammer goes to the safe position when the action is closed and must be pulled back to fire. I never fired a slug through mine so I cannot attest to their accuracy with anything other than birdshot.