Hunting Bear with a Crossbow

5 Tips How To Bowhunting Black Bear

Introduction Bowhunting Black Bear

Black bear hunting can be quiet challenging. They often live in thick bushes or dense forests and have a strong sense of smell making it almost impossible to bridge their spaces. This article will explains about how to bowhunting black bear. Black bear can considered as danger species and hunting black bear must be get permission by authority and not easy hunting the black bear. It should be noted here that this article just want to give information about hunting black bear using the bow and this article can be used as the reference for future study.

Black bears are found in over 40 US states, from Alaska to Mexico and in various parts of Canada. They tend to hunt and live in solitude especially after crossing the 2-year age line. When there’s a scarcity of food, however, black bears can be found in groups, especially mother bears and their cubs.

A total of 27 states in the US allows the hunting of black bears. Approximately 40,000 bears are legally hunted during the spring and fall seasons each year. This makes it necessary to practice safe hunting skills that will not only guarantee accurate harvest but also continued the survival of black bear species. Below are 5 tips on how to bow hunt black bears.

Field judging when Bowhunting Black Bear

Every hunter has a goal as to which and what size of black bear they want to harvest. A black bear can look very big in the wild only to realize he/she was barely mature. Proper field judging is very important since you’ll be in a position to clearly spot the right game. This will keep you on track and avoid making unintentional but costly and resentful mistakes.
For first time hunters, here are some few things you can look for to know if the black bear is young, old, small or big.

. Front legs- if the front legs look long, he/she is basically young. The reason is, the chest area isn’t yet developed. As the bear gets older, the chest and belly area is going to hang lower to the ground and will make the front legs look shorter.

. Size- a 3-year-old bear would weigh around 220 pounds while a well matured black bear (18 to 25 years) would weigh around 500 pounds. Female bears weigh approximately 33 percent less than their male counterparts.

. Head and ear size- a fully mature black bear will have a bigger head with small-looking ears. A young bear, on the other hand, would have a narrower head with slightly pronounced ears.

. Nose to tail distance- the length from the nose to the tail can help determine the age and maturity of the black bear. An adult black bear is about 5 to 7 feet long while a young bear is in the range of 3 to 4 feet long.

Proper Baiting when Bowhunting Black Bear

Depending on which State or province you come from; black bear baiting can either be legal or illegal. If you have the opportunity the hunt black bear where baiting is permitted, consider yourself lucky. In areas where bears live in dense habitat and largely inaccessible bushes; baiting may be the only consistent way to see a black bear. In spring seasons when underbrush and leaves obscure much of the forest vegetation; it’s necessary to be well prepared, composed and stealth.

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The importance of baiting can be explained in two ways; it reduces the chances of killing a sow with cubs or destroying the species generation by hunting a young, immature bear. Also, the kill with baiting is accurate and quick since the hunter and the bear are in close range.

Black bears are opportunistic eaters and will feed on anything they can develop a taste on. Some of the popular bear baits include; doughnuts, bread, and fish. To avoid attracting unwanted strangers such as coyotes and wolves, choose sweet baits and less of carcasses and meat scraps.

While many ethical hunters believe that baiting is indecent and cruel; sometimes it only makes sense to do the baiting. Such hunters prefer pursuing bears in their natural and unaltered habitat, often by tracking them in tight cover.

Once the bear season is on and your baits are set, it’s time to grab your bow and arrow. When taking out the kill, aim intentionally and release the arrow swiftly to avoid prompting unnecessary commotion. Don’t rush yourself into releasing the arrow if the bear is in motion. To be on the safer side, practice all the archery tactics and tricks and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Aim the right spot when Bowhunting Black Bear

A black bear is a big animal but the kill spot is very small. The best spot to aim is the lungs which are positioned just behind the left front leg. Unlike a whitetail, a black bear would look just like a huge pile of black fur and choosing the right kill spot can be a daunting task. Before proceeding to your hunting expedition, practice aiming with the 3D bear targets.

Focus on the right shooting techniques

Developing proper archery skills can take time. In order to be successful with bear hunting, it’s critical to have the perfect skills and bow tactics. One step is to identify the perfect range without compromising your position. Stability and form when shooting are the other aspects to consider. Hand and elbow placement, the amount of pressure to exert on the arrow and of course the release techniques can either make or break your shot. As a rule of thumb, always try to eliminate torque caused by the non-dominant hand while shooting. The other things such as choosing the right bow depend on what you’re comfortable with. Always practice your archery skills in the woods so it can give you the real outdoor hunting experience.

Keep yourself and your bow, scent-free

Many times, hunters eliminate the human scent or some other detectable smell from clothes, bows, and arrows when they’re in the field. This is because the same sense of smell used by black bears to trace the baits will help them locate their predators. Using the right scent killer spray every time you take a sit while hunting conceals your presence. Another contributing factor is the wind. By positioning yourself on the downwind, you reduce the chances of wind exposing your position.

Conclusion

When food baits alone seem to be unreliable, you can choose to use the predator call. By blowing a predator call and waiting long enough for the bear to appear, you minimize the long distance of tracking the bear without success. This also gives you better clearance and time to prepare before letting the arrow fly.