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Bear Hunting With Bait?

woodshermitwoodshermit Member Posts: 2,589
edited August 2003 in General Discussion
Where is the "sport" in luring a black bear to a pile of donuts, getting the critter hooked on sweets, then shooting it at close range? Some will say that since it is "legal" it is ok, but, that doesn't make the practice "sporting" does it? We can't legally put out bait for deer or moose. "Chumming" for freshwater game fish is illegal. Just curious as to how bear baiting became acceptable and sporting.
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Comments

  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Where is the sport in shooting game from a blind, treestand or, shooting house, or camo tent blind next to the animals natural food source, regular trail, or especially planted food plots for the purpose of attracting (baiting) game?

    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.<BR>
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  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    We bait fish hooks, dont we?

    "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once"
    -David Hume
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  • BOBBYWINSBOBBYWINS Member Posts: 7,810
    edited November -1
    Exactly,salzo.[^]

    IT'S WHAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES THAT MAKES THEM AFRAID.
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  • MercuryMercury Member Posts: 7,840 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Woods,
    IMO, it isn't "sporting". Neither is having a deer stand next to a food plot. Hell, why not just go to the zoo and blast away?

    Some people are "sportsmen" some aren't.

    Merc



    Real Men Question Authority



    "Tolerating things you may not necessarily like is part of being free" - Larry Flynt
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  • longhunterlonghunter Member Posts: 3,242
    edited November -1
    And as I said before....who decided that it would be a "sport"?I hunt,I hunt to eat,the kill is very important to me...I put the meat up and use it throughout the year.I would counter this line of reasoning with if you all feel it id "sporting" to run them with dogs?Seems the dogs are doing the work and if they do "their"job well,then you get to walk in and shoot that bear,in a tree,at close range.Is that "sport"?And yes as I said before I've run dogs on bear,many times,let me ask this,how many of you that do not think it is very"sporting" have tried it?It would seem that you could without a gun if it bothers you that badly....just remember to bring the makebelieve gun up so as to make all the movement etc.It may surprise you,I know it has many "sports"that I have known....L.H.
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  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Like I said. There are no bears here that we can hunt. The only ones we have sit in iron coffins and give tickets to speeders.

    I don't have the time to go to another state miles away and set up a bait stand and so on. If we really get down to it, is it sporting to use any means other than bare hands to harvest game? That's all we had when we were placed here by the Creator. He gave us brains and we finally figured that if we could knock down a rat with a rock or stick, it sure beat getting scratched or bitten by whatever we were after. I eat what I kill so to me it's not only sporting but it's also being a good steward of what we were given.

    "Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
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  • MillerMiller Member Posts: 175 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Woodshermit, have you ever been bear hunting over a place that has been baited? I know a few people who have hunted over a week waiting on the bear to come to bait and never seen one. All just to get a shot at one with there bow. That seems pretty sporting to me.
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  • 4GodandCountry4GodandCountry Member Posts: 3,968
    edited November -1
    I have never hunted bear but they have re-introduced them into the area around my farm. If they became abundant, I would certainly want to thin them out some. As far as baiting goes, to each his own. I may not agree with it but who the hell has the right to tell someone else what is ethical and what isn't. Its all relevant, what one person says is good someone else says is bad. Now if'n you wanna really make a sport outa it, try dressing up in a giant twinky outfit and set next to the bears grub can with a gulf club. But if you do, let me know so I can be there to get it on video.[:D]

    "Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet."
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  • longhunterlonghunter Member Posts: 3,242
    edited November -1
    Originally posted by 4GodandCountry
    Now if'n you wanna really make a sport outa it, try dressing up in a giant twinky outfit and set next to the bears grub can with a gulf club. But if you do, let me know so I can be there to get it on video.[:D]



    [:D][:D]I can't stop laughin long enough to debate it,even if there was somethin...anythin one could say!!![:D][:D]Good one![:D]
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  • kingjoeykingjoey Member Posts: 8,636
    edited November -1
    Hypothetically, I would hang a several burlap sacks with a pair of cats in each at various areas where I was hunting to call the bears in. It'd work better than a grain bin and if you come back along your bait traps and find them gone you're only out a sack and cats[;)][}:)][:D]

    Love them Beavers
    orst-title-1.gif

    SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN
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  • woodshermitwoodshermit Member Posts: 2,589
    edited November -1
    Some interesting comments. The one about baiting the hook for fish made me stop and think and smile for a moment. My experience with black bears is that they are normally extremely wary and quick to run away at the first scent of man. I believe they cover a fairly large territory and would be difficult to hunt via stalking or still hunting. I personally have no desire to kill a bear unless it is a nuisance and destroying property. I've heard mixed opinions on bear meat as food, but, certainly consuming what one kills is the ideal. I gave someone permission to set out bear bait on my property once about 10 years ago. Unfortunately the hunters left trash, including bear body parts behind when they were done. And, they wondered why I said no the following season. Bear baiting does attract a number of out-of-state hunters who contribute to the local economy and put money into the pockets of guides. As far as hunting bear with dogs, at least the bear has a chance to outwit or outrun them, and, as someone said, one doesn't have to shoot it for the hunt to be succesful. Donuts and twinkies set out day after day (baiting usually starts several days or weeks before the actual hunt)until the bear gets in the habit of visiting the site just seems too easy. As far as wearing a Twinkie suit, well, it would have to be a blaze orange suit in this neck of the woods. It's always the inconsiderate and careless hunters who ruin things for the other guy.
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  • longhunterlonghunter Member Posts: 3,242
    edited November -1
    woodshermit, I find bear meat great eating! Obviously as I persue them as I do I must.Anyhow to anyone that cares,I believe the secret is getting the meat cooled ASAP.All that fat and that dark,thick fur make for some rancid,nasty meat in a short time.I try to get fur of,then "skin"again getting the fat that remains off,quarter it and get it cool,the quicker the better.I grind a lot of mine and mix in spices like in sausage...I then use it in spagetti's and all sorts of dishes.I enjoy the roasts and steaks also... As far as runnin em with dogs...and their getting away,ya that can happen...but if it does much they would'nt be MY dogs.....And I do pass up young bears and sows with cubs,we try to shoot all males tho I'Ve not found them very willing to "check out"the equipment! L.H.
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  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    woodshermit,
    I've misjudged you. Forgive me for that. I thought you were gonna sneak in here and try to do some stirring with a big laddle. I was wrong. I really think I'm gonna like you.

    Giant twinkie suit. I don't think so. G&C what size wood do you recommend?

    "Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
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  • MillerMiller Member Posts: 175 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I guess I need to go hunt where ever some of these guys are talking about. Never hunted over a bait station that was a easy hunt. Took lots of patience, planning, and time. Oh well, I guess most people usually complain about what they have never done. Some of you ought to try it. Try having mesquitos, flies, and nats all over you for a few days and not seeing a glimbse of a bear, then say it is an easy hunt.
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  • woodshermitwoodshermit Member Posts: 2,589
    edited November -1
    longhunter, thanks for the info on bear meat. What you said sounds reasonable, ethical, and tasty to me and I would try some given the opportunity. It's always a good idea to keep an open mind.
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  • 96harley96harley Member Posts: 3,992 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Miller, Don't foget the fact they can be on you before you know it. They are like * ghost. I had one in Canada come into my ground blind with me. He came in from the back side. I was close enough to reach out and touch him with my rifle. I was scared stiff. Couldn't move, just frozen with fear. He finally walked away but that night in May around 9:00 PM I will never forget. It gave me a new appreciation for these brothers of the deep woods. I stayed in that blind two more days and my head was rotating like an owl's the whole time.

    "Save the Whalers, they need jobs too."
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  • BlueTicBlueTic Member Posts: 4,072
    edited November -1
    Now if you hunt to eat - it is not a sport! We could put up a corral and feed lot and dispatch each fatted cow in the slaughterhouse - then to the butcher where we could purchase the choice cuts - oh, hold it, we already do that. So is it sporting to bait cattle with hay and grain????? If you can't use a dog with bear - why can you use a dog with birds????? I'm not the Great white hunter here - but just a few questions on the logic used to define sport-v-hunting. Sport to me would be the trophy hunter, who's only quest is to put a trophy on the wall (and I have no problem with this - as long as they don't leave the rest to rot) . I like to eat what I hunt and I hunt because I would like deer/bear in the freezer. I actually have never baited, nor run dogs, but hell it would be a bit easier[:)]

    IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY (this includes politicians)
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  • longhunterlonghunter Member Posts: 3,242
    edited November -1
    Woodshermit, And you sound like a reasonable,ethical man..I appreciate your opinions and the post here to debate this......Thanks for the open mind....L.H.
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  • Ronald J. SnowRonald J. Snow Member Posts: 1,346 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Woodshermit--why would wear the orange twinkie suit during the baiting season?
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  • woodshermitwoodshermit Member Posts: 2,589
    edited November -1
    I wear blaze orange because it makes me look 20 lbs lighter and it is my favorite fall color.
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  • longhunterlonghunter Member Posts: 3,242
    edited November -1
    [:D]
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