What are thechances

[GunnyMack]

So NJ finally gave us a 'better' bear season.the normal season is first week of December. We have had the past 5 days to either bow hunt( M,T,W) or bow/ muzzle loader (TH,F,S). I haven't been able to get out.
I'm hoping to get in a tree and try to at least see how my luck goes.

Taking my predator call, anyone ever call a bear before?

[Pitchy]

Never bear hunted before but good luck on your hunt.

[Pete44ru]

.

I was calling local predators (Fox, Coyote, Racoon) with a Rabbit screaming call, when in walked a small Black Bear (rare hereabouts).

Since all I had was a .22WRM rifle, AND there's no bear season (or bears, most times) in this state (making it illegal to take a bear here), I can tell you that it was a very tense experience.

However, I can cheerfully report that my pants stayed clean & dry.........


.

[crs]

The Burnham Brothers book, The Critters Come When Called" discussed calling everything from foxes to bear, even African lions!
Best be prepared though, just in case one does come in.

[Sixgun]

I went huntin' bare one time.....it was coooooollllddd.....and when I got to the mountains I turned around and went home because I saw a road sign that said, "bear left".

I know, it's old. As for bear calls, never heard of em but my brother in law paid a thousand dollar fine because he shot a 600 pounder on his upstate property. The problem was he was caught bringing all the local bear on his property by feeding them donuts all year long.----6

[GunnyMack]

We can bait them, but we can't be any closer than 100 yards to the bait...
This was our very first 'early' season, normally the season is first week on December. Now I'm not a biologist but I know that December is NOT the best time to bear hunt!

From what I saw in the paper, the first 3 days of the season, archery only was 2-300 bears were taken. Now that's effective! For the most part, only the NW corner of the state is open for bears! I haven't heard what the other three days ( archery/ muzzleloader)total was.

Worst part of it was I never got out!

[JOHNNY WACKO]

A friend on a fishing trip got up early and went to the outhouse and walked out without looking and when he was done and opened the door a BIG bear was on the cabin porch setting by the door . he had to wait it out to get back in it.He packed up and left that morning .

[GunnyMack]

Long time ago we were in Quebec on a fishing trip, one of my buddies was portaging a canoe wham he stepped over a blow down ON to a sleeping bear. He went one way, the bear another way and the canoe went a third way!

[1894]

Many years ago at camp one morning , my Dad said " Hey ! there's a bear out there" . Several of us , half believing him , looked out the window and sure enough a bear was checking out the back / side yard . Then it walked down the short path , paused and stuck its head inside the open outhouse door and gave that a few second look over, before wandering off into the woods

[Batman1939]

There have been a couple of instances recently of archery elk hunters here in Montana calling in grizzlies, when they "thought" they were calling elk. Not a happy outcome.

[GunnyMack]

I don't have EXACT numbers, but from what I have heard, the first 3 days of the season( archery only) produced about 200 bears! Haven't heard about total for the six day season.
We had a bear with a birth defect, causing it to only walk on hind legs, of course the media named it Peddels, well seems a hunter shot it and now the media and the non hunting public are up in arms about it. Seems this bear has been in the news for the past few years, I saw pictures of it, it is SMALL body, obviously the deformations were preventing it from reaching normal bear proportions... Not enough food?
The public has another knee jerk reaction, they just don't get it! Whoever shot it will now be a social outcast when he/she should be applauded for keeping the gene pool strong!

And already the anti's have begun another push to STOP the next hunt in December, and for following years.

[1894]

Looks like a total of 562

http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/bearseason_info.htm#harvest