How far away.....

The Beast’s of the North woods. Behaviors, Hunting Stories, Pictures, Tactics, Q&A.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
Schultzy
500 Club
Posts: 3138
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Minnesota
Status: Offline

How far away.....

Unread postby Schultzy » Thu Sep 30, 2010 10:01 am

Are your tree stands from your baits?


Most of ours are In that 10 to 12 yard range.


User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Thu Sep 30, 2010 11:37 am

15 yards is max. with 12 yards to the bait, terrain permitting.

Height is crucial for bowhunting also. Usually 10-12' up, no more, allowing the best opening for the vitals.
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41590
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby dan » Thu Sep 30, 2010 11:45 am

I like to push the 20 yard mark, and I like being about 20 feet high... Reason is the mature bears like to circle the bait to smell who or what is at the bait before coming in. I also like to have a certain wrought I take in to bait and a different wrought that goes to the stand so the bears have less of a chance of figuring out which trees I hunt out of.
In my opinion, most hunters will never even know that a big bear was going to come in but smelled them and left... All they see is the stupid young ones. Once a mature bear gets spooked from your bait it likely won't come back and if it does, it will do so at night.
User avatar
Singing Bridge
500 Club
Posts: 7162
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:11 pm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pro ... 1329617473
Location: Logged in - from above
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:01 pm

I've been setting my baits about 15 yards from my tree, and my stand is 15 feet above the ground. The bears pay close attention to the trail I use to enter and exit when I bait, and familiarize themselves with it by tracking my ground scent all the way out to the road. They followed my trail and crushed a large bear spray can I put in a Ziplock and hid in a triple trunk birch tree by the road- had to taste good. Also, the older bears in particular will face my baiting entrance / exit trail most of the time while hitting the bait- a consideration for stand placement and the route you take to hunt in order to get a broadside/quartering away bow shot.
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41590
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby dan » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:04 pm

Also, the older bears in particular will face my baiting entrance / exit trail most of the time while hitting the bait- a consideration for stand placement and the route you take to hunt in order to get a broadside/quartering away bow shot.

I combat that by placing the bait against an obstacle, Or placing an obstacle behind the bait to get the bear to expose himself for a shot.
User avatar
Singing Bridge
500 Club
Posts: 7162
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:11 pm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pro ... 1329617473
Location: Logged in - from above
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:09 pm

yep, cribbing and or a barrier is a pretty common practice for good reason. But I found it interesting that you MAY be able to anticipate the position of a bear for a shot without it, a behavioral tendency I noticed in my hunting area.
User avatar
Schultzy
500 Club
Posts: 3138
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Minnesota
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Schultzy » Fri Oct 01, 2010 1:30 am

We use BIG logs to cover the bait on the ground and by positioning them a certain direction In most cases It will set us up for the shot/angle we want them at without using blockades. Works real good!!! Some baits we use blockades too. It all depends on the set up.

Good Info everyone!!
User avatar
Singing Bridge
500 Club
Posts: 7162
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:11 pm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pro ... 1329617473
Location: Logged in - from above
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Oct 01, 2010 2:02 am

Schultzy and Dan, got any pics of your cribbing/logs/barriers? 8-)
User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Fri Oct 01, 2010 2:50 am

Most of the mature bear I see coming to a bait use the trail I walk in on. Doesn't mean they initially came from this direction but I assume most circle the bait and come in on the trail to check how fresh the human scent is.

This is why my thinking is baiting times and hunting times should be the same, around noon.

No way you will ever eliminate your scent trail in and bear know the bait is placed by humans.....the trick is to let them think you droped the bait again and left already. Two humans in and one leaving can work too, but found that keeping baiting time consistant and the same time for hunting entry will increase your chance for success.

12 yard stand placement is a creamer shot with the bow. But all bear might not commit to the bait, even walking in on your trail. A 12 yard shot to the bait may become a 20 yarder if the bear hangs up right at dark.

We also use logs and cut them in the spring to 6' length to help in judging bear size also. Some logs are rolled on the bait while others are positioned for "bear" placement.
User avatar
Schultzy
500 Club
Posts: 3138
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Minnesota
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Schultzy » Fri Oct 01, 2010 7:46 am

dan wrote:I like to push the 20 yard mark
If I wasn't shooting a recurve I'd go this route as well. Dad and I were talking about this very thing this year at camp. Allot of these guides where I hunt are having good success rates shooting bear and we've saw their set ups, their nothing special In the least. One big difference though Is how far away their setting up from the baits. Allot of them are 40 yards away. That can take the wind factor damn near out of It which Is huge with bear.
User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Fri Oct 01, 2010 6:49 pm

Ok, couple of questions since I'm always looking for improvements...... 40 yards from the bait, most of "my" spots wouldn't allow for that long of a shot with out a quite a bit of trimming. Do you guys create "tunnel" shooting lanes to the bait? Wouldn't this open a lane for the bears to pin point your location/tree?

As most of you posted, we all agree mature bear circle the bait, barring terrain obsticles what is the average distance from the bait does the "circle" start? Will the 40 yard distance be inside or outside(as I have experianced) the circle and really help in human scent "control?
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41590
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby dan » Fri Oct 01, 2010 9:11 pm

I look for areas that have a natural shooting lane... If not I will trim a hole, but it don't take much trimming usually to open up big enough to get a shot through...
You are correct in assuming they circle wider than the 40 yards. I think it varys, but for the most part it could be 50 to 100 yards. Maybe further. I tend to think that when they circle they are smelling the scent stream off of the bait itself and not what is 20 to 40 yards off to the side or above it. However they could catch that to, while circling.
A friend of mine who guides told me that most of the really big bears his clients shoot are not shot on the bait but are shot 40 yards or more downwind of the bait and his biggest challenge is convincing the client to hunt off of the bait.
He will use a road, river, pond, field, etc. as a block to keep the bear circling within a set distance and set up his client hopefully where he can hunt the bait and the circle factor.
User avatar
Hodag Hunter
500 Club
Posts: 3837
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:14 pm
Location: Northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:17 am

I have done this for deer in second bow season when I sometimes bait but never thought of it for bear.....what do think of placing a 2nd camera on the predominate downwind trail 40-50 yards out?

Think too much extra scent checking that second cam away from the bait is going to spook them?

I have done this for deer, 2nd cam(not always) and bounce stands/trees sometimes 100 yards up and down from the bait location. Not so much because of late arrivals, thou it has helped in some cases for those deer, but deer/bear can be really on edge when 1st approaching a bait. Better to ambush them away from the bait while they focus most of their attention to the bait close ahead.

This site really gets a guy thinking.......
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41590
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby dan » Sat Oct 02, 2010 1:22 am

Hmmm... I would think the downwind camera would work if it was placed where your baiting access trail crossed the bears trail... But not if you suddenly put in another scent trail to place a camera. Anything that changes can spook the bears. Especially the mature ones.
User avatar
Schultzy
500 Club
Posts: 3138
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:46 pm
Location: Minnesota
Status: Offline

Re: How far away.....

Unread postby Schultzy » Sat Oct 02, 2010 2:46 am

A bears eye sight Is nothing special so creating shooting lanes won't be a problem at all. I bet I can think of at least 40 different hunts where I had bear with In 20 yards of me circling that I never saw but always heard. I believe they circle much closer then people think. 2 days before I shot my bear this year I had a bear circle me with In 30 yards. I never saw It but I heard him from time to time circling me. As soon as he hit my wind he flew out of there with his on fire!! By the sounds of his muffed/padded running he was a big SOB.

what do think of placing a 2nd camera on the predominate downwind trail 40-50 yards out?
I wouldn't do It. The only time I'd walk In this area was If I was to hunt It right now. They'll catch on to quick otherwise I think. Another thing too, on a hot bait I believe their already with In 60 to 70 yards of the bait bedded down just waiting to go In there or even closer then that. This year dad and I talked about putting another stand back In the direction a big guy was coming from on one of our baits. We knew where he was circling which was about 20 yards behind the stand and we were thinking about placing a stand 15 or so yards down wind of that circle trail. Dad still may do this yet.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Bear Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests