nh houndsmen

[Bow]

the NH hounds men did it again took 63 bears 30 males 33 sows. it has took me some tome but i think i have it figured out the hounds men DONT no how to tell the difference.

[halfbreed]

nh i don't understand your post . understand WHAT ? please elaborate

[Bow]

they kill more sows then males every year. when it is easy to tell one from the other in the tree. no need to kill all the sows.

[halfbreed]

oh!! now i see . ok yeah it would be good to tell the diff. if you want to continue doing it for years to come . hell heres how we did it with coons . climb the tree and stick em in the behind , if it smiled at ya it was a sow , if it growled it was a boar ya'll be careful out thar .

[DOITALL]

Yes killing that % of sows the population will soon be to low for a season.

[Borderpond]

Bow, I dont think its that they cant tell the difference, I think its more that they just dont care. That being said, I dont really think its a big deal in NH. Houndsmen traditionally take only around 10 percent of the total kill in NH.Not much of a factor in the overall kill. I understand your point, but dont think anyone really gets upset witht he ratio.

[Bow]

thats right they dont care.that is to bad when the bear population is on the decline which it is. any % is to much to take.

[Borderpond]

Hey Bow, I just looked at the NH F and G site. Looks like houndsmen have about 20% of the kill this year, as of late Oct anyways. Kill was way down from previous years.

[Bow]

the hound take is up. one of the highest in years. small % over all but when you can tell the difference from male or sow i just dont under stand it.

[Borderpond]

Thats what I meant Bow, overall kill was way down but hound take % was up.

[Bow]

the bait( guides) hunters couldn't get the bears to come in so they had to hire hounds to fill some tags for them.

[Bow]

Kelly i answered your post but now it is gone and yours to.if you are the one that deleted it makes no sens to me. you say that i should not be bashing the hounds men that we all need to stick together that is right we do. the only reason i bring this up is because the bear population can not keep getting hit the way that it is and have the population that we all wont.have i killed sows yes but i have the hounds now that let me be vary picky of what we take. i have no problem with some one just starting out taking one but some one that has the hounds that can tree bear about any time they wont should not be taking them. it just makes no cents to me to kill 80lb bears and all the sows.you say that it is some of the out of stater hunters might be if so i hope some one smartens them up. i cane name 4 NH hounds men that took there share of them.if we don't police this in house amongst are self's then the state will do it for us before we are done. i know that the hounds men take a small % of the bear kill but we are were they can start to do some thing about it. you said that ill never make any friends by talking like i do if that means that i have to kill 80lb bears and sows friends i don't need. if i a fended you then i am sorry it is just my thought on the hole thing. John P. Green

[SteveHurd]

John please do explain how you tell them apart. I have been bear hunting with dogs for about 10 years now, and the only way I can tell is if I see balls.

Where I hunt the bear population is the best its every been, I would not say it is on the downhill.

[Bow]

steve it is easy to tell the next time that you have a bear look at there private parts you will see that both male and female have long strands of hair coming of the end of them the purpose for this is to place urine to sent mark. when a bear is in a tree you can see it if you learn what to look for you can see the shin of it the males will be up under him and the sows will be in the back. i have a hide rite here that i use to show people.and if you cant tell we let them down so we can get a better look. and if we still cant tell we let it go and go find another one. we almost always have a small pair of binocs with us.in the fall after they start to put the pounds on it is even easier to tell just by there build sows are short and have fat hind ends shaped like a wedge.can i tell every time no that is when we just let them go and find another one.if you are ever up around here stop by and i can show you what to look for

[Borderpond]

Steve, I agree with you that there are more bears in N.H. now than ever before.Look at the kill in N.H. before 2000 and since then. There is a bear population in every WMU in the state now.That was not the case in the past.Bow, you are the only guy I have heard saying the bear population is on the decline.Ask the guys that handle the bear nuisance calls and you will get the opposite opinion of yours.
Bow, if you are serious about identifying a bears sex by looking under the hair strands on their back ends, you are a better man than any other bear hunter I have ever known.Dont think that method of identifying would work very well on a bear 60 ft up hugging a pine tree.
The fact that houndsmen took 33 sows out of a bear population of 4800 is a non issue.