Close calls while baiting bear's??

[chris lavoie]

I baited 35 sites today. Never carry a weapon in case of an attack!! Do you carry when baiting bear's?? Any close calls???

[Bayemup34]

You get caught baitin bears down here you in some deep crap. Here it's all either riggin from the truck or walkin the dogs through the woods tryin to find a bear. Would make it easier if we could at least bait durin chase season to get the young dogs on bear easier!

[Jake Bell]

Chris, lots of times especially during the hunt I bait at night after work and its usually dark, im lucky to remember to bring in my flashlight let alone haul a gun in trying to carry all that bait, bumped lots of bear but never had much of an issue, had a sow send some cubs up the tree about 20 yards off the bait one night but as soon as i was done baiting i heard them climb down, she sat a piece away breaking brush and popping her jaw but never bluffed me or anything.

[albertaguy]

I've outfitted Bears for a good number of years in several camps, I have likely 800-1000 Bears on my tally sheet, 90 percent of which were on bait, mostly in NW Alberta. These Bears were taken in more remote locations and did not have a lot of experience with people.
I, at one time, did not carry a gun, and I've had guides who would find a gun cumbersome when packing bait to the site. Those guides, and myself, eventually had a situation/confrontation where we sorely regretted not being armed. And after these encounters, we wouldn't go baiting without a rifle. Some of the Bears would be just curious or complacent, these were of no concern, but there were some bears that meant business and were dangerous. I started using a Catahoula dog who would walk into the baits with me, and that dog would alert me to nearby bears. You'd be surprised at how many bears were right there close-by, hiding and watching as the baits were being stocked.
After all these years of experience, I can assure you that it is not a matter of if you will have a bear issue, but when you will have an issue. I have seen instances where you go have a hundred bait visits without an issue, and then had three in a row. I remember one bow hunter half way up the ladder stand and a bear biting on the bottom of his boot, tearing the heel out of his new pair of hunting boots. The guide had got run off and the bear turned on the hunter. The guide hot-footed it back to the truck, got his shotgun, returned to the site pronto and killed the bear who was standing his ground.
I've had more Bears climb up the stands than I can remember and that always gave the hunters a bit of a start. I can guarantee you that the longer you fool with bears, the higher the odds are you are going to have some trouble and having a gun handy is going to be a real good idea.
Just my two bits worth.

[ferjr]

I dont bait bears, its ilegal here, you have to rig and strike them without bait, but I did get caught on the ground by a bear when walking in on a tree a while back. The Garmin showed treed but it wasnt in the tree. Dogs had it bayed up in some thick timber, I walked in and wasnt expecting to see a bear on the ground, next thing I know a bear hits me like a linebacker and bites the sh*t out of me. Luckily my hounds were all over him and he just bit and ran. I had a pistol but never had the chance to get it out, my dogs bayed him up again on a road where I got some pictures, he looked like he might charge me again So i put down the camera and grabbed my pistol but he turned and treed.

This is the bite mark through my Levis, a couple of days after the incedent.



This is the bear after I got bit, and the dogs got him bayed up again. He looked like he was going to come at me again but the dogs were between him and I so he went up in the woods and treed.


This is the same bear before he turned towards me again.


This is him after he treed. I wanted to shoot his azz but it was during the hound training season so I couldnt. Legally any way.

[chris lavoie]

ferjr, Pretty good pictures!! Your leg looks a little sore though. I guess having a pistol handy is a good idea. In 39 years of bear baiting I've been attacked once. I was able to climb a tree, which was too small for the bear to climb.

[Emily]

I once had a close call when I was out picking elderberries--no bait involved. In retrospect, I don't think it was dangerous, but it sure scared the crap out of me at the time...
I was picking berries when a pretty young cub came right up to me out of curiosity. Mama took exception, and charged between me and the cub--so close she brushed against me (from behind). She sent the cub up a tree a dozen feet away, and stood her ground at the base of it, popping and whatever at me. I tossed the berries in fright when she brushed against me--it all happened so fast... We looked each other in the eye, and I backed off slowly for awhile, then ran outta there. I was not armed, but wouldn't have had time to shoot anyway.
In NY, we only have a chase season and are not allowed to carry while "hunting." I'm not sure what the rules are while baiting--I suppose it might arguably be legal to carry a pistol while baiting without the dogs if you had a pistol permit. My general feeling is that the bears are more interested in the bait than me, and the best thing to do when confronted by a bear wanting the bait is to give it to the bear...But that's theoretical knowledge, not field experience...

[albertaguy]

By the way, you said you stocked 35 baits in a day?
Wanna job?

[chris lavoie]

Actually we have over 70 baits going right now. Now 49 very active, the rest are hit sporadically. Just finished a bait run. Had 17 out of 19 hit, other guide had 13 for 16 baits hit. We do about 35 a day. It takes some time at each bait to look for hair for coloured bears, check camera's etc. I have a full camp this fall, thanks for the offer alberta guy!!! We check our baits every second day. In the fall we use all sweet bait. Alberta guy, we've taken nearly 4000 in the last 39 years in the bear business. Never in all these years have I carried a weapon while baiting. One day I might pay for it.

[mefishme1234]

I have a ruger redhawk in 44 mag, nice gun but heavy. I carry a Glock 20 in 10mm with heavey loads from Buffalo Bore. 41 mag energy with 15 in the clip. No issues yet but nice to have incase.

[albertaguy]

You definitely have different bears than ours. Much different.
I baited an area that had oil and gas activity in the winter, but the country was pretty lonely for the most part in the months bears would be out. A lot of these bears had never dealt with people and maybe that was the problem, once you fed them a few times, they got pretty comfortable, some got just plain obnoxious. A few were very dangerous. If you've got 4000 bears under your belt, well, I bow to your superior experience. But I can tell you, you wouldn't have 4000 bears here without some damn interesting stories to tell.

How many hours a day does it take to run that many baits? My guides were stretched at 15 baits MAX. Most lines were 12 baits long, but were spread over about 40 miles or so. It was a full day to get them all done plus tend to the hunters.

Always interested to hear how others are doing things, so to improve what I do.

[chris lavoie]

Alberta guy, It took us 6 hours to do the bait run of 19. Took the other guide about 4 hours to do 16. His bait run was close to camp. The second bait run we did yesterday took about 3 hours for 11 baits. Today my first bait of 12 is 37 miles from main base. Saxon and joey has to do 22 baits. I really enjoy looking at the cameras to see what is new on them. Saw a brown mother with 2 black cubs and one brown cub yesterday. Also on another camera got a picture of a bears mouth as he tried to eat the camera. In the mid to late 70's there was no limit on the amount of bear tags you could buy. We only had hound hunters then but they were care full on their harvest. They all ways thought of the FUTURE OF BEAR HUNTING!!

[albertaguy]

Ontario guy. I had a look at your web-page. Good site, Some nice bears on there for sure. You guys get out and hustle on those baits, I commend you for getting so many done. And having them out a month before the hunters arrive is a whole lot of work.

Back to the question about being armed at a bait, out here, we had trouble with some bears, most just wanted to get fed, but some were clearly on the prod and were very difficult to be around. I remember one sow with four cubs that just wouldn't let you get out of the stand, was very aggressive and I had no doubt would hurt somebody if she wasn't allowed to move off on her own accord. I have a hundred stories about over aggressive bears, but it sounds like the bears behave differently where you are. I've talked to a few hound guys that have told stories about bears fighting past the dogs and turning on the handler/hunter, just like Ferjr illustrated so graphically. I guess the point is, any bear is potentially dangerous, and the longer a guy works with them, the greater the chance of a serious mishap. I advise anyone hunting bears, be prepared, be alert and be armed. It's an animal that can seriously hurt or kill you.
Just my opinion.

[chris lavoie]

Thanks alberta guy, can you message me your web page??

[chris lavoie]

FERJR, do you have any lasting damage to your leg???