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i wanted to do a follow up post on the last subject. killing to make a bear dog. a point was made by pete richardson that drives home the next point. always keep in mind you can't run a dead bear over. also the taking of females will have the greatest impact on your hunting. a sow will reproduce at around 3 years of age if everything is good with her, such as feed ,health etc. and as far out as 7-8.having an average of 1-2 cubs and lactating she will not come into estrus. what that means is there will be cubs every other year.another thing to know is a boar will cannibalize its own offspring. this has led researchers to believe it is to bring the sow back to estrus. however remains an un-proven theory.these are things to ponder before you harvest a female. can your hunting area afford the loss of such a valued animal?as i travel to and from my hunting area i find that i see 1-3 coon run over on the highway. with that in mind my choice of game to ramp up a dog happens to be coon. here they are a fur bearer. but actually they are more of a rodent. they die off on a regular basis from canine distemper ever 8-10 years or so and have as many as 6-8 young. they under harsh conditions will reproduce 2 litters a year to survive. keeping in mind normally it is one litter though.for me the choice is very clear. a dog shaking a dead animal is a dog shaking a dead animal. some get more excited obviously with bear. but i make the case of thinking before you drop the hammer. just one or two sportsman can make a difference. my home state has no knowledge of how to manage the game population and has a greater interest in the revenue generating business of tag sales.so i figure it is up to each of us to be responsible hunters.

Very well put! If you feel the need to kill a bear make sure it is a mature boar, and you even need to be selective about that. Where I live coons arent very plentishable either, So I prefer to let them chew on the feral cats I catch while coon hunting. Feral cats are thick around here and are hard on the upland birds and young waterfowl. Some of the best dogs Ive scene havent chewed on more than a bear or two.

Very well said guys. You both sound like real hounds man. I don't bear hunt but its the same with cats.

Mike,

What a great post, I believe that you are right on track our DWR has very little insight to the betterment of game management, It is our responsibility to make sure that we do everything with in our power to control game management. The DWR will not do it unless we make them. I am from AZ and very involved in Utah
also, if you look back over the last 15yrs and see what sportsman have done for wildlife in those 2 states you will see that their big game numbers and quality are way up. It is not due to the division it is due to sportsmen and women like you that really make the difference.

Kevin