Hunting bear with a bow

[jamfarm]

Just wondering if anyone hunts bear with the bow and what suggestions they have and precautions they take?

[whitlers]

I haven't set out for bear with a bow but I have had encounters while hunting deer. I would suggest keeping it over 30 yards and always checking your wind. You start to feel small pretty quick when a bear cruises up to 10 yards and stands there sniffing the air infront of you haha.

Instead of trying to stalk up to a bear I would suggest trying to cut them off. Early in the season you can watch them casually feed and usually move in one direction. Once everything green's up and it closes in on June they will start moving quite a bit and it may be more difficult to close the distance.

[hunterdon]

I disagree with the previous poster. No offence, but as stated he has no experience taking bear with archery equipment. On the other hand, I have taken dozens of bear with bow.

1- AVOID excessively long shots. You're margin of error increases considerably as distance increases. Unlike ungulates, you DO NOT want to go searching for a wounded bear.
Not that you want to wound any animal, but bears will often seek cover when wounded and will often lie hidden and may pounce on you in a flash when you get close. No fun at all.

2- Unlike bears shot with rifle, which tend to turn on the jets and vacate the area at the sound of the blast, bears taken with bow will often react with anger as to what just stung them.
So, with that in mind, try to be concealed as much as possible before taking the shot.
Make your shot accurate so as to be deadly, hence eliminating searching for a wounded bear which can be dangerous for you. (personally I like about a 20 yard shot, However, I have shot bear with bow as close as 5 yards,. (a bit nerve racking and not recommended if you can avoid it, I couldn't)

And finally, VERY VERY important, do not make any movement just before, during and AFTER the shot. No matter what. You do not want the bear to know you are there.
As previously stated bears will usually be quite perturbed immediately after that sharp stick makes contact. It will look for the instigator. That would be you.

Oh, That bear that I shot at 5 yards. Well, it was really pissed off. Immediately after being hit, it was swiping at the air, and ground, tearing the sod, rolling and growling ferociously as if in a fight with a imaginary foe, and actually came with 2 feet of me all while I was on 1 knee taking the shot, but I remained motionless throughout the whole ordeal, and never moved a muscle. The bear did not detect me even at that arms distance and finally ran up the hill and quickly passed on.

Hope that helps, good luck and be safe!!!

[whitlers]

I disagree with the previous poster. No offence, but as stated he has no experience taking bear with archery equipment. On the other hand, I have taken dozens of bear with bow.

1- AVOID excessively long shots. You're margin of error increases considerably as distance increases. Unlike ungulates, you DO NOT want to go searching for a wounded bear.
Not that you want to wound any animal, but bears will often seek cover when wounded and will often lie hidden and may pounce on you in a flash when you get close. No fun at all.

2- Unlike bears shot with rifle, which tend to turn on the jets and vacate the area at the sound of the blast, bears taken with bow will often react with anger as to what just stung them.
So, with that in mind, try to be concealed as much as possible before taking the shot.
Make your shot accurate so as to be deadly, hence eliminating searching for a wounded bear which can be dangerous for you. (personally I like about a 20 yard shot, However, I have shot bear with bow as close as 5 yards,. (a bit nerve racking and not recommended if you can avoid it, I couldn't)

And finally, VERY VERY important, do not make any movement just before, during and AFTER the shot. No matter what. You do not want the bear to know you are there.
As previously stated bears will usually be quite perturbed immediately after that sharp stick makes contact. It will look for the instigator. That would be you.

Oh, That bear that I shot at 5 yards. Well, it was really pissed off. Immediately after being hit, it was swiping at the air, and ground, tearing the sod, rolling and growling ferociously as if in a fight with a imaginary foe, and actually came with 2 feet of me all while I was on 1 knee taking the shot, but I remained motionless throughout the whole ordeal, and never moved a muscle. The bear did not detect me even at that arms distance and finally ran up the hill and quickly passed on.

Hope that helps, good luck and be safe!!!

Fair enough! Seems like the only thing we disagree on is distance. I for one wouldn't want to get closer than 20 yards to a bear while holding a pointy stick haha but you have much more balls than I do.

That must have been quite the experience taking that bear at 5 yards.

[jamfarm]

Thanks for the suggestions, great points Hunterdon. I have taken one bear with the bow in the past but I had a buddy beside me with the shotgun for backup, moving forward I’ll be hunting bears solo so your suggestions are appreciated.

[walks with deer]

Bears shot in the lungs have still taken a while to expiry hitting the heart dumps them dont shoot to far dont shoot to high and give him 45 after a hit minum unless you see him fall...oh and after the shot look with a gun.

[J_T]

I agree with most of what Hunterdon has offered. Remember, you are still the apex predator. I prefer to get as close as possible. 10 yards, 5 yards. And, as other contributors on here have said, make the shot count. If it's a good hit, the bear will turn and look for an escape.

[Ron.C]

A couple years back, a stalked in on the biggest black bear I had ever seen. My buddy was about 100 yards behind with his rifle. I got to about 30 yards. He was feeding toward me on the opposite side of an old skidder trail. I waited, hoping he would turn and give me a shot at both lungs and he made it to about 9 yards. At that point gave me the shot opportunity I needed. I was on my knees on the ditch on the opposite side, as I drew, he busted me. He sharply and quickly stepped up out of the ditch looked into my eyes, woofing and dumping his bowels. (My buddy later said he thought I was about to be mauled and was on the trigger wanting to shoot but was also worried that shooting may result in the bear come at me).Came to full draw, faced off for about 10 seconds before he turned giving me another shot opportunity. To be honest, I was not steady at this point ( was an intense standoff) and I didnt take the shot as he was still looking right me.

At that time I figured Id be in big trouble if Id shot him. He dropped down into the brush and that was it.

Exhilarating encounter and to this day am sure it wouldnt of turned out well if I'd stuck that big boy with an arrow. I think my my buddy regrets not dumping that big boy before I ever got near it with what would of been an easy rifle shot.

Thats bowhunting for ya

[hunterdon]

Fair enough! Seems like the only thing we disagree on is distance. I for one wouldn't want to get closer than 20 yards to a bear while holding a pointy stick haha but you have much more balls than I do.

That must have been quite the experience taking that bear at 5 yards.

Bears shot in the lungs have still taken a while to expiry hitting the heart dumps them dont shoot to far dont shoot to high and give him 45 after a hit minum unless you see him fall...oh and after the shot look with a gun.

Yes that's correct whitlers. I was just referring to distance. Another problem with distance and it's a biggy, is the fact that unlike a bullet, an arrow is sooooo slow. One can practice shooting stationary targets all he or she wants, but in the field, live animals are a moving target. This is such a critical component in accurate placement of shot which will be compounded by the longer shot. Once released, an animal can easily move from it's original position and now you have a missed shot or much worse, a wounded bear. A major mistake so many bow hunters fail to take into account.

walks with deer touches on an important point particularly in regards to bear. Unlike ungulates, which have a different internal makeup, example, bears have intestines, ungulates have a different digestive system. Because of this, you DO NOT want to shoot a bear too far back of the shoulder, or you will have a gut shot bear that will probably survive long after the shot. In addition, because of the bear's fat reserves, the fat can and most likely will plug up the wound channel preventing much if any blood trail. They don't have hooves and so even following his walking trail can be very difficult to follow for most hunters, except for the keenest observer.

Bottom line, try to hit as close as possible just behind the shoulder without actually hitting the shoulder blade, not too high or too low. About mid height. All this sounds pretty tough right? Not really. Just another reason as to not shoot from too far of a distance.

Ya I have had a lot of close calls over the years with all kinds of critters. Keeping one's composure key in these situation's. But that comes with time and experience.

Sounds like J_T has had a bunch of close calls as well. I'm sure he knows exactly what I am talking about.

[KodiakHntr]

I’ve stuck a few with pointy stuff, and shot a bunch with rifles.
Most everything that has already been said is great advice. Get close, try to slip one in quartering away if possible, but not too hard of an angle.
Staying close to cover is always a good idea, and staying still after you release is important.

Something that I feel is really important though, is get close, but don’t make eye contact. And don’t stare at a big bear. The last truly BIG bear I was close to had no idea I was there - got to 11 yards, in my socks. He was feeding up a pipeline in a fairly brisk breeze (likely 15kph and steady) and I was behind him for what seemed like an entire lifetime and needed to close to 9 yards (spear hunting, not arrows) and I was intensely focused on that bear. Zero chance he heard me, or smelled me, but he stopped, lifted his head, and then turned to look at me. I’m convinced he could feel my presence behind him because I was so focused on him.

Archery tackle is a rush, and black bears are a ton of fun to hunt.