A couple of questions about bears and their cubs

[Rainsford]

There have been a few threads lately on Black Bear hunts and I have a few questions but did not want to high jack other threads.
I have a fair amount of hunting experience but have never gone for a bear, this spring I plan on taking my first. I have an area in mind that I have previously hunted deer and seen/heard lots of bear sign in the fall. All the areas are large cut blocks with close water access.

Both of my questions involve sows with cubs, I want to be damn sure I don't take a sow with cubs...

My first question is, once you spot a bear how long do you watch it to make sure that if its a sow it does not have cubs?

My other question is about calling bear in. I have heard that a distressed fawn call can be quite effective for bear and that when they come in they come in quick. If its a sow will her cubs be with her or will they hang back at the tree line? What is an effective way to call a bear in and to make sure she does not have cubs?

Any other information or tips on how to identify whether a sow has cubs would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Rainsford

[Fella]

Check the trees, the shrubs and tall grass, and then do it all again 10 times. If the Cubs are taking an afternoon nap you might miss seeing them so be patient. Don't shoot unless you're absolutely sure.

[itsy bitsy xj]

Just so you know you CAN NOT use an electronic call for bears.

[mikey]

Best way to be sure your not shooting a sow that May have cubs will be to look for a boar,
there should be a few threads on here if you do a search that will go over the diff ways to tell them apart.

that being said, there will be times when it's very hard to judge them. One spring season I watched a bear for over half an hour while I ate my lunch, it wasn't what I was after so I just enjoyed the view, it was near the tree line but a few hundred yards away from me.
in the binos I could see it looking at me, then back behind it to the trees. This was a dead give away, and by how close it was sticking to the cover and the size of it I was certain it was a sow with little ones,

it took 20min or so then out came 2 little cubs that had been napping just inside the timber.
they can hide very easy in a slash aswell, so my advise would be if your not %100 sure it's alone or a boar, try and get as close as you can, it will give you a better look at the animal and fun as hell sneaking in to bow range.lol