Bear hunting with a bow

[ghost]

Is there any advice out there for taking a bear with a bow. Broadheads , distance shot placement etc. I am shooting a 60 pound bow with Montec g5 100grain. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Ron.C]

Is there any advice out there for taking a bear with a bow. Broadheads , distance shot placement etc. I am shooting a 60 pound bow with Montec g5 100grain. Any tips would be appreciated.


Any deer set up will work for bears. Your bow/broadheads will be just fine.

IMO, only one shot on bears. Broadside, double lung. Center body height, about 4-5 inches back from elbow. They are not made of steel and will expire quite quickly when double lunged. That said, don't be in a hurry, give em lots of time.

Shot distance is subjective and I'm not interested in starting a debate, but consider this. You are shooting an animal that will be very dangerous if wounded by a bad hit. I suggest if you are a 40/50/60 yards deer/elk shooter to seriously consider decreasing your max shot range on bears. If anything about your shot opportunity is questionable, pass on the shot.

[IronNoggin]

... If anything about your shot opportunity is questionable, pass on the shot.

This. In spades.

Been a few times I've crawled through the tight bear tunnels with the stubby 12 in hand due to someone rushing their shot.
NOT a good feeling!!

Cheers

[walks with deer]

Broad heads have to be super sharp
This is most important with bears to get the blood glowing.. i have had many bears die on impact with a arrow. I had a hard time getting monetec sharp as needed to kill bear.. i use thunderheads.

[ghost]

Thanks for the tips

[mpotzold]

On Saturday, Brad Jones, 51, killed a 780-pound black bear with bow and arrow in N.C.
- this may be the largest bear killed with a bow and arrow in at least North Carolina.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/heaviest-north-carolina-black-bear/ (https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/heaviest-north-carolina-black-bear/)
https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/massive_north_carolina_black_bear_feature.jpg




The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from New Brunswick, shot in November 1972, that weighed 409 kg (902 lb) after it had been dressed, meaning it weighed an estimated 500 kg (1,100 lb) in life and measured 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) long.

[jamfarm]

Any deer set up will work for bears. Your bow/broadheads will be just fine.

IMO, only one shot on bears. Broadside, double lung. Center body height, about 4-5 inches back from elbow. They are not made of steel and will expire quite quickly when double lunged. That said, don't be in a hurry, give em lots of time.

Shot distance is subjective and I'm not interested in starting a debate, but consider this. You are shooting an animal that will be very dangerous if wounded by a bad hit. I suggest if you are a 40/50/60 yards deer/elk shooter to seriously consider decreasing your max shot range on bears. If anything about your shot opportunity is questionable, pass on the shot.

I agree with this. On one of Brian Barney's podcasts he talked about shooting a bear with his bow and it charged him. Of course he was packing a handgun and he said that it took a number of shots to acquire the target and he killed it with the handgun.

[Ron.C]

I agree with this. On one of Brian Barney's podcasts he talked about shooting a bear with his bow and it charged him. Of course he was packing a handgun and he said that it took a number of shots to acquire the target and he killed it with the handgun.

Several years ago I stalked into about 25 yards of had a VERY large vancouver island black bear. As I waited for a shot opportunity, he closed the distance to about at about 12 yards when he finally tuned broadside. I was at full draw and just about to shoot when he winded me. He turned, took a couple steps toward me and started jaw popping and huffing as he emptied his bowels. Did this for about 7-10 seconds. He then turned back broadside and paused for a second before running down into the cut. I was at full draw for all of it.

To this day, I think if I'd loosed that arrow, he would have been on me.

[J_T]

Spot and stalk on bears can be a lot of fun. We had a spot near home with lots of bears. We would take our wives with us, they ladies would climb a short ways up the opposite hill from the bears and sit in lawn chairs and drink wine, while we stalked a 'collection' of bears. We both shoot 64lb recurves. Heavy arrows, short range and sharp broadheads. Babes, bears and broadheads. We were able to stalk to within 10 yards multiple times. I did take a bear at about 18 yards. Anytime we were in close and the bear became aware of our presence, they bolted away. Good memories.

[guntech]

I had a friend shoot a bear at a dump... as he approached it was getting dark and he thought the bear was at the far end but it showed up right in front about 10 feet away facing him... it dropped with the broad head sticking out the back of it's skull... went in one eye socket.

I think he has shot 23 bears with a bow.

[The Hermit]

Several years ago I stalked into about 25 yards of had a VERY large vancouver island black bear. As I waited for a shot opportunity, he closed the distance to about at about 12 yards when he finally tuned broadside. I was at full draw and just about to shoot when he winded me. He turned, took a couple steps toward me and started jaw popping and huffing as he emptied his bowels. Did this for about 7-10 seconds. He then turned back broadside and paused for a second before running down into the cut. I was at full draw for all of it.

To this day, I think if I'd loosed that arrow, he would have been on me.

You truly are a predator magnet Ron! I still think about the black bear that ran up the hill at us and jumped onto the road about 5 yards from you, at full draw and you let him walk! What I remember most though was the size of the shit eating smile on your face!! LOL. That was suck an awesome mountain, too bad they logged it all.

[Ron.C]

You truly are a predator magnet Ron! I still think about the black bear that ran up the hill at us and jumped onto the road about 5 yards from you, at full draw and you let him walk! What I remember most though was the size of the shit eating smile on your face!! LOL. That was suck an awesome mountain, too bad they logged it all.

hahah, yep. Had some close calls with bears and cats for sure and been quite lucky.

I remember that hunt quite vividly. We saw the bear dropping into a large bowl that was several hundred yards across and quite deep and at the pace it was going figured he was going somewhere with a purpose. We quickly relocated to the far side and set up where we though he may come up out of it. In hind sight, quite amazing give the hundreds of yards he could of re-appeared , but we nailed it. To this day not enrirely sure why I didn't shoot but I think I was waiting for a little bigger bear.

I've replayed that hunt a pile of times and to this day, was about as close as you can get to one without touching it.

Like most of my hunting, the most memorable moments were ones that I let the animal walk.

[Stéphane]

This was a great thread. Great advice all around. Best of luck!