Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Why do people hunt bears?

A response to the original poster and Fireball2, In northern Wisconsin , you will be hard pressed to see a bear all season without bait. The spend much of their time in Tagelder swamps and lay in the water to stay cool. I have owned land in NW Wisconsin for 30 yrs and hunted there several yrs before that . I have seen one bear in 32 gun and bow seasons there. Although, I dont hunt there much anymore , but still , one bear while hunting and 1 crossing the river once and I spent a good amount of time there. If you spot and stalk in Wisconsin, you will likely need to be inside 20yds and on the ground to boot. Matter of fact, my brother saw one 20 yrs ago sitting over some corn while taping deer. This makes 3 bear sightings in 30 yrs between several people. You will almost never see a bear in the woods trying to sneak up on them. It is hard to get a shot inside of 20 yds. Now, on the subject of baiting. You dont think an old bear just comes up to a bait pile do you? I know for certain, when a big bear comes in. The circle about 100 yds downwind. They circle in a bit closer, and it wont be long before he crosses your path and that nose will tell him not to go in till dark. They are as smart as any wild critter out there. Sometimes, a big bear does not come down wind, but almost always does. If you dont have everything right over a bait pile, you will see very few bears, if any. We hunt the in September and leaves are still on. The land is flat as can be, no hills , no open areas, no shots past 20 yds. If you can see a bear farther than 20 yds , you might be hunting in too open of an area and they likely wont come in till dark. Now, you also have other baiters and some years, if you have lots of acorns , mushrooms or berries, they shun bait piles. It's not nearly as easy as it seems.