Black Bear Hunting Guide >> Black Bear Hunting Tips

One of the most important things you should know regarding this matter is that the key to calling these animals is to call ( without any interruptions ) until the bear is within your fire range. If you do stop calling, the bear will stop advancing. Some experienced hunters affirm that sows are more attracted by the calling. It is advisable to shot bears only after you call them. A common mistake that many hunters do is imitating the sounds of a sow in heat; most people think that by doing this they will attract the bear; totally wrong because bears aren’t very vocal animals. It is known that these animals can mate without making any sounds at all. As far as communication is concerned, only sows and cubs communicate on a regular basis.

Despite all these, there are certain sounds that will attract bears: one of the most effective sounds would be the one made by two bears fighting for food; other examples : blowing/chomping. These sounds are typically expressions of fear that include an explosive release of air, lip smacking and teeth clicking. Also, human-like calls can be very efficient, some good examples would be: moaning, motor-like purring, pulsing angry sound, mother’s cry, cub distress call and infringement call. Moaning = fearful call. For example a bear that has been chased up or a sow that has been pursued by a boar will moan in order to “explain” that she isn’t ready yet for breeding; Motor-like purring = usually, cubs make these sounds when they are nursing or if they feel very comfortable; Pulsing angry sound = usually, sows make these sounds when they are trying to kick their yearling cubs out of their territory; Mother’s cry = females can make this sound when they are trying to locate their cubs; Cub distress call = very attractive to sows, it sounds just like a human baby’s cry; Infringement call = this sound is made by a very angry and aggressive bear when he is trying to pursue other bears to get away from his territory.

Biologists affirm that using cub distress calls isn’t recommended ( or any other predator that sounds just about the same ). Mothers are drawn by any type of sounds which are familiar with a cub’s sound. Mothers are so sensitive to this and even the sounds of a red tailed hawk will make females react immediately. Also, females confuse rabbit-in-distress calls with the sounds of a cub in trouble; in this case, the female will send her cubs investigating the area.

Calling can be very affective during the autumn. Calling is effective when there are bears in the area. You will find a bear where there is a lot of food, so check these places first. In autumn time, good areas would be where there are breech corps; after finding a place like this, use an infringement call ( broken moan ).

Using the regular rabbit-in-predator calls can be efficient on bears but unlike calling other types of animals, calling black bears requires strong lungs. In comparison with the fox calling ( at which a hunter calls for about 10-15, intermittently ), for bear calling the same thing should be done for 20 up to 30 minutes.

As you can see, bear calling and bear hunting generally speaking, isn’t very easy, it takes courage, experience and most of all patience because these animals won’t fall into your trap that easy.

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