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If you are headed to any of these states...

T

Tiny

Junior Member
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I have hunted a number of years in Maine - centeral/Northern, New York - southern tier, Florida - central east coast and figured I could maybe be of assistance to anyone heading to these area's on a do it yourself hunt.

Maine, I hunted Black Bear and Deer from Bangor to above Moosehead, in the northwoods for 10 years as a resident
New York I hunted Tug hill to Westchester county for 20 years as a resident
Florida I hunted the Three Lakes WMA for 7 years as a resident

Maine pretty much sucks for deer hunting unless your way south near the portland area and there isn't too much land down there to hunt. Maine is way better for black bear in the northern portions of the state around Houlton and Moosehead. There are more bear there than deer and moose combined.

New york has an amazing deer population from Dutchess county to the ocean with crazy good Bucks in long Island. Westchester county is very very good but no public land. That said... It is pretty easy to get permission since the deer population is around 90 per. square mile and they destroy peoples gardens and shrubs. I have hunted million dollar homes in this area and there is no limit with the tagging system they have there.

Florida (central) suck for deer hunting but it is off the hook for hogs!. Not to hard to get permission to hunt the orange groves and the public land I hunted (3 lakes) had a good population as well. Personally, I would rather hunt hogs than deer anyway so it was good for me :)

If you are headed to any of these places and need specifics I will try and help as best I can.

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This was a hog from florida back about 8 years ago when my son went hunting with me for the first time.

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My buddies first NY recurve Buck

No pic's from Maine.... No internet back then :D
 
I will be heading to Bethel Maine in August for a guided black bear hunt. I can't wait. This is my first trip out of state to hunt anything. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
 
Ricer2231 said:
I will be heading to Bethel Maine in August for a guided black bear hunt. I can't wait. This is my first trip out of state to hunt anything. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
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I have a cousin that used to guide Maine and he introduced me to a number of people he worked with over the years. Who are you going with?.

As far as advise....
I guess the best advise is checking out who you are going with :)

Next thing is ... Are you bowhunting or using a gun?. That's a big one.

In general I recommend a thermacell and rain clothes #1 and whatever keeps you comfortable on the stand because Bear not only have great noses, they also have great eye's and don't let anyone tell you different. They may not be able to see Jefferson on a bill but they will see the bill if you get my meaning.
Bear will catch movement and will leave as soon as they see it if they are old and educated... which are the ones that you are looking for.

Most guys use a barrel for bait and I would ask that question because if they do use a barrel your in luck since this is the best way to judge the size of a bear. A lot of people shoot very small bears due to the fact that Bear size is hard to judge. Judging a bear against a barrel keeps you out of trouble ;)
If the bears back is at the top of a 50 gallon barrel then shoot!. If it is 2/3 of the way up that isn't a bad bear but anything below that you would be better off waiting IMO.

I also like to send some clothes (dirty clothes) to the guide a month before going. Bear can smell a fart in a hurricane so trying to hide your scent is about worthless. The wind switches a lot up there and while you may get lucky.... don't count on it.
If you send the guide 4-6 pairs of sweaty tee shirts in zip locks, he will put one at the bait each week so that the bear will become accustomed to your scent and will not be put off by it when you show up. This is an old trick that every bear guide knows about so don't feel foolish asking him to do this for you.

If you smoke then send him a pack or two of your favorite brand so he can light up while baiting. That way you can smoke on stand and stay relaxed. Trust me on this... it's the way to go. Nothing worse than a smoker sitting a stand and fidgeting because he is dying for a smoke that last hour.... just as the bears are ready to come in.

Here is the most important thing....

Don't shoot a bear the way you would shoot a deer. A bears anatomy is just like that of a man (wait till you see one skinned out ;) )
If you put your arm straight out in front of you you will see that your chest is almost behind your arms. If you were in such a position and shot fro the pocket the shot would range forward between the chest and arm and you would be hurt but very much alive.
Best aiming point (side to) is to look at center and then shoot just a few inches forward of center. Bear are not like deer in as much as they only have one stomach. If your shot is a little back and you do hit the stomach, the bear will be dead very fast... they just cant take that... just like a man.
Many experienced hunters shoot dead center and kill them every time without a loss. It's the deer hunters that always lose them to shots being too far forward.

Wait for the proper shot and quartering is best while aiming for the backside of the offside leg. The bear will be used to coming into this bait so he is rarely gonna just grab a piece and leave for good. Most times they will either sit there and eat till they are full or take a piece and leave, only to come back and then do the same thing over and over. Take your time... this is a one shot deal for you.

Watch the bear that comes in. If the bear is swaggering like he owns the place then this is a big bear for the bait. If he comes in all timid and looking around (not up) this is probably a lesser bear that is stealing from a big bear. You might want to wait for that bigger bear. If you see a bear come prancing in like a child then look at the barrel. Such a movement is typical of a juvenile bear. Look for a crease in the forehead as this is A typical of a mature bear that has some real size to him. Look at the ears and eye's. If the eyes seem small and the ears seem small in relation to the head, this is a good bear.

Judging bear is the best spent time for someone who wants to take a good bear. Maine typically gives up bear in the 250# range although occasionally there are some that can double that size. It all depends on the area you are hunting and how hard it is hunted.
 
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Thanks for all the advice. I am going with an outfitter by the name of Orion Guide and Outfitters. I am not positive what I will be hunting with as of yet. I am tossing it back and forth between my bow and my 12 ga. with rifled slugs. My guide really liked the idea of the shotgun and slugs. Which I knew he would due to the fact of less tracking, a huge hole and the knock down power. I really checked my guide out before I made the decision to use him. I liked the fact that he gave me references that were successful and unsuccessful. I think I talked to about 20 references. I have been doing about all I can to help with my bear judging skills. I have watched numerous bear sizing DVDs over and over and been reading just about everything I can get my hands on. My guide does use barrels to bait so I agree with you that that will be a huge help. Tobacco won't be a problem for me. When I decided to go, one of the things my guide said he hated to see hunters do the most was use tobacco in the stand. So I thought that was as good a time as any to quit so I quit snuff cold turkey in June of last year after rubbing for 32 years. I really couldn't be more stoked about this hunt. Like I said before, this is my first trip out of state to hunt anything and just the thought of being in the tree stand and seeing my first bear in the wild is very exhilarating.
 
Heard of the operation... never anything bad.
Congrats on the tobacco!!

You might meet someone like this up there :D
 

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Glad to hear that ya heard of my guide and haven't heard anything bad. Not so glad to hear the part about divorcing your cousin. :) may have to cut the trip short if we're all setting around the fire and my guide breaks out the banjo!
 
Ricer2231 said:
Glad to hear that ya heard of my guide and haven't heard anything bad. Not so glad to hear the part about divorcing your cousin. :) may have to cut the trip short if we're all setting around the fire and my guide breaks out the banjo!
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LOL!. Ah yes.... The beans of Maine. An old book that has more truth in it than you would want to believe :D
You will be in a very good fishing area and you will have your mornings to yourself most likely (most guides dont put you in the stand till 3pm) so take a pole with you if you like to fish :)
 
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