Black bear hunting in New Hampshire.

fivepaknh

fivepaknh

New member
Me and my brother, another total noob at hunting, were going to try our hand at bear hunting this coming weekend. We're going to the D1 or D2 WMU's because the harvest report showed the highest concentration of bear taken in these WMU's last year. G had more, but it's a bigger area. Now the question I have is this. I've checked several websites on bears and they all say bear can see color. Is hunter orange recommended for hunting black bear in New Hampshire? I would imagine the concentration of hunters would be less than during deer season.

Thanks for any advice.
 
If you are stalking or still hunting, especially on the opening weekend, I would wear orange. If you are sitting over bait, or calling, I would wear orange on the way in and on the way out. Make sure you carry a flash light and USE it on the way out even if it is not dark. You don't want some yahoo shooting you 15 minutes after legal shooting hours even though you can see. As for the sight issue, in my experiance they don't see very well, but man can they smell and hear.

If you really want some good bear hunting, you just have to go to Vermont and the Green Mountain National Forest around the towns of Hancock, Rochester and Granville. It's about a 2 hour ride, but there are a ton of bears up there.

Good luck this weekend. Hope you bag a good one.
 
Fivepak, I have hunted bear in central NH for years and have been fortunate enough at age 34 to have taken 9 already. My advice to you would be this, have a butcher lined up ahead of time that will cut the bear up for you, or be ready to do it yourself. Bear spoil very quickly in the Sept. heat, and many meat cutters will not handle bear. For this reason I usually wait till October and hunt bear, and deer scout at the same time. I say this because after killing a bear you have to call a game warden and wait for him to come seal the carcass, and this can (and has for me in the past) take hours, so have PLENTY of ice in him while you are waiting. I hunt the White Mountains of central NH and have to disagree with TheHuntedOne that you have to go to VT. for bear. My dad shot over 30 bear in his life with several tipping 300 and a couple nearing 400 pounds. P.S. We do not hunt with dogs or bait, Nothing Against those who do, just not our preferance. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Savage99,
I have a few questions maybe you could answer.

1. Do you spot and stalk or still hunt with calls?

2. Do I have to get out at sunrise or is anytime good for hunting bear? I hear this time of the year they're foraging for food up to 20 hours a day.

3. Is it dangerous to hunt bear solo?

4. I'm using a Marlin 336 30-30 with Winchester CX2 (rated for black bear). Do you think this is ok? I have a slug gun too.

5. How about letting a new guy tag along on one of your hunts? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Five, I hunt the Beech and Oak ridges where bear forage for nuts and often times I am alone. Your 30-30 is plenty of gun. I took my first 150 bear at age 11 with one. I think there is a common misconception that bear are worthy of only the largest of calibers. My dad shot most of his bear with a 100 grain 250 Savage and most of his kills were one shot. Bear have poor eye site but a nose that is the keenest of all NH critters.
As to the time of day, I have shot MOST of my bear in the 8-10:A.M. hours. I HIGHLY reccomend shooting bear Behind the front shoulder for a double lung shot, and stay WELL AWAY from that tough front shoulder. Tracking a wounded bear sucks, I know, I have done it a couple times and I do not like it or reccomend doing it alone. Hope this helps and good hunting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Savage99,
I hate to be a pain in the a$$, but can I keep picking your brain for info?

I'm a pretty fair shot. With good shot placement, how often have your bear dropped within sight?

You've shot most of your bear between 8-10 AM. Is there a time of day when you would just give up, or would you just go all day? I'm in Nashua. So if I make the ride to the White Mountains I'd prefer to go as long as it takes.

My plan is to find a spot off the beaten trail, walk into the wind, and just basically creep at a snails pace all day in one direction, upwind.
Thanks a lot for all your help.
 
Five, If you got all day, hunt all day. As to your idea of creeping all day into the wind, I like your style. That is just how I do it. The bear I have shot have varied in how far they travel after a CLEAN shot, from 0 to maybe 150 yards. I took one on Thanksgiving Day about 10 years ago. I hit him in the neck with a 117 grain 257 Roberts and he dropped where he stood. I have shot a couple bear with muzzle Loaders and they usually drop immediately. I was with my buddy a few yrs. back when he shot his first bear with a 30-30. The bear was looking right at him and he took a chest shot and the bear went about 100 yards. Keep this in mind, a hit bear will almost always travel downhill. This is in sharp contrast to deer which usually turn and head back the direction they were coming from.

I spent the day picking Black berries with the family today and the bear have been in them heavy. The bear are without a doubt climbing Oaks right now and eating acorns. Pick this tiny brain of mine all you want, I love talking bear hunting. If you have the latest copy of The NH Trophy Antler and Skull book, you will see an entry in the bear category. It is one shot by my dad, Richard Patch. The bear weighed 399 pounds and was over 7 feet tall. He was without a doubt the greatest bear hunter I knew and he passed a good portion of his skills and knowledge to me. I love the fact that I can pass it to another fellow bear hunter. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Hey Savage, I stand by this statement, and you can take it to the bank. You will see more bears in a week in the Green Mountain National Forest than you will in 5 years of hunting in New Hampshire.

I'm not saying that there are not bears here, or that you can shoot nice size ones. There are and you can. There are just more of them in the GMNF. Many more.
 
500lbs? Really? New Boston? You sure it wasn't a moose shot by an out of state hunter?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I won't be calling alone out there again /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

We used to see them that size down in NC in the Croatan National Forest back when it was a bear sanctuary in the mid 70's. They would make you forget all about what ever it was you were doing and just want to leave the area.

I saw some claw marks on tress in the Manchester Watershed Land around Candia this spring that looked to be made by a big bear. But 500 lbs is really big for around here.
 
A co-worker (cubicle next to mine) lives in Candia, about 500 feet from Charmingfare Farm, and he sees bear in his yard quite often.
 
I hunt up that way quite a bit, and last spring was the first time I had ever seen bear sign up there. And this was no small bear either. I had heard from a buddy of mine that he saw a bear two years ago in a place that I showed him, but I figured it was just a BS story. No more. I've also seen cat tracks up there. Showed them to a Conservation Officer and he just shrugged and said not to be walking out there in the dark alone.

If there is a bear, or bears in that area, sooner or later I am going to call one in. I am just up around that area way too much not too. Don't know what I will do with a 12 ga and #4 buck or a .243, but it will be interesting none the less /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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