Odds of harvesting a bear

Just curious about what some of you experienced bear hunters think. I'm a way down South Guy (can be in Florida before I can get to Cordele). I would like to try to harvest a bear this season.

Do you think it would be better to try to join a decent North Georgia club or try to hit several of the North Georgia WMA bear hunts?

Hit Cohutta and go deep. You'll find'em. I have seen bear hunting and didn't shot just because they are a lot of work to deal with. Walking these mountains is not easy, but I think it is some of the best hunting around, as far as experience goes.

Three of my buddies (from around tifton) went up to Cohutta in 2010, I declined to invite because I didn't want to waste my time . Who would want to pass up opening day of deer season in flat south ga to go climb mountains for imaginary bears?

Well I should have went. In two days hunting they saw 18 bears, killed a bear, missed a bear and killed a hog. All bowhunting too. They just randomly went up a mountain road that looked good and started looking for sign and got lucky. I'm still kicking myself for not going.

Any of the mtn wma's will have lots of bears and your chances go up the more time you can be in the woods. you should be able to come up for a week and have a good chance at at least one or maybe more bears there are more bears than deer up here

Hit the WMA bear and deer hunts and be ready to wear out some boot leather. I run into bears frequently in a few of the N GA wma's.

Thanks for all the replies

Can you bate them?

gt40

GT-40 GUY said:

Can you bate them?

gt40

Click to expand...

nope. But I often eat sardines for b'fast, lunch, and snacks.

Your chances are pretty good at getting on a bear. They're pretty easy to target early in the season. Just get on ridge tops and the sides of ridges. Look for stands of white oaks. Usually stands of 20-30 good producing oaks or more are going to have some sort of sign around them. Look for VERY fresh droppings. They are eating acorns that time of year, so most of the scat will have a sort of tan color to it if it is fresh. Within 48 hours it starts to turn a greyish brown color, and will get darker as time passes. Look for soft, light colored scat as it is the freshest. If you find a stand of oaks with a lot of scat, or a bedding area or trail nearby with lots of scat, then bears have been there recently. Hunt the freshest sign you can find. Conduct exercise and increase your physical ability. Dragging a bear or packing one off a ridge or ridge top can be an extremely taxing ordeal. If possible, bring a buddy so that you each can hunt more ground and so you can tag team a drag or pack out. If you hunt a WMA, try to hunt all day in possibly pressured spots as hunter pressure can alter feeding behavior. I have lots of trail cam photos of hogs feeding at 2:00 in the afternoon during squirrel season. If you're not finding fresh sign, stay on the move and find some. Saddles in long ridges and ridge intersections are also important places to check out. Also, large oak stands with fresh sign and huge laurel thickets nearby are a plus. The mountains can get thick, so getting a good open spot with shooting lanes can be tough. Wind direction is more important than shooting lanes. Keep the wind in your favor and stay vigilant. I've heard bears from a long distance coming, but I've also had them slip up on me as silent as a feather in the wind. I actually missed an opportunity at a bear late last September because it came in so quietly, appeared, then slipped away into some pines before I could get into position for a shot. You also might have a good chance at a hog if they are in the area. On evening hunts, make sure you have a headlamp or back up flashlight, as getting out of a deep mountain spot in the dark can be tricky if you're not familiar with the area. Come on up, enjoy the beautiful country, and good luck.

Judge, I too am a south GA boy. I drove up and hiked the mountains last year. Well worth it even though I saw no bears. I had a Fan-Freakin-Fastic time. Read these forums. LOTS of info there! KillerKyle is right about hunting with a buddy for help. It should be easy to find someone to tag along. LAst year I got 2 takers in no time.
Bears hate humans, get away from regularly traveled areas. Good luck!

Bear hunting

Join a South Georgia club over near waycross

100% certain you will not see one if you do not go

Join us!

Great info. I appreciate you bear hunting vets sharing a little strategy. I'm giving it ago in a couple weeks. I've asked a couple of buddies to go, no takers yet.

I just moved to Paulding Co. this year and i am wanting to go hunt a bear with the bow if you need a partner.

Bowhunt KJ said:

I just moved to Paulding Co. this year and i am wanting to go hunt a bear with the bow if you need a partner.

Click to expand...

There you go Hunterg! Problem solved! That's what this forum is all about!