Wild Bear Pictures

[Buckman18]

My wife, kids, and I went bear hunting yesterday in the NF trying (for fun) to get some pics with her photography camera. We saw quite a few and was able to get some decent pics. Unfortunately her camera is not dummy proof, and the blurry pics are mine. The better ones are hers. Thankfully, I’m better with a bow than a camera... Here’s some proof, hope you enjoy.



















With the cell phone

 

[whitetailfreak]

Nice shots. Looks like a good time with the fam.

 

[jbogg]

Awesome photos! Makes me want to get a nice camera.

 

[Killer Kyle]

Y'all have been on them lately Buckman. I sure am glad you got to see me on your way back down. I sure would have hated for you to miss the chance to see the Killer! Wish you had rubbed off some of your good trout mojo on me before you left though!
I think Buckman is on to something...
He's been seeing lots and LOTS of bears in the kudzu lately. We're wondering if the bears are eating it. I've never observed that before, but Buckman has seen it a ton throughout this spring and summer.
What do y'all think?

 

[whitetailfreak]

Y'all have been on them lately Buckman. I sure am glad you got to see me on your way back down. I sure would have hated for you to miss the chance to see the Killer! Wish you had rubbed off some of your good trout mojo on me before you left though!
I think Buckman is on to something...
He's been seeing lots and LOTS of bears in the kudzu lately. We're wondering if the bears are eating it. I've never observed that before, but Buckman has seen it a ton throughout this spring and summer.
What do y'all think?

There's a big Kudzu patch you can see from the rd on Fort Mountain near the Murray Gilmer line. I see bear in it regularly from Spring till late Summer. That changes abruptly once they start lapping up acorns early Sept.

 

[Christian hughey]

That one is a real nice bear looks like your in the right spot hit me up if you need to drag him out

 

[Bowhunter77]

You shouldn’t have done that, now your gonna get request for you to be a wedding photographer !!! People done seen your skills behind the lens. Wedding memories by Buckman18!

 

[Mexican Squealer]

Great pics

 

[deerhuntingdawg]

Excellent photos Buckman!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[tree cutter 08]

Nice pics! Few of those spots look familiar!

 

[Rabun]

Great pics of those bears....You're definitely on them!

 

[GTHunter]

What time of day is best for seeing bear activity? Are they similar to deer in that they will come out into the food plots most often in the last hour of the day?

 

[Buckman18]

What time of day is best for seeing bear activity? Are they similar to deer in that they will come out into the food plots most often in the last hour of the day?

Right now, I don’t think it much matters. I think there would probably be a peak at dawn and dusk, right after a rain, etc, but we’ve been seeing them right in the middle of the heat of the day.

Bear numbers are increasing in the mountains, doesn’t look like there will be a plentiful acorn crop, and I suspect they are looking for food to fatten up for winter. With not many acorns, they’re having to find other options. Certainly they should be lapping oaks by later this month if there are any acorns.

Interesting note: two trips on consecutive Saturdays through prime mountain habitat totaling a combined 9 hours - 11 bears seen on the NF, 0 deer. In fact, 0 deer tracks. I’m starting to wonder if GA is ready to experiment and try a spring bear season?

 

[GTHunter]

Thanks Buckman. I spring bear hunt would be sweet. I really think Georgia needs to begin splitting their seasons by region and setting bag limits differently across the state. A 12 deer limit is fine in south and central Georgia, but not ideal for the mountains. The central zone bear hunt is about the only season that strays from the remainder of the state. I doubt lowering hunting days or bag limits would be well received by many, but we need to remember that Georgia has one of, if not the most liberal hunting seasons in the country.

 

[Buckman18]

Thanks Buckman. I spring bear hunt would be sweet. I really think Georgia needs to begin splitting their seasons by region and setting bag limits differently across the state. A 12 deer limit is fine in south and central Georgia, but not ideal for the mountains. The central zone bear hunt is about the only season that strays from the remainder of the state. I doubt lowering hunting days or bag limits would be well received by many, but we need to remember that Georgia has one of, if not the most liberal hunting seasons in the country.

Respectfully, if the deer limit in the mountains is two, twelve, or forty, I don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference. The number of doe days in the mountains are, thankfully, so few, that no one is going to legally harvest many does anyway. In the lower elevations of the mountain counties, there are plenty of deer around the settlement, just not up on the high ridges of the NF. That said, I’ve killed many a mature buck on those high ridges, what they lack in numbers they make up for in age structure. It’s lonely at the top in the cold of December, but the eatin’ is good.

Reducing hunter opportunity in the mountains is also not the answer. The NF gets so little hunting pressure, hunters impact is negligible. For those of us who also hunt the Mtn of NC, most would agree that the GA mountains have far more deer, even now, than NC. The NC season is a whopping 3 weeks and has been for decades. I think GA has the hunting seasons set perfectly. Just need to add spring bear, and get rid of more hogs

 

[GTHunter]

I completely forgot about the doe day differences across the state. They are already ahead of me and it sounds like they are doing a good job. Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

[Christian hughey]

Yep spring bear hunt!!!!

 

[GT-40 GUY]

Here is a big one.

 

[GT-40 GUY]

Here is a bigger one which is over 10 ' high.

 

[Christian hughey]

Be nice to go to Canada one day