Share This Post

Big Game

3 Tips for Tracking Wounded Bears

By Tyler Freel on 367 Comments / 4868 views

With spring bear season just over the horizon, there are many hunters chomping at the bit to get back out in the woods after a long winter. Bears are different than other animals like deer and elk in many ways, especially after the shot. Although general good tracking and blood-trailing principles are still just as valid, there are some key differences. Taking to the field, you want to give yourself the best chance of recovering even poorly hit animals. Over the years, I’ve tracked and recovered a lot of bears, even poorly hit bears. There are 3 key things I take into consideration to find a bear, starting as soon as the arrow or bullet flies.

  1. Watch and Listen: This is basic, but it’s very important to remain still and observant after you shoot a bear. It’s tempting to start jabbering with your hunting partner, and easy to get caught up in the excitement, but you need to wait. Watch the bear and note the path it took, as well as the last place you saw it. Listen until you haven’t heard a sound for a few minutes, and take note of the last spot you heard the bear. Sometimes you will hear the classic death moan, which is a good indication of a dead bear, but just as often, all you’ll hear is brush crashing, thrashing, or labored breathing. With bears, you cannot count on a blood trail. Sometimes you get one, and sometimes you don’t. Most of the time, a well-hit bear will be dead right in the last place you heard them.
  2. When to start tracking: Always do your best to observe exactly where the bear was hit, and take into account things like the angle of the shot, and penetration in the case of an arrow. Most of the time, it’s best to give the bear 10 or 15 minutes before tracking. In my experience, it’s a good idea to start tracking quickly if it appeared to be a bad shot that was too far forward. Usually a bear won’t run hundreds of yards like a deer or elk, but often not knowing what happened, they will run back to an area they feel comfortable and hold tight. Often these hits aren’t lethal, and the bear will eventually gather itself and move on, but if you push them, you’re likely to get on them quickly and black bears will usually tree.If you think your hit is too far back, it’s best to wait a couple hours or overnight. I’ve seen a lot of bears hit “poorly” and far back that didn’t go more than 50 yards, but in the case of one that is gut shot, if you leave them alone for a while, they won’t want to move. One bear I remember took off running at the shot, and was hit really far back, late at night. We came back the next morning to find the bear still alive, right where we last heard it. It didn’t want to run, so we were able to quickly dispatch it. If we had pushed it too soon, before the bear felt sick, we probably would have lost him.
  3. Track slowly and deliberately: Wounded bears can be very dangerous, and when listening to them after the shot, they often sound much farther away than they actually are. Several times, I have gone after bears that I heard moan, or were sure they were dead, and spent hours grid-searching out 100 yards or more, only to find them less than 50 yards from where they were hit on my way back to start over. Follow the path the bear took off on, but take it slow. Don’t focus just on the trail for sign, but closely examine the surroundings, doing a visual grid search as you move forward. In thick stuff, a dead bear can disappear quickly, and I have literally walked within feet of them before seeing them. Take it slow, and keep your rifle at the ready.

 

Share This Post

Related Articles

367 Comments

  9. Pingback: lm360.us

  10. Pingback: lasix 100 mg pills

  22. Pingback: catapres price

  24. Pingback: ceftin tablets

  26. Pingback: celexa 20mg prices

  27. Pingback: cephalexin cheap

  30. Pingback: casino slots

  33. Pingback: casino gambling

  34. Pingback: slot machine

  36. Pingback: online casino

  38. Pingback: slot machines

  39. Pingback: free slots

  40. Pingback: car insurances

  54. Pingback: quick quick loans

  65. Pingback: cbd oil for dogs

  69. Pingback: online homework

  73. Pingback: write my papers

  74. Pingback: buy custom essays

  76. Pingback: free paper writer

  78. Pingback: clomid nz

  85. Pingback: coreg pills

  86. Pingback: generic cialis

  87. Pingback: compazine cost

  88. Pingback: coumadin nz

  92. Pingback: crestor uk

  100. Pingback: ddavp australia

  101. Pingback: depakote nz

  103. Pingback: buy differin

  107. Pingback: order elavil 10mg

  108. Pingback: erythromycin otc

  115. Pingback: cost of imdur 40mg

  118. Pingback: buy cialis online

  119. Pingback: cialis for bph

  123. Pingback: viagra for women

  124. Pingback: is viagra safe

  125. Pingback: find more info

  127. Pingback: imuran nz

  131. Pingback: lopid prices

  141. Pingback: rx pharmacy

  145. Pingback: motrin otc

  148. Pingback: amstyles.com

  149. Pingback: viagra

  157. Pingback: procardia cost

  161. Pingback: hcq ingredients

  162. Pingback: pulmicort otc

  163. Pingback: cheap pyridium

  164. Pingback: reglan medication

  166. Pingback: cialis 10mg cost

  169. Pingback: revatio pills

  172. Pingback: buy rogaine 5%

  173. Pingback: seroquel pharmacy

  179. Pingback: spiriva 9mcg pills

  183. Pingback: toprol pharmacy

  184. Pingback: tricor for sale

  187. Pingback: vantin 200mg pills

  189. Pingback: voltaren tablets

  192. Pingback: zithromax purchase

  193. Pingback: websites

  198. Pingback: zyprexa price

  201. Pingback: tadalafil coupon

  208. Pingback: fexofenadine uk

  209. Pingback: glimepiride uk

  219. Pingback: clonidinemg online

  223. Pingback: cialis malaysia

  226. Pingback: cialis in europe

  230. Pingback: clozapine for sale

  233. Pingback: best cialis online

  236. Pingback: cialis for men

  246. Pingback: gereneric viagra

  249. Pingback: oxybutynin canada

  250. Pingback: doxycycline canada

  251. Pingback: bisacodyl coupon

  253. Pingback: buy cialis doctor

  258. Pingback: 141genericExare

  259. Pingback: ivermectin price

  261. Pingback: gnrctlgv

  265. Pingback: aooeuwdm

  267. Pingback: tamsulosin usa

  270. Pingback: how viagra

  281. Pingback: campicillin

  286. Pingback: sumatriptan tablet

  287. Pingback: comprar cialis

  288. Pingback: cialis generic

  291. Pingback: viagra

  299. Pingback: viagra

  308. Pingback: cialis in europe

  314. Pingback: cialis in europe

  319. Pingback: viagra goodrx

  321. Pingback: buy levofloxacin

  322. Pingback: cialis in europe

  324. Pingback: rxtoed 5 cialis

  331. Pingback: albuterol tab 4 mg

  337. Pingback: diflucan vaginitis

  338. Pingback: synthroid moa

  344. Pingback: buy thesis online

  345. Pingback: essay writers net

  349. Pingback: amoxicillin 250 mg

  351. Pingback: best dissertation

  352. Pingback: generic propecia

  359. Pingback: neurontin.

  363. Pingback: pharmacy intern

  366. Pingback: sildenafil 8000mg

Comments are now closed for this post.