# hints to hunting north G.ga bears.



## Dana Young (Aug 22, 2018)

I am going to start posting hints to find bears the easy way in the Mountains as I have time .anyone can add to these hints as we go along.
The 1st thing I do in the early fall is start riding forest service roads or any rd that runs through hunt able land. watching the sides of road for bear slides these will give you a starting place to start your scouting. only follow the most fresh and smelly trails these will lead you to the bears.


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## Dana Young (Aug 22, 2018)

let me explain the smell . these bears smell kind of like a skunk this time of year and a lot of time that's what leads me to them.


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## tree cutter 08 (Aug 22, 2018)

Riding roads will help you find alot. Also later in the season when your hunting acorns, look for stumps or logs along the road where squirrels have set hulling them out. Easy to spot without looking up or looking out the window on the road. Good thing to do on a rainy day.


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## Dsherrer711 (Aug 22, 2018)

Dana Young said:


> I am going to start posting hints to find bears the easy way in the Mountains as I have time .anyone can add to these hints as we go along.
> The 1st thing I do in the early fall is start riding forest service roads or any rd that runs through hunt able land. watching the sides of road for bear slides these will give you a starting place to start your scouting. only follow the most fresh and smelly trails these will lead you to the bears.



May be a dumb question, but when you say bear slides, are you just referring to a place where they cross the road and slide down/climb up back into the woods?

I’m picturing a deer crossing on the banks of a deep creek, but obviously a little bigger/wider trail. Is that about right? Got any pictures? 

Thanks!


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## Dana Young (Aug 23, 2018)

They set down on their but and slide on steep banks and when the banks aren't as steep they will make bigger trails then deer or hogs.
Next hint bear trails in the woods look like people trails in the woods they are wide and flat. after you find the slides then you can track them by their trails and find out where they are going . this saves boot leather.


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## Rabun (Aug 23, 2018)

Thanks for any and all helpful hints!  Personally I can use them.


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## Unicoidawg (Aug 23, 2018)

Check the food plots with sorghum and millet in the evenings. During a gun hunt you need to avoid food plots as they attract hunters more than deer or bears, but during bow season they can be awesome. All that being said find fresh white oaks and the bear won't be far away.


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## Dana Young (Aug 23, 2018)

next tip . Bears use the easier path most of the time, unless they have been      pressured.
I use these trails to slip up on them most of the time in bow range.
The point is the trails take them to and from feeding or bedding areas.
another tip is pay attention to things that look out of place. a lot of times I might see a black spot no bigger than a marble , then watch it for just a minute an a
full size bear will appear like it came out of thin air. take your time and move slow. if you watch bears they move slow and usually silent through the woods. I have had bears walk nearly up to me by sitting still and just watching.


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## Dana Young (Aug 23, 2018)

Oh and bears don't see too good they have small eyes that's why they usually won't see you unless you move fast or make noise.this also helps when you are stalking them. 
Do scent killers help? yes sometimes but I'd rather smell like the woods or another bear so when I am bear hunting I don't use any kind of scent killer and no deodorant the evening before the hunt. Saw dust is good because it smells like the woods I've seen lots of bear and other game after cutting wood or have worked with wood all day carpentering. so just think about that a more natural than some of these scent killers. also little sweat and the smell of saw dust or even wood smoke smells more natural in the woods than these scent killers often do. I am not saying they don't work sometimes but I see more bears after working all day than I do using scent killers.


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## Possum (Aug 23, 2018)

Another tip, bears like peanut butter crackers. If you’ll “accidentally” drop one or two out of your stand, one might smell it and come check it out.


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## Rabun (Aug 23, 2018)

Possum said:


> Another tip, bears like peanut butter crackers. If you’ll “accidentally” drop one or two out of your stand, one might smell it and come check it out.



I can attest to that...had a bear get in my car and steal a pack of nabs out of my golf bag.  Fortunate he got in and out without tearing anything up...cept the golf bag.


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## HunterJoe24 (Aug 23, 2018)

Possum said:


> Another tip, bears like peanut butter crackers. If you’ll “accidentally” drop one or two out of your stand, one might smell it and come check it out.



I got another one also, if you need to sneak in closer, pop up a black umbrella. The bear might think you are another bear, and another hunter might as well


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## Dana Young (Aug 23, 2018)

There has even been luck on Chattahoochee WMA of camp fires drawing them in.


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## Dana Young (Aug 23, 2018)

Oh wait that guy got a ticket for killing that bear so it must have been considered hunting over bait


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## Possum (Aug 23, 2018)

Biggest bear I ever kilt (352 lbs) was coming straight in to a smoke trail. I peeled a piece of bark off tree and lit it and let it smolder for a few min. He walked straight in down wind, nose in the air.


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## Possum (Aug 23, 2018)

My only bow bear weighed right at 300 lbs. I walked up on him opening day bow season 9 years ago. Shot him through the heart at 20 yards from the ground. One of my favorite hunts ever. That night I was fleashing out his hide on the front porch when my wife went into labor with our son. He was born a few hours later.


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## lagrangedave (Aug 23, 2018)

You name him Bear?


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## Joe Brandon (Aug 24, 2018)

Possum said:


> View attachment 940898My only bow bear weighed right at 300 lbs. I walked up on him opening day bow season 9 years ago. Shot him through the heart at 20 yards from the ground. One of my favorite hunts ever. That night I was fleashing out his hide on the front porch when my wife went into labor with our son. He was born a few hours later.


Man that's awesome!!! That sounds like one heck of a good day all around. I love perfect days like that! They are few and far between.


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## twincedargap (Aug 24, 2018)

my hint would be to read this sub-forum in its entirety multiple times, then put boots on the ground.   when you find the real sign, it will then all make sense.  luck may find you an ez bear, but research & miles on the ground will let you make your own luck. 

There is enough intel on this forum to write a book on bear hunting.  I appreciate all that have shared here, as I wouldn't have had a clue how to hunt without their input.


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## Raylander (Aug 24, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> my hint would be to read this sub-forum in its entirety multiple times, then put boots on the ground.   when you find the real sign, it will then all make sense.  luck may find you an ez bear, but research & miles on the ground will let you make your own luck.
> 
> There is enough intel on this forum to write a book on bear hunting.  I appreciate all that have shared here, as I wouldn't have had a clue how to hunt without their input.



X2


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## The mtn man (Aug 24, 2018)

My hint would be to take the hints of Dana young and tree cutter serious.


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## Dana Young (Aug 25, 2018)

Saw two bears at a slide location day before yesterday.


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## Bowhunter77 (Aug 27, 2018)

I need to slow down my approach, I always see them on my way to where I’m going, my tip slow down and ease into your area you have picked out.


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## Killer Kyle (Aug 28, 2018)

Dana Young said:


> Oh and bears don't see too good they have small eyes that's why they usually won't see you unless you move fast or make noise.this also helps when you are stalking them.
> Do scent killers help? yes sometimes but I'd rather smell like the woods or another bear so when I am bear hunting I don't use any kind of scent killer and no deodorant the evening before the hunt. Saw dust is good because it smells like the woods I've seen lots of bear and other game after cutting wood or have worked with wood all day carpentering. so just think about that a more natural than some of these scent killers. also little sweat and the smell of saw dust or even wood smoke smells more natural in the woods than these scent killers often do. I am not saying they don't work sometimes but I see more bears after working all day than I do using scent killers.


Early season, I get super sweaty hiking in to a lot of the places I hunt. I carry an extra shirt to change into when I get where I am going. I'll grab a handful of peat beneath the leaves which just smells like earth and moldy leaves. I rub it all over me. Chest, back, arm pits, shins, thighs. Sometimes I'll crush a few pine needles and rub them too. That is the most natural cover scent one can wear!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Aug 28, 2018)

This will only be my second season of bear hunting, but I have a trick for cover scent that I use for still-hunting deer that might work. I gather plants and tree limbs/leaves from the area I intend to hunt, boil them, and make a spray. I've had many deer within grabbing distance. I'm gonna try it at Cohutta this year.


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Aug 29, 2018)

I actually don't do anything for scent control or cover scent. I just don't think you can beat their nose. Scientists talk about bears being able to smell a meal from 18 miles away...I don't buy that number but let's say the can only smell 1/4 that well. That means every bear on chattahoochee smells every person in the city of helen.
I don't think cover scent helps much either since they can identify different scents so easily. I will however try to "hide" my scent by hunting an area already contaminated by human scent IF I can't hunt a favorable wind. What I mean is areas near popular trails, camps, vineyards or whatever that might acclimate bears to human scent.


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## jbogg (Aug 29, 2018)

I remember reading that humans can smell the chili cooking,  but the bear smells, the tomatoes, the meat, the jalapeños, the chili powder, cayenne pepper, the tomato sauce,  The pinto beans, the kidney beans…    You get the picture.  Use the wind the best that you can, but at the end of the day you will never mask your scent from a bear  or deer for that matter.  I have had plenty of deer come in downwind of me, but the ones that never smelled me was almost certainly the result of a slight updraft  or wind current that took my sent around or over them. Feel free to enjoy my chili recipe!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Aug 29, 2018)

my deer area is all pines and a few cedars and maples. At cohutta, i figure I will boil some oak, acorns, pine and the very abundant sassafras that grows there. Worth a try by my standards at least.


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## Killer Kyle (Aug 30, 2018)

WoodlandScout82 said:


> my deer area is all pines and a few cedars and maples. At cohutta, i figure I will boil some oak, acorns, pine and the very abundant sassafras that grows there. Worth a try by my standards at least.


You, sir go above and beyond. I dont know if your trick actually works, but it is an interesting. I'm fairly certain bears don't fool with sassafrass, but wonder if the smell could prompt a curiosity response from them. All I know is that if you're boiling down acorns and spraying down with it, you just might be Georgia's first legitimate bear attack victim! Ha!


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## WoodlandScout82 (Aug 31, 2018)

Killer Kyle said:


> You, sir go above and beyond. I dont know if your trick actually works, but it is an interesting. I'm fairly certain bears don't fool with sassafrass, but wonder if the smell could prompt a curiosity response from them. All I know is that if you're boiling down acorns and spraying down with it, you just might be Georgia's first legitimate bear attack victim! Ha!


I'm not using the sassafras as an attractant. The area I am planning to hunt is thick with it. I just try to smell like where I am. I won't even pretend that I know anything about bears. I will say though that even having scouted only one day last year, I was beat to my spot I planned to hunt last year by 10 minutes, and the guy got a bear 100 yards from me, that was headed straight to my area. I do everything I can to accomplish my goals. I even built an ultralight (10 pounds) cart to haul an animal with this year. I research, study, obsess full-time. I learn and adapt very quickly. I tried my cart out last weekend with 200 pounds and it works flawlessly.  It took me  hours 5 to get that hog in my profile pic to my truck last year. As for being attacked? I hunt with a very custom Springfield Armory M1A SOCOM II. Yogi doesn't want any of me.


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## tree cutter 08 (Aug 31, 2018)

With acorns crop not looking good this year, bears will be on the move more. Unless you found a honey hole of acorns, next few weeks will be good for hickory nuts, blackgums, grapes, Autumn olives or food plots. If you find a hot spot you better hunt it because it won't last long this year.


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## beardsnbones (Sep 3, 2018)

This post is awesome!!! Were going on our first bear hunt this year and needed some advice. Thank yall!


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## Dana Young (Sep 3, 2018)

Have saw 3 in the last week crossing roads


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## gobbleinwoods (Sep 3, 2018)

Dana Young said:


> Have saw 3 in the last week crossing roads



Drive faster.


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## Cwb19 (Sep 3, 2018)

Killed my first bear a few years back following advice on this forum about hunting wild grapes so now I look for grape vines as much as I do the oaks


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## Sherman Tank (Sep 4, 2018)

I'm headed up to the Cohutta WMA this weekend to hunt bear (or a large buck).  I will scout all day Friday and hunt Sat and Sun.  I'll be using my bow and I normally hunt from a Summit climber.  While up in that area (hilly and rough terrain), should I ditch the climber?  And just plan to stalk all day?  I like to use my climber when bow hunting as it allows me to get high and game to get close without getting busted.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!


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## Tio Hey Seuss (Sep 4, 2018)

Sherman Tank said:


> I'm headed up to the Cohutta WMA this weekend to hunt bear (or a large buck).  I will scout all day Friday and hunt Sat and Sun.  I'll be using my bow and I normally hunt from a Summit climber.  While up in that area (hilly and rough terrain), should I ditch the climber?  And just plan to stalk all day?  I like to use my climber when bow hunting as it allows me to get high and game to get close without getting busted.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!



I would say ditch the climber. I hunt from the ground all the time. With deer that can make it more difficult but for bear I feel like you're better off moblie. That's partly why I'm so addicted to bear hunting!


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