# Killing bear with dogs in North Ga



## NorthGaPlott (Apr 16, 2018)

I think DNR needs to take a tag from still hunters and give 1 to dog hunters on a draw system. Start out with residents only and see how it works out. I think it's completely biased towards dog hunters we can only kill hogs 2 months out of the year with dogs as well. I'm speaking for North Ga public land where bear and hog are plentiful.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Apr 16, 2018)

NorthGaPlott said:


> I think DNR needs to take a tag from still hunters and give 1 to dog hunters on a draw system. Start out with residents only and see how it works out. I think it's completely biased towards dog hunters we can only kill hogs 2 months out of the year with dogs as well. I'm speaking for North Ga public land where bear and hog are plentiful.



Keep your hands off my tags!


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## whitetailfreak (Apr 16, 2018)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> Keep your hands off my tags!



Like button


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## Killer Kyle (Apr 16, 2018)

I know that there are lots of varying opinions on the matter. I'd be in favor of a dog-bear season. In fact, I spoke in favor of it at the Regs meeting in Banks County the year before last I believe it was. I would NOT like to give away my tags. 99% of us don't fill them anyway, so taking away tags would solve nothing. I would like to see the dog season in January. Doesn't interfere with deer hunters, and most of the sows are "denning", especially the ones with cubs. It is also prime time to kill hogs in my book, and if a man has a good pack of dogs that can run both bear and hogs, they could lay the hurt on the hogs at the same time. I think a man with some good dogs can be a very effective tool in managing bears and reducing the population further. We know bear dogging can range far and wide on a given hunt, and I just don't want to be sitting on some good buck sign and have a pack of dogs come in on me. Otherwise I think a bear dogging season could be a good thing if done right.


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## NorthGaPlott (Apr 16, 2018)

I agree January is fine for a season sows aren't moving much and nothing gets interfered with as far as still hunters go. I'm all for still hunters having 2 tags but if it's truly a conservation thing, well take one from still hunters. All people should be able to hunt in whatever style they prefer is what I'm saying. I pay for the same liscense and unless I'm in a stand or on the ground I can't kill a bear. January is the best time to run hogs and it's becoming more apparent this year not many hogs up where I live are being killed because I've found tons of sign and killed alot of hogs more than i have in the last 10 years l know for sure. They'll be posioning hogs and killing other wildlife with the poison when they could just make it year around excpet during turkey and deer season. Oh and until this year we had to buy a wma stamp to run hog or bear but couldn't hunt either on wma land with dogs. Just seems like alot of non directional decision making.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 17, 2018)

It's exactly the opposite here. I love bear hunting with dogs, I come from a long line of mountain houndsmen, and I spent years doing it and loving it. 

With that said, the NC seasons are set up so that's it's almost impossible to kill a bear without dogs. The houndsmen are in complete control with the NCWRC. Our bow and ML seasons are not open to bear hunting. You see bears about every day during those seasons. But, after opening day of bear season and there is a pack of hounds running every holler and ridge, you won't see another bear in the daylight the rest of the season unless it's climbing a tree with a Plott hanging on its rear end. 

Nowadays, I just don't have the time or money to keep a pack of hounds like I used to. Nor do most folks.
We need some balance-a bit of season where it's legal to kill a bear, but not legal to run dogs. I would be happy with a week.


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## NCMTNHunter (Apr 17, 2018)

I would imagine a January season would be tough. Bear season closes here Jan 1 but you can continue to train dogs through April on most public land and I can tell you a bear is hard to come by Jan through March. I’m not sure if that is because of the weather or if it’s because they have been run ragged for last three months.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 18, 2018)

NCMTNHunter said:


> I would imagine a January season would be tough. Bear season closes here Jan 1 but you can continue to train dogs through April on most public land and I can tell you a bear is hard to come by Jan through March. I’m not sure if that is because of the weather or if it’s because they have been run ragged for last three months.



It can be almost impossible to find a good track in that December second-phase of the season some years, much less January.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Apr 18, 2018)

I'd venture to say it's because they've been hounded (pun intended) since October.  

The only way I'll ever support a dog season in Georgia is if it comes after the regular season.  My experiences in NC have cemented my opinion on the matter.


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## twincedargap (Apr 18, 2018)

I’ll join the No crowd.  Many good reasons already stated. I like to bear hunt. I do not need a dog to hunt for me.


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## NorthGaPlott (Apr 18, 2018)

I've literally walked 20 miles looking for a bear track and never found one. Usually people that have no clue or that have never really bear hunted with dogs say something about how it's a disadvantage or how the dogs do all the work. I invite anyone on here that doesn't agree with dog hunting to hunt with me for a year and then give your opinion. I said I agree let the still hunters have a go before dog hunters but we should get one in January even if only for a week. I'll say again this is a open invite to anti dog still hunters come and hunt with me for a year.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 19, 2018)

NorthGaPlott said:


> I've literally walked 20 miles looking for a bear track and never found one. Usually people that have no clue or that have never really bear hunted with dogs say something about how it's a disadvantage or how the dogs do all the work. I invite anyone on here that doesn't agree with dog hunting to hunt with me for a year and then give your opinion. I said I agree let the still hunters have a go before dog hunters but we should get one in January even if only for a week. I'll say again this is a open invite to anti dog still hunters come and hunt with me for a year.



Bear hunting with dogs is some of the hardest work I ever did in my life. I agree, people who put it down as easy or unfair have certainly never done it. It's in my blood, and I love it, just can't do it any more. 

Like I said, I just wish we had at least a week or two here where you could hunt without dogs. Give everybody a chance.


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## Throwback (Apr 19, 2018)

it always amazes me how some folks view bear dog hunting like it's easy
It's not like a quail hunt where they just pop up and you shoot them


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## twincedargap (Apr 19, 2018)

Throwback said:


> it always amazes me how some folks view bear dog hunting like it's easy
> It's not like a quail hunt where they just pop up and you shoot them



Its certainly easier to scouting  & hunting one on your own. Its no longer a person hunting a game animal.  Its a person following a dog hunting a game animal. 

Dogs chasing bears would indiscriminately disturb bears, their locations & habits, as well as all the woods & game of all species for everyone else.  

Dogs don't know/respect property lines.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> Its certainly easier to scouting  & hunting one on your own. Its no longer a person hunting a game animal.  Its a person following a dog hunting a game animal.
> 
> Dogs chasing bears would indiscriminately disturb bears, their locations & habits, as well as all the woods & game of all species for everyone else.
> 
> Dogs don't know/respect property lines.


I would have to disagree. Having hunted them both ways, it's usually much easier to scout/stalk a bear or kill one from a stand than it is to kill one with a pack of hounds. And scouting/stalking involves much, much less walking/climbing/running in rough terrain and physical effort in general. Hound hunting is done for love of the hounds and tradition, not because it's easier. Not by a long shot.


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## Buckman18 (Apr 19, 2018)

NCHillbilly said:


> I would have to disagree. Having hunted them both ways, it's usually much easier to scout/stalk a bear or kill one from a stand than it is to kill one with a pack of hounds. And scouting/stalking involves much, much less walking/climbing/running in rough terrain and physical effort in general. Hound hunting is done for love of the hounds and tradition, not because it's easier. Not by a long shot.



This.

Most forum posters would suffocate trying to follow a rally. If you do your homework and don’t spook the bears, early season bear bow hunting can be a slam dunk.


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## tree cutter 08 (Apr 19, 2018)

A bear on a food source is one of the most predictable animals out there. Like buckman  says, early bow season is best time for bear. I would love to follow behind some dogs to try it but have no interest in keeping and hunting a pack because it's way more work than I'm willing to put into it. What about a spring dog season?


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## twincedargap (Apr 19, 2018)

NCHillbilly said:


> I would have to disagree. Having hunted them both ways, it's usually much easier to scout/stalk a bear or kill one from a stand than it is to kill one with a pack of hounds. And scouting/stalking involves much, much less walking/climbing/running in rough terrain and physical effort in general. Hound hunting is done for love of the hounds and tradition, not because it's easier. Not by a long shot.



following a dog w/gps collar for a few hours to shoot a bear in a tree vs. weeks of scouting. my scouting isn't ez or quick.    its a matter of perspective


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## Throwback (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> following a dog w/gps collar for a few hours to shoot a bear in a tree vs. weeks of scouting. my scouting isn't ez or quick.    its a matter of perspective



And neither way of killing the near is wrong or unsportsmanlike

The dogs take a huge amount of time to train maintain and keep up. It doesn't all just happen


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## Buckman18 (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> following a dog w/gps collar for a few hours to shoot a bear in a tree vs. weeks of scouting. my scouting isn't ez or quick.    its a matter of perspective



Training, feeding, and keeping a pack of hounds practiced and conditioned is a LOT more work than a couple days of scouting for bow season. This is not a matter of perspective. Surely you don’t think one randomly hauls a bunch of dogs to the woods and simply goes tree a bear?


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## NCMTNHunter (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> following a dog w/gps collar for a few hours to shoot a bear in a tree vs. weeks of scouting. my scouting isn't ez or quick.    its a matter of perspective



But your not talking apples to apples.  You have to compare the weeks of scouting vs the hours spent year round training dogs.  If you started buying pups right now it would take running them 3+ days a week for 3-5 years before you would have a pack of dogs you could tree bear with.  It is truly a full time job and thats the reason that most of us on here who truly love it fall in to the "used to" category.  It is a young man and retired man's sport.

You also have to keep in mind that houndsmen do the same scouting you do.  They spend weeks finding where bear are using so they know where to hunt. 

It is also anything but indiscriminate. Bear dogs are not just let loose to run anything and everything.  They are kept on leash until the hunters find a track that is warm enough for the dogs to be able to take.  If a track is too small, too cold, or a sow with cubs you just keep going until you find a suitable track.  Some days consist of walking 15+ miles and analyzing many tracks without turning a dog loose.     

Shooting a bear out of a tree is by far the least difficult and least important part of a hound hunt.  It's kind of like telling a still hunter there is a bear at 20 yards and your bow is at full draw, how hard could it be?  Well as we all know the hard part is everything that leads up to that moment.  

Just trying to give enough information to help with perspective.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> following a dog w/gps collar for a few hours to shoot a bear in a tree vs. weeks of scouting. my scouting isn't ez or quick.    its a matter of perspective



First, I never used gps collars. 

Plus, you still have to do all that scouting just the same. You have to know where the bear is in order to turn the dogs on him. I would guess that most hound hunters do just as much or more scouting as you do.


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## twincedargap (Apr 19, 2018)

NCMTNHunter said:


> But your not talking apples to apples.  You have to compare the weeks of scouting vs the hours spent year round training dogs.  If you started buying pups right now it would take running them 3+ days a week for 3-5 years before you would have a pack of dogs you could tree bear with.  It is truly a full time job and thats the reason that most of us on here who truly love it fall in to the "used to" category.  It is a young man and retired man's sport.
> 
> You also have to keep in mind that houndsmen do the same scouting you do.  They spend weeks finding where bear are using so they know where to hunt.
> 
> ...



good points.  i assume your not the average, and i'm not the average,  we both assume.    I used to hunt deer with dogs for many many years, many many years ago, so I know a bit about hounds and putting them out.  Thus my closed mind to bears & hounds, and my prayers for peace in the bear woods.


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## The mtn man (Apr 19, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> Its certainly easier to scouting  & hunting one on your own. Its no longer a person hunting a game animal.  Its a person following a dog hunting a game animal.
> 
> Dogs chasing bears would indiscriminately disturb bears, their locations & habits, as well as all the woods & game of all species for everyone else.
> 
> Dogs don't know/respect property lines.



From experience on both  sides, it's not easier, if anything, it's tougher. Those bondsman that follow dogs are some tough men, you still have to scout, you don't just indiscriminately turn dogs loose, you have to physically find a hot bear track. Then pack the hounds on it, I've seen them run 20 miles by the Garmin collars.


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## Ghost G (Apr 20, 2018)

I've never hunted bear either way but am looking forward to hunting them this year.  I see hunting with hounds as a different method of hunting.  The enjoyment/reward would be in watching those dogs preform after all the training that would be required. So rewarding watching a dog perform the way you've trained them.  I've got great respect for those that are able to follow a hound through the mountains.  All said
 if there was a hound season I'd prefer it be in January.


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## saltysenior (Apr 22, 2018)

after seeing the 5 mile track that the bear led the dogs on in Yellow Creek N C , I could not call it a sport..I would have to call it hard,hard work. And the locals that do it,love it


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## The mtn man (Apr 24, 2018)

saltysenior said:


> after seeing the 5 mile track that the bear led the dogs on in Yellow Creek N C , I could not call it a sport..I would have to call it hard,hard work. And the locals that do it,love it



I been to yaller creek a time or 2..


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## j_seph (Apr 24, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> good points.  i assume your not the average, and i'm not the average,  we both assume.    I used to hunt deer with dogs for many many years, many many years ago, so I know a bit about hounds and putting them out.  Thus my closed mind to bears & hounds, and my prayers for peace in the bear woods.


Have hunted deer with dogs myself, as well as hogs, refuse to go after bear simply because I do not know that I could handle the 18 mile day in the mountains. Deer and Hog are two different apples just as I would assume deer and bear are two different apples. I have hunted hogs from the ground as well. As for hogs, dogs are way more effective in the conservation side than still hunting. I mean we took more off Pinelog in 2 days than still hunters did the whole season. I would say it would be the same for managing bear as well.


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## The mtn man (Apr 26, 2018)

j_seph said:


> Have hunted deer with dogs myself, as well as hogs, refuse to go after bear simply because I do not know that I could handle the 18 mile day in the mountains. Deer and Hog are two different apples just as I would assume deer and bear are two different apples. I have hunted hogs from the ground as well. As for hogs, dogs are way more effective in the conservation side than still hunting. I mean we took more off Pinelog in 2 days than still hunters did the whole season. I would say it would be the same for managing bear as well.



Very sensable statement here, bear hunting with dogs,  and deer hunting with dogs are no where near comparable. Deer hunting with dogs is more like a rabbit hunt, except deer typically make a bigger circle than a rabbit, you don't put out standers for bear, there is no way of knowing where the bear will go. It is different bear hunting around the coastal plains for bear, than in the mountain, my old crew did both, they hunted bear in eastern nc. And the mountains, the coastal bears would sometimes run circles trying to stay in a block of timber, kind of like a deer, but mountain bears just run straight usually, only treeing when they turn up hill with some hair pulling dogs on his tail, big bears will mostly just walk and slap at the dogs when they get close enough, if you can't cut them off, the bear will go until you run out of dogs, or the dogs give up, and that could be two counties over, no joke, have been on a couple of those journeys.


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 26, 2018)

The mtn man said:


> Very sensable statement here, bear hunting with dogs,  and deer hunting with dogs are no where near comparable. Deer hunting with dogs is more like a rabbit hunt, except deer typically make a bigger circle than a rabbit, you don't put out standers for bear, there is no way of knowing where the bear will go. It is different bear hunting around the coastal plains for bear, than in the mountain, my old crew did both, they hunted bear in eastern nc. And the mountains, the coastal bears would sometimes run circles trying to stay in a block of timber, kind of like a deer, but mountain bears just run straight usually, only treeing when they turn up hill with some hair pulling dogs on his tail, big bears will mostly just walk and slap at the dogs when they get close enough, if you can't cut them off, the bear will go until you run out of dogs, or the dogs give up, and that could be two counties over, no joke, have been on a couple of those journeys.



Yep, and those journeys usually end in the roughest terrain to be found in that part of the country-straight up and down, rock cliffs, and crawl-on-your-belly rhododendron and laurel thickets.


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## The mtn man (Apr 26, 2018)

NCHillbilly said:


> Yep, and those journeys usually end in the roughest terrain to be found in that part of the country-straight up and down, rock cliffs, and crawl-on-your-belly rhododendron and laurel thickets.



True, we struck a track in clay county one time, jumped it up pretty quick, it ran the tusquittee mountain range over to choga, crossed hwy 74 some where around the gorge, we wound up finding our dogs two days later treed in stecoah!!! So struck bear and ran it through clay county into Cherokee county, through the southeast Cherokee to the northwest part of Macon county, all the way into Graham county. That bear race went through 4 WNC counties through some of the narliest terrain imaginable. When we got to the tree behind some elderly couples house we were amazed at how small it was, it just simply out footed our hounds. We left it be, we figured if that bear was that tough it deserved to live. Probably only weighed 90 pounds or so. That old timer that let us park in his drive way wanted some bear meat bad, I believe to this day he went back up there and shot it out, haha. He wasn't happy that we left it.


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## HOGDOG76 (Apr 27, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> good points.  i assume your not the average, and i'm not the average,  we both assume.    I used to hunt deer with dogs for many many years, many many years ago, so I know a bit about hounds and putting them out.  Thus my closed mind to bears & hounds, and my prayers for peace in the bear woods.



You bred, raised and trained your own packs for years or you hunted with others dogs?


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 29, 2018)

twincedargap said:


> good points.  i assume your not the average, and i'm not the average,  we both assume.    I used to hunt deer with dogs for many many years, many many years ago, so I know a bit about hounds and putting them out.  Thus my closed mind to bears & hounds, and my prayers for peace in the bear woods.



Deer hunting with dogs and bear hunting with dogs, especially in the mountains, are two entirely different things, almost opposites. You are comparing apples to carburetors. 

Deer hunting with dogs is basically rabbit hunting with beagles on a little bigger scale, nothing at all like hound hunting bears. If you've ever coon hunted with hounds in the mountains, you got a tiny taste of hound hunting.


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## General Sherman (May 6, 2018)

No thanks


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## Al Medcalf (May 7, 2018)

Dog hunting bear is the only method of hunting bear that I would do.


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## Russdaddy (May 7, 2018)

We get enough coon dogs running around on our property,I'd have to vote no to bear dogs joining in on the fun.


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