# Georgia seeks input on controversial bear hunts



## fredw (Jan 22, 2013)

http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/crime/georgia-seeks-input-on-controversial-bear-hunts/nT4Cs/


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## markland (Jan 22, 2013)

I commented earlier and hope they extend the season or at least do something to allow us to participate better in the harvest of bears due to the extreme amount of problems we have with bears on our lease.  They may say the population is not that large but I totally disagree and can only assume that the population is concentrated in smaller areas.  I have 8 different bears on trail cams on just 402 acres!  They are an absolute nuisance and destroy our equipment and have even stolen deer that were shot by us with potentially dangerous confrontation!  I certainly hope they expand the opportunties some as there is noway for us to hunt them effectively on a 1 day season!


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## Low Gap (Jan 22, 2013)

*bear hunting*

Why do we not have bear hunts on Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee wma? Both are in countys that have bear season.


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## Killer Kyle (Jan 22, 2013)

Low Gap said:


> Why do we not have bear hunts on Oaky Woods and Ocmulgee wma? Both are in countys that have bear season.



I would think so that they could serve as refuge locations.  During huting season,  there is no safe refuge on private land, but the off limits WMAs could help harbor part of the bear population and keep reproducing males and females still birthing cubs to help maintain the population stability.


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## GA DAWG (Jan 22, 2013)

So that's where Stillwell went. I don't care what they do in middle Ga but I wish they'd let bear season run till Jan 1st in north ga.


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## Low Gap (Jan 22, 2013)

*bear hunts*

Wildlife  management areas should be used for the sportsmen buying management area stamps . There should be a bear season if the county they are in has a bear season. They should not be used as a refuge for the animal except when the season is closed. The state is funding the bear studies there so sportsman should have opportunity to hunt them since there is a huntable population in the county they are located in.


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## markland (Jan 23, 2013)

Believe me there are plenty of bears in the area and they do not need anymore protection or refuges to be safe!  They need to be controlled!  Basically alot of these bears are nuisance bears that have been trapped up north and relocated to this area and all that is doing is moving a problem from 1 area to another.  Alot of them have had human encounters and know where to go look for easy food and this just creates a huge problem down here in Twiggs Co for land managers.


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## Marklopez (Jan 25, 2013)

When there are plenty of bears available in a single area, It becomes quite difficult to manage them, but it is important that they must be provided the protection and various resources.


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## markland (Jan 28, 2013)

Good come get them and move them where there are less, we have plenty!


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## Hooded Merganser (Feb 8, 2013)

markland said:


> Good come get them and move them where there are less, we have plenty!



Markland if you need an extra gun in the field and the season applies to your county, I would be willing to pay a trespass fee to get on some black bear action!


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## markland (Feb 8, 2013)

I heard that, only had 2 members hunt that day this past season.  I am always in IL that week so might do it someday!


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## Hooded Merganser (Feb 8, 2013)

Would love the opportunity, give me a shout.


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## bfriendly (Feb 10, 2013)

Marklopez said:


> When there are plenty of bears available in a single area, It becomes quite difficult to manage them, but it is important that they must be provided the protection and various resources.




most of know what is "important that they must be provided" and it Ain't Protection and ResourcesNo No:


I am thinking more like a 280+fps stick with razors on the tip through both lungs


From the article:



> The first open hunt for these bears on private land in Bibb, Houston and Twiggs counties was held in 2011, when about 10 percent of the entire Middle Georgia black bear population was killed in one day. Two wildlife management areas that are the core of the bear's habitat were excluded from the hunt.



This strikes me wrong somehow....is 10% a lot? The writer makes it sound like we could wipe them ALL out if we hunted 10 days........


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## Ytka (Jul 24, 2013)

bfriendly said:


> most of know what is "important that they must be provided" and it Ain't Protection and ResourcesNo No:
> 
> 
> I am thinking more like a 280+fps stick with razors on the tip through both lungs
> ...



From what I read, there were 14 bears checked at the ranger station in Middle Georgia in 2012. They're smoking crack if they think there are only 140 bears in Houston and Twiggs Counties.


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## splinter17 (Jul 25, 2013)

That's 14 bears "checked in." How about the # killed that weren't checked in.  

I wouldn't check mine in. I would be afraid of his stomach being cut open and corn come out. Not corn used to bait bear, but for deer. 

Try explaining that your kill ate the corn somewhere else and you didn't bait for the bear.


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## j_seph (Jul 25, 2013)

splinter17 said:


> That's 14 bears "checked in." How about the # killed that weren't checked in.
> 
> I wouldn't check mine in. I would be afraid of his stomach being cut open and corn come out. Not corn used to bait bear, but for deer.
> 
> Try explaining that your kill ate the corn somewhere else and you didn't bait for the bear.


Think what GW would say when he found out you didn't check bear in and then found your gut pile full of corn for deer


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## Hunter454 (Jul 25, 2013)

j_seph said:


> Think what GW would say when he found out you didn't check bear in and then found your gut pile full of corn for deer



That would be a much bigger problem


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## splinter17 (Jul 26, 2013)

That's why you don't leave it in a pile on the ground.


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## Jason Huckaby (Jul 26, 2013)

yot's will eat the guts you leave in woods.   plus who wants to lug bear out woods full of guts.  Lighten his - I AM A POTTY MOUTH -- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -- I AM A POTTY MOUTH - up.


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## j_seph (Jul 26, 2013)

Jason Huckaby said:


> yot's will eat the guts you leave in woods.   plus who wants to lug bear out woods full of guts.  Lighten his - I AM A POTTY MOUTH -- I AM A POTTY MOUTH -- I AM A POTTY MOUTH - up.


Again, not sure why he would not check the bear in if he gutted it in the woods and it was a legal bear


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## Ytka (Jul 26, 2013)

Do the game wardens actually check the stomach contents? That just seems highly unlikely to me.


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## Etoncathunter (Jul 26, 2013)

I have heard of it happening, but don't personally know of it.


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## pinky88 (Jul 26, 2013)

Stop feeding the deer corn for a few weeks and the bear will leave, or maybe call some of the north Ga boys with good bear dogs and allow them to come run them off of your 402 acre lease.


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## Ytka (Jul 27, 2013)

I really want to give bear hunting a shot this year, but I can't help what a bear eats before it gets to me. I never baited anything before it was legal, because there's not a deer in the woods worth all the hassle if you get caught. Same thing with bears, but the problem is now there's corn everywhere else. I'd bet the vast majority of clubs now have corn on them somewhere.

If they want to be crazy about it, they ought to do a lottery for tags like they do with gators. Then they decide the max they want killed and you can hunt them over bait.


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## Jason Huckaby (Aug 1, 2013)

no just saying lighter the better to carry out.   Guts don't matter to warden.   no use dragging out extra weight.


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## markland (Aug 1, 2013)

Wish we could but they do not allow dogs for bears in middle GA!
We feed corn to keep the hogs on the property as that is my main reason for having the property down there and do not want to lose our hogs to the neighbors which also feed all year round.  We do not hunt over the feeders but intercept them moving between them.
Perfectly legal to gut a bear in the woods before bringing it out, but just make sure it meets the minimum weight or else leave the guts in.  GW are very strict in that area due to the over abundance of illegal hunting over bait for bears that occurs during the hunt so they watch everything and when you check in a bear they are very likely to want to come look at the kill sight and examine it and the area as well, so have to keep everything legal.
Biologists are doing a bear population study on my lease down there and have told me that they have about 40 collared bears in middle GA and the majority of them are located around our area and tend to have the highest bear population in that area.  They do move around alot due to food sources but tend to stay in the general area and I can assure you there are alot more bears around then what they are claiming.
What I proposed to them was a more lenient bear season with a quota tag restriction and once the quota was met, then bear season would be over, but all I get is that there is not a large enough population in middle GA and they do not want too many bears killed!  Kinda hard to do that with a 1 day season after most of the acorns have fallen and most bears have moved on.


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