TN bear hunts.

[Handsome Rob]

Have any if you been on one of the group dog hunts in Cherokee? My group drew the first weekend in October to hunt Upper Tellico. I've never set foot in Cherokee before & I'm trying to figure out my gun options. I'm led to believe it's pretty close range hunting, so I'm torn between my .358 win or my super light & handy 336/.44

The 358 is scoped & great out to 300yds, the 44 is strictly a short range proposition (310gn cast boolets...). I'm not even sure I'd risk anything much over 75yds with the thing, but at 50, I can dump all 6 in one hole.

What say y'all?

[Wade195]

Sounds like an amazing trip.

I am headed to the range with my 358 this weekend.

Good luck 

 

[Alleycat72]

https://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Cold-Steel-Samburu-Spear-Black-Finish-95SB_p_116537.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw-vjqBRA6EiwAe8TCk6rha86eYDR2UfjVSYCzT3acUBLVvKuCsE-LsGmOrXZr95wfdlu0yhoC9K8QAvD_BwE

[Handsome Rob]

9 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

https://www.bigsupplyshop.com/Cold-Steel-Samburu-Spear-Black-Finish-95SB_p_116537.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw-vjqBRA6EiwAe8TCk6rha86eYDR2UfjVSYCzT3acUBLVvKuCsE-LsGmOrXZr95wfdlu0yhoC9K8QAvD_BwE

A buddy of mine has actually wing-shot a pig with one of those, from a moving airboat. At night. With a spotlight.

That's about the most redneck thing I can think of!

[TomInMN]

22 minutes ago, robtattoo said:

A buddy of mine has actually wing-shot a pig with one of those, from a moving airboat. At night. With a spotlight.

That's about the most redneck thing I can think of!

Was he or someone nearby drinking a beer and/ or working on a truck at the same time?

[peejman]

I'm not a bear hunter but I know a few of them and I know the terrain.   Short range all the way.  The dogs run the bear up a tree. You walk up to the tree and shoot the bear. Then the work begins. 

[10-Ring]

I lived in that area for a while.  What Peejman said.  You won't be taking any long shots.  The norm around there for bear hunters is to drink heavily, trespass, assault landowners when confronted about trespassing, hunt from the road, and block the road for long periods of time.  As such, a lot of people who generally don't mind hunting, are fence sitters, or even people that hunt, but don't bear hunt, don't care for bear hunters.  It's a very strange dynamic and people either seem to be very pro bear hunting, or very anti bear hunting.  Just some observations that I thought I would pass along 

[Ronald_55]

25 minutes ago, peejman said:

I'm not a bear hunter but I know a few of them and I know the terrain.   Short range all the way.  The dogs run the bear up a tree. You walk up to the tree and shoot the bear. Then the work begins. 

Just be sure not to stand under it when you shoot it....

[Handsome Rob]

2 hours ago, TomInMN said:

Was he or someone nearby drinking a beer and/ or working on a truck at the same time?

I'd be astonished if there wasn't a half gone twelver of Milwaukee's finest/Natty light on the boat somewhere.

[Handsome Rob]

1 hour ago, 10-Ring said:

I lived in that area for a while.  What Peejman said.  You won't be taking any long shots.  The norm around there for bear hunters is to drink heavily, trespass, assault landowners when confronted about trespassing, hunt from the road, and block the road for long periods of time.  As such, a lot of people who generally don't mind hunting, are fence sitters, or even people that hunt, but don't bear hunt, don't care for bear hunters.  It's a very strange dynamic and people either seem to be very pro bear hunting, or very anti bear hunting.  Just some observations that I thought I would pass along 

Oh Lord..... I really hope that isn't the case this time. This isn't my first bear hunt, but it is my first of this type. I'll tell you now, if my group shows this type of behaviour, I for one will be packing up & leaving. I want no part of any of that.

[peejman]

6 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

I lived in that area for a while.  What Peejman said.  You won't be taking any long shots.  The norm around there for bear hunters is to drink heavily, trespass, assault landowners when confronted about trespassing, hunt from the road, and block the road for long periods of time.  As such, a lot of people who generally don't mind hunting, are fence sitters, or even people that hunt, but don't bear hunt, don't care for bear hunters.  It's a very strange dynamic and people either seem to be very pro bear hunting, or very anti bear hunting.  Just some observations that I thought I would pass along 

I didn't want to bias him, but yeah.  Except he left out the part about letting the dogs run loose for days, kill chickens, attack pets, ...   I've heard plenty of such stories from people who live adjacent to the WMA's.  Could be similar to other things in that you never hear about the positive experiences, but bear hunters are kinda like lawyers... 99% of them give the rest a bad name.  Folks here are glad bear season is short. 

[E4 No More]

Personally, I don't see much sport in having a pack of dogs run down, and tree, an animal so that you can casually walk up to the tree and shoot it.

[Erik88]

15 minutes ago, E4 No More said:

Personally, I don't see much sport in having a pack of dogs run down, and tree, an animal so that you can casually walk up to the tree and shoot it.

You stole my words. I don't understand it at all. 

[Quavodus]

Well basicly it has to do with the terrain. Its steep rough country in east Tn. where most of the bears are. Its traditionally been done that way for a long time. Bear numbers are way lower too, than say some of the provinces of Canada. In Canada, baiting is popular and works good.

Edited August 22, 2019 by Quavodus

[10-Ring]

9 hours ago, robtattoo said:

Oh Lord..... I really hope that isn't the case this time. This isn't my first bear hunt, but it is my first of this type. I'll tell you now, if my group shows this type of behaviour, I for one will be packing up & leaving. I want no part of any of that.

You don't strike me as the kind of fella that would want to be associated with that crowd.  I hope your party is like minded and y'all have a fun and successful hunt.   If you are hunting the area that I believe you are you will be East of Tellico Plains along the Cherohala Skyway.  Beautiful area, if you get off the pavement and use the forest service roads you won't have any issues.  When I used to do a lot of dual sport dirt biking in that area I never had any issues with the hunters that I crossed paths with back there (of course I was polite, and didn't go flying past them). Ironically the hunters out in the woods were easy to get along with and pleasant to speak with.  It was the ones with a dog on the hood running down a heavily traveled paved road that would get mad because a motorcycle was too loud and would spook their dog.  

[peejman]

Watch out for people on horseback on the FS roads. I'd hope they'd be smart enough not to be out there during bear season with dogs running around and gun fire, but you never know. 

[Chris]

34 minutes ago, peejman said:

Watch out for people on horseback on the FS roads. I'd hope they'd be smart enough not to be out there during bear season with dogs running around and gun fire, but you never know. 

They are not. The forest service roads are the way to go... gets you away from the chaos near the main roads. However we did run into two different groups on horse back.... not a bit of orange in sight and none of them had a clue it was hunting season. 

[Alleycat72]

On 8/22/2019 at 7:56 AM, 10-Ring said:

I lived in that area for a while.  What Peejman said.  You won't be taking any long shots.  The norm around there for bear hunters is to drink heavily, trespass, assault landowners when confronted about trespassing, hunt from the road, and block the road for long periods of time.  As such, a lot of people who generally don't mind hunting, are fence sitters, or even people that hunt, but don't bear hunt, don't care for bear hunters.  It's a very strange dynamic and people either seem to be very pro bear hunting, or very anti bear hunting.  Just some observations that I thought I would pass along 

Damn, I'd be down for that. Load blanks in everyone's gun and watch chaos ensue, but I've also been to several train wrecks. 

[Johnny reb]

On 8/22/2019 at 4:10 PM, E4 No More said:

Personally, I don't see much sport in having a pack of dogs run down, and tree, an animal so that you can casually walk up to the tree and shoot it.

That is one of the oldest sports there is. It is everybit as sporting as sitting In a stand waiting on a deer and a lot more work.  You can be selective on the bear you take by using dogs. Instead of maybe getting a chance at a bear 1 time in a season. I’ve treed 5-6 bear a day. 

[E4 No More]

11 hours ago, Johnny reb said:

That is one of the oldest sports there is. It is everybit as sporting as sitting In a stand waiting on a deer and a lot more work.  You can be selective on the bear you take by using dogs. Instead of maybe getting a chance at a bear 1 time in a season. I’ve treed 5-6 bear a day. 

I don't hunt at all, (although I would if I needed to), but at least in a tree stand you have to do some leg-work figuring out where best to place the stand - or go by blind luck. Dogs have much better eyesight, hearing, smell, and speed than a human. I'd be more impressed if a pack of humans were to tree a bear.

[Whisper]

4 hours ago, E4 No More said:

Dogs have much better eyesight, hearing, smell, and speed than a human.

As regards eyesight, this statement not only contradicts my own experience with dogs in the woods, but Linkoping University in Sweden has demonstrated that a human's visual acuity is about three times that of a dog's.   Of course vision is a human's primary sense, whereas a dog's primary sense is smell.  

[Quavodus]

17 hours ago, Johnny reb said:

That is one of the oldest sports there is. It is everybit as sporting as sitting In a stand waiting on a deer and a lot more work.  You can be selective on the bear you take by using dogs. Instead of maybe getting a chance at a bear 1 time in a season. I’ve treed 5-6 bear a day. 

What kind of hounds do you hunt ?

[E4 No More]

1 hour ago, Whisper said:

As regards eyesight, this statement not only contradicts my own experience with dogs in the woods, but Linkoping University in Sweden has demonstrated that a human's visual acuity is about three times that of a dog's.   Of course vision is a human's primary sense, whereas a dog's primary sense is smell.  

Yeah, now that I think about it that's probably true since they see in grey scale and the bear hunting is presumably in the daytime. But the other things hold true.

[Johnny reb]

7 hours ago, E4 No More said:

I don't hunt at all, (although I would if I needed to), but at least in a tree stand you have to do some leg-work figuring out where best to place the stand - or go by blind luck. Dogs have much better eyesight, hearing, smell, and speed than a human. I'd be more impressed if a pack of humans were to tree a bear.

No disrespect meant but you obviously don’t have a clue how hound hunting works. Talking about legwork I would almost guarantee there’s been days I’ve put more miles than most do in a year. Hound hunting is very misunderstood by the majority of the public. That’s a shame that we as hunters are so divided. We have all the PETA, HSUS, and other bunny huggers trying to dismantle us from the outside. Then we as hunters are dismantling ourselves from the inside doing there work for them. I hear it all the time from people saying I don’t care if they stop hound hunting it has nothing to do them. Yes it does when they get one form of hunting done away with there not going away. They will set there sights on the next group. We as hunters and sportsman now more than ever and support each other. 

[Omega]

7 hours ago, Johnny reb said:

No disrespect meant but you obviously don’t have a clue how hound hunting works. Talking about legwork I would almost guarantee there’s been days I’ve put more miles than most do in a year. Hound hunting is very misunderstood by the majority of the public. That’s a shame that we as hunters are so divided. We have all the PETA, HSUS, and other bunny huggers trying to dismantle us from the outside. Then we as hunters are dismantling ourselves from the inside doing there work for them. I hear it all the time from people saying I don’t care if they stop hound hunting it has nothing to do them. Yes it does when they get one form of hunting done away with there not going away. They will set there sights on the next group. We as hunters and sportsman now more than ever and support each other. 

I believe you're talking about a different kind of legwork. If you stand hunt, you have to do your homework (legwork),  to find a good place to setup.  I don't (haven't done it seriously) bear hunt but I'd imagine it's more difficult finding one of them than it is to find a deer.  With dogs, as long as there are bears in the vicinity, they will find them for you, even though it may wear your soles out.