Educate me on bear hunting, just doesn't seem right to me

[10-Ring]

I haven't been around bear hunting for most of my life, not until recently. Bear hunting seems to be a pretty big deal around here where I live and I can respect tradition. From what I have observed thus far I'm not really sure why it is allowed to hunt bear with dogs, it seems like to me that there is no sport in it what so ever. I also realize that what most people in a group do does not apply to the entire group but around here the bear hunters are really known as a bunch of disrespectful savages. I've heard numerous stories about them trespassing (I've hunted with dogs so I can sympathize to an extent,) worse than trespassing though is the manner in which they become irate if a property owner confronts them about it, even several accounts of several hunters beating land owners within inches of their lives. Personally, I just can't call letting dogs go on the side of the road and tracking them with a GPS hunting. Not to mention the fact that the animal has virtually no chance of escape with the packs of 10-20 dogs that they usually are hunting with. If there is any bear in the area it is going to be treed and shot out, it will never have a chance to escape. Am I out of line here? Am I missing something? Am I possibly grumpy and irrational about the situation because there was a bear treed all night last night a couple of hundred yards from my house and I got sick of hearing the dogs on tree? Never thought that I would disapprove of any type of hunting but now I'm starting to think otherwise. I still have an open mind though so educate me if my observations are incorrect.

[DaveS]

I don't know about bear hunting, but I can't handle pig hunting with dogs. To me it's cruel and brutal to both the pigs and the dogs. The dogs get cut up and the pig has to endure un imaginable pain from multiple pitbull bites before it can be killed. Just not my thing I guess.

I do however rabbit hunt with my beagles, and, on a rare occasion, one of my dogs will catch a rabbit. That gosh aweful sqeeling from the rabbit makes me want to stop hunting with dogs all together.

Dogs can't read signs or know where the property line is, but as dog owners, we must do everything we can to keep our dogs off someone elses land. It's almost imposible at times.

[whiskey]

You sound irritated to me.

To me fair chase has to be determined by the individual hunter. Some deer hunters consider baiting as cheating, but are fine with food plots. Some hunters consider anything but archery equipment as cheating. Most hunters in TN never get an opportunity to hunt deer with dogs, so when they see it or hear about it, they don't understand the sport in it. Same goes for bear hunting. If I shoot a bear that is digging in my trash, or if I shoot a bear that is treed by dogs, or if I shoot a bear that comes into a bait barrel, or if I shoot a bear that I spot and stalk, I still have 1 dead bear. For most hound hunters, the joy of the hunt is working the dogs, not shooting the bear. You mention all the bad apples that trespass and then are rude when confronted. I would say that is probably an unfair generalization. There is a percentage of bad apples in everything, hunting is no different.

In 2006 there were 309 bears checked in. 2007 had 337, 2008 had 446, 2009 had 573 and 2010 had 310. So far this year 373 have been checked in. This tells me that there just aren't many bears being killed each year. If you take dog hunters out of that mix, how many do you think would be killed? For comparison, there have been almost 27,000 deer checked in THIS year so far, and gun season hasn't opened yet.

[peejman]

I also see little sport in turning dogs loose, following them, then shooting a bear that's sitting in a tree. Too "fish in a barrel" for my taste. There is some sport in working the dogs, but from my observation, most bear hunters these days simply turn them loose and follow the noise/gps. The only "work" in bear hunting is hauling the carcass out and collecting stray dogs. Because of that, I refer to it as harvesting rather than hunting. Same thing with food plots and year-round tree stands for deer. By all means, kill all the deer you want. Just don't call it "hunting".

A good friend lives adjacent to a WMA and dreads bear season because of stray hunting dogs. He's had multiple instances of hunting dogs killing his cats, attacking his dog, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. He's also had several unpleasant encounters with hunters who seem quite apathetic to any damage their dogs have done.

[Caster]

I know if I were to see a pack of dogs like that on my property, I'd start putting them down. I love dogs, but sorry a pack of 10-20 dogs? Pits too? Nope. Disgusting.

The only place hunting dogs have IMO is bird hunting. Now watching a Brittany Spaniel or a German short hair work a field in search of quail.....Thing of beauty.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Caster

[Midnight Smoker]

There is no "Hunt" in letting your dogs tree a bear....Sorry. I've never hunted bear, but have done plenty of bird & deer hunting. When I was little and would go bird hunting, I was always taught not to shoot a bird on a wire. Scare'em off, make it challenging. When I deer hunt I hunt a food plot 50% of the time. Does that mean the deer will always be there? No, but I put the time in the field plowing, planting, ect, and have to climb a tree and be perfectly quiet to not scare 'em off if a big buck does show. Letting 10-20 dogs tree any animal, and then kill it is in no way hunting. My .02

[Lumber_Jack]

I feel the same as 10-ring, but I also don't think it's fair to put a bucket of Jelly doughnuts out and shoot the bear that comes in, but that's the way it's done in the northern Midwest and Canada.

[Smith]

I feel the same as 10-ring, but I also don't think it's fair to put a bucket of Jelly doughnuts out and shoot the bear that comes in, but that's the way it's done in the northern Midwest and Canada.

If it's fair your after, hang out in the woods with a spear and a Salmon. Seriously, hunting is not "fair" in just about every format. That being said, there is a difference between food hunters and fun hunters. I don't like "fun" hunters in any form. I personally don;t care how "food" hunters get it as long as it's safe, and responsible to the environment.

[Guest GunTroll]

Dogs and big game hunting are for from fare chase hunting practises IMO. But, I can't tell anyone its wrong either. Different regions of our country have different ways of doing things. I figure as long as it doesn't directly effect me and my norm, I'll give em a pass. I guess I'm saying as long as it isn't in my backyard its cool with me.

As for the OP's situation...I'd be pissed if I had to hear dogs barking all night so I can sympathise with your frustration. I have dealt with deer dogs in coastal SC and it sucks. The method of release and track with radar/gps and hoping a deer gets run in a direction that produces results is stupid. It completely disrupts my fair hunting techniques of over-watching a food plot with corn feeders deployed when I have high powered rifles with optics attached .

[Chris]

I think I'll start hunting with rocks. That should be fair, right?

Gonna be kind of a pain getting a decent sized boulder up in the tree stand tho... or is that cheating as well?

Seriously, if it isn't against the rules as set down by the TWRA, I don't have a problem with it.

Hunting pigs with dogs at a hunting lodge isn't anywhere near as difficult as stalking one with a bow.

The archer has a much tougher job, but i'm not about to belittle the man who ran down a 500 lb hog w/ dogs.

One is obviously harder than the other, but both are valid hunts.

Far be it from me to tell another man how to enjoy his time in the woods.

[Guest GunTroll]

Rocks are banned from being used for the harvesting of wild game species. TWRA hasn't approved them so they are banned until further notice. If they have barbs on them they are double banned.

[Chris]

Probably for the best. I really don't have room in my safe for a custom shaped chunk of granite w/ red dot sights and built in rangefinder.

[robin48]

Probably for the best. I really don't have room in my safe for a custom shaped chunk of granite w/ red dot sights and built in rangefinder.

I can give you a good deal on one.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[Rightwinger]

I'll wade in and say if you don't like it don't do it and we move on. Let's talk about OWS instead...something less controversal.

[Guest GunTroll]

I'd like to see some dogs released on the OWS movement. I'm thinking a pack of rabid jack russells could clear 'em out.

[Guest pfries]

I'd like to see some dogs released on the OWS movement. I'm thinking a pack of rabid jack russells could clear 'em out.

From the looks of some of the OWS crowd I have seen if the Jack Russell’s weren’t rabid to start they probably would be before they were done.

[rbishop]

I have never bear hunted, but had a friend who did alot. He was a very responsible individual and an all around great guy. He had some top notch dogs, but very seldom did he ever get a bear. Its more difficult than alot of posters on here are portraying. I think there is some "sport" involved, I remember him talking about running thru the woods, up and down mountains trying to cut off a running bear. I don't think they always tree. But I also don't deer hunt because sitting in a tree waiting to ambush a deer isn't sport to me. I know it is to alot of folks, just not me. Give me a bird dog and some wild birds (which there arent many of anymore).

[Guest PistolFan]

There is no sport in hunting deer or bear. Tree stands should be illegal. Come on people. I have seen deer in my back yard just standing there looking at me for quite some time. You could shoot an animal in a small cage about as easy. I understand thinning the herd, but don't think killing animals for fun shows maturity. As far as bear hunting, I think you should get one bullet and if that doesn't work, well Uh Oh! I gave up hunting when I went in the service many moons ago. If you want to really hunt, try hunting something that is shooting back at you. Not so much fun when you looking at the business end of a rifle. As for a pack of dogs on my property. Well,lets just say my AR needs some more breaking in.. If you are hungry, well that's a different story. Go ahead and hunt. JMO.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

If it seems cruel to you, don't do it, but don't criticize what others have accepted as hunting

techniques for generations. Otherwise, Smith said it right.

[Guest PistolFan]

If it seems cruel to you, don't do it, but don't criticize what others have accepted as hunting

techniques for generations. Otherwise, Smith said it right.

Didn't critter size anyone. Just gave my opinion.

[Rightwinger]

What PistolFan did was verify why we need tree stands and such. I have hunted all my adult life and the deer are smart enough to know when and where the threat is. They have smelled me before I ever saw them, were able to pick up the slightest movment of me trying to bring my hunting equipment to bear on them and one was able to move enough to beat the arrow as he heard it release. For me, the odds are still pretty much in favor of the animal unless you do it all right the first time.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

My comment wasn't directed at any specific person. I don't even get to hunt any more.

It's been years, but a hunter with well trained dogs is itself something to see. And my

knowledge of bear hunting is zero, but I imagine a dog or two could be beneficial with

hunting them.

[whiskey]

PistolFan, I believe there is a difference between the deer in your backyard and the deer I hunt. Apparently the deer I hunt haven't been told that they are supposed to just stand out in the open so I can find them, get a good shot and not walk my butt off in the process.

To be honest, I have passed on deer that I could have easily killed this year. Sport didn't have anything to do with it though. I don't hunt just for sport or just for food or just for fun. I hunt for all three reasons to some extent. If it wasn't fun, then I wouldn't do it at all. If there was no sport, it wouldn't be fun. However, I do see the sport in it and I do have fun doing it and I enjoy eating what I had fun hunting.

Like I stated earlier, I believe only the hunter can determine what is fair or sport for him or her. I took my then 9 year old daughter on her first deer hunt a few years back. It wasn't a hard hunt. We sat in a blind and shot a doe at 20 yards in a clover field. However, it was a culmination of a lot of effort on her part. Learning to shoot, passing hunter safety, overcoming the fear of failure, learning deer anatomy, patience for the right shot, sitting still and being quite. All these things were big efforts for a 9 year old, so what wouldn't have been an exciting hunt for a seasoned hunter, was the biggest thing she had done as a hunter. It's all a matter of perspective. Now that she is older, she want to take a deer with her bow, so the process is renewed and all the effort of mastering the task begins again.

[10-Ring]

If it seems cruel to you, don't do it, but don't criticize what others have accepted as hunting

techniques for generations. Otherwise, Smith said it right.

I have no interest in bear hunting, zero. See yall don't have a bear season up there in Clarksville. If you lived where there was a bear season and had dogs on tree all night next to your house. Saw the dogs that got left after the hunt to starve. Know a few people that have been beat up for asking bear hunters to leave their private property (I know two personally.) Or see the 50 hunters per mile (not an exaggeration) standing in the road blocking traffic and drinking you may feel differently. As a hunter I am appalled at their activities, I can only imagine what the general public that see's this thinks of all hunters.

[whiskey]

I have no interest in bear hunting, zero. See yall don't have a bear season up there in Clarksville. If you lived where there was a bear season and had dogs on tree all night next to your house. Saw the dogs that got left after the hunt to starve. Know a few people that have been beat up for asking bear hunters to leave their private property (I know two personally.) Or see the 50 hunters per mile (not an exaggeration) standing in the road blocking traffic and drinking you may feel differently. As a hunter I am appalled at their activities, I can only imagine what the general public that see's this thinks of all hunters.

Though experience tells me to not engage, I always have enjoyed a good debate...

You are correct that we do not have a bear season in Clarksville. But, I have lived in 3 states with bear seasons.

In Clarksville we do have raccoon hunters that hunt at night with dogs. I have listened to dogs on tree for what seemed like a long time, but not all night. We also have irresponsible dog owners that allow their hounds to run about. Even when I see this, I don't think that raccoon hunting should be abolished. When I see hunting dogs lost and hungry I try my best effort to catch them and call the owner. I have owned hunting dogs and I have lost hunting dogs despite best efforts. I have always been happy to get one back. I have never called a hunter that didn't want his dog back after I caught it. Not every hunter that uses a dog is a worthless sack.

50 hunters per mile, standing in the road blocking traffic, drinking and beating land owners. Those bear hunters sound like a rough group. I can only imagine if I saw them I would call the police and the TWRA and let them know that armed hunters were blocking traffic, drinking and beating land owners. If they were on my land, I would call TWRA.

I reiterate that 300 to 500 bears are killed on average per year in the whole state of Tennessee. Either there is an extremely low success rate among bear hunters, or there aren't a lot of bear hunters, or there aren't many bears.