I was recently talking to a friend about me bear hunting this bear season and he thinks its illegal to bait bears in tennessee but it seems a little crazy not to be able too and just going off blind luck to find them

I was recently talking to a friend about me bear hunting this bear season and he thinks its illegal to bait bears in tennessee but it seems a little crazy not to be able too and just going off blind luck to find them

yes im from around here just new to hunting and i am wanting to cover myself so i dont get into legal trouble...so how does one approach hunting black bears in tennessee with a bow/rifle

To answer your question and not belittle someone for asking a questions.... people hunt bears a lot of ways.

A lot of people in East Tennessee use dogs, some people just do some scouting and pick a spot with a view, and some spot and stalk.

I'd suggest you get a hunting guide and read it....two or three times...

Theres two ways to hunt em....with or without dogs....the still hunts as far as I know are all non-quota that anyone can hunt on, as are several of the dog hunts. You just have to hit the correct dates in the correct areas and you will be alright....the quota dog hunts are a little more tricky...they are sort of a delegated deal...

Still hunting bears is no differant than still hunting deer or any other animal.....
you must make a concerted effort to learn the habits, habitate, prefered foods within that habitate, seasonal available food sources, etc, etc... and apply those to the animal you are pursuing....
bears breed around may thru july or august so mating doesn't play a role into the equation the way it does with deer....food is there primary drive. They will often travel the same routes or ridges from one food source to another. old and fresh droppings will tell you bears are using an area pretty regular.....

with dogs you try to cover escape routes more than anything else....if it trees than go to him....

NO you can not bait them,...and you can not even feed them during the off season.....
and blind luck ain't got jack to with finding them or hunting them successfuly...neither does baiting.....they are not that difficult of an animal to pattern...certainly no harder than a deer and alot easier to pattern than hogs are...imo

If you really want to kill a bear, best advice I have is to forget about bear hunting in Tennessee, and simply go bear hunting in Ontario (or somewhere with more bears than hunters) --- but do it with some experienced bear hunters that go there regularly.

Not that you couldn't kill a bear in TN, but even among large groups of TN's experienced bear hunters, I'd speculate most individual bear hunters go years between their personal bear kills here in TN. Yet these same fellows (and some ladies) can take a trip up to Canada a time or two annually an almost every individual kills a bear every trip. Best of all, it's relatively cheap to hunt black bear in Canada. One successful trip to Canada might cost you less than multiple unsuccessful trips in TN, taxidermy fees excluded.

I'm not sure, but that's probably because they are allowed to hunt over bait piles up there.

I may be wrong, but I have not heard of any state that allows bear hunting over bait and bear hunting with hounds. It is usually one or the other.

Based on some information presented at one of the commission meetings most bears taken with archery equip come private land around/near North Cherokee WMA. Somone at the Morristown office could give you more information than I can.

Why can't you feed them during the off season?

Well for your information i had already checked on hunting guides and they are not available but a fishing guide is so hmmmm doubt i can learn bear hunting from that so let me pull my handy dandy hunting guide outta my *** and ill read it.

Well for your information i had already checked on hunting guides and they are not available but a fishing guide is so hmmmm doubt i can learn bear hunting from that so let me pull my handy dandy hunting guide outta my *** and ill read it.

Why can't you feed them during the off season?

they are not that difficult of an animal to pattern...certainly no harder than a deer and alot easier to pattern than hogs are...imo


LOL!! If that was the case, why do they use bait in places like Saskatchewan. Alberta, etc where they have 30 times the ebar numbers we do??

Unless bears are keyed in on a specific food source in a small area, hunting them like you do a deer is nearly impossible to be consistently successful.

I may be wrong, but I have not heard of any state that allows bear hunting over bait and bear hunting with hounds. It is usually one or the other.

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they are not that difficult of an animal to pattern...certainly no harder than a deer and alot easier to pattern than hogs are...imo

LOL!! If that was the case, why do they use bait in places like Saskatchewan. Alberta, etc where they have 30 times the ebar numbers we do??

Unless bears are keyed in on a specific food source in a small area, hunting them like you do a deer is nearly impossible to be consistently successful.

Well put me on a bear tndrbstr.I want to get one.lolI don't want to hunt them with dogs.I would like to get one but got a lot to learn.

I'm going to do a little research.I don't know anything about bear hunting.

I am not suggesting that I can guarantee me or anyone else a shot at one...I'm just saying it is more feasable than what many folks would want you to beleive...

I have always hunted the south cherokee, but still hunters are just not allowed into the prime bear areas...it seems the north section has the largest archery kills. I don't know if they have the same problem with loose dogs like thier is in the tellico area...that is the direction I am thinking of looking into...I got a cousin that works for the forest service up there....

were kind of in the wrong forum on this topic...

Bear baits in TN are used for many purposes :), all the way from being a decoy to being the target point where the tracking collar is triggered and the gig is on! I dont bear hunt in TN very much at all but I know enough in the business to know the tricks to the trade so to speak. Bear hunters take their sport very serious and the technology being used now would really surprise a lot of people, in what actually goes on behind the scenes! Its like the Mafia on the MTN in some areaS!!

Let me guess..They have unmanned drones loaded with live ammo flying over the mountains as well. LOL!

If you call a basic tracking collar on their dogs, a CB radio and a cooler full of potted meat and crackers "technology", then I guess your assumptions are correct. LOL! The things bear hunters are accused of if ridiculous sometimes. They are more dedicated and put more time and money and legwork into their "sport" than any other hunting niche I have come to know.