I've never hunted bear and looking for a push in the right direction. Is there a good area to hunt for bow/rifle in East TN that someone may suggest for a beginner? I plan on stand hunting (much like deer). Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Bear Hunting
- Thread starter 'borohunter
- Start date
CNF has a very good bear population. Bears are nomadic and you can't pattern them like a deer, extremely hard to hunt without dogs. Use the search feature, several topics on the subject that might be useful for you.
I looked into Cherokee a bit and no concerns with bear/deer hunting combo. Not 100% about the bear population or any tips that may be out there.
Any other good areas to consider for bear hunting in TN?
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Can anyone tell me how well the "bear reserves" are marked? Looks like there are areas that are open to bear hunting and areas that are closed to any bear hunting. Not sure how well they are marked.
Would hate to get into a situation of being too close to the border.
Now that I think about it, how does TWRA look at a bear being shot in an area you can hunt and being recovered in an area that you can't??
I hunt in what used to be known as Ocoee. It's all South Cherokee now, the bear reserve is south of the Ocoee river. Anything between the Ocoee river and the Hiawassee river is open for bears. It's pretty hard to not know where the rivers are. The Tellico area is harder to know the boundaries, some are ridges and then you have the party dog areas that aren't reserves but you still can't hunt them without a drawn permit. Don't know much about North Cherokee, South Cherokee is about twenty minutes away from me and I've hunted it my entire life so I'm pretty familiar with the area. And just on a side note, hunting bears without dogs is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but even a blind hog finds a nut every now and then...'borohunter":1g0elai0 said:
Very helpful. I've heard bear hunting is much more effective with dogs but not an option for me. My thoughts are bear/deer hunting and an option if one should come by. Any books or reference material out there that anyone has found helpful?
