Is this a peculiar bear hunting regulation?

[ChrisC]

I'm doing my first ever black bear hunt in western MA this weekend. My guess is that people around here commonly sit over natural bait (cornfield, apple orchards, etc.) or just happen to have one walk by while deer hunting. I'm trying to get away from just sitting in a treestand, so I figured I'd do a still hunt with the understanding that this is probably a very low success rate. I dont know.

Anyways, the plan is to hike into a state forest and get away from trails, etc. and backpack the bear out if I get lucky. To my surprise, I find a regulation that says ""the bear must remain intact (other than field dressing), until it is reported and prepared for food or taxidermy." In other words, I cannot quarter the bear and pack it out until it's reported. Hoping for cell service or else I'm doing a lot more hiking back and forth.

Any other states have this?

Anyone else still hunt black bear in relatively dense forest and have any tips?

Thank you,
Chris

 

[thusby]

Still hunting for bears in a dense forest is a near impossible task. I would say the chances of success are in the .01% range. If you can find some bear sign and an area with heavy acorns, I would plan to sit there instead. There is a reason why people use hounds and bait as the primary methods in the east. Just look at how the success rates plummet in states that have outlawed baiting/hounds.
When we kill them in the bogs of northwest Wisconsin (hound hunting) you call your buddies and slog it out. If you can find 3 friends it is not terrible to get them out when everyone can grab a leg.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Lots of rules back east are similarly antiquated and weren't written with the backpack hunter in mind. (NH doesn't even have meat care regs on the books)

They way I'm reading this your main hurdle is actually reporting the bear. If you can do this online then I think you should be good to field process, I think it's reasonable per this wording to skin and bone out a bear in the field, doing so you are preparing it for food and taxidermy. The regs don't specify that this needs to be done at your domicile or at a licensed processor or taxidermist.

I would contact your local warden and talk with them about what you want to do.

My question to a warden would be are the following steps legal.

1. After harvest fill out and attach harvest tag, use my smart phone to report the bear online. Write number on harvest tag.
If you service use a garmin inreach to text a friend or family member to go online and report the bear and text you the confirmation number.

2. Skin and butcher the bear in the field, bone out all the meat.

3. Pack it back to your truck.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are willing to work with you a bit... eg if I'm in too far to drag it can I report it online, text you a picture and then cut it up? Be polite.

 

[ChrisC]

Still hunting for bears in a dense forest is a near impossible task. I would say the chances of success are in the .01% range. If you can find some bear sign and an area with heavy acorns, I would plan to sit there instead. There is a reason why people use hounds and bait as the primary methods in the east. Just look at how the success rates plummet in states that have outlawed baiting/hounds.
When we kill them in the bogs of northwest Wisconsin (hound hunting) you call your buddies and slog it out. If you can find 3 friends it is not terrible to get them out when everyone can grab a leg.

It's illegal here to bait and it's also illegal to use dogs, so both of those are out of the question. There is supposed to be a little snow the day before, so if there is enough to accumulate, I hope to be able to find tracks. There should be a few areas where the leaves have come down and I'll be able to see a decent distance. We'll see.

 

[thusby]

The problem with bears is that they really prefer to travel in twilight hours and won't typically be up during the day. If you find the food, scat and a few fresh tracks, then you should plan to camp out on that area with a good vantage point.

 

[ChrisC]

View attachment 118856

Lots of rules back east are similarly antiquated and weren't written with the backpack hunter in mind. (NH doesn't even have meat care regs on the books)

They way I'm reading this your main hurdle is actually reporting the bear. If you can do this online then I think you should be good to field process, I think it's reasonable per this wording to skin and bone out a bear in the field, doing so you are preparing it for food and taxidermy. The regs don't specify that this needs to be done at your domicile or at a licensed processor or taxidermist.

I would contact your local warden and talk with them about what you want to do.

My question to a warden would be are the following steps legal.

1. After harvest fill out and attach harvest tag, use my smart phone to report the bear online. Write number on harvest tag.
If you service use a garmin inreach to text a friend or family member to go online and report the bear and text you the confirmation number.

2. Skin and butcher the bear in the field, bone out all the meat.

3. Pack it back to your truck.

I wouldn't be surprised if they are willing to work with you a bit... eg if I'm in too far to drag it can I report it online, text you a picture and then cut it up? Be polite.

We can check it in on our phone, which is why I was hoping for cell service.

I emailed F&G a couple weeks ago to ask those questions and they responded with this:

"For the bear, yes you could do as you were asking (this is in response to me asking to check it in on my phone). It would be legal to check the bear and THEN quarter and remove from the field. You could either do it in the field on a cell phone, or attach your tag to the bear, leave the field and check it, if you didn’t have cell coverage at the bear. Before you quarter it or do more than field dress, you have to have checked and have to have received a confirmation number. I recommend that you have multiple pieces of paper with you that you can write your name and confirmation number on and attach one to each quarter, so that all separated pieces bear your name and confirmation number. I would keep your permit, with the confirmation number written on it, with you at all times while completing the process."

Having this regulation makes me think that nobody hunts this way in MA for bears. That seems to be a good indication of my chances for success, but i've heard you miss 100% of the shots you dont take.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Having this regulation makes me think that nobody hunts this way in MA for bears.

That does not necessarily mean that you won't be successful. Although it might take you a few years to figure it out.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Virginia used to be like that. Not sure the exact logic but there is a stereotype that you were covering something up if you did that. Glad it has changed.

 

[thusby]

That does not necessarily mean that you won't be successful. Although it might take you a few years to figure it out.

There is always somebody out killing something in a way you can't predict. I'm sure devoting the time to this type of hunt would make you a better hunter in general as well.

 

[JTHOMP]

Georgia has something similar where it has to be checked and meet a certain weight, which is why I won’t plan a bear hunting trip there.
Last season and this season I have a similar goal of killing a black bear while still hunting public land. If you have the option to make a trip it might be worth while to hunt another state.
I chose Arkansas because I would be able to quarter and pack out a bear and wouldn’t be in competition with dog hunters. Last season I got hung up on deer sign and spent too much time sitting and waiting on a deer. This year with plenty meat in the freezer my plan is to drive to various areas, and never see the same patch of woods twice until I find HOT bear sign. If I see a good buck along the way then I’ll try to take it. Otherwise it’ll be a week long hike with a gun looking for bear sign.

 

[dgc1963]

Pa used to have a law you cant kill any bear that still has its baby teeth yup IM not joking
Ive been lucky in Pa we cant bait or use scent and Ive taken 3 in archery season my advice would be hunt food thats where they will be

 

[ChrisC]

Pa used to have a law you cant kill any bear that still has its baby teeth yup IM not joking
Ive been lucky in Pa we cant bait or use scent and Ive taken 3 in archery season my advice would be hunt food thats where they will be

From what I understand - bear hunting is all new to me - acorns and other mast from deciduous trees are its primary food source during the fall. If this is true, it should help that they will be amongst the trees that have dropped their leaves, which should put them in more open/visible woods.

 

[thusby]

You may be able to find swampy areas with some edible berries still on the bushes as well. I would stick to acorns if you can find them.

 

[sierrahunter]

If you think you’ll need to get the animal out whole, don’t hunt far from roads. I’ve killed a bear every year during the past six years, and all were within a third of a mile from a road. Two were archery. Bears go where there’s food, and in my experience, it doesn’t improve your chances to hike into the backcountry. You may have a more enjoyable hunt (away from others), but you also may discover that you cannot feasibly pack out a large bear with hide, skull, and meat.

My advice: drive the secondary roads until you come across fresh scat. Then, hunt the food sources that the bears are hitting near those roads. Find a vantage and watch your wind.

Whatever you decide, don’t underestimate the work it takes to pack a bear out. Unless you’re planning to abandon the hide, you’re in for a lot of work if successful.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Don’t underestimate the work it takes to pack a bear out. Unless you’re planning to abandon the hide, you’re in for a lot of work if successful.

Meh it's not that bad, all bears were way easier than any of my elk.

You can one trip your average boned out bear. Two trips if it's a really big one, I think you should be expecting to pack out 100lbs of meat and hide, 130lbs on the high end 60lb on the low end.

 

[sierrahunter]

Meh it's not that bad, all bears were way easier than any of my elk.

You can one trip your average boned out bear. Two trips if it's a really big one, I think you should be expecting to pack out 100lbs of meat and hide, 130lbs on the high end 60lb on the low end.

You must shoot small bears.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

You must shoot small bears.

Yeah or I just have a really good understanding of how big 6 inches really is...

 

[thusby]

I wouldn't try to pack anything out of my areas. More likely to drown myself walking through waist deep tamarack bog with the occasional bottomless pit.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Massachusetts doesn't provide a ton of information about bear harvests, with regard to average weight and age. Luckily Pennsylvania does and Pennsylvania boasts some of the largest bears in NA, including several over 800lbs.

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/bear/policy_lit/pa_bear_plan06_ternent.pdf

This table is derived from data from the state.

Note that while 500lb + bears are killed in PA out of 3,000 only 61 bears of that weight class were killed ~2%

Assumptions
The average bear killed was 2.2 years old, the gender split is 50/50 male female. So it's accurate to take the average weight of a male bear and then average that with the average female to get the most common bear weight killed by hunters.

It's also interesting to note that in PA there are more females in the older age classes, so you are more likely to shoot a smaller older bear than a heavier older bear.

I killed a (17in) bear in POW this spring, the hide with skull weighed ~30lbs. I'm going to call this the average hide weight for a bear and add 20% ~6lb for an older bear and subtract that for a sow, the assumption is a small bear will square 4ft an average 5ft a big bear 6ft. Hence add about 20% for each foot above 5ft and subtract 6lb each foot square below.

Meat yield is calculated at 33%, this number should be seen as the max. It's % used for ungulates, which doesn't translate to bears perfectly as they have different bone structures with less shake meat, bigger front shoulders and proportionally smaller hindquarters, and most states don't require you take brisket, rib meat, and neck meat from a bear. Also it assumes you keep the fat, some hunters don't, it also assumes you shoot for lung and don't lose a ton of meat due to shot placement. This is the boned out weight.





Using these assumptions the state record bear 879lbs (I believe) would yield 290lb of meat, and have a 45 lb hide (assuming 7.5ft). This might be a bit low as I'm assuming most of the weight on a bear that heavy is coming from meat and fat not increase in weight of bones, guts, etc. So I would take a WAG and say maybe you could get 350-400lb of meat off a bear that size.

@sierrahunter, I'm guessing the bear in your avatar was a sow or small boar give how close the ears are, was taken in the fall, probably 160-170lbs live weight and that your pack out, had you boned out the meat, was around 75-85 lbs assuming also that you took the fat.

 

[sierrahunter]

Yeah or I just have a really good understanding of how big 6 inches really is...

LOL! Yes, I’m confident that you are intimately familiar with this measurement.