# 3rd Season, 3 Bears, In 3 Years



## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

Well after another long baiting season I finally got my chance to sit in the stand with a rifle. I had an absolutely phenomenal baiting season with a total of 20 different bears visiting at one point or another. It truly is amazing how many bears are out in the woods. 

So I got out to the stand around 2pm yesterday and sat until 5:45 with the only action I had before that point was a hawk that dive-bombed my orange hat before it realized I was wearing it. At 5:45pm I saw a little black ball across the clearing from my bait. Initial thought was small bear, until it picked up its head and turned towards me. I then realized this was the big bear I had on camera for the past few days that had been coming out in the daylight. As it began to cross the field I knew it was a shooter bear. Not wanting to take the risk of getting winded, I decided to take the shot as quick as possible. The bear stopped giving me a nice angled quartering too shot. I put the crosshairs on the front shoulder and put a 220 grain 30-06 bullet through the front shoulder and nailing a double lung shot. The bear ran about 30 yards before letting off a final death roar(yes not a moan, a roar). After waiting five minutes I walked up on my bear. 

She's a 230lb dry sow. Nice and fat eater bear. My growing family is going to eat good all winter long!!! This is my 3rd bear I have taken in 3 consecutive years, all in the 3rd period hunt here in the UP. 

The pictures I have attached are her after the shot and her two days before on the trail camera. I will upload more pictures later once I get the pictures from my wife's phone.


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## Quack Attacker (Jan 12, 2012)

Nice job! What unit was it out of curiosity? I've hunted Chippewa and baraga.


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

What are some of your baiting tactics?


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## wolfgang510 (Feb 15, 2001)

grapestomper said:


> What are some of your baiting tactics?


look up his posts. he's been teasing us all season! 

Congrats!


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## B Smithiers (Oct 3, 2010)

Nice Bear congrats!

I guess I will be the one to ask the question. 

How did you take 3 bears in 3 years? It takes me 5-6 years in between licenses. Unless I am missing something I don't see this possible due to the license structure.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

B Smithiers said:


> Nice Bear congrats!
> 
> I guess I will be the one to ask the question.
> 
> How did you take 3 bears in 3 years? It takes me 5-6 years in between licenses. Unless I am missing something I don't see this possible due to the license structure.


You can draw a third season tag every year with 1 point 

-Jason


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## Fish-N-Bucks (Dec 29, 2010)

B Smithiers said:


> Nice Bear congrats!
> 
> I guess I will be the one to ask the question.
> 
> How did you take 3 bears in 3 years? It takes me 5-6 years in between licenses. Unless I am missing something I don't see this possible due to the license structure.


He puts in for 3rd hunt. Can draw the first year most of the time 


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## 100 Grain (Aug 24, 2013)

Good job Bearmag!! Nice looking bear
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## B Smithiers (Oct 3, 2010)

Firefighter said:


> You can draw a third season tag every year with 1 point
> 
> -Jason


Thanks for info. Learned something new today. B


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## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

Quack Attacker said:


> Nice job! What unit was it out of curiosity? I've hunted Chippewa and baraga.


Thanks! The past 2 years I've been hunting in the Baraga BMU, namely Houghton County. My first year was in the Gwinn BMU. 

The bear numbers here are getting to be pretty awesome. I saw 20 different bears throughout the season, and 7 cubs this year. I'd say things are looking up.


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## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

B Smithiers said:


> Nice Bear congrats!
> 
> I guess I will be the one to ask the question.
> 
> How did you take 3 bears in 3 years? It takes me 5-6 years in between licenses. Unless I am missing something I don't see this possible due to the license structure.


Thanks! As others have pointed out I put in for the 3rd hunt, which in the Baraga BMU where I hunt(although also the Carney, Gwinn, and Bergland BMU's) requires zero preference points to draw, so you are almost guaranteed to draw a tag every year. 

The flip side to that is it is really hard to get a bear in the 3rd season. Success rates for 3rd season are around 7%(compared to 20-25%+ for 1st season hunts). Factors such as natural foods(lots of acorns), human pressure( other bear hunters, small game hunters, bird hunters, guys setting up for archery deer opener, people joyriding through the woods in atvs, etc.), and simply the fact you start over 2 weeks after 1st season hunters have had a crack at it really make the 3rd season a hard hunt.


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## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

grapestomper said:


> What are some of your baiting tactics?


1st and foremost there is no perfect recipe for running a good bait site. Every year I learn something new and something changes in the way I bait. I guess what I'm saying is be flexible and let the bears decide how you're going to bait. 

Commercial bear scent products, I am a HUGE believer in them. There is a lot of them out there, but I personally use Bait 'Em 907 out of Alaska. I like to use their blueberry muffin smear paste to slather on the nearby trees and on my bait logs. The stuff smells so strong that I could smell it from 100 yards away, so you can imagine how well the bears can pick it up. I also use the sweet surrender sweetener powder to mix into my bait and also I add it to a spray water bottle and hose down the nearby trees every time I rebait. It really works wonders. Here's the link to their website: https://baitem907.com/ 

You can go cheap on bait during the early season(the month of August), like getting old bread from bakeries or using oats and molasses, but in the later season once the acorns drop if you keep using the cheap stuff the bears will stop coming because they are searching for fatty nuts like acorns. Most guys will get shut down by this. Even guys using granola can get shut down later on. The only way I have found to combat this is to use a bait that is made with nuts once this happens. Trail mix, peanuts, pecans, nut mixes, etc. and then dump as much sweetening toppings(molasses, pie filling, frosting, etc.) as you can into it, enough to make it thick, sweet, and sticky. The bears will keep coming hard to your baits if you do this even after the acorns have dropped because you are satisfying what they are naturally craving. 

Location, location, location. As another forum user says "Hunt where the bears are, not where you want them to be". Vast expanses of unbroken woods with plenty of cedar swamps, oak stands, and good understory for the berries to grow(especially thimble and raspberries) is prime bear habitat and a good place to start. Look for tracks and other bear sign before the bait season begins. If you have those things you are probably in a good area with alot of bears. Don't be afraid to travel a long way out in the woods either, most other hunters won't be willing to go far to run bait. 

If you have any more direct questions feel free to PM me. I'm by far not an expert, but I have picked up a few tricks that have helped.


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## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

Here's another picture of my bear.


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## 100 Grain (Aug 24, 2013)

Awesome!! Congrats again
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Jaspo (Dec 9, 2011)

Great advice and beautiful bear. We are on our 3rd day of sitting on cold baits, going home tomorrow with great memories. Next year we'll try your prescription for success. Thanks again and great job.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

Congrats on a great bear!


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## chuckinduck (May 28, 2003)

BearMagnum said:


> Here's another picture of my bear.



I can tell your excited by your giant smile. Great story and nice bear


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## Callinalldeer (Jun 25, 2009)

I'm curious, why hide your face??


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## KalamazooKid (Jun 20, 2005)

Callinalldeer said:


> I'm curious, why hide your face??



He's got that same disease Michael Jackson had!

And BTW, nice job on the bears!


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## BearMagnum (Aug 18, 2012)

Callinalldeer said:


> I'm curious, why hide your face??


I just don't like putting myself out there too much for the world to see. It's about the bear, not myself. I've taken a big step forward though and removed the painted face for you guys and attached the real picture for all to see.


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## malainse (Sep 2, 2002)

:lol::lol: Congrats on the nice bear !!


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## Callinalldeer (Jun 25, 2009)

Your right,put the mask back on,lol. Congrats


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