For all of you, either you are an amateur or professional black bear hunter, we tried to prepare a good site where you can find useful info about your favorite sport. 

Now, if you want to become a better hunter, you have to see our black bear-baiting, black bear calling, black bear trapping, and last but not least, the black bear hunting tips page.

We have prepared a special bow hunting black bear section for the old-fashioned hunters or hunters who don't like the modern hunting gadgets. Of course, many want to keep what they hunt as a trophy, so reading about black bear taxidermy will help you save and show your precious black bear to all your friends and family.

Black Bear Hunting General Info

The black bear is a bear species that can only be found in North America, from Mexico's regions bordering the United States to Alaska. Such a wide natural range, coupled with by-laws that offered a degree of protection to black bears, has led to the tremendous growth of the number of populations all across the U.S. and Canada. However, black bear hunting has changed significantly over the last ten years, and it now requires a little more planning and preparation than before. Also, several states from the west of the range have forbidden the use of hounds and bait in hunting, while quite a lot of states have eliminated the spring hunting season due to more and more intense anti-hunting groups pressures. Consequently, in the western states, black bear population numbers increase at a fast rate, costing considerable amounts of money to protect them as needed.

These prohibitions also have a good influence on the hunting experience. With only the fall season available, hunters have more chances of finding bears wherever they choose to hunt and increase odds of finding genuinely huge specimens of a black bear. A slight disadvantage brought by the changes in hunting laws is that hunters being forced to adapt their methods and spend more time and effort on such aspects as preparation to be successful. During the late summer and early fall, the black bears develop an activity pattern. They usually feed between 18 and 20 hours a day with brief and rare resting breaks, giving sportspeople extra time to hunt on 24 hours. This way, more opportunities appear, and bears become more accessible to a hunter willing to change his practices to correspond to current circumstances and conditions.

Undoubtedly the method which enjoys the highest popularity in the fall season is the "spot and stalk" method. This can be explainable if we know that there are many ideal areas and places to apply this method across the animal's western range, mostly in coastal areas where bears are feeding on salty grass or following streams to hunt for salmon spawn fish. Other excellent sites where this method can be used are forests that grow huckleberry and blackberry thickets, which have succulent fruits that lure hordes of black bears, especially at the beginning of the fall. The basic principle of the "spot and stalk" technique is simple enough: you must see the bear before it can see you. Luckily, it is believed that bears, in general, have low long-range vision, compensating however with acute hearing and a keen sense of smell. Consequently, keeping the wind by your side is vital to any hunting attempt you may have.

In conclusion, black bear hunting is still a widespread practice in North America despite the changes brought to the sport in the last years under militants and independent organizations' heavy pressure. With just one hunting season available each year, passionate hunters are on a black bear search frenzy with every season's start.