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Black Bear

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Just finished buying license for Minnesota Bear. This will be my second time hunting up there. This time I am taking a buddy with me. It will be his first bear hunt.
We are hunting in Area 25 which is North East Minnesota just a few miles from the Canadian border.

I love it up there. The forest is extremely thick and it amazes me everytime a bear comes in that they can be so quiet. 32 days until we head up for another great adventure.

My wifes BIL has a cabin in the area where we will be hunting. They will start baiting in a couple weeks.

One thing I know for sure. Even if we aren't lucky enough to have the opportunity to harvest one, we are definitely lucky to get to go. The memories will be a prized trophy.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Good luck in Maine Ricer2231.

I know one thing I will definitely do different this time. Take lots of pictures. The last time I went I forgot my camera. Not going to happen this time.

I talked to my wifes BIL this morning letting him know that our licenses were purchased. He said that they have been seeing quite a few bear while up at the cabin.
Of course that makes the waiting that much worse.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
As the days get closer we have begun our preperations. We spent all day Sunday shooting our Bows and Guns. I will be hunting with my bow for at least the first couple days and if I need to I will change up to my Muzzloader. My buddy going with me will be taking his slug gun and muzzleloader. Shotting went well and we are confident with the reults.

Talked to my wife's BIL and he will be going up next weekend to set stands and start baiting. He will also be putting out several Trail Cams to hopefully try to pattern some of them.
He said that there are a couple nice Bears that have been hanging way TOO close to the cabin. One came in while they were cleaning fish last time he was up and took the pail of fish guts. This was middle of the day and they were only 10 feet from it. We will be trying to take that one for sure since he has no fear of humans.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Made my final equipment purchase last night. Decided it was time to get a new pair of Boots. Found a pair of Muck Woody Elites at Woodbury. Love the way they fit. Could not believe how comfortable they are. Hope I am still saying that once they get a good field test.

Baiting opens up today so trail cams will be hung and hopefully tomorrow I will start getting reports as TOO which sites are getting hit the hardest.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Good purchase on the boots. Had a pair myself and they did me good for 3 season. That's about the best I have had from a pair in a while...

Good luck up there. Sounds like a hell of a trip!
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Latest Updates.
Have 8 days until we leave for Minnesota.
My wife's BIL went up to the cabin this past weekend to start the baiting.
He sent me a text sunday saying he saw some great sign and 1 bear while up there.
The bear that was seen was not a shooter but it is always a good sign to lay eyes on one.
The preparations are almost complete.
All thats left is to pack everything up.
Still need to continue to shoot the bow to make sure I am ready as well.
Need to change the oil in the truck and check the 4-wheelers over to make sure we don't run into any issues.
Map quested the trip to figure out Fuel cost and make sure we had the time down. 918 miles up there. Figure pulling the trailer with 2 four wheelers should cost us about 15-16 hours and about $200 in fuel each way.
Started watching the weather forecast and looks like we may get real lucky. It was 90 degrees a few days ago but the temps are supposed to continue to drop over the next week. Forecasting highs in the 60's and lows close to 40. Hope the forecast holds up or even a little cooler will be good.

Every day that it gets closer the more pumped I get.
 

Ricer2231

Senior Member
Best of luck to ya! I am down to 3 days now and my guide said things are looking great. It was warm up there this week TOO but the temps are predicted to be a little cooler next week. He said the bears are really hammering the baits and he is working his butt off just to keep them full. I posted a couple videos he sent me and some pics in my 2013-2014 journal. You can check some out on YouTube also if you search Orion Outfitters.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Best of luck to ya! I am down to 3 days now and my guide said things are looking great. It was warm up there this week TOO but the temps are predicted to be a little cooler next week. He said the bears are really hammering the baits and he is working his butt off just to keep them full. I posted a couple videos he sent me and some pics in my 2013-2014 journal. You can check some out on YouTube also if you search Orion Outfitters.

I've been following your thread. It is adding to the excitement. Good luck and stay safe.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Leave in another 3 days.

Wife's BIL called Sunday after returning from baiting. Everything is looking good so far. Actually really surprised at how much the baits are being hit. The temps up there have been 90degrees. Had over 200 pictures on one cam that was out for 1 week. All photos were bear visiting sight and the craziest thing is that all were in Daylight. Sign was everwhere as well. They are running 12 bait sites and all 12 were wiped out. Hung another cam this past weekend as well so hopefully we will be able to pin point several sites that are most active.

Update on the bear that has been hanging close to the Cabin. There is now a bounty on this bear. Over the past week he has done quite a bit of damage at the cabin. Tore seat off the 4-wheeler scratched up all the plastics. He also tried to climb the cabin walls to get TOO the roof. They had put meat on the roof to thaw while they were baiting. So it still had alot of scent up there. Bear really wanted to get TOO it. He scratched up the metal roof trying to climb up to see if he could get a free meal.

Overall BIL said he has a couple stands he thinks are going to be real hot for my buddy and me TOO hunt. He said he hasn't seen this kind of sign in a long time.

Went to Grocery today and picked up plent of refreshing beverages to take with us as well as some snack food. Everything else should be ready to go. Start packing the truck and loading 4wheelers tomorrow night.
Time is getting short and blood is flowing with excitement.
 

Quantum673

Black Hat Cajun
Supporting Member
Thanks for all the good luck wishes.
I will take plenty of pictures. I plan to try and take enough pictures to tell the story.

Hopefully the end will be full of hero pics but if not I can gurantee it will be full of memories.
 

Ricer2231

Senior Member
Good luck to ya. Are ya getting that fluttery feeling in your stomach yet? I have had it for quite a while now and it doesn't go away. I would sy its helping me lose weight but what little bit eating is really good high calorie stuff so I think its balancing itself out. :).