Planning a hunt for bear in the fall and due to logistics won’t be baiting. I’ve been told the best strategy is to locate and focus on food sources.

While scouting, either physically or Google Earth/maps etc, what’s the best way to ID food sources/locations?? (Also posted on Bowsite) Thanks in advance, Mike

Google Earth will show terrain but not current productivity of food sources. Likely be best to try to find some folks who know the areas and talk to them. Bears will eat just about anything...they are omnivores.

You may want to contact the DCNR and find where the most bears are taken in season also.

McDonald's dumpsters Lol but seriously mast crops like beechnut . Berrys . Ect

It's very local in fall. Bears love white oak acorns, pignut hickory nuts, beech nuts, but the crop can vary from ridge to ridge. There's no substitute for scouting on foot.

Orchards maybe too. Dumps but then the meat might taste like the dump.

I have a buddy that just bought 12 acres in NJ in prime bear country and he's already showed me tracks bears came through. I'm wondering just how he thinks he's going to use this 12 acre to get on a bear?

I know bated though. He's got beechnuts all over the ridge he said and wild berry's around swamp at the creek that goes though.

Soft mast- berries, cherries and apples are the first to go. Hard mast- oak and beechnuts last longer into the season depending on the crop. Larger the crop the more widespread the bears are apt to be so can work against you. If you are hunting higher elevations try to locate some mountain ash. May be the ace in the hole when other mast is scarse.

In WV the bear seem to travel logging roads in areas with lots of any kind of nuts. With deer numbers way down, I am going to try to ambush bear along logging roads. The bear getting more common than deer where I hunt.

Lost run,

What's the deal with deer numbers there ? When I was in WV about 12 years ago, seemed like deer were everywhere.

okiebones, We did have lots of deer 12 yrs ago. Our DNR sold up to six or more doe permits in some areas. Coyote population has exploded, found five dead fawns on my 29 acres last summer.

Oh wow...

Prop,e are killing all the deer. Not hard to figure out.

Do some walking, find beechies, acorns, berries, also corn and oats if near by. They will eat almost anything.

Depends on where you're hunting. Around here they hit the cornfields like a fat guy at a buffet.

Mike, how far are you traveling to hunt? If you can scout the week before you hunt, burn some boot leather, alot of boot leather. If there is no corn in the area, look for heavy mast crop near thickist and steepest area you can find.

B arthur, it’s a few hours away so if family time, work, etc. allows I will def try to get in a scouting trip or two.

Thanks again for the replies

If in farming area, find the corn. Otherwise, mast crops that have been mentioned in previous posts. Leg work will be the only way to locate productive areas. Please come to NJ and shoot one of ours.

Find scat piles and see what they are eating, then work backwards. No scat, no bears. They take a big dump, so if they are there you find the piles, if not move on.

Been reading a lot on predator calls . There was a fellow on here forget his name that calls them in in Pa. a lot . Haven't seen him around in a while though.

He also did skulls I thought the paintings on them and cleaning that were also real nice.

I thought about using a call when I was on bait but after an experience of a ornery bear sticking his head in my blind I thought maybe not a good ideer.

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