Nnev 70 Report post Posted September 24, 2015 So I had a decent ground blind set up and had deer coming in 3-4 times a day for a few weeks until a bear started hitting my bait.. nothing for a week so I abandoned shop and moved to a friends old family farm which judging by the sign looks to be like I may have a fun season. I set up the cams last night under an apple tree and checked tonight to see if they were actually working and low and behold a bear visited last night however two deer this morning. I've had some bad experiences with bears over the past 5 years.. got charged by a big bastard on a canoe trip.. was driven away from a 2 campsites.... had one walk up 15 yards behind me while creek fishing (must have been after my rockwood bait I can only assume it's not only fish that stuff attracts) and one walking down the middle of my street in maraday park.. so i try to avoid them at all cost. Questions:How likely are deer to take off from a spot if a bear is hanging around? When do those trash eating bastards go to sleep for the winter? Does anyone have suggestions on how to cook up a good bear steak cause I'm sick of those bastards and a tag may be my only way to win this damn war?! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wampa 18 Report post Posted September 24, 2015 I have trail cam pictures of a bear, then 15 mins later a deer at the same spot after the bear has left. Also, I find the only thing bear meat is good for is smokies and pepperettes. Quote Never hold your farts in.They travel up your spine into your brain, and that is where crappy ideas come from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dirttracker18 26 Report post Posted September 24, 2015 Same here, deer on the cam, then bear, then deer again. The bear seems to have no general effect other than short term. The deer come back after he is gone. In general the bears don't target grown deer so it is not much of an issue for them. As far as bear meat, my wife does the cooking but my extended family all like it and my SIL prefers bear over any other wild meat. If you find you don't care for the roast, the pepperettes and smokies are great and the breakfast sausages are good too. Quote The Great Outdoors Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scandiman 114 Report post Posted September 28, 2015 Deer will, for the most part, co-exist with bears in the area. I have found that the does and fawns will continue to feed on a daily basis, only changing the times they come in to feed, whereas I've had bucks tend to vacate the area until the bear (s) have moved on. But they do come back to the feed.As for bear meat, it is excellent table fare. However, if you decide to harvest a bear, work very quickly, expecially in warmer temperatures. Be sure to have the animal field dressed, skinned and the meat on ice as quickly as possible. In these temps, the bear fat will render very quickly, imparting a less than favourable taste to the meat. Thats why folks who have tried bear meat and shown their displeasure for it, have likely had meat that was improperly handled.Cook a bear roast low and slow, or have some smokies/sausages made up. Yum! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites