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deer hunting and bears

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smdesign28
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:54 pm

deer hunting and bears

Unread post by smdesign28 »

I recently purchased a house in the Catskills and plan on deer hunting this fall. All my previous hunting experience was in areas where bears weren't a concern. Does anyone have advice about precautions a hunter should take? My guess is, a firearm or pepper spray are options, but what about behavior? As a hunter, it goes without saying that silence is key, but I don't want to inadvertently startle a bear when I'm trying to sneak up to a deer. Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks.
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mike
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:20 pm
Location: Ravena, NY

Re: deer hunting and bears

Unread post by mike »

I'm not a hunter, but I have been hiking in the Catskill's for decades. I am a very quiet hiker. I see 6-12 bears a years. Sometimes up close and personal. But, most of the time they just run away. Black bears are very docile. They are very forgiving. They are unlike grizzly bears out west. I am one of the few hikers who carries bear spray. 99% of the time it is laying on the bottom of my pack.

You can get into trouble by getting in between a mother and her cubs. If you get out of the way, you are fine. Sometimes a large male will demand you get out of the way of his path. Surprising them is not good, but most of the time they just run off. I have surprised bears as close as 5 feet. Bears have exceptional smell, so they will move out of the way before you get there. I worry more about coyotes then bears.

Rattlesnakes are a concern, but they are only in a few places. As long as you are not in those locations, you will be fine. But, they go into hibernation around November and come out in April.

Other then that, you should be fine.
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