Bear tag this year

mattyrayb · Sep 8, 2016

Not to brag but I won the lottery. Pretty excited. Been entering for several years now.

I'm in southern MD so I can't exactly scout western MD. Does anyone have a recommendation for a guide, outfitter, private land to rent, etc.? If not, how about a tip on good public land. PMs welcome if you don't want to make it public knowledge.

Thanks.

billymx48 · Sep 8, 2016

Greenridge Forest. I have experience hunting off mv smith road exit. Get off the exit and head south on to a dirt road follow it a little bit and hunt on the left its all public on the left. the right side of the road down to the creek is private (Guy I use to work with). I have seen plenty of bear in those woods.

HeatSeeker · Sep 9, 2016

I'll be bear hunting in Greenridge also.

outrider58 · Sep 9, 2016

Good luck guys!

tallen702 · Sep 9, 2016

No personal experience, but I hear Sidling Hill has plenty of bears as well.

notoriouslyKEN · Sep 9, 2016

I'm also one of the chosen few winners. This will be my first time going out for bear and only my second time hunting in general. I think this is my 3rd or 4th year entering the lottery. Any tips and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Erno86 · Sep 9, 2016

notoriouslyKEN said:
I'm also one of the chosen few winners. This will be my first time going out for bear and only my second time hunting in general. I think this is my 3rd or 4th year entering the lottery. Any tips and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Get a good skinning knife {Havalon?}, cloth meat bag, ground pepper {keeps the flies away}, deer cart --- if needed {500 lb rated --- I have one}, co-permittees {I'm available

} and watch bear skinning videos.

I drew a Maryland bear permit a couple of years ago --- Hunted Greenridge State Forest location, where a 500 pound bruin was encountered by a couple of deer hunters about 10 years ago, but all we saw were bear tracks and scat by a stream bed --- With me {as a guest} and my co-permittee {hunting club member} hunted out of a private hunting club cabin {sleeping bunks for 20 hunters/fishermen, with a large kitchen & living room}, located in the middle of Greenridge State Forest.

My total live bear sightings in Greenridge SF: 2, including 1 dug out yellow jackets nest

Good luck...

Erno

j_h_smith · Sep 10, 2016

Congrats to all that won the lottery.

engineerbrian · Sep 10, 2016

notoriouslyKEN said:
I'm also one of the chosen few winners. This will be my first time going out for bear and only my second time hunting in general. I think this is my 3rd or 4th year entering the lottery. Any tips and advice will be greatly appreciated.

If its only your second time hunting I would take someone that has several years of hunting under their belt. Dressing out a bear solo could be a challenge, but I'd be more concerned about getting the bear out of the woods.

Last year when I hunted bear in MD I looked around and realized that getting a bear out of there would not be easy. The land owner had a huge winch that he used for getting the bears out of the ravines. It was an eye opener!

joemac · Sep 10, 2016

Savage River State Forest is something like 29 thousand acres. Go to Garrett County and start walking.

outrider58 · Sep 10, 2016

I'll throw this out there; If you are fortunate enough to put your tag on a bear, remember this-bear meat, poorly cooked, is the #1 cause of trichinosis in the US. You MUST cook bear meat thoroughly.

Park ranger · Sep 10, 2016

joemac said:
Savage River State Forest is something like 29 thousand acres. Go to Garrett County and start walking.

54, 000 acres

j_h_smith · Sep 10, 2016

engineerbrian said:
If its only your second time hunting I would take someone that has several years of hunting under their belt. Dressing out a bear solo could be a challenge, but I'd be more concerned about getting the bear out of the woods.

Last year when I hunted bear in MD I looked around and realized that getting a bear out of there would not be easy. The land owner had a huge winch that he used for getting the bears out of the ravines. It was an eye opener!

Good call. That is something that a lot of hunters don't think of. A bear doesn't drag as easy out of the woods like a deer. Plus you want to be careful if you are going to use the fur.

mattyrayb · Sep 10, 2016

Thanks for all the responses guys. I've been hunting for several years now so I know hunting basics but I still welcome anymore advice, especially on this topic.

Billy, thanks for the area hint. I'm hoping to at least get up there the day before to search the area.

For those who've gone before, do you recommend still or stand hunting and is that method consistent with your deer hunting style? Keep in mind I typically stand hunt.

remrug · Sep 11, 2016

outrider58 said:
I'll throw this out there; If you are fortunate enough to put your tag on a bear, remember this-bear meat, poorly cooked, is the #1 cause of trichinosis in the US. You MUST cook bear meat thoroughly.

Im not sure where I read this,but you can have the meat tested.If it comes back negative for trichinosis you can cook the meat as rare as you like it.

bbarrows32 · Sep 11, 2016

Just my opinion but if it's your second time hunting and you would like to harvest a bear....book a hunt with an outfitter. Not cheap but will be a huge weight off your shoulders in the event you shoot/kill one. I've been hunting for 16 years all different species and I would not want to tackle the responsibility of a bear on my own.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bear tag this year

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Member

Member

Ultimate Member

Eats Bacon Raw

Ultimate Member

Member

Banned

Ultimate Member

JMB fan club

Ultimate Member

Eats Bacon Raw

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

Member

Ultimate Member

Golf Guru

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics