9 expert bear-hunting tips from outdoor TV host Keith Beasley

#3  FORM TRAVEL STRATEGIES

You want to make sure you can sneak to and from your set-up as quietly as possible. It’s crucial to park your vehicle far away, and to identify a trail in where you can remain undetected. There’s no question your best chances of success will come if the bears never know you’re in the area.

If you’re being dropped off at your location, on the other hand, ask the driver to stay with the engine running until you’re settled in your stand or blind. Once the bears hear the vehicle leave the area, they’ll have no reason to think anyone’s still there, making them feel at ease again.

 

#4  HUNT THE WIND

There are always stories about game animals coming in to set-ups from downwind, or game that didn’t seem to care about human scent. But as a rule, I promise you that animals do care about human scent. A bear’s nose is its number one source for sensing danger, so always hunt the wind if you can.

We will sometimes even leave locations if the wind changes against our favour so we don’t spoil the set-up for another day. We just know that if a big bear is in the vicinity, we likely won’t see him before he sniffs us and turns away. And the times we actually saw bears catch our scent, they never again returned to the set-up.