Do-it-yourself Black Bear Baiting & Hunting (2001 Edition)

Rating:
Summary: How to become a black bear hunter
Review: Dr Ken Nordberg is recognised by many as a leader in bear psychology, having come to prominence with his white paper 'Learning to Bear the Soul'. Dr Nordberg studied for 7 years at the University of Budapest in animal psychology before specialising in bears with a placement at San Fransisco Zoo's widely admired Bears facility. After a disagreement over breeding methods he left the world of academia and research to take up writing and hunting. The fruits of his labours are summed up in this volume.

The book offers much to both the weekend hunter and those looking to become experts in the field. Dr Nordbergs insight into the mind of the bear means that this book contains many new and innovative ways to help you get your bear. One example is his theory that bears are able to work by association and be attracted by it. For instance, you do not need to leave honey out for a bear to eat but merely play a tape recording of bees making honey, which the bear will here and respond to. This means you can use the tape over and over and keep all the delicious honey for yourself.

A very informative and amusing book.

Rating:
Summary: The Bear Essentials!
Review: Dr Ken Nordberg is recognised by many as a leader in bear psychology, having come to prominence with his white paper 'Learning to Bear the Soul'. Dr Nordberg studied for 7 years at the University of Budapest in animal psychology before specialising in bears with a placement at San Fransisco Zoo's widely admired Bears facility. After a disagreement over breeding methods he left the world of academia and research to take up writing and hunting. The fruits of his labours are summed up in this volume.

The book offers much to both the weekend hunter and those looking to become experts in the field. Dr Nordbergs insight into the mind of the bear means that this book contains many new and innovative ways to help you get your bear. One example is his theory that bears are able to work by association and be attracted by it. For instance, you do not need to leave honey out for a bear to eat but merely play a tape recording of bees making honey, which the bear will here and respond to. This means you can use the tape over and over and keep all the delicious honey for yourself.

A very informative and amusing book.

Rating:
Summary: Big game means big risk
Review: Here I am up in the uncharted wilds of the Humboldt Wilderness in northern California hunting for black bear. This is also what's known as Bigfoot country, and the old-timers up here tell some spooky stories around the campfire about Sasquatch that are even scarier than the black bear stories I've heard. Unfortunately, I don't have a Sasquatch license, so I'm gonna have to stick to bears.

Bear hunting has a certain fascination for me, because it's one of the few game animals in North America where you have about as much chance of ending up the hunted as the hunter, with perhaps unfortunate results, unless you're the bear. But fair is fair, and there's a lot to be said for that when it comes to hunting. On the other hand, ending up as lunch for some big black bear isn't exactly what I had in mind for my vacation, so maybe I'll take up hunting quail or partridge or something equally risky instead next time. Or maybe go out and club some baby fur seals. Except they're so cute. Aw shucks, I guess I can't really do that, so it's back to the bears. I know, I could get my federal firearms dealer license and buy me a good Barrett Light-Fifty, 50 caliber machine gun; that oughtta do the trick. Just let Mr. Bear try to make a buffet meal out of me with something that could take on a light tank. I'll show his furry butt a thing or two about the finer points of predator-prey relationships. What does he think I am, anyway, a pic-a-nic basket with two legs and a cap? Except maybe it's more like a predator-pray relationship. (He's the predator and I'm doing the praying :-)).

In the meantime, I guess the rocket-propelled grenade launcher I got from that guy with the funny accent will do for now. As the immortal Ted Nugent has said, nothing puts a man more in touch with the primal reality of his true, inner, male nature than the full "predator h_rd-on" (as he says) that comes from truly being in the groove when you're tracking some unsuspecting prey. Except he says he likes to go after everything from runaway housewives to squirrels to big game. Uh-oh, hold on, I think I hear some rustling in the brush ahead of me. Could it be a big black bear? I'll use my field-craft skills in silent stalking that I got from reading that recent article in Soldier of Fortune magazine to get a bit closer. Okay, I should be within range. Another few feet through the brush and I should have a clean shot. I can see that big black bear head mounted proudly above the mantle in my study already. Hey, what's that noise behind me? Holy sh_t, it's a big, tall, ugly...

Rating:
Summary: Great reality check for soon to be bear hunters
Review: Most of my life, I had hunted deer, both white-tailed deer in Wisconsin and Sitka-black tail deer in Alaska. I have always had a desire to hunt bear. I pondered hunting black bear in Northern Wisconsin. My thought was that it could not be a much harder than hunting whitetails, right?

Having never hunted bear, I cannot base my comments on experience, but the information in the book seems to be based on rock solid hunting theories and personal experience of the author. The book is separated into eight chapters. The subjects of these chapters include general information on black bears, locating stand/bait sites, stand/bait site preparation, baits and baiting tactics, preparing to hunt, hunting over bait, after the shot, and harvesting the bear.

Prior to reading this book, I did not realize the skill and work involved in black bear hunting. The book points out that bear sign is difficult to spot and offers tips on spotting bear sign. It also discusses various baits that can be used, depending on local hunting regulations. For me, the most helpful portion of the book is harvesting a killed bear. The book points out that bear are difficult to move and will spoil quickly. It mentions issues that I never would have though of otherwise, such as the fact that bear needed to be cooled within hours and that the hunter should find a butcher who will take a bear "after hours" as most bear are shot in early evening and the hunter will likely not get the bear out of the woods until after dark. The book also discusses what can be done to try and keep a bear from spoiling in the event the hunter cannot get it to a refrigerated cooler.

I would greatly recommend this book to anyone who is new to black bear hunting. It really opened my eyes to how much work is involved and the issues that must be addressed after killing a black bear. I think some of the suggestions in this book would also benefit experienced bear hunters looking to fine tune their hunting techniques.

Rating:
Summary: Great reality check for soon to be bear hunters
Review: Most of my life, I had hunted deer, both white-tailed deer in Wisconsin and Sitka-black tail deer in Alaska. I have always had a desire to hunt bear. I pondered hunting black bear in Northern Wisconsin. My thought was that it could not be a much harder than hunting whitetails, right?

Having never hunted bear, I cannot base my comments on experience, but the information in the book seems to be based on rock solid hunting theories and personal experience of the author. The book is separated into eight chapters. The subjects of these chapters include general information on black bears, locating stand/bait sites, stand/bait site preparation, baits and baiting tactics, preparing to hunt, hunting over bait, after the shot, and harvesting the bear.

Prior to reading this book, I did not realize the skill and work involved in black bear hunting. The book points out that bear sign is difficult to spot and offers tips on spotting bear sign. It also discusses various baits that can be used, depending on local hunting regulations. For me, the most helpful portion of the book is harvesting a killed bear. The book points out that bear are difficult to move and will spoil quickly. It mentions issues that I never would have though of otherwise, such as the fact that bear needed to be cooled within hours and that the hunter should find a butcher who will take a bear "after hours" as most bear are shot in early evening and the hunter will likely not get the bear out of the woods until after dark. The book also discusses what can be done to try and keep a bear from spoiling in the event the hunter cannot get it to a refrigerated cooler.

I would greatly recommend this book to anyone who is new to black bear hunting. It really opened my eyes to how much work is involved and the issues that must be addressed after killing a black bear. I think some of the suggestions in this book would also benefit experienced bear hunters looking to fine tune their hunting techniques.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is a great book. I rate it up there with Shooting Fish in a Barrel, How to Hammer a Hamster, and other classics of the genre. If you want to learn how to boost your kill rate to 100 percent and take any skill or risk out of hunting bear, this is the book for you. My only complaint is that it doesn't extend into analogous challenging and manly activities such as triumphantly shooting sleeping, sick or injured bears.

Rating:
Summary: How to become a black bear hunter
Review: This is an exceptional book. It provides the reader with a detailed step by step description of what you have to do to become a successful bear hunter. I used it to take a bear in my first year and two in my second (one spring bear and a fall bear). One of the best books I have read on how to become a bear hunter.