Backcountry Bear Baiting

[Magma]

Tomorrow I'll make some sweet feed "Bear Crack" I might set up a second bait site with beaver butts in a burlap sac. And bacon grease molasses sack.

 

[CWA360]

This will be my first time ever baiting for bears and I’ll be doing it in Central Idaho.

I’ll be backpacking in a barrel and the bait, probably .5 to 1.5 miles depending on where I feel is best.

Do you guys think a 55 gallon barrel is too big to get back that deep ? If so, what size are you guys running ?

I have read that most people prefer tree stands, but am leaning towards a ground blind and further away sits. Should I just bite the bullet and buy a stand ?

Really any advice for newbies would be nice as well, I have no mentorship in this area and am learning as I go via the internet.

55 gallon barrel would be ROUGH to get in that far, especially with any elevation gain. It'll get you in shape for the hunt though! Is a quad an option???

 

[IDMuleyKid]

55 gallon barrel would be ROUGH to get in that far, especially with any elevation gain. It'll get you in shape for the hunt though! Is a quad an option???

No quad, I’m the just poor, young and willing to suffer lol.

I’ll definitely have to mess with a framed pack to get it to fit and then hiking through brush uphill will be an experience.

 

[philson208]

I packed a 55 gal drum on a modified flat bed wheel barrow about a half mile up a nice hiking trail & than packed it up drainage another 300 yds off the stream. I was 40 and it wasn't the easiest thing to do but was manageable. I set up bait in the bottom of the drainage and had a couple vantage points marked out that I could sit depending on wind direction. I ran bait for two and a half months and spent probably $300 on the whole operation. I had two bears come in total and they never showed up during legal shooting light. The time stamps on my trail cam from when bears would show was legit 2-4 minutes after legal shooting light and always about 30 minutes before legal light in the am. My 4 &5 year old kids helped me and they had a blast making bear crack suckers & Kool aid popcorn & waiting for video clips of big black nears scratching on the barrel. I much prefer spot and stalk but I will be baiting again this year because both my kids want to hunt bears and they want to run bait again. I would consider running a hybrid program of baiting with some spot and stalk mixed in for more day light opportunities. I wound up shooting a bear that same year on a spot and stalk hunt after getting frustrated with baiting.