Nine Tips for Spot-and-Stalk Black Bear Hunting in New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, the most underrated hunting method for black bears is the spot-and-stalk. There is a misconception that it’s easy to hunt them by just walking up in front of them; however, it’s a complete myth. Experts says it’s the toughest task to hunt spot-and-stalk black bears.

How to accomplish black bear hunting in New Brunswick; effective 9 tips:

1.    Look for the grown-up timber: There are three main must-haves to understand for hunting New Brunswick black bears. The first one is the old grown-up timber, secondly food and third water.

2.    Inspect the area before putting the sign: Search for the trees whose big branches are broken off, and keep an eye out for claw marks in the bark of nearby trees. Make them useful by rubbing out the stubble bark with bear hair.

3.    Scat checking is necessary: When fresh, black bear scat appears green, but it oxidizes very quickly, turning into a black colour. Experts say that the greener the scat means the fresher it will be, which will help black bear hunting in New Brunswick remarkably.

4.    Give more focus to Rose hips and blueberries: In early October, bears enter a feeding frenzy in preparation for the winter. Keep an eye on these two food sources, and set up a shelter nearby. Save time and energy by having the bears come to you.

5.    Always have faith in your eyes: Bears feed themselves for almost one-third of the day, with the rest of the day being dedicated to sleep. Understand this when attempting to locate the bears.

6.    Review the bear: When you see a bear in New Brunswick, identify whether it’s worth the shot, or if you should hold out for something bigger. You can do this by looking at the width of their ears to get a rough estimate of size and age.

7.    Calculate the wind velocity: Though God has never given bears capabilities to see and hear well, still they have an extremely acute sense of smell, which can be 50 times greater than that of a bloodhound. So in reality, there is no earthly material invented to beat their smelling capability, the best you can do is mitigate the chance that they will catch enough of your scent to be alerted.

8.    Begin the process of chasing: Now that you know the vital points of black bear hunting in New Brunswick, it’s the perfect time to start the chase. If you alert the bear, hold off and wait. Allow the bear to continue on until it lowers its sense of caution, then proceed.

9.    Make a clean shot: Make your shot clean and error-free. If you allow yourself to get too excited, you open yourself to making mistakes which can ruin your hunt. Always take the time to breathe and steady your gun, that way you have the best chance of securing the kill.