French Canadian Black B A Bait to Remember
an ozark baiting experience
Charged by a grizzly
Black Bear Reproduction
717 lb bruin
The bear hunting authority for 23 years
Giant Bears
& How to Hunt Them
Hound Dogs and Black Bears
No v/D ec
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Third Time’s The charm
Legendary Bear Hounds Part 45
Nov/Dec 2023 Volume 24 - Issue 6 Cover photo by Carolina Psalms
By Josh Kirchner
3rd Time’s the Charm
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By Kolby Morehead A Bait to Remember | An Ozark Baiting Experience
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By Dan Parrott
Bear of a Lifetime!
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Use of Leashed Tracking Dogs
By Dawson Smith
In Memory of Gary C. Colvin
By the Skin of my Teeth
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By Timothy D. Fowler Recipe: Bear Confit Sandwich
Hound Dogs & Black Bears
By Stephen F. Fielder
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By Bernie Barringer
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By Al Raychard
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Giants
Legendary Bear Hound: Part 52 Little Buck | The Hound That Rode Bears
Destinations: Massachusetts
Columns 46 Bowhunting Bears
Bear Hunting Magazine Trail Camera Contest Winner Win a Moultrie Mobile Camera!
by Bernie Barringer - Bear Guru
Class in session
48 Blood, Sweat, & Bears
-New York-
by Douglas Boze - Bear Dude
50 Black Bear Biology
by Dr. Jenn Ballard - Animal Doc
52 Western Bear Hunting
by Jana Waller - Western Hunter
54 Bruin Desinations
by Al Raychard - Bear Hunting Veteran
Submitted by: Frank Spartano
To enter, submit a unique trail camera photo to info@bear-hunting.com or post to our Facebook page: Bear Hunting Magazine
56 Sacred Pursuit by TL Jones - Hound Pro
58 In Hot Pursuit
by Barry ‘Bear’ Siragusa - Hound Dude
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Bear Hunting
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Third Time’s The Charm by Josh Kirchner
Idaho Backcountry Bear Hunting
For 18 hours, I drove solo in the truck. I can still feel the butterflies after all this time. Backpack hunting for black bears in Idaho was something I had wanted to do for years, and it was finally happening. Nervousness, excitement, and curiosity all flowed through my veins. What an adventure it turned out to be, too: eight days in the mountains looking for bears with basically just my own thoughts for company. I ended up missing a great bear on that trip, but left with a smile on my face, eager for the next year. That was three years ago in 2021. The following year, in 2022, I was accompanied by a good friend. We packed in for eight days and experienced all manner of weather, most of which kept us tent bound. Still, we were able to find bears every day and, in the end, I unfortunately made a bad shot. It resulted in a fruitless blood trail and a sick stomach. Not the high note I was hoping to leave on, but a driving force to get better for 2023. Those memories are ones I cherish. They kept me company during the 18-hour pull I was currently making for the 2023 spring bear season. Each of them was filled with lessons that have hardened my mind for the better. And despite the empty cooler coming home in the past, they made me a better bear hunter. Every gas station I passed and every cup of coffee I sipped, I hoped that the third time would be the charm and I’d finally lay my hands on an Idaho black bear. Packing In Solo hunting is a love of mine, but I won’t lie, it’s nice having someone along for the ride—someone who can share the experience of calling a small piece of civilization in a wild world “home” for a short time. My buddy, Dillon Flint, joined me at the trailhead as we loaded our backpacks for eight days in the backcountry. I had a rifle in tow and Dillon had a camera. Both of us have a potent love for backpack hunting as well as bear hunting. Needless to say, we were pretty dang excited. All that separated us from camp was about six miles and 2500 ft of elevation gain. The weather was the hottest it had ever been in the few years I had done this hunt. The hike along the river felt more like August bear hunting in Arizona than Idaho bear hunting in May. It was muggy, it was hot, and both of us were feeling it. I’ve never felt like I was gonna Ralph before on a hike, but this one nearly had me there. After doing the brunt of the elevation and grabbing a quick snack and water, we made our last 800 foot push to camp. It was a welcomed sight and looked—quite literally—exactly how I left it the previous year. Home sweet home. First Evening, First Mountain Goat Our camp was set, dinner was eaten, and we were finally behind the glass scanning for little black dots. On the surface, you’d think a bear would stand out like a sore thumb with its color and all. On the contrary, they blend in extremely well. Shadows, burnt stumps, and rocks are all things that I have mistaken for bears in the 10
Bear Hunting
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@dialedinhunter www.bear-hunting.com
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A Bait to Remember An Ozark Baiting Experience by Kolby Morehead | @kolby_morehead
To bait where the bears traveled, Kolby would have to hike bait in on his frame pack.
I had no idea what I was in for. In August of 2023 I was ready to hunt a big bear, and that led to a litany of experiences both exciting and treacherous while I packed and managed a bait in Arkansas. Sometimes sweat or tears or both were responsible for my drenched attire as I hustled to make the dream of a big boar come true. The 2023 archery bear season is one for the history books for me. It set me up for some wild adventures baiting bears; like a child being thrown into the water with no rope, it was my time to sink or swim. It all began last summer when a buddy told me that I could bait bears on his property and that he had several bears on his trail cams. Bear hunters hear that same old story all the time and it often turns out to be a farce; regardless, I found some hope deep inside, grabbed hold of it, and started counting the days until I could try my hand at baiting boars. Touring the Property In Arkansas, we can begin baiting 30 days ahead of the season opener, so a few weeks prior to that my buddy took me to his place to give me the lay of the land. As I saw more and more of the property, I knew this was bear country and expected to have a bear on the bait quickly. The land had everything going for it: it was very remote, it 16
Bear Hunting
was bordered by large blocks of public land (unfragmented and unbaited wilderness), it had matured hardwoods with a dense canopy, and it had water at the bottom of the drainage that ran through the middle of the property. I chose a spot to bait on a bench three quarters to the top of the mountain that acts as a natural funnel for wildlife. It was an ambitious spot to choose because I’d have to make multiple trips with a frame pack to fill the bait. But I liked this spot because there were clearly bear trails going through the bench already! The Method of Attack There were a few main things I liked to focus on when I was baiting. 1) I wanted to make sure and go in midday without fail to get in my stand. 2) I didn’t want the bait to go dry; if a bear shows up, there should always be something to eat. 3) I wanted to focus on variety. I intended to have a new type of bait each time. 4) I wanted to make noise when going into the bait so the bears knew I would announce my presence when approaching (maybe they’d be less on edge). 5) I wanted to use a lot of commercial scents (Northwood’s Bear Products) so that the bears would distribute the scent throughout the drainage. The Baiting Circus When it was time to start baiting, I had everything Nov/Dec 2023
I needed—including help from a good friend—and we began hiking bait down the mountain. The gravity of the mountain was light as we made the quarter mile round trip with weight on our backs. After moving hundreds of pounds of bait down the mountain, we headed back to civilization wearing a badge of honor from the hard work we had just put in. Everything went as planned. Once the bait was all set, I came back four days later, and all the bait was gone. The bears had wiped me out. I was pumped to check my trail camera but found that it had died. I didn’t put in fresh batteries. Oh, how I lamented my rookie mistake! Not ready to give up, I got the batteries swapped out and re-baited. The next few days I could hardly sleep; I was so excited to go back to check my camera. I had another friend reach out that wanted to help me bait one time in hopes of seeing a bear (since he had never seen one). I veiled my excitement concerning free labor and he met me at my house. We got to the property and quietly looked off the edge of the cliff, face down into the bench, and saw a bear. He saw his first bear in the wild and it was worth the price of admission. We were pumped as we made our way back to the truck. We were about to put on our packs when I looked back and noticed a bear 30 yards behind us coming towards the truck on the same trail we had just come from. I started talking to the bear and it sat down, not caring about what we were doing 15 yards away. An odd move for sure. I tell my friend that this bear is going to break into my truck if we don’t run him off. I put a little pressure on the bear, and he bluff-charged me. The bear was too comfortable with us there, so I pitched a rock near him to startle him and walked towards him to run him off. We locked up my truck and headed to the bait. Later, we came back to the truck and found the bed cap had been broken into, there were scratches around my driver’s door handle, and a bag of dog food missing out of the bed of the truck. We spotted the bear about 60 yards through the woods, so I took off after him in the name of justice! My buddy probably had the same look the Israelites had when David took out Goliath, a mixture of shock and excitement over what he just witnessed. We finished www.bear-hunting.com
Kolby had an odd standoff with this bear 15 yds from his truck before running it off.
The bear came back and tried breaking into Kolby’s truck. The bear broke into Kolby’s bed cap and stole a 50 lb bag of dog food.
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By the
Skin of my Teeth
Getting charged by a wounded grizzly & living to tell the tale!
By Dawson Smith | @bndproductionsca
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Grizzly hunting takes hunters into some spectacular landscapes.
I suspect the late novelist Ed- was there until it came through the last ward Abbey was musing about life’s batch of berry bushes about 30 yards above where I was kneeling. At the instant overall journey, however I had moved, its eyes and his hypothesis above ears locked on me, and pretty much summed “May your trails be the bruin altered its downup our late September crooked, winding, hill race toward safety to hunting trip. Over the lonesome, dangerous, where I stood. My partprevious two weeks we leading to the most ner, Thane Davies, was had experienced all amazing views, and on a little rise about 400 the adjectives, and, as yards away watching and may your mountains if we were following a videotaping the event. script, there was a grizrise into and above We were indeed on zly bear—loud, angry the clouds.” a mountain, the trail had and wounded—running been crooked, winding, full tilt down the hill-Edward Abbeyat times lonesome, and, side towards me. I was at the moment, things down on one knee and were ramping exponentialhad my rifle, with one shell loaded, safety off, and the jittery ly up the dangerous scale. Lastly, I guess crosshairs of my scope were trying to it could be said that Thane had a view find a home. The bear hadn’t known I that could be described as amazing… www.bear-hunting.com
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Legendary Bear Hounds: Part 52 Little Buck: The Hound That Rode Bears by Steve Fielder
@stephen.f.fielder
Owner, Homon Fielder
When hound men or hound women reach my juncture in life, they realize the value in making memories. As one ages, the memories become the essence of the sport when physical limitations dictate the degree to which we may be involved in this sport that, for many of us, has been lifelong. Fortunately, my storehouse of memories spans more than 70 years and I still have the ability to follow hounds, just not at the level or intensity that was once common for me. As this article goes to press, I’ll be journeying to the Appalachian Mountains, my birthplace and origin of manifold memories, to make more of the same. Having been blessed with a father that was the consummate outdoorsman and lover of hunting with hounds, my storehouse of memories is well-supplied. I reach into that storehouse this month to share a tale of an exceptional bear hound that I call “The Dog that Rode Bears”. My father, Homon Fielder, was born in 1920 in middle Tennessee. His background with tree dogs began with a pair of all-purpose cur dogs named Pat and Mike. Some 250 miles to the northwest lived Everett Weems in Salem, Illinois, who was the same age as my father. My dad and Everett began their journeys with the Plott breed at about the same in the mid 1950s, Everett in Illinois and Dad in West Virginia. Some 20 years later, they would learn that the foundation stock for each of their bear packs came from the same source. Unbeknownst to each other, each man developed a love for hunting bears with hounds and made breeding bear dogs the central focus of their efforts going forward. They eventually met in the early 1970s at the National Plott Hound Association’s annual Plott Days event. It was there they learned of the similariBear Pen Plott, Little Butch, ties in their breeding programs and ultimately settled upon with his owner, Homon the idea of breeding their personal hounds together. Fielder. Everett produced a litter of Plott puppies that would influence him to repeat the mating at least four and maybe five times in early 1973. Each mating proSusie was the reason Weems’ Plott, Jill, was bred duced outstanding bear dog individuals. My dad, through to CH Weems’ Plott, Butch, in keeping with Weems’ desire his arrangement with Everett, acquired a female puppy to family or line breed his hounds. Jill was sired by a hound he named Bear Pen Fancy and was so pleased with her named Ursus Rowdy Plott. Rowdy and Susie were litterabilities as a bear and raccoon dog that he purchased mates. The cross of Butch to Jill featured Rowdy in the an additional male pup from the third litter of the cross, second generation and Susie in the third. Cold-nosed which has now become legendary among fanciers of the track dogs with exceptional speed and drive as well as Plott breed. The parents of the litter were CH Weems ’ being strong-mouthed, stay-put tree dogs were characPlott, Butch, and Weems’ Plott, Jill. Early on, Everett and my teristics of hounds from within this family line. dad learned the benefits of line or family breeding Plott The first litter of Butch and Jill puppies was born dogs. on April 5, 1973. Afterwards on February 25, 1976, the third Weems’ Plott, Butch, was a bear dog with exceptional litter was born. Having seen the results of the first two looks and speed. He gained the respect of many hunters litters, Homon Fielder acquired a male pup from the third in Michigan and Wisconsin where Everett hunted bears. He mating that he would name Bear Pen Plott, Little Butch. produced his Butch dog by breeding his stud dog, Weems’ Little Butch gained the distinction of being one of the Plott John, to a Plott female owned by a Ferdinand, Indihardest fighting bear dogs in Bear Pen history. ana Plott breeder named Leroy Haug. Mr. Haug earned Little Butch matured into a 55 to 60-pound, brown, brinlegendary status within the Plott breed for his Swampland dle-colored male with a small white spot in his chest. He line of bear dogs. He recently passed at the age of 100 had the classic look of the Weems’ bred hound of that years old. Weems’ Plott, John, was sired by Bluff Creek day with a flat-crowned head, dark, pleading eyes, and Drive and his dam was Weems’ Plott, Susie. the trademark frosted muzzle. He was hunted on coon as 34
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a young dog and proved to have a cold nose and a clear to catch bears no matter the circumstances. bawl mouth on track. True to his ancestry, he was a strong, Once while hunting bears in the Cold Knob region stay-put tree dog. He would open good on a cold track in Greenbriar County, Bronco cold-trailed a bear into a and tighten it up as the track got better. He was definitely hollow tree. I went to him thinking he had treed a coon. The a “run-to-catch” type of hound. Little Butch was hunted a other members of the party turned some dogs loose and lot on bears with NITECH CH Bear Pen Plott, Bronco, who after a while, the hunting party and several dogs were at was born 11 months later than Butch in January of 1977. The the tree. The late Harry Honaker, a bear hunting friend and two young hounds learned to tree coons and to run, catch, houndsman of great reputation, began to beat on the tree fight, and tree bears while hunting with CH Bear Pen, Fan- with a big rock. The unmistakable sounds of claws scratchcy—who was doing it all at two years of age herself. ing bark preceded the emergence of a sow bear from a I shot a remarkable photo of Little Butch and hole above our heads. Wishing to take advantage of the Bronco fighting a bear in a frigid creek on a cold and opportunity to show some young dogs their first bear, we snowy December day, the last day of the West Virginia cut the dogs loose and over the mountain toward the hollow far below they went. As soon as the dogs disappeared, bear season. Ice is floating in the stream as the Pentax captures Little Butch and Bronco pulling a 130-pound sow two cubs weighing about 40-pounds each came out of the tree and down the mountain, going in the direction of bear off her feet and over backwards, while ice water flows over their backs. Bear hunter, Oliver Smith III, famous Mama bear and the dogs. We knew we didn’t want to harm for his Cascade Timber dog (among others), called it “the this family of bears and struck out in the direction of the roaring dogs. The sow turned right-handed and came back best action photo of Plotts fighting a bear” that he had up the mountain to the south of us and treed. The action ever seen. The dogs were caught and the sow released unharmed, but no less wise to the ways of bear dogs bred was repeated several times as the sow would pick a tree
Little Butch at home in Beckley, West Virginia.
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