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BuckSutherland

BuckSutherland

5 year old buck +
Have a sow and 3 cubs living on our property or at least right next to it. How many of you would shoot the sow?? She is good sized. Will the cubs die?? Definitely think they are this years cubs.

Going up to start baiting next Saturday. Hope one of the big boars show up. What is the acorn situation looking like?? They dropping yet?? I noticed some on the ground down here in farm country. Cant imagine the wind is gonna help that situation.

We are gonna use some of my ear corn, bird seed, shelled corn, bacon grease, apples, and plums.
 
I personally would not shoot a sow with this years cubs. Chances are very high the cubs would not survive. If they were last years, they probably would. I'm heading up tomorrow to check the one bait I have and to set up a second one. Had a pretty nice boar on one of my deer trail cams last week. Hope he's still around.
 
Sow with yearlings, the cubs will survive sow with this years cubs , the cubs might not make it.
 
It's illegal to shoot a sow with Cubs in wi
 
How would a person know if they are this year's?? They look to be maybe 60-80 lbs if you ask me, but I have been told its very difficult to judge the size of a bear from camera. My wife's grandpa is gonna be the one hunting. He is 75 y.o. and has been applying for 6 years to get a license. He is pretty sure this is his last chance.

And do we need to call and register his bait site and post it even though its gonna be a private land deal??
 
BuckSutherland said:
How would a person know if they are this year's?? They look to be maybe 60-80 lbs if you ask me, but I have been told its very difficult to judge the size of a bear from camera. My wife's grandpa is gonna be the one hunting. He is 75 y.o. and has been applying for 6 years to get a license. He is pretty sure this is his last chance.

And do we need to call and register his bait site and post it even though its gonna be a private land deal??
Click to expand...
There is a certain length they have to be, I forget off hand. Its easy to tell, it's a first year cub. Year olds run around 100-130 pounds by me.
 
Buck,
This years cubs should be less than 36" long and less than 24" tall. Last years cubs (yearlings) will be about the size of a big black lab.

You will have to label your baits with HIS name and MNR number. Even private land bait stations have to be registered, but you can do it online now, or print out a form and mail it in.
 
^ yep....this years cubs will look like cocker spaniels. Last years like fattened feeder pigs.....or chunky black labs.
 
You guys be the judge. I made his bait site around July 1 and I had put some bacon grease on my gloves to try and cover my scent while I cut up the logs and prepped the area. About 5 days later they showed up to check it out. Saw them on a few other cams around the property too.




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In Wisconsin a bear has to be 42 inches from tip of nose to base of tail or it is considered a cub. Some cubs from this year will get really close to that length. It seams like if a sow has only 1 or 2 cubs they usually are bigger. Another tip for telling if they are this years cubs is to look at the sow, all the hair around her teats will be rubbed off.
 
Law here is no kill sow that has cubs and , regardless of law, cubs should be 100 # to survive loss of their mother who nurtures them for at least 2 years. Better choices for a bear kill in my opinion.
 
Those are definately this years cubs. Cute buggers.
 
We had a bear hunter shoot a sow with a cub and lie to me about it. I know he did because the cub was on camera following the 4 wheeler while the sow was hauled in. It really pissed me off and I don't talk to the guy anymore. The cub did survive though, there was a single yearling bear around the next year.
 
I guess I will tell him not to shoot it, but you know how that goes sometimes. Hopefully they have moved on and we can get something else in. There have been some very large boars in the area the last few years.


What's the acorn situation like??
 
Acorns seem to be falling pretty good in Mille Lacs county. Seems kind of early but maybe it's been windy? I've bear hunted 2 different times. Both times I've had a sow and 3 cubs coming to the bait. Even though they showed up almost every day, there were enough other opportunities to kill solo bears. Even if it was my last bear hunt ever, I'd still pass up the sow and feel good about doing the right thing. That's just me though. I'll be out bear hunting this year too. I bought a 55 gallon barrel of trail mix to hopefully compete with the acorns.
 
I agree that those are youngsters. Whether it's legal or not I would not shoot that one. Hopefully one of the boars or a lone sow will come in.
 
Some of my farm clients have hauled garbage cans full of bur oak acorns to the north country for bait. Could also be scattered and drove over with a 4 wheeler as a seed source.
 
Just got back today from checking bait. The only bears to hit so far have been a sow with a pair of this years cubs. It's early though. I seem to get an influx of bears once the high moisture corn is cut for silage. The bears will then venture back to the swamps. Some of my best bears to show up on cams in the past, have come well into the hunting season, which begins Sept 1st here. Don't give up Buck. The good ones can show up any time. Many guys give up way too early.
 
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