Nice work Scott! Like you, I tend to trust my gut and more times than not, it is right.

Just checked in,the guide from north west MN are 18 for 20 with 2 hunter's still on their stands.The bears are getting thinned out in Roseau and Kittson county.

Good job finding him Scott.
BVO is cranking them out this year Rick!

Come on Bernie, chime in!

Anything big?

Nothing big yet,180 to 250 they harvest between 30 to 40 bears every year.They have had some 300 plus pound bears before.

Good job Scott way to stay after it. Congratulations!!

I talked to a local guide here today (GP). He said they took 5 or 6 for 15 opening day and passed about the same number of smaller bears. The biggest was 240. The second night no one saw a bear. Tough year and I haven't even gone to the stand yet. The coon are getting fat though.

Seldom will an old bear be taken on a bait in a heavily hunted area.
But most that go hunting "want a big bear" they really just want "a bear".

Tak3s a whole different mind frame/discipline to target OLD bear.
Outfitters can't really do that. (Time/ money)

Totally agree,if they get a large bear it's a bonus,they want action and something to bring home = a meat bear 180 to 200 lbs.

What do you consider an old bear?

Most guys "250 pound" bear will be a lot closer to 125 on a scale.

Hey,Posco how is it going haven't talked for awhile,I think any bear 8 years or older is a old bear. I think a few years back the oldest bear on record was a 38 year old female in the wild.

I did a skull years back for a local guy here that aged 23 1/2….judging by the teeth it may as well have been 123 1/2. Guessing the real reason he got shot on a bait was his teeth were in such bad shape and he was so worn out he just “gave up” and threw caution to the wind.

Rob, keep putting out that 5 gallon pail of pampers each day and it’ll all work out for you too!! Bait was cheap for me this year as I still have a kid in diapers!!!

Thanks guys. Got everything all froze, now gotta thaw it and grind the burger on a cooler day. Happy trapping! ScottW

Hey, Rick. Doing well and enjoying this thread. Maine usually has about 3,000 bear taken annually. Just a quick look at the harvest data and it appears to me the average age of bears taken are three year olds. The oldest bears taken are in the 28-29 year old range and are typically sows.

The two oldest bears I've taken were both 17 year olds. One black, one grizzly. That info was provided by biologists through tooth analysis.

This bear was stalking me when I shot it. Even though it could see me, it apparently didn't didn't know what I was or didn't care. This was above treeline on a frozen lake at seventy or eighty yards. Wide open. He was trying to cut my wind...maybe his eyesight was bad. Every tooth in his head had a cavity and every canine was snapped off. He might have been that desperate for a meal.

We're getting a few despite the heat and acorns. Got another beautiful chocolate last night which will be in the next video.

We're getting a few despite the heat and acorns. Got another beautiful chocolate last night which will be in the next video.

Thanks for an update.

When these folks are done, do you stop for the year?

I have yet to see a picture of an MN bear from this year.

This heat cannot help to much. This week coming will be a good week for bear harvests. 20 degrees lower than now. Sharpen your knife hunters.