The right thing the DNR could do is manage bears and not hunters.

I'm not much of a bear hunter, but I'd rather deal with competition than not being able to get a tag.

Well when you spend time and money into baiting and find out all the bears in the area go nocturnal because there is so much activity in an area because there is a bait every 1\2 mile going down a forest road you will see what competition does for bear hunting. I have bear hunted for about forty years and have hunted in many different areas of northern Minnesota. I have seen first hand what competition does.

No shortage of bears here. This one showed up a couple nights ago in the front yard and ate the dogfood I put out for the foxes.

I normally process my on deer, but it is so easy to just take them to the processor. During a recent trip, the processor got a call from a hunter regarding the cost to cape and process a 662 lb black bear in Eastern NC. The clerk handed the phone to the owner and the quote was $1 per pound. Ouch. I saw the gutted bear when it came in. It must have had 3-4” of fat under its hide, and the inside was very fat also.

Our bears get huge. A 600 lb bear is not at all uncommon anymore.

I've never had a desire to shoot a bear. I don't like the meat and don't want a bearskin rug. I am thankful for those who do hunt them, as they need to be managed for sure.

Our bears here are starving to death. They are so hungry they eat power poles, one got his belly full from the pole on my lawn last night. Bit through the black internet cable for desert.

I find quite a few power poles in our area that are chewed up and scratched up. I think it has something to do with the treatment on them.

That makes me very happy for both of you guys

Well, back in those days did you get a bear at least once every five years?

No back in those days I learned to hunt big tracks of private land or was younger and my baits were long walks off of any trail or road. I usually got my bear every year but learned quickly how to get further away from other hunters.