I slipped into a ground blind, crossbow in hand, late in the afternoon. The late-September air was mild and wind low. The day before, just 50 yards away, a large bear had stopped on a trail between a cornfield and the bush. The wind had shifted, giving the bear enough of my scent to stop and turn tail. There was no wind in tonight’s forecast, so I was hoping this wouldn’t happen again. According to my trail camera, this big bruin made his way out of the corn between 5 and 6 p.m. daily, so the odds were good that he’d return.
I’d nestled in and was feeling quite comfortable. The sun was getting lower in the sky, but there was still plenty of light on the trail. The waiting began and for the first hour it was all quiet. At some point, I looked down to check the time on my phone. When I looked up, all I could see was black. The big bear had quietly padded down the trail and parked 12 yards away, where he was enjoying some corn. I took a deep breath and slowly lifted the crossbow.
I located the shoulder and moved the scope to where the lungs would be. With a gentle pull on the trigger, the bolt found its mark. The bear tore off, but I heard it go down just out of sight. After a 20-minute wait that felt like a week, I left the blind to find the bear. The bolt was on the ground, covered with blood and dark hair. A glance to my left revealed a black shape lying less than 50 yards away. It was a large bear of about 300 pounds with luxurious black fur. It would provide much fine eating of smokies, breakfast sausage, and burger.
There may be no more intense a hunting experience than pursuing bears on the ground. There is just something about being up close and personal with a black bear, at eye level, which gets the adrenaline flowing. Setting up there is not difficult but requires some forethought and preparation.
Ground blinds a huge help with scent control
The simplest and most effective way to hunt bear on the ground is in a blind. The ground blind can be a commercial pop-up, something homemade, or made of branches and other natural items that hide your body.
A fully enclosed ground blind has the benefit of helping to reduce the dispersion of human scent. A black bear’s sense of smell is unmatched. They can detect a food source up to 40 kilometres away or more. Bears have a large nose and the area inside, called the nasal mucosa, is 100 times greater than the human nose. That large proboscis is hard to fool. So, anything that can reduce scent will improve your chance of success.
The hub or pop-up style ground blinds are my favourite as they are portable and can be quickly taken down and moved. Most have multiple viewing window options, and some even are built with scent-free material. Although hunting ground blinds are generally made of camo material, it doesn’t hurt to add a little natural camouflage. A few branches, grass or well-placed spruce boughs help make the blind look more natural.
Natural ground blinds
Natural ground blinds of piled-up boughs, branches, or barn boards are another option. You will not have the scent control of an enclosed blind but will have less concern about bear vandalism. I’ve hunted from natural blinds several times and it is quite a different experience than being in a fully enclosed blind. Lack of movement is critical as bear have an uncanny knack of seeing even the slightest movement.
Several years ago, while on a fall bear hunt with OOD contributor Tom Armstrong, I got a first-hand taste of just how aware a bear can be of its environment. Armstrong and I were set up on the edge of an open farm field where bears travelled from bush to corn and back. It was an unusually long stretch of open field, and the bears crossed at different points. We were in a makeshift blind along the field that allowed a good view. Armstrong was watching to the right, and I was watching to the left. I’d brought both a rifle and a shotgun for the hunt and would use one or the other depending on where a bear might appear.
At one point, a bear came onto the field to the left and started to amble across. The animal was at about 100 yards, so I decided to use the rifle and not the shotgun that was in my hands. When I slowly leaned forward for the rifle, the bear stopped and hightailed it back to the woods in high gear. Just that little flash of movement was enough to spook it. Be aware of your movement and profile in an exposed blind. Less is always more.
Spot & stalk
Stalking bear is not for the faint of heart. Black bears are low to the ground and can be very difficult to see, in even the best situations. It’s a very weird feeling to be moving in on a bear and then see it disappear. The best options for stalking bear are in farmer’s fields, where they eat corn, grass, or alfalfa; or in cutover areas where bears dine on blueberries and other wild fruit.
The key to stalking bear is to keep the wind in your face and move only when the bears are feeding. Although bears are not as skittish as deer while feeding, they will stick that head (and nose) up like a periscope or get up on both hind feet. A large standing bear has a very good view of its environment and will bust the unaware hunter quickly.
It is amazing how fast a spooked bear can exit a field. Stay low and use anything you can to break up your silhouette. At times, you may want to just sit against a tree or stump near a well-used area and wait for a bear to move your way. This is the gutsiest of plays but can work well when the bears are in transit or feeding on corn or fruit. This move will be especially difficult in farm fields, although the occasional bale of hay can provide great cover.
Scent control will be key when you stalk a bear. Clothing that has built-in scent control is beneficial when stalking. I have a Scent-Lok camo suit plus hoodie that is my go-to bear hunt clothing. A face covering is a plus as flashing human skin is a warning sign to bears. I’d also recommend scent control spray. There are several different options, some are an earth-scent while others are advertised as human scent coverings. In my opinion, any scent control is better than none. A shower with scent-killing soap before a hunt will help. Charcoal insoles in your boots keep that part of your anatomy a bit less pungent.
Hunting bears on the ground is a thrilling and satisfying pursuit. Look no further if you are looking for a unique hunting challenge this fall.
Baiting
Bears will almost always respond to a bait, or food source, but it doesn’t always have to be huge. On the edge of a field, a few apples or some corn will often get bears to stop for a mouthful on the way to wherever they are going. Scatter the food on the ground within sight of the blind. You will need to have it closer (10 to 20 yards) when shooting a bow or crossbow. If you do opt to put apples, corn, or popcorn in a container, it will need to be chained down. The one danger with baits near ground blinds is the bears will often stick around and explore the area. That can put your blind in peril.
Tips from a guide
Corey Hayward (Bear Trak Outfitters) guides in Dorion, northeast of Thunder Bay. He only does ground hunts and with bow or crossbow. He had this to say:
“Hunting bear from the ground can be very effective and, in my opinion, has some distinct advantages. The thing I look for when hunting from the ground is a dense area to hide the blind. Back it up to a thicket of balsam firs or under a big pine, trim to fit the blind in, then brush to break its shape up. I like to put some brush in front of the blind piled as high as the window and a couple feet wide to deter the bear from coming too close. I look for 15-20 yards distance to the bait when setting up for archery. When hunters are too close or too far, executing a fatal shot becomes a challenge.
“Once the blind is set, go in and set up your chair and shooting stick. Set yourself up before anything happens — get your bow/gun out make sure you can draw or get your gun up without any interference. Little movement and quiet is the key. Most big bears are not shot at a bait. Usually it’s behind the bait, off to the far left or right because it’s hesitant to come in. Look at the bear trails coming into the site and cut some shooting lanes. Trim just enough to slip a shot through.”
Originally published in Ontario OUT of DOORS’ 2022-2023 Hunting Annual
