After a 10 year wait, 3 of my hunting partners got bear tags for WI zone B. I began baiting for them on June 15th, in the nearby Nicolet Nat'l Forest in Vilas County, east of Eagle River. They're all from Milwaukee metro area but have summer homes nearby, and were up north baiting on weekends, I handled weekday baiting before or after work. We set up 3 Browning Dark Ops cameras, one per bait site, which totaled over 13,000 pictures by opening of season on 9/16 (95% of which are of bears, 500+ wolf pics too). We  filled all 3 tags in 2 days of hunting.

Here's some pics smallest to largest. I have field dressed weights (not certified scale, we used taxidermist's scale) on all 3, and the approximate live weights here are derived by multiplying dressed weight by 1.18. IOW, field dressing removes about 18%. Looking at those gut piles, I will not dispute that figure.

3rd bear taken on Friday. Dressed weight just shy of 250, live weight in upper 290s. 35 yd shot, Tikka T3 in .30-06. Bear went 20yds after shot.






1st bear taken on Wednesday. 279 / 329. 27 yd shot, Savage 110 .30-06, bear ran 15yds after shot.






2nd bear taken on opening day. 390/460.  In all fairness, we could not remove heart in field dressing...no one's arms were long enough to reach up that high without splitting rib cage... so deduct 5 lbs from dressed weight = live weight 455. 33 yd shot, Tikka T3 in .300 Win, bear ran about 100 yds with 2 broken shoulders and no lungs.

He was shot just before dark, and ran out of sight of the shooter in his tree stand. While he did hear the "death moan" about 20 minutes after shooting, we were not 100% sure he was dead. We gave him 1.5 hours, then started the search. With temps unusually high in the 70s, and wolves in the area, we could not wait until morning. I have a Seek Thermal attachment for my Android, and with my .450 Bushmaster on a single point sling - with Primary Arms 1-4x28 scope with lighted dot (and I mounted a light on a clamp on barrel mount just in case this situation arose) - I took "point" in the search. The Seek spotted his heat signature from about 60yds away... stone dead.

edit: talked to butcher yesterday. He trimmed 95lbs of fat from this bear, and the skull & hide weighed 85lbs.

great bear. the last one is a solid 425-450+ size. had a really big frame

Damn, that's awesome - congratulations!!!

Awesome OP..bears sure are fun to hunt..but you gotta get down out of the stands and shoot em....

where he hunts, and similar to where i hunt bear, its next to impossible to see them on open ground. the woods are think, very very thick. ive never seen a live bear anywhere else other than in a tree or from a stand.

Exactly. Bear season runs from early September thru early October. This year it started on Sept 9th for dog hunters, and runs 4 weeks for hunting with dogs. Bait hunting started Sept 16th, also runs 4 weeks. The seasons overlap, and alternate who starts first every year, but always begins 2nd Wednesday of September. Odd number years, hunting with dogs start first, and in even years bait hunting starts first. About the time the leaves drop - to give some visibility in the woods - bear season is just getting over. There's only 2 ways to hunt them here - over bait and in a tree stand, or chase them up a tree with a pack of hounds. As it takes on average 10 years to get a tag in this zone (where we live), training a pack of dogs for a once in a decade hunt is kinda foolish.

I have chased them out of the bait sites while walking in, so I have seen them while standing on the ground...but without the bait, they wouldn't have been hanging around. Trying to walk around heavy woods & bogs to "stalk" a bear is a waste of time. They hear or smell you coming long before you even realize they are there. This isn't hunting like you see on the Outdoor Channel, where you spot & stalk them in open tundra. A bear can be standing broadside at 50 yds and you'd never know it, unless you were elevated above the ground foliage. I've had bears close enough that I could actually smell them and hear them panting or breathing, but I never saw them. BTW... black bears have a very distinct odor. Get close enough once to get a whiff, you never forget it.

sounds exactly like hunting in Maine. this is near a stand i was baiting last year. cool picture, and probably the most walking room in the area. cant see more than 25 feet

That last one is a pig. I estimated my bear at @ 300-350 and the picture of your second bear puts that in the right zone.

Great hunts and thanks for the write up.

I was just giving him a hard time guys...   I went into a thick willow thicket up here once after a big bull moose..didnt get 50 ft. in and came across a fresh bed and a big pile of steaming bear scat(grizzly)...stopped me dead in my tracks before carefully retracing my steps back out....

ya, that would pull me out too

And me too.

btw... that largest bear is destined for a full body mount. It'll likely be about a year from now, but I will have pics of that too when he's done.

Nice, what are they charging you(ballpark)? I did a wolverine about 10 years ago..almost 2500 with shipping back and forth to the states.... can't imagine what they get for a big bear(My 9'-2" grizzly was 1500 back in 2000 just to rug)......

my guy charges 3000 to start with full body mounts. but they come out beautiful

this was waiting in his show room when i went to pick up mine.



heres my half mount

Nice, I like the 1/2 mount..I don't think most people realize how big a full mount is..heck even my rug is a royal pain in most homes since when put on a normal wall you end up with a paw on the roof and one on the floor...but that half mount could fit in a smaller house if done right....

half mount is great. still large but its not really a half mount, more like a armpit up mount.  it would be much larger if they did a full half

Great looking bear.

It's not mine, and not my bill to pay... but it'll be about $4500 for the pose he wants.

Nice! What did that 3rd bear square?

I am honestly surprised its not more....but it will be a beautiful mount.....need to get me a nice black bear one day...

only pic I have on here of my big grizzly..looks small but  spring bears always do....he squared 9'2"..and is in SCI...

nice. i want to go for grizzly bad but its so damn expensive

Beautiful bears above congrats to all you guys!  It's just a rush like no other when you first see that big black blob coming in (at least for me)

this is straight out awesome, Congratulations on your kill. and thanks for sharing.

the first was shot with a Savage 110 .30-06, right? why do you think the bear could last that long before it finally got down?? would it have gone down fast if you used a more sophisticated weapon? and what scope did the guy with the biggest bear use??

All great looking bear!