Registered: Aug 2010
Location: Fuquay Varina, NC
Posts: 117

What do y'all think about this? Didn't think there was enough of a population in the Piedmont to have a season?

http://www.ncwildlife.org/News/News...04/Default.aspx

RALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 27, 2014)— The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission today approved hunting regulations for 2014-15 that include establishment of a bear hunting season in the Piedmont and allowing the aid or use of unprocessed foods for bear hunting on private lands as long as the bear is not actually consuming the unprocessed foods.
The action came during the regularly scheduled Wildlife Commissioners’ meeting to consider wildlife management, game lands and fishing regulations for the 2014-15 seasons. The adopted fishing and hunting regulations will take effect Aug. 1, 2014.
The adopted bear hunting proposals will help maintain a healthy bear population in North Carolina, according to Dr. David Cobb, the Commission’s chief wildlife biologist. The recommendations were the direct result of the state’s 10-year Black Bear Management Plan, which utilizes science-based decision making, biologically sound management principles and public input to guide the decision process.
The Wildlife Commission held district public hearings in January and an open comment period that ended Feb. 14 on all conservation proposals. The Commission also held a series of regional public meetings in October 2013 to discuss the Black Bear Management Plan specifically, which included the possibility of creating a Piedmont bear hunting season.
The decision on the use or aid of unprocessed foods corrects a previous inequity between hunters with hounds and still hunters. In past seasons, bear hunters could release hounds at or near sites containing unprocessed food products, but still hunters were prohibited from taking a bear in an area containing bait.
For more information on North Carolina’s black bears and hunting regulations, as well as bear research and management, go to www.ncwildlife.org/bear

__________________
CH 'PR' Designer Hissy Fit (Tantrum)
Senior Class Winner - 2011 Grand American
Earned his Bench Championship at the NC State Hunt!

'PR' Designer Pretty N Pink (Ruby)

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jan 2012
Location: Eastern NC
Posts: 137

I have no objection to a still hunter being able to kill a bear but there are a pile of issues with this that the wildlife commission isn't acknowledging. There is talk of inequity? Well when we as hound hunters turn dogs loose on a bait pile we aren't guaranteed to kill a bear. There are so many deciding factors to it such as what time the bear fed, how much off game has been there since the bear last fed, are the dogs going to be able to jump the bear and catch it. Even when the bear is jumped there is still no guarantee of a kill heck I have seen a bear vanish into thin air. As a young and up and coming houndsmen I am not afraid to say that I have lost bear in the past that I previously seen the dogs nearly pulling hair on. A good hunter told me that I have never been bear hunting until I go home and scratch my head and try to figure out what in world went wrong. I have seen and entire pack of dogs run out the woods by a nasty bear. There is a misinterpretation about hound hunting and it is that we catch and kill every bear off bait that we find it doesn't happen that way. Honestly i feel it would be an inequity to be able to shoot a bear with his head jammed in a bait pile/barrel, that doesn't involve any work whatsoever. In fact I think that would be too easy but that's just my opinion not looking to ruffle any feathers. If you are able to kill a bear during daylight hours during the November and December kill season I could just about guarantee one that it will be a sow and yearling. I have noticed that your big mature bear start feeding nocturnal after the summer months. If enough sows and yearlings are shot and killed it will not take long to drastically hurt a population.
With the state wanting to lower a bear population I become baffled at their attempts to do it. The shooting of bear with the aid of bait was a proposed way to lower it. One of the state's biologist stated "over 90% of the bear harvested and reported were by hound hunters". I'm baffled because they want it lowered yet it becomes harder and harder to harvest the numbers needed because of all the restrictions. Here on the coast we get a 3 week season with one tag with 2 of those weeks coming in later December when most of the bigger and more mature bear are laid up and full. Why noy issue 2 tags and give us 2 or heck maybe even 3 weeks in November when the bear are still fully active. I think that's a way for us to have a better chance of meeting the states "quota". Another major issue with this is the growth of hunting guides. This will be a gateway to expanding the loss of private hunting land. It is terribly hard to find hunting land as it is and you have every farmer and land owner wanting more and more money to lease it out. I know bear can severely damage crops but dang on if you have an issue with bear don't stand there with your hands wide open for a pile of money. It's so ridiculous to hear one belly ache about bear destroying crops and when you offer to take care of the issue the first thing out there mouth is what are you willing to pay. We are not all blessed with mega money to lease a ton of land. $10,000 for bear rights and that's it lol get out of here. This will be easy for a guide who can front the money and have 10 or 15 $3000 dollar hunts booked up early in the year. Anyway enough of my complaining due to the fact that the state is all for this and aren't really listening to the objections I'm just gone prepare for the new changes lol.

__________________
Run em' mutt style

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Aug 2009
Location: Beautancus, N.C.
Posts: 100

We'll said joe. My first thought on the new law is how devastating it will be to the bear population, however, we all know that still hunters have been shooting bear over bait for years here in nc., and perhaps the affects will be minimal. I do know this, houndsmen better take care of the bear because they just became an endangered species!

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jan 2014
Location: East NC
Posts: 11

Sounds like the same conversation me and you had Monday on the phone Joe.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Feb 2008
Location: Washington, NC
Posts: 138

I don't have a problem with a still hunter wanting to have an equal opportunity to use bear feed like hound hunters. The problem I have with the situation is the majority of the counties they opened up to still hunt bear they now tell us that we can't use dogs in them counties. Now if were gonna be fare then it should be fare across the board. I understand why dog hunting is a problem in those areas but if there going to do it that way they should have allowed us to dog hunt in the eastern and mountain regions disallowing still hunting and allow still hunting in the piedmont with an unreal long season but disallow dog hunting in that region. That's if the agenda was to make it fare. The truth is that the agenda was never to make hunting fare in NC but in effect to reduce the population. I just don't see the commissions way of thinking logic or with conservation in mind. I see it as a way of not having to do there job which we pay them to do even if they have to deal with a nuisance call. We as dog hunters for the most part have done our part to grow the population to were it is today. If they really wanted to reduce some of our bear they should have given us a chance to selectively reduce the population via longer seasons were seasons were already established.

Thanks Justin King
Kings Ketchen Kennels
252.944.3857

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Jan 2014
Location: East NC
Posts: 11

My only problem with a still hunter shooting a bear is the fact that the majority of the bears will go to waste because the still hunters are to scared to recover a wounded bear that doesn't fall on the bait pile/barrel.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Registered: Feb 2014
Location:
Posts: 4

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jhhughes87
My only problem with a still hunter shooting a bear is the fact that the majority of the bears will go to waste because the still hunters are to scared to recover a wounded bear that doesn't fall on the bait pile/barrel.

---

__________________
eat..live..love

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged