Twofingers_under
New member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2001
- Messages
- 27
Hey Guys, I'm new to HT and like it so far.
I live in Idaho at the moment but lived in Alaska for 8 years prior to moving. I tried baiting there and got lots of activity but no shooter bears on my bait. I read about how its critical to keep a site baited once its hit or you'll lose those bears for the rest of the season. The same rule applies both ways--once you condition them to find food at your bait they'll keep coming back until you screw-up and fail to rebait for 2 or 3 days in a row and re-condition them not to come back.
Well this gave me an idea-figure out a way to make my bait accessible to only those bears big enough to shoot while simultaneously frustrating the little bears into going somewhere else.
Here's what I came up with--hang the barrel (horizontally) from two trees so it swings free and high enough so that only big bears can reach the bait. Try it and I think you'll like the results.
Here's my building plans:
Take a clean 55gal drum and cut half of one end out so you have a halfmoon opening. Install two heavy eyebolts along the side (this will be the top when its hung up) one at each end so that the halfmoon opening is up. Cut out an 18 inch square access door in the top of the drum between the eyebolts and reattach with hinges and a hasp so you can easily rebait after its hung up.
Now drag it out to your site and hang it up. I hang mine so that the bottom of the opening is armpit high on me (I'm 5-10). I also put about 3 feet of chain on the eyebolts and then tie the ropes to that. I had a bear claw through the rope of my first hung barrel. I also poke a few holes along the bottom to let the maple syrup slowly drip out and to let any rain water drain.
For bait I really like sweet horse grain; its cheap, sweet, bears like it and they have to stay at the bait to eat it. I add a couple of gallons of maple syrup and hand a few vanilla drips in nearby trees. I like this system because any regular activity usually means the bear hitting it is a decent size animal and the barrel makes a great judging guide. Any bear that can stand and stick his whole arm in the barrel is about 6 foot. If he has to bend over at all, he's over 6 foot. Also by making them stand you can get a better view of their undersides which make sorting the sows from the boars much easier. You can see a wet sow's teats pretty clearly this way.
A vanilla drip is easy to make: Buy a few pint bottles of immitation vanilla flavor remove the caps and poke a small hole in the center of each cap(DO NOT PUNCTURE THE FOIL SEAL NOW) take a 2 foot piece of white kitchen string(or whatever you have handy) tie a knot in one end and run it through the hole to form a wick. Next, duct tape an elongated coat hanger to the vanilla bottle to form a hanger. When you get to your site poke through the foil seal and hang up out of reach. If you didn't make your hole too big it will take about 4 to 5 days for the bottle to drip dry.
You can do the same thing with bacon grease too. Save up about a pint's worth. Warm it enough so that it pours easily, and pour it into a 2 liter soda bottle thats been painted black. Now pour a pint to a quart of vegetable oil on top of that and shake well. Save some extra bottle caps to make wick-caps from so you can put your wick on at the site. The black paint keeps the grease warm and liquified if there's been any sun at all.
I'll be baiting in 39 this year. Good luck.
I live in Idaho at the moment but lived in Alaska for 8 years prior to moving. I tried baiting there and got lots of activity but no shooter bears on my bait. I read about how its critical to keep a site baited once its hit or you'll lose those bears for the rest of the season. The same rule applies both ways--once you condition them to find food at your bait they'll keep coming back until you screw-up and fail to rebait for 2 or 3 days in a row and re-condition them not to come back.
Well this gave me an idea-figure out a way to make my bait accessible to only those bears big enough to shoot while simultaneously frustrating the little bears into going somewhere else.
Here's what I came up with--hang the barrel (horizontally) from two trees so it swings free and high enough so that only big bears can reach the bait. Try it and I think you'll like the results.
Here's my building plans:
Take a clean 55gal drum and cut half of one end out so you have a halfmoon opening. Install two heavy eyebolts along the side (this will be the top when its hung up) one at each end so that the halfmoon opening is up. Cut out an 18 inch square access door in the top of the drum between the eyebolts and reattach with hinges and a hasp so you can easily rebait after its hung up.
Now drag it out to your site and hang it up. I hang mine so that the bottom of the opening is armpit high on me (I'm 5-10). I also put about 3 feet of chain on the eyebolts and then tie the ropes to that. I had a bear claw through the rope of my first hung barrel. I also poke a few holes along the bottom to let the maple syrup slowly drip out and to let any rain water drain.
For bait I really like sweet horse grain; its cheap, sweet, bears like it and they have to stay at the bait to eat it. I add a couple of gallons of maple syrup and hand a few vanilla drips in nearby trees. I like this system because any regular activity usually means the bear hitting it is a decent size animal and the barrel makes a great judging guide. Any bear that can stand and stick his whole arm in the barrel is about 6 foot. If he has to bend over at all, he's over 6 foot. Also by making them stand you can get a better view of their undersides which make sorting the sows from the boars much easier. You can see a wet sow's teats pretty clearly this way.
A vanilla drip is easy to make: Buy a few pint bottles of immitation vanilla flavor remove the caps and poke a small hole in the center of each cap(DO NOT PUNCTURE THE FOIL SEAL NOW) take a 2 foot piece of white kitchen string(or whatever you have handy) tie a knot in one end and run it through the hole to form a wick. Next, duct tape an elongated coat hanger to the vanilla bottle to form a hanger. When you get to your site poke through the foil seal and hang up out of reach. If you didn't make your hole too big it will take about 4 to 5 days for the bottle to drip dry.
You can do the same thing with bacon grease too. Save up about a pint's worth. Warm it enough so that it pours easily, and pour it into a 2 liter soda bottle thats been painted black. Now pour a pint to a quart of vegetable oil on top of that and shake well. Save some extra bottle caps to make wick-caps from so you can put your wick on at the site. The black paint keeps the grease warm and liquified if there's been any sun at all.
I'll be baiting in 39 this year. Good luck.
I will be above Idaho city in 39 
