Calling for bear

[Bordercop]

In Washington does calling for black bear work? If so, which calls work the best? Wounded doe, cottontail, jackrabbit......?

[pashok23]

I think you can call a hungry bear pretty much with any call...Good luck

[billythekidrock]

Most of my bears were from calling.
All the normal prey distress sounds will work. Fawn, calf, rabbit, goat, bird, etc. Basic elk mews work well too.

[kevinlisa06]

Have never tried calling but this  season I think I'm going to try it


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[Biggerhammer]

I've called in several bears while calling coyotes. All were by accident and I saw them coming from a ways out. They hung up several hundred yards out. One paced back and forth and would stand up every so often but wouldn't come any closer. If it had been open for them, I could have shot them both but that wasn't the case.

[Machias]

Works very well, just remember it can be along session, I call for at least an hour non-stop.  I've been able to call in 18 bears so far that I've seen, no telling how many came in an left without my knowledge.  I like a raspy, loud call to reach out there.  I have called in a couple of my WA bears with a Javelina distress call.  No Javelinas that I'm aware of in WA, but just goes to show a good loud call with alot of hurt and emotion will call them in!

[bearmanric]

What Machias said . Rick

[mountainman]

My experience is call long and keep it constant. A good set of lungs help! Most bears will lose interest if there is a gap in the calling sequence. I have had best calling success using a triple reed diaphragm for calling bulls, blown with as much emotion as you can muster. Also, my best results were on bears way out in the distance that you can keep eyes on while calling.,

[Tradbowhunter]

Cottontail in distress or any predator call for the most part should work fine. Second what mountainman said, get to a good spot where you've got decent visibility while calling.

[Bordercop]

Thank you everyone. It will be my first ever bear hunt for this green horn.


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[Tradbowhunter]

Bordercop, are you going by yourself or with other folks? If you don't already have an area in mind and careto team up, I'd welcome the company, just shoot me a pm if you're interested.

[fly-by]

Also, my best results were on bears way out in the distance that you can keep eyes on while calling.,

From how far out have you seen them respond to a call?  I started calling last year and struggle with where to set up.   In the thick areas where I see sign there is no visibility to see them coming in.  Open areas like the top of a clearcut provide a good shot, but will they come out of the adjacent cover 200+ yards away?
 

[Machias]

I personally like to call right along or just in thick cover if I am cold calling.  A lot depends on the weather and time of the day.  Nice weather and late morning into early afternoon I like to get right inside thick cover.  I rarely cold call in wide open areas, I've never had much luck.  I've called to only a couple of bears I could actually see.  I usually try and stalk them if I can see them.  I called in a bear roughly about once every 20 times or so when cold calling.  Make sure if you are on your own you have some cover at your back.  One of the first bears I called in was a smaller sow.  First thing I heard was pine needles behind me being stepped on.  I turned real slow and here is this small bear trying to sneak in.  She was way too small to shoot so I spoke to her and she stepped a step closer, so I stood up and she pinned her ears back and I could see she was about to charge, so I pepper sprayed her.  I have a theory, generally, not always, but generally if I hear a bear coming in it's a bigger bear and usually a boar.  If I suddenly see a bear either sneaking in or suddenly standing there a few feet away, they tend to be smaller bears or sows.  I believe the big boys are trying to intimidate whatever is killing whatever is screaming and the smaller bears are sneaking in worried that whatever is killing whatever is screaming could hurt them or worse.

[billythekidrock]

From how far out have you seen them respond to a call?  I started calling last year and struggle with where to set up.   In the thick areas where I see sign there is no visibility to see them coming in.  Open areas like the top of a clearcut provide a good shot, but will they come out of the adjacent cover 200+ yards away?
 

I spotted a bear at 400 yards before calling. It responded slowly. It came up a little ridgel to a bench about 200 yards away. The bear paced back and forth and stood on it's hind feet searching for the sound. It only hung out for a couple minutes. If I had not spotted it prior to calling, the bear may have come in and left without knowing it was even there.

The issue was the second ridge/bench created an invisible barrier that the bear did not want to cross.


Another one I called in while cold calling came to the timbers edge before my brother killed it at about 350 yards. I do not know how far away it was when it started coming to the call, but when it came into the open it was already searching for the sound.

When I stopped calling to help set up for the shot, the bear continued walking and looking in our direction but at a very slow pace.