Free: Contests & Raffles.
I'm really not a bear hunter but in all hunting you should have as many techniques as possible at your disposal. You never know which one will be the one that helps you fill your tag. Don't put all your eggs in one basket so to speak.
Very first time I called, I knew nothing. I literally went from the store I bought the mouth call from, to the woods and called in a bobcat and yote.Practice makes perfect.
Bears are all about food. Find the food, find the bears. Getting a tag on them is a whole other ballgame sometimes. I look at bears as a learning experience, it's addicting.