Bear steels deer

[GHETTO GUIDE]

My buddy just called.  He gutted his doe and went to pack out his partners cow. Got back to the doe and it was gone.  Following drag marks into the brush , they see a "huge f-ing bear" sitting there munching on his kill.  Dont know if he still had his bow or just packs.  Then I get a pic of a munched up deer , bear must have left. 

Ya think he will be back??? Is it ethical to go back tomorrow to see ? 

[ICEMAN]

Don't hunt the bear now there as this would be considered baiting....

[400out]

I take it he didn't have a bear tag 

[JackOfAllTrades]

Harvest what's left of the doe.  Don't necessarily camp on the remains of the doe. Bury them. Stay in the 'area' for the bear.

Ethical and still within the law in my book.

-Steve

[carpsniperg2]

yeah the right thing to do is tag the doe and harvest what meat is left. he did kill hos deer and left it in the field, by his choice. i would not see anything wrong in going back to the general area. to go back and hunt on the guts and stuff would get you ticketed very quick for hunting over bait.

[GHETTO GUIDE]

He is getting the rest of the doe out I am sure.  Just dont know about the guts etc.?? Baiting??

[markts]

SO if I shoot a dear and dont bring the guts home with me I am baiting bears Shoot the deer stealing bear

[Hillbilly270]

is that the same for cougars?  i hear of people shooting cougars off dead animals and gut piles every year.

[bearpaw]

You need to check with your local WDFW enforcement officer, but I do not think it's baiting to shoot a bear off a gutpile or a dead animal, as long as you didn't place it with the intention of attracting bear. This is a gray area, but if you find a dead animal naturally lieing in the woods, or if a bear comes to a gutpile, I think you can hunt it, but contact your local enforcement agent for clarification.

This is really no different than hunting a berry patch or an apple tree. But you can't go dumping apples to hunt bear. 

[JackOfAllTrades]

This is really no different than hunting a berry patch or an apple tree. But you can't go dumping apples to hunt bear.

Exactly!  That's why I said bury the guts. And hunt the general area, but not right on top of where the carcas was.  This shows the hunter's intent to be ethical, where-as the hunter is not intentionally baiting, yet 'Prudence' or 'Practical Judgement', since there was a kill, and the hunter knows the bear knows there is food, that it is only logical that the bear would return to the same area looking for said food.

-Steve

[lokidog]

You are allowed to hunt bears over a gutpile as long as it was not relocated away from the kill site in order to intentionally attract bears.  I don't think there would be a problem hunting over the non-edible remains of the carcass as it was left in the normal act of harvest and not with the intent of attracting a bear.