Black bears are big game in Arkansas and a seminar hosted by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will teach how to hunt them.
Myron Means, large carnivore program coordinator for the commission, will host the seminar at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 30.
Means will discuss scouting and bear behavior, field preparation for the hunt and care of bear once killed.
"If you've ever wanted to hunt bears, I'll try to give you every bit of knowledge you need, but success will still hinge on how much effort you put into the hunt itself," he said.
Participants learn bear physiology and what motivates bears during hunting season.
"Bear hunting really is all about finding food," Means said. "They don't have a rut during the fall like deer, but are about to go into their den cycle so they're focused on one thing -- eating."
Means will help hunters use this knowledge to increase their chances of killing a bear, with tactics developed for private and public land hunters.
Finding bears on public land still involves finding food sources, but it requires much more work in scouting. Means said if acorns and other foods are plentiful, the bears will not need to move much to eat. During low mast years, they'll move more and focus harder on particular trees that may still be producing acorns.
"The secret is finding these sites and scouting them without disturbing bears that may be feeding," Means said. "Bears are much less forgiving than deer. If you bust them out scouting, they won't be back. On private land bait sites, you can get away with a little more, but on public land you have to really minimize your presence."
Means said scouting in late morning and early afternoon improves the chances of not running into a bear before hunting season. Hunters should look for areas with good mast crop and signs of bears visiting, such as bear scat and bear trails. Bear trails are easily distinguished from deer and other game trails by the presence of small, dished out impressions from repeated footsteps in the same spot.
"Bears will step in nearly the exact same spot every time they travel a trail," Means said. "So it will literally look like you went and put down a bunch of saucers in alternating patterns on each side of the trail."
The seminar also will address how to dress a bear.
"Bears are much different than deer and can spoil quickly if not cared for properly," Means said. "The fat layer they are putting on when gorging themselves can be very oily. Combined with them putting on their winter coats, a downed bear's fat layer can begin rendering itself from the animal's trapped body heat. That oil can saturate the meat and taint it with an unpleasant flavor."
Means said bear hunters should have coolers, plenty of sharp knives and rope waiting. Acting quickly to skin, quarter and cool the bear is the key, he said.
"You also want to get as much of that outer fat layer off as you can before storage," Means said. "There's enough marbling in a bear's muscles to give the meat flavor and prevent it from drying out while cooking."
Sports on 08/21/2018