Category Archives: bear hunting

On Bear, Big Bore Lever Rifles Like Modern 45-70’s Shine

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In black bear hunting circles, the 45-70 lever action is highly regarded especially over bait. I am one of those who like big bullets at short range deer and bear. I bought the Marlin 1895 SBL specifically for short range hunting.

A lever action in 45-70 is a powerful friend on short range heavy timber shots. What is a shorter shot you ask? Most east coast whitetails are harvested inside of 100 yards and more likely inside of 60 yards in a woods setting. This makes the 45-70 lever guns so valuable. In addition, being a lever action, follow-up shots are much faster than a bolt rifle. On black bear, shoot’em till they drop if you can. 

Yes, I have rifles such as my 7mm Rem Mag to shine best at over 100 yards and well beyond but consider it out-of-place at very short range.

Of course, it was easy to talk myself into another rifle.

Have Fun, Shoot Often!

Are Black Bears Mischaracterized as Fearful of Humans All Year Long?

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On my Alberta spring black bear hunt in June of 2025, during the bear rut, testosterone laden male bears wander widely in search of receptive females and non-receptive females alike.

Male bears, I submit, are much more aggressive during this time, often climbing up to my tree stand with me in it. Below, a big cinnamon sow, checking me out.  

I did not observe active aggression however but my hunting friend did.

A smaller male was harassing a larger female with cubs below.

The female sent her cubs up a tree and she turned on the smaller male and chased it up a tree. The smaller male would come down and approach the female again. She wanted no part of that young testosterone laden boar and she chased him again until the male bear observed my friend in a nearby tree stand.

All of a sudden the young aggressive male decided to climb into my friends wooden stand and attempt to attack him. He had a bow and arrow and a back up rifle. He was forced to shoot the .270 rifle over the bear to get him to leave. The bear left  for 30 minutes and came back to continue his aggressive behavior. Finally my friend got safely away with his guide.

I am no expert on bear behavior but can’t help observing and discussing bear behavior with Alberta bear guides who observe lone male bears who often bluff charge at baiting sites and getting within feet of the armed guide. 

Fact: Large Bears have to eat a lot of food to stay large. Small bears have to eat a lot of food to get large. I submit, that at certain times everything is on the menu, even other bears.  

Having said that, in spring time moose and deer have young who are on the bears meat menu. During this time there is little to eat except these young animals. Older bears learn the cycles of nature and take advantage of fresh meat. In fall, bears look to top off their fat reserves for approaching winter. Below, a New Jersey group of student encounter a sizable bear and begin to photograph him. The bear got closer and closer. The students were then afraid and scattered. The bear was then in pursuit of prey at that point. Below is the article where one student was missing when they reconnoitered. 

https://nypost.com/2014/11/25/hiker-took-cell-phone-pictures-of-bear-before-deadly-attack/

Large or small, a bears claws are extremely sharp and can do great damage to subdue its prey. It is wise as a bear hunter to understand that you are hunting a very intelligent apex predator. 

A few days later, i encountered the smaller Alberta bear on my last hunting day. I sent an arrow through him at 20 yards. In a flash, he climbed 20 feet up a nearby tree and the arrow did its job and the bear fell 20 feet quite dead. My friend was so happy I killed that aggressive bear! He called him “Angry Bear”!

Hunt Safely

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NH Rifleman Magazine Readership Year Ending 2025

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We are very pleased with our worldwide NH Rifleman Magazine readership since we began in 2012.

Newfoundland Moose on Gander River

We are broadly Outdoor folks who particularly enjoy the shooting and hunting sports!
We camp, we fish, we hunt and shoot rifles, reload our own ammo and shoot bows and crossbows.
We eat what we kill and enjoy cooking our wild game harvest for our families!
We like to educate and are meat-eating adventurer’s too, often going to far off wild places including Africa and Canada and soon to Alaska. 

Texas 144 Class Buck

Top countries reading New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine. 

Enjoy!

Todays Compound Crossbows Are Great Bear Medicine Especially with Swhackers – Some Hunt Thoughts

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There is no doubt that the engineering and physics of todays compound crossbows make tremendous hunting tools for speed and accuracy especially with my Swhackers.

 

My bow is a TenPoint Turbo, shooting 360 fps. I added a Burris Oracle Laser Scope. A great combination. 

Todays fastest crossbows are in the 500 fps range but for me, personally, I find crossbows better in the 300 to 400 fps range allow crossbow targets to capture the arrow without undue stress to remove the arrow, yet easily harvest game cleanly and often fully penetrate and exit.

There are limitations and concerns with such powerful bows however.

Broadhead tipped arrows of all kinds and bows can very easily deflect in brush, thus shot distances are often limited and must be unobstructed for the bolt/arrow to hit the vitals of the game you hunt.

I recall this past September in a ground blind for bear hunting in Maine with my friends at Foggy Mountain, I set up my crossbow on my steady “Death Grip™ tripod. Nice!

But once set up above, I noticed that there were tiny fir branches a few inches in front of my arrow. In the photo above you can see fir branches. 

I thought, Yes, its a tiny branch, but my decades of bowhunting experience says, even a tiny branch can cause deflection.

I took the time to clear the branches.

An hour later, I harvested a sizable handsome boar. At the 29 yard bait barrel, the boar arrived appearing as if by magic. He stuck his head in the bait barrel and immediately backed out. He faced me in the ground blind and walked  8 to 10 yards toward me. I was on him and very still. Seeing no movement he turned to head back to the goodies. When he was “momentarily broadside” my arrow tipped with a 125g Swhacker hit the big bruin in the ribs.

The swhacker went through that bear so fast that the exit speed, even with a 2.25 inch cut, was so fast as it destroyed the broadhead striking a granite rock. 

I knew the bear was mine. Very pleased with my shot I reflected on the power and accuracy of my crossbow.

I highly recommend shorter range crossbow hunting especially with Swhackers. 

Good Hunting!

 

 

Red Stag Doe Round Ball Bullet Forensics From My 1775 50 Cal. Flintlock Build

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Below, right side entrance wound rear lungs (on right). Left side exit low shoulder and exit. Bullet nicked heart on exit. 

Estimated MV from my Flintlock is around 1900 fps. 

Hornady says

“50 Cal .490 Lead Balls 177 gr

Item #6090 | 100/Box

“Completely uniform in size, weight, and roundness, Hornady® Round Balls deliver consistent and accurate performance.

A smooth, reflective gray sphere against a black background.

They’re cold swaged from pure lead which eliminates air pockets and voids common to cast balls. And the smoother, rounder surface assures better rotation and consistency.”

 

I am very pleased with killing energy and exit of the round ball which traveled from the last right side rib to the offside shoulder (about 18 inches) and exited.  

Good Hunting!

 

Very Successful Maine Bear Hunt 2025 with Foggy Mountain Guide Service

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Author Ed Hale and his large boar taken with Crossbow

I began my second Maine bear hunt with Foggy Mountain and my friend Brandon Bishop, owner and Master Maine Guide. 

https://www.foggymountain.com/

I was hunting along the beautiful West Branch of the Penobscot River below. A truly wild place in which time forgot!

 

Monday, September 9th was a cool morning 52ºF with clear skies. I arrived at the bait site after a 20 mile dirt road drive. I asked my guide Ken to place me at the furthest secluded bait site and a ground blind. 

The location was thick with fir trees, some fallen with gnarled roots thrust in the air. The rusted steel barrel in the picture below. If the barrel could talk, it would tell of many bear hunting stories.  

Above, my 10 Point Crossbow positioned on a Death Grip Tripod at the ready with my Swhacker broadheads below! The Death Grip Tripod held the crossbow in its vice-like grip.

 

The forest sounds were of blue-jays, ravens and red squirrels chattering in the distance. 

I was hopeful, with a rusty bait barrel full of bear goodies just 29 yards away.

By sunset, at the 7PM hour, I had a hard time seeing clearly. I slipped quietly out of the stand hopeful for the next day.

The 20 mile drive back to camp was long and dodging rain filled potholes at every turn.

I was shown directions to the bait just once. On the way out I was making sure I made the right turns to get back safely. 

A truly grand adventure, stretching my hunter capabilities!  

At camp I arrived to six bears on the meat pole taken by bear hunters on day one. There were 20 hunters in camp and a bevy of guides. Below Brandon Bishop looks on. 

 

Most hunters used a rifle, but I successfully did that last year. My Ten Point Turbo Crossbow was easily up to the task shooting my swhacker 2.5 inch cut broadheads at 350 fps.

This property I hunted on is owned by many Timber Corporations and comprises 3.5 million acres of prime wild and diverse Maine habitat. 

These millions of acres is accessed is by hundreds of miles of dirt roads maintained by these timber companies. See my muddy, but very sturdy, silver Tacoma TRD 4×4 below. My trusty steed!

The next day, September 9th after a big lunch, I was ready for the hunt. Trekking to my bear stand, I decided to park further away, so as not to spook game.

It was 2 o’clock when I settled in. I had to adjust my tripod and seat for the long anticipated 5 hour sit, without moving much.

It was 3:10PM, when suddenly a black bear appeared out of thin air at the bait.

I have harvested two smaller bears in the recent past, thus I checked the bear out with my binoculars. “OMG, I thought, its a big bear.”

The bear stuffed his head in the bait barrel for just a second, then backed out, and turned and walked toward me. It all happened in an instant. 

My crosshairs were on him but a chest facing shot with a crossbow is not a killing shot.

At 20 yards, he peered into my brushy blind and decided it was empty and began to turn back. As the bear swung broadside, I launched my 350 fps arrow. I watched the arrow disappear into the bears chest behind the front left leg.  The bear ran to my left.   I was sure I made a good broadside shot. I packed up my gear and headed out to wait for my guide. I sent a satellite text message to my guide and headed to a rendezvous point. At 5 PM I hooked back up with Ken, my guide, who was already recovering another hunters bear and loaded it in the hunters truck. 

Below, Ken had another bear guide with him and Ken’s pet bear dog, a small black lab trained for bear retrieval. 

At my bait site we found the blood covered arrow.

I was all Smiles.

It took the dog just 10 minutes to locate the very dead bear just 60 yards from the bait. 

Below back at camp my bear was about my height, a 67 inch boar with huge claws.  

I stayed an extra day till my meat and hide froze in the camp freezer. 

Below, this stream produced some local brook trout. Great fun!

Bear meat is in my freezer and my bear skin is at the taxidermist for making a rug. I will be doing my own meat processing and vacuum sealing. Bear meat is delicious!

Happy Trails!

Good Hunting!

 

Sharpening Mako Shark Broadheads

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First, I found these broadheads come sharp already but in my estimation they can be sharper still. On one head I found one side sharper than the other. You can use these heads for hunting right out of the box and can be resharpened and reused many times. 

Or you can disassemble them and use a Stay Sharp C sharpener below. Just don’t lose the tiny screw that holds the blade. The C sharpener does a very good job of resharpening your main blade and bleeder blades. 

Another method is to use a wheel knife sharpener below on the assembled main blade.

I took off the bleeder blade but you may not have to.  Experiment with the angle you draw the blade through. I have one on order. Many like the simplicity of the wheels. Tip the head down at a 45 deg angle or more. With some pressure, draw the blade toward you several times. You should feel some scraping. Then draw with less pressure. Strop with curved or folded leather or denim. Test to easily cut paper.

 

Yet another simple method is to strop these blades on an oval steel diamond coated Jewel Stick. This won’t sharpen the bleeder blades though. I like this method for touch up the most. It is quick and does a shaving sharp job with practice.

Good Hunting!

 

Arrow Energy and Penetration for Black Bear

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I went on-line in search of recommended minimum arrow energies and penetration criteria.  I found that baseline bow energies begin at around 40 foot-pounds and go up from there. My compound currently has a peak weight of 50 lbs., shoots 185 fps and has 45 ft-lbs of energy off the bow shelf. Is that enough? It depends on your arrow weight and broadhead choice. A light arrow of say 400 grains will lack momentum. Couple this light arrow with a mechanical broadhead or say a three or 4 blade head will offer better cutting but far less or even no full penetration.

On bear, full penetration through both lungs and an exit wound for a blood trail are a necessity.

Under lighter bow and arrow weight, it would be wise to rethink your arrow weight and broadhead choice. Heavier arrows penetrate better as does a cut-on-contact broadhead with a lighter bow weight/arrow weight setup.

The goal is accuracy coupled with penetration by choosing a heavier arrow and perhaps a sharp 2 blade cut-on-contact head to reduce friction.

Accordingly, my 50 lb bow setup (may increase peak weight before the hunt) uses a very heavy arrow of 575 grains for momentum and a two blade cut-on-contact broadhead to reduce friction and maximize an exit wound for blood trailing. Momentum per my Garmin Chrono. note PF- Power Factor is 105.8 KG Ft/Sec. 

I am using a 2219 XX75 with a 2 blade 125g Steel Force head. It shoots like my field points at 20 yards. Reviews of this head for strength are mediocre thus I may try a stronger broadhead. Stay tuned…

Long time big game hunters attest to using heavier arrows given short shooting distances especially on big and dangerous game. 

Good Hunting!

My Maine Bear Returns From The Taxidermist – Updated

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I chose a half mount and it came out pretty realistic. He is a small bear but made for a great life-like half mount. This fall bear feasted on blueberries and raspberries before I took him with my 7mm Rem Mag and a 160 grain Nosler Partition. This winter and cold spring my wife and I enjoyed bear meatloaf and stew, my favorite dishes. I even had it for breakfast! The flavor was terrific.

Below, I did a knotty cedar/pine wall in my basement with the bear as the wall centerpiece. 

I added my Lancaster Revolutionary war 50 cal. flintlock rifle on the left. I built it several years back and it shoots a ball and patch as good as it looks! 

 I’m headed back to Maine in a Month for another opportunity with my bow or crossbow. Who knows, maybe even bigger!

 

Good Hunting!

Back to Foggy Mountain for Bear in September

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Maine for me, is just up the road. I shot a nice bear with Foggy Mountain Guide Service last year with my own 7mm Rem Mag and Nosler Partitions. It filled my freezer with delicious blueberry/raspberry fed black bear meat, filled my memories of a great hunt, and the friendly guide service, food and sleep quarters were excellent. Consequently, I am going back to Maine in September. No airline or customs hassles either like my recent Canada bear hunt. More soon…

Last years Maine bear below

 

Good Hunting!