How far away do you sit from your bait?

[denalihunter]

I have done little baiting, but going to set one up this year. How far away do you sit from your bait? It seems like most guys are pretty close, say 10 to 30 yards. I was thinking of sitting back a 100 yards and have less chance of them detecting me and my son. If they legalize brown bear baiting in my area, I would think that would be the best way to have a good chance of catching them coming in also.

Appreciate any advice.

Claude

[Vince]

claude wouldnt count on brown baiting in 13.. that unit is already harvesting at 14% ...

though up here next uear come on up...'we'll be a min..100 yards.. for blackies..i am normally ~25-30 yards.. gives option for bow or long gun..if you have an old bear that wont come in... certianly BACK UP.... and give it the space..issues youll have with bob in the stand will be the quite..kids have a difficult time spending 12 hours in one spot..mine can do up to 4-6 depending n the day and the kid..books, video games, and head phones

[denalihunter]

Thanks for the info Vince! I'll take you up on coming up, bring Bob, and see what he can do. We did see an increased number of blackies around us last summer, so I suspect we can find some this season. So the numbers they are harvesting for brownies is 14% in 13B? I would like to push that to 20%! lol.

Good stuff on the distance. Good idea on bringing something to entertain him. I usually just use the back of my hand to keep him quiet... but my hands getting sore, and he's getting too big! (Just joking! Don't call CPS, guys!)

Claude

[northway]

Most of my stands are 30 yards and closer. Once in awhile you'll get a big old beat that is wise to stands. Nice to have a portable to set up in a different location from the other stand to fool them.

[wingshooter12g]

Mine is usually the closest tree to the bait. About 15-20 yards. I spray lots of bug dope when I bait so that the bears will be used to the smell while i'm in the tree.

[plentycoupe]

My stand is only 13 yards from the bait. I would like it at least 20 but is very difficult in the area I hunt. It is so thick and finding the right set of trees to put the stand was difficult. Of course I had a perfect stand like that but some j@#$***** cut it down a couple years ago!! Not sure why. So I found another spot and set up another one. Have had great success and 2 P&Y's have come off of it.
I am very excited to get back and get it set up this year! One more year hunting them in AK for now, next year will probably a fall hunt in MN.

[lab man]

I have never sat in a stand further than 20 yards from the bait. For the most part black bears really don't care about your presence. Quite often I come to conclusion the the bears know exactly when I'm on the bait, and they come in anyways. Besides offering better shots, close bait equals a better show. I think setting up 100 yards away is overkill, even if rifle hunting. Baiting black bears is an absolute riot. They are some of the funniest animals around, and I feel like I would be missing out on essential parts of the hunt if I wasn't close enough to listen to that bear purr like a **** cat while rolling around in rotten salmon that was stinky enough to peel paint. After he got done "playing" in the salmon, he was so smelly that had he been 10' and 1000 lbs I wouldn't have shot him. I have also been known to throw cookies and other snacks at bears while they have their heads turned.. I certainly worry about spooking bears, but more often than not it's because I'm trying to stifle a laugh.

[AKHunterNP]

I had one stand at 15yds and one at about 50yds. On my stand that was 15yds i had a bear that i had patterned pretty well and new when he was coming in. I would go sit 1-2 hours before i knew (thought) he was coming in and never saw him. One day i decided to take a walk behind my stand. I was only gone 5-10 minutes and when i came back out he was at the bait. I got him that day but it was purely luck. Apparently he knew when i was there and he would wait until after I left to come in to eat. Now i put my stands a little further out and practice with my bow out to 60yds. They are some sneaky critters.

[alaskabliss]

13-20 yds. Depends on the set up. I set about 12 feet up the tree. If I was ever to target Browns I would set up just a little bit higher!

[chinookee2004]

30 feet to bait barrel. Like others have said...they dont care if you are there.

[akrstabout]

Current bait station I run is 12yards and 14yards I think, two different tree stands. A stand I ran before though we had the tree stand at 80-84 yards. It worked great. Bait was in the open but against the trees edge. Bears would come in from any angle never spotted the hunters. They were used to that. The last two seasons on that bait we hung stand closer for bow hunting. The bears definately were more skiddish, not used to it, especially the first year doing that. The second none were killed but one came in on my dad but no shot opportunity, otherwise he would have been the 6th to tag out that year. Biggest was 6'4" at 35 yards from the 80 yard tree stand in broad daylight! Have a plan and stick to it, don't change it up.

[shmobag]

Do you need a stand for bear baiting? or can you set out the bait and watch from a ways away on the ground?

[AKHUNTINFOOL]

When a big brown bear comes into your bait you will wish you were up in a stand.

[Frostbitten]

Do you need a stand for bear baiting? or can you set out the bait and watch from a ways away on the ground?

You don't necessarily need a stand. Many folks hunt bears from ground blinds, though from a little farther away I suspect.

[shmobag]

Ok, thank you very kindly.

[Daveinthebush]

15-20 yards. Once the bears hit the bait they don't care as long as you don't drop a set of pots and pans on them.

[cusackla]

[QUOTE=denalihunter;1097416]I have done little baiting, but going to set one up this year. How far away do you sit from your bait? It seems like most guys are pretty close, say 10 to 30 yards. I was thinking of sitting back a 100 yards and have less chance of them detecting me and my son. If they legalize brown bear baiting in my area, I would think that would be the best way to have a good chance of catching them coming in also.

Appreciate any advice.

Claude,
Man I have found that it really just depends on the site. Don't ask me why, but I have one stand where the bears are spookier than you know what and the next stand (less than a 1 mile away) they come directly under the stand on their way to the station more often than not.
My advice:
Setup your bait station with several stand locations in mind, but do not build a stand. Load the station and lets the bears start hitting it hard enough to see what trail they are walking, than set your stand in a location that avoids the trail they are walking into the station and if possible, set it up so than you are not crossing their trail walking into the stand.
Than leave plenty of your sent out, so that they get real comfortable on the station with your scent present.
If that don't work nothing will! A lot of people will say it doesn't matter and maybe it doesn't, but what if it does? I can tell you this, an older bear is going to be a whole different animal than a younger one and what works on a 5 ft bear may not work on an older more mature one. If you are looking to shoot a trophy, use all the tricks in the book!
P.S. and don't forget that honey burn!

Note: Any news of the guy that got hurt?

[blasterak]

I set my blind or stand 15-20 yards away from bait, makes for an ideal bow or handgun shot. Sometimes the bigger bears are weary to come in because they know i'm there but eventually the bait and scents will get the best of them. Or I pull the tactic where I have a partner or I leave the bait stand and one stays behind, bear usually walks right in than thinking everyone is gone.

[AKF]

41 yards on the current setup.

[denalihunter]

Really appreciate all the replies! I'll be getting the stand out on May 1st this year. Later than I had hoped. Once I get the exact spot located, I'll figure out where to put everything. Waiting to see what direction they come in seems like the way to go. I have 3 trail cams I'll be setting up on it. I'm pretty excited about getting it set up! Going to be interesting to see how many bears are around. In the area I'm putting it, I see 50% blacks and 50% browns, so hopefully the blacks will be the ones to hit. I do know a lady that is a disabled vet, and she has a special permit to hunt a brownie over bait anywhere in the State, so if I get one that is taking over, I'll be making a call.