Decision Time: Go for the buck or the bear?

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wombat13

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I have a good size bear and a big buck on the same game camera. Which should I focus on for the crossbow season which coincides with the rut? I bought doe-in-estrus lure and some bear lure, but I don't think I should use both at the same time. Should I? I've never used attractants before, so I'd love to hear experienced advice.

The buck is definitely cruising the area. He's on the same camera about once per week in September, which is the most frequent I've ever had a buck on camera since I've been putting cameras on this property 6 years ago. Also, 3/4 of his visits were during daylight hours. He's the biggest buck I've gotten on camera and either the biggest or close to the biggest we've seen on the property. He would be the biggest buck I've ever had a chance at.

On the other hand, I've been wanting a chance at a bear for six years since I started hunting the property. I get a bear on camera almost everywhere I put a camera, but there is no regularity.

I'm thinking of focusing on the buck during the rut and then putting out the bear lure when gun season starts. Down side is it could be pretty cold by mid-November and the bear may already be in its den.
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I would go for the bear, it looks like it has a nice pelt on him. Bears are harder to get than deer where I hunt as well, so there's that behind my reasoning.
 
I don't know why you can't hunt both at the same time. Seems both are traveling the same trail and odds are, with their age, they both know each other are around. The bear would be used to smelling does in heat and the bear lure is what? Fruity, sweet smelling? Neither will alarm the other. Hell, I sit in my bow stand during rut and call fall turkeys. The calling doesn't scare the deer, it actually relaxes them as deer are used to turkeys calling a lot in the fall and figure if turkeys are around and calling, it must be safe,
 
buck460XVR said:
I don't know why you can't hunt both at the same time. Seems both are traveling the same trail and odds are, with their age, they both know each other are around. The bear would be used to smelling does in heat and the bear lure is what? Fruity, sweet smelling? Neither will alarm the other. Hell, I sit in my bow stand during rut and call fall turkeys. The calling doesn't scare the deer, it actually relaxes them as deer are used to turkeys calling a lot in the fall and figure if turkeys are around and calling, it must be safe,
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That would be great! I've never used lures of any kind before so I just don't know if one will scare off the other. From what I've read, the bear lure is super sweet, very intense cherry smell.
 
Out here in Washington State we have a (Hunting Wa) gun forum. There is a trail cam thread with lots of pics. The guys will have a bear on their mineral or bait stations annd when the bear leaves deer will.be on it with in minutes afterwards.

So I wouldn't fret to much about one being afraid of the other. Just like deer & horses.
 
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I prefer to put deer in the freezer. But hey, not a bad choice you got there. Good luck with whichever you choose.
 
wombat13 said:
That would be great! I've never used lures of any kind before so I just don't know if one will scare off the other. From what I've read, the bear lure is super sweet, very intense cherry smell.
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Deer are much pickier than bear. I've never seen a deer eating out of a dumpster.
 
Sav .250 said:
Batter up. First one down the road. Have no idea what your competence level is but I hope it`s good.
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I'm confident taking the deer with the crossbow. I've never taken a bear with anything, so definitely lower confidence on that, particularly with crossbow.
 
wombat13 said:
So, are you saying the bear lure might scare off the buck? Or lower my odds of seeing the buck?
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I'm saying that deer are attracted to things like corn and those feeder blocks from tractor supply with the granola type stuff and corn mixed in. I will drill holes in those blocks with a boring bit and fill the holes with molasses, and also sling corn in a feed spot (either with a feeder on a timer or by hand). The deer in NC also love apples, but the deer in Fl don't- I guess they don't know what an apple is.
Bears are basically walking garbage disposals wearing a rug. They are attracted to anything they identify as a food source, which is pretty much anything.
 
I have a good size bear and a big buck on the same game camera. Which should I focus on for the crossbow season which coincides with the rut? I bought doe-in-estrus lure and some bear lure, but I don't think I should use both at the same time. Should I? I've never used attractants before, so I'd love to hear experienced advice.
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I am of the mindset to not fix what isn’t broken. If you have both stopping by right now, I wouldn’t change a thing or you risk running both away. If you want to introduce something new to the area, wait until the end of the season so they have an entire year to get used to it or you can discontinue use of it if you see that it negatively effected results.

At the very least don’t use it at an established location. Pick somewhere they are not currently going and try it there. If it’s an “attractant” they will show up, if it’s “snake oil” at least you didn’t run anything off...
 
WrongHanded said:
If you get the buck first, there's always a chance you'll find the bear hanging out at the gut pile the next day.
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Bingo! The consensus seems to be that bears are the best 'smellers' in the U.S. They can pick up a scent from quite a distance. They have to fatten up for the winter and tend to eat anything and everything this time of year. They would love those guts.

I have 2 nuisance bears on the 150 acres I hunt but I can't do anything about it. There's no open bear season in Florida. I've already killed 2 bears in my life so there's no desire to get another one plus bears don't have antlers. Plus deer taste real good. Bears run the gamut from OK to terrible on the dinner plate.
 
There was a video about bears breaking into cars in Yosemite (basically to warn campers to use the food lockers). One bear broke the car window, got into a styrofoam cooler for an unopened can of beans - so yes, bears have a great sense of smell.
 
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