Man, where has the summer gone? I know, let’s not wish it gone just yet, and believe me I’m not, but here we are only a few short weeks away from the start of the 2021 bear hunting season in Massachusetts. To me, that’s one of the first signs that autumn is not very far away.
The first of three bear seasons begins in Massachusetts on Sept. 7 and runs through Sept. 25. A second bear season will go from Nov. 1 through Nov. 20, and a third shotgun season will run from Nov. 29 through Dec. 11.
With an estimated 5,000 bears now saturating habitat throughout the entirety of the western and central corners of the state, filtering into less suitable habitat in the east, sightings are becoming increasingly dramatic — even in the more urban areas. The hope is, and has been for some time now, that liberal hunting regulations now in place will continue to help in stabilizing the size of the black bear population. But be certain to familiarize yourself with Massachusetts bear hunting regulations before the start of the season.
All that said, bear hunter success has been excessively low in Massachusetts for decades now, with a population that now sits close to the maximum and is expanding, out of control, into the suburbs. All of this adds up to the need for significantly higher harvests. To that end, longer hunting seasons were implemented in an attempt to better control excess numbers, and with the possibility of Sunday hunting looming ahead of us, this expanded opportunity might be another small step in helping to stabilize the population. Only time will tell however.
If you’re a bear hunter, it certainly appears that it’s worth buying the permit, especially if you hunt west of Worcester County, where bear populations are highest. However, black bears and big black bears are now taken in areas all over our state, with significant and quietly expanding sightings over the past few years in places like Brookfield, Warren, Oakham and Spencer.
In many areas, a small number of lucky hunters have the cooperation of private landowners, particularly in the western part of the state where bears are habitually coming in to raid cornfields and other farm crops, who allow them access to their land to bear hunt. However, unlike other New England states, baiting and running bears with dogs is prohibited in Massachusetts, which leaves the results of your hunt to preseason scouting, building relationships with farmers who grow agricultural crops, the weather conditions and the ability to locate a natural food source.
So far this year while early scouting for deer, I’ve noticed a decent mass crop starting to show, and wild apples, while not abundant, are just about everywhere you’d expect them to be. This all bodes well for bear hunters, but the problem of not having enough people hunting them to help control the population remains. Biologists would like more bears taken annually, but hunters have hardly ever taken more than 150 animals annually except for the 2014 through 2017 seasons and a record harvest of 325 in 2020. And while the hope remains, in all New England states, to have significant reductions in bear populations over the next decade, that hopeful aspiration is no way near a guarantee, solidifying the fact that Massachusetts has lots of bears with fewer hunters pursuing them, despite generous hunting seasons and easy to obtain permits. That adds up to more potential serious problems in the future.
But for now, as we head toward the Sept. 7 opening day, serious bear hunters realize that hunting bruins in the heat of September can be a very challenging hunt. Scent becomes a huge issue, as moving in and out of your stand in hot weather will wreak havoc on a bear’s nostril. Staying close to a food source that attracts them remains the most successful strategy in this early season, and works well throughout the entire season even though farmers hate giving up even a morsel of their crops to bears. However, I’m told that corn-fed bear is delicious, tasting very much like pork.
Also, remember that making a good shot doesn’t always mean a quick end to the hunt. Tracking can be a problem in September. Bear hide is heavy, and their skin is very thick and can quickly seal up a wound, which means no real trail is left to follow. In addition, once you’ve recovered your bear, the challenges are still not over. Successful hunters in hot conditions need to cool their game immediately to prevent spoilage. There’s a lot of meat on an average 180-lb. bear, and all of it — along with its hide — can be ruined in just a day if it’s not field- dressed, skinned, and refrigerated quickly.
Bear hunting, like all hunting, is a grand experience. Part of that experience is finishing the job once your hunt preparation and hard work has paid off. And for September bear hunters that means, if you are fortunate to outmaneuver one, take care of them quickly and enjoy the harvest to its fullest.
Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and sportsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, and a 2019 inductee into the N.E. Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Joe is also on the Quaker Boy Game Calls and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Pro-Staff.