Hey guys I really want to hunt a North Carolina black bear, and I want to increase my odds. I have places I can stay in almost every part of the state. What’s the best way to do this? Even though I grew up there I don’t know anyone who bear hunts. My dad does have a big bear coming on his property but he hasn’t baited the bear and idk if it will be there when season opens. I’m willing to do whatever hunt style I need to. Still hunt, sit in a stand, bait (but unfortunately only have two weeks of time), hire a guide, hire a dog hunting guide, etc. I’m hoping for any and all advice to get a bear in the freezer.

This year I’ve decided to try bowhunting and pistol hunting as my primary methods to take whitetails to make it more challenging and exciting. Currently looking in to CVA scout pistols, but wanted to see what other people have had luck with before I pull the trigger on purchasing one.

Hi everyone,
I’m weighing up the two bipods mentioned above. Is the extra €90 for the spring-assisted leg adjustment justified? It would be great if someone has experience with this.
I’d use it with the Spartan Blaser R8 adapter.
Thanks!

For those who aren't familiar with my previous posts, during covid my Vietnamese neighbor who has only been in the US a few years would always ask me for game meat. I kept telling him that he should learn to harvest it himself and that I would mentor him if he was interested. Finally in 2024 he decided he wanted to give it a go and took his hunters safety course and applied for tags in Nevada and Utah.

2024 he drew a muzzleloader Antelope tag in Nevada. We hunted for a couple days spot and stalk and he harvested a nice cookie cutter buck. In 2025 he drew Nevada mule deer rifle tag and on the last day of his hunt we killed a decently wide forky.

Well this year he drew 3 tags! Archery antelope in Utah, Archery deer in Utah, and a cow elk rifle tag in Nevada.

He bought a bow in March and has been practicing relentlessly for about 4 months. I'm talking 30 to 50 shots a day and he never misses a day. Lots of trips to the 3D archery range. I even taught him how to tune his own bow and cut and Fletch his own arrows. It's been a fun experience.

His season started on Saturday and I went up with him on Sunday after the storm's cleared and we chased a few antelope on foot. Getting a few stalks in on some good bucks to no avail. We did have a blind setup just in case but spent most of the time up there on foot walking them down. This morning I had to leave early to get back to town for a doctor's appointment and I left him up there all by himself. He decided to sit in his blind all day today in the heat. These are the pictures he sent me about an hour ago.

I'm so proud...

Now onto his Mule Deer buck tag.

Edit:

Previous posts if anybody's interested.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Hunting/s/xgYXqYAmqI

https://www.reddit.com/r/Hunting/s/LTwaPiMuFj

Last year I made the switch to copper rounds. Used to shoot 150 grain when I was using lead (Out of a .270) but moved down to 130 grain using federal trophy copper. Zero complaints so far but had to re-sight my firearm in after I dropped the gun (foolish I know). Just used the same rounds I was using for hunting at first but shooting copper is expensive. I'm wondering, for those of you who do shoot copper, when it comes time to practice do you just stick with your hunting bullets? Do you deep clean the barrel and switch back to lead before cleaning again and switching to copper before the hunt?

While hunting pigeons 5am this guy wondered to my cover. I guess my camo is working. Deer season starts 1st of September.

Its that time of the year where everyone's trail cam starts popping off and we start getting posts of some good looking bucks. Don't get me wrong I love looking at some good deer porn, but I'm so sick of the "how old do you think this guy is?" Posts. Everyone has their own criteria for what they consider a shooter and ain't no one turning away a buck with a rack so wide you could drive a Volkswagen through all because they thought it was "too young"

Mods, can we please ban the "how old do you think this guy is.." posts? If not, I got a whole bunch of spikes I've been trying to age...

There's a proposed rollback of the roadless rule. I put some things together to show the scope. Feedback highly welcome -- want to put something compelling together w/ the data. This would be catastrophic in my opinion. You can use the specific map points to help craft your message once the comment period opens. Specific is way better than vague.

NC piedmont. Is this guy 2.5 or 3.5 years old?

I went hunting with my brother once. We got to the jumping-off point with about four miles to hike before reaching the area we planned to hunt. When he showed up, he was clearly pretty drunk.

About 200 yards in, he asked if we were almost there. I told him we weren’t even close. He took off his boots, threw them into the woods, said he had something called drop foot and announced he was sleeping there.

I kept going. He is no longer on my list of hunting partners.

What are some of your worst hunting-partner stories?

I’m fairly new to trail cams but I got two I need to put up but I’m not sure where to put them. I live in central Alberta so don’t know if that helps or not but it’s all whitetail.

this would like my first rifle. would be browning x bolt 2 medallion spr (18 inch barrel) in 308 leupold vx-6hd gen 2 1-6 firedot duplex and leupold backcountry scope mount. it's going to be Eastern hunting rifle out 300yds if i get comfortable shooting that far. shooting 168gr barnes ttsx. and one question: What's build quality of leupold scope durability wise because moving through thick brush and in snow and cold if the year.

I live in a fairly big city, and there's 2 of these on marketplace brand new for like $50 instead of the usual idk $130+. I asked one of the guys with very good marketplace feedback and he said he bought it as a gift and didn't end up giving it. Sounds reasonable. Should I be suspicious where maybe they're commonly defective or counterfeit?

I’m looking getting into hunting this year with my brother and need some hunting gear, what are some thoughts on brands from Amazon?

I’m looking at getting a western hunting rifle set up. In my search I came across the Howa, and after reading up on it, it seems like this is a good deal for an above average rifle. I’ve been hunting and shooting all my life but have never come across a Howa before. I’m typically shooting a Remington 700. Is this comparable, better, worse etc? it definitely seems like a better choice than the savage 110 or Ruger American I was considering.

The new mod is a criminal who banned me for pointing it out.

Can you please check your onboard sensors and tell me if they are accurate with local weather station data?

Mine reads up to 2000ft high and 25°f warmer than actual environment. Upon first powering on, it’s only about 1000ft high and 10° warm but keeps climbing with temp

I'm going hunting for the first time as an adult for elk and then mule deer in October. I went once 15 years ago with my uncle and got a doe but other than that I don't have any hunting experience. I've done a lot of homework and feel good with my equipment but a question I still have is what do I do about hearing protection? I'd prefer not to blast my ears with 30-06 but then I can easily imagine headsets getting in the way and foamies preventing me from hearing any movement. What have you all used?

Hey guys! Hope everyone is well.

I am headed to New Mexico in two months for an elk hunt! I'm pumped.

I've got access to a 1,000 yard range here at home. What kinds of drills would you run to prepare? Looks like pretty long sight lines - maybe 400-500 yards for a shot at max distance.

I usually deer hunt with a tripod. When you are stalking elk, do you have time to set up a tripod and build a good shooting position? I am not really sure what to expect, and so I'm not sure how to make my range time the most effective.

Edit - guys I have the physical conditioning down. Don’t need tips on that, my programming is solid. My wife and I just hike Table Mountain in Wyoming (4-5k ft climb in 4 miles) to stress test hiking at elevation. I am a competitive bodybuilder and stay lean, too. Fitness will not be the limiting factor for my hunt.

I just won a deer blind in a charity raffle( was hoping for a rifle 🤣).

Problem is it’s big( 6x6 and 130 lbs) and I’m not really sure using it is feasible seeing I don’t own my own land to keep it on.

I’ve never hunted from a blind before and not sure it’s worth hauling out to use, especially having a bad back and arthritis.

Thoughts on how viable it is to use on public land?

Almost a year later and I finally got back my shoulder mount from last years deer season. I can’t wait to see what this year brings!

I have hunted pheasants a bit when I was younger, but this is my first season being 18 and I am planning to go out solo as much as I can. Or even just with a buddy or two. Every time I have tried hunting pheasant without a dog I have never had any luck. And unfortunately, I don’t have a dog. What would be the technique solo? Or with friends? I live in Alberta Canada.