SC hunters have plenty of bear hunting opportunities
Mark Carroll is a Regional Wildlife Biologist covering parts of Game Zone 2 in South Carolina. A good portion of Carroll’s duties include monitoring the increasing number of bears that call the Upstate of South Carolina home. With no sure-fire way to count the number of bears in a given area, Carroll said the increasing number of nuisance bear calls that he and other state biologists receive during the year definitely points to an expanding population.
When enough sightings are reported, biologists will look for hair samples in the area, or set up hair snares as a means to collect hair from the animals. Hair sampling also allows biologists to do some genetics studies of the animals.
Several years ago, the increased calls and hair samplings led to the expansion of the hunting areas allowed by the state.
“This is the fifth season of the additional hunting opportunities in Game Zone 2,” said Carroll. “Historically Game Zone 1, the Mountain Hunt Unit, was where all the bear hunting took place in the Upstate. But bear sightings south of that area have prompted allowing some additional hunting into Game Zone 2. Basically, that includes the remaining portions of Oconee, Greenville, and Pickens Counties as well as adding all of Anderson and Spartanburg Counties.”
The season dates, quotas, and hunting availability are complex. The rules also vary between hunting public land and private land.
More hunters needed
Limits and quotas are in place to monitor the harvest of bears. For the expansion area into Game Zone 2, a 20-bear quota was established. The season is closed when that limit was reached. Carroll said part of the problem is that only two bears were harvested last season, and that trend doesn’t look to improve much.
“The expanded area only includes private lands, and only still hunting is allowed. But we believe part of the lack of harvest is just hunter awareness,” said Carroll. “Our nuisance call numbers tell us bears are in these expanded areas, we just need more hunters to hunt them.”
In Game Zone 1, bear harvest numbers, which are generally a better prediction of local populations, have been steadily on the increase over the past 10 years. Carroll said the bear harvest numbers hovered below 100 for a long time before consistently producing numbers of at least 130 bears between both still and dog seasons.
“In my career with SCDNR, those numbers have steadily been on the increase,” he said. “Unlike other species which are showing a decline, bear numbers keep going up.”
In Game Zones 1 and 2, the still hunting season runs from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23. Then, immediately following the week-long still hunting season, Oct. 24 through Oct. 30 offers party dog hunts for bear in Game Zone 1.
Game Zone 1 has no quota for bears, so the season runs its normal 7-day course. Deer and Bear seasons also run concurrently on private lands in both Game Zones 1 and 2, with a break on public lands for deer hunting in Game Zone 1 while the bear seasons are in progress.
License requirements for taking bear include a valid hunting license, big game permit, and a bear tag, which costs $25 for residents and $100 for nonresidents. Youth under the age of 16 are allowed to obtain a youth bear tag from SCDNR at no cost. Tags must be attached to the bear before being moved from the point of kill. Tag holders are allowed the harvest of one bear, which may not include a sow with cubs or any animal less than 100 pounds.
Not a sure thing
Carroll said still hunting bears varies somewhat from deer hunting, although the two sports share certain similarities. He advises would-be bear hunters to spend ample time prior to the season opening date scouting for bear tracks, scat, and acorns. Baiting for bears is not allowed in either Game Zone 1 or 2 so most hunters focus on hard mast crops to attract bears.
“There is a lot more spot-and-stalk in still hunting for bears than just the traditional hanging out in a deer stand waiting for a bear to come to you,” said Carroll. “Just finding sign is not a sure thing because these animals are known to travel great distances. You can expect to put some miles in just to see a bear, and then it has to be a legal bear for harvest.”
He said still hunters on private land rely greatly on trail cameras to know if and where bears are using the areas. He also admits there are some integrity issues involved, as baiting for deer is legal on private land, and in Game Zone 2, seasons for deer and bear run at the same time.
While most hunters mistakenly believe that bears are only interested in hard and soft mast crops, bears will also eat grains and grasses, including some of the typical food plot plants that hunters plant for deer and turkey.
It’s also very important to monitor wind direction and terrain when still hunting for bears. Mountainous terrain in Game Zone 1 and even the valleys and gullies more prominent in Game Zone 2 will create thermal currents and updrafts. Bears have a better sense of small than bloodhounds, and any trace of human scent will alert them to your presence.
All harvested bear must be reported within 24 hours to Clemson SCDNR at 864-654-1671, ext. 24. Bears may not be transported without tags in place, and must be checked in with DNR prior to processing.
Carroll’s advice when it comes to bear processors, if you don’t plan on processing the bear yourself, is to find out ahead of time.
“Most of the bear processors are located closer to the mountains, but you might want to contact your local deer processor and find out if they will take a bear,” said Carroll. “Processing a bear takes up more room in a cooler and requires more time to skin and process the meat. So some deer processors will take them and others won’t.”
Record bear
In 2013, a newly passed law that began allowing Game Zone 1 still hunters to target both deer and black bear paid off big for Easley hunter Heath Smith during the October still hunt season. Smith was hunting a private 360-acre tract he leased near Gowensville, SC when a monster bear walked within gun range of his stand. Smith took the animal with a single shot from his 30.06 rifle.
“I was in my stand when four does entered a food plot and began acting very nervous,” said Smith. “A little while later, the deer eased off and I saw this bear crossing the shooting lane about 170 yards from me. It was almost dark, but I picked him up in the scope and managed to get a good shot on him right in the lungs. We found him within 40 yards. There was no blood trail at all and the bullet never exited the bear.”
Smith had been leasing the land along with a couple of buddies for a few years. He described the area as a prime piece of property. While the group trophy-managed the property for deer, members had seen ten different bears on their trail cameras, including the huge bear that would become the new state record, several times.
Following the kill, Smith contacted the SCDNR in accordance with regulations on his bear tag and the bear was certified by biologists. The bear was officially weighed at 609 pounds and eclipsed the prior state record, a 594-pound animal which had been killed in Oconee County in 2007.
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