Below is a combination of my message board posts over the years along with recent updates.
Calling for black bears works. If you are familiar with predator calling then this will be a piece of cake for you, if the bears cooperate! Use your basic hunting techniques, know your area, watch the wind and try to make it easy for the bear to come in or show itself.
I used to always hunt by myself in jeans and t-shirts, sky lined on a stump with a rifle and I did pretty well, but over the years I have changed some things. I still primarily hunt by myself but now I try to be concealed and camouflaged when possible, even when using a rifle and an electronic call. This is primarily for other predators and photographic reasons but it also helps with melting into the landscape. Bears do have fairly good eyesight but if you don’t move they often won’t catch you. But other predators do have great eyesight and in order to get photos of non-target predators you will want to be concealed.
This guy was called in during a spring bear hunt. Luckily for him bobcat season was closed.
When calling bears with archery equipment you will definitely want to be wearing camouflaged or drab clothing, be scent free and at least partially concealed. You will also want to be aware of your surroundings, be able to move a few yards in either direction and have your backside covered.
My primary hunting areas are so thick that you are lucky if you see 1/10 of the critters you hear. If I know bears are in the area I like to "camp" on that spot. I figure if I am here today and the bears aren't, then I am one day closer to the day that they will be there and if I am patient I could connect. Some guys do well by hitting different spots everyday, but I often wonder, "What is going on at that original spot?” Find the food and you will find the bears.
For me, bear hunting can be a casual affair. I usually hunt from dawn to about 10 am and from about 6 pm until dark and nap in between, but I have killed bears in the middle of the day as well. Bears will be feeding most of the day and by fall they may spend up to 20 hours a day in search of food. Last year we had one walk in camp around noon.
I used a Burnham Bros C-3 Long Range call for many years and more than half the bears I have called have come to that call. But I found that I could buy 3 of the same calls and each would sound different. If the sound is not right then I am not confident. Now I am buying new reeds for those calls as well as making my own calls with the sound that I want. Don't get me wrong, I think that bears will come in to any distress sound, but I have a sound and style I am confident with. Being confident is key when calling any animal. If you are not confident with the situation you will be less likely to stick with it or be ready when necessary.
Here are some of the calls I have made, tuned from high pitch to raspy.
My favorite Burnham Brothers calls.
If cold calling, call for a minimum of one hour, two are better. If you can see the bear and it does not respond to the call, try to get closer and try again only harder and louder. Most of my bears have come in hard, some just like they were on a string, straight to me. Some will come in quiet, on the sneak, especially with a cow call. Some have hung up and I have had to get creative to get them to come in.
Normally I cow call (to cover noise) my way into an area and then sit and listen. Many times I have had bears walk out in front of me while cow calling down an old logging road, often with drool running down their chin. Even if the bears aren’t actively preying on elk this cow calling will help set them at ease when they hear a twig break or a kicked rock.
My calling style may seem a bit erratic to longtime coyote callers and it has a little variation due to location, circumstances as well as my cardio conditioning. Early in the season bear calling can be a little taxing on the diaphragm and stomach muscles if you are doing lots of long stands.
Before I start calling I make sure that I have everything ready. I have had bears jump up within the first few seconds of calling. Sometimes I listen and glass for about an hour before I start out with a low cottontail distress tone and cadence. I will call for 30-60 seconds and pause for 10-20 seconds to listen. I will repeat this sequence for about a half hour, rapidly bringing the volume up to a loud squall.
If I hear a bear feeding then depending how close or fast a bear is moving I will start cow calling or fawn in distress. If the bear is leaving or far away I will call soft moving to hard very fast.
I work into a calf/fawn in distress and then into all out chaos. I blow as hard as my call will allow. Sometimes I will cup my hands around the call as if I am doing a cub distress and other times I will try to imitate coyotes attacking the calf/fawn. I feel the key is to sound as lost/scared/hurt as possible and then sound like an animal is being torn apart. Emotion is key. You need to convey the pain and distress that prey do when being attacked. My stands usually last one hour minimum and one time as long as 4 hours.
Not all bears will respond to calling, and some will flat out run away. Some will come in, spook away and come back for another look. If you run a bear off with your calling do not get too disappointed. We have had bears spooked a few times that have come back to the call that evening or the next day.
Thick is not even the word to describe this area. Like I said, we primarily listen for bear. This clear cut is the newest (best) cut for visibility in the area. Most of the cuts I hunt are older and thicker. These stumps and root wads are 7-15 feet tall and the brush and trees are from 3 ft to 20 ft tall. In spots like this I am listening for bears feeding in the cuts on stumps/logs, berries and calling to bears that may be feeding or sleeping nearby.
Called with Burnham Bros. predator call. This bear came in around 1 pm after 1 hour of calling. It scored 20 inches and weighed 400+ lbs
Called in with a cow elk call at about 8 am. This boar scored almost 19 inches and weighed 250lbs
Like I said, I think all predators will come to most sounds and while we can discuss different tone and cadence, I wonder how it really sounds to an animal mixed in with the rustling of brush, wind, water, birds and other outdoor sounds. My fawn in distress may sound completely different from yours, but once that sound has traveled to the predator what does it actually sound like after you factor in all the above-mentioned sounds?
Good luck!