The overwhelming majority of bear hunters place their stands about 15-20 yards from their bait. The exceptions are mainly in the western states where cover is more open and long shots can be used by hunters using a scoped rifle. In the boreal forest where baiting is the primary means of managing bear populations and providing hunters with the best opportunity to harvest a bear, stands are up close and personal to the bait itself.  

Considering the black bear’s habit of checking a bait from downwind before approaching it, or in some cases even making a half circle or more, wouldn’t it be better to back off more? After all, if the stand was 60 yards away it would still be an easy shot for a scoped rifle. And there is the real possibility that you could avoid situations where the bears would wind you. In some cases, a bear that was circling a bait might actually come between you and the bait while doing so. 

Let’s examine this and look at the reasons we tend to do the things we do in the ways we do them.  

I can’t prove it, but I have a hunch that black bear hunting over bait is the only pursuit of big game in which more people are hunting them with a bow than with a rifle. With the surge in the use of crossbows over the past decade, I believe more people are sending a broadhead downrange than a bullet when it comes to baited hunts. So that’s a factor in the equation.  

The best situation for a hunter shooting an arrow at a bear is to be 15-20 yards away and 15-20 feet high. This provides the best angle to get a shot through both lungs with an exit wound low on the body to facilitate a good blood trail to follow. Most baits are set up for bowhunters, and rifle hunters must adapt. Go to most outfitters in the U.S. and Canada in the boreal forest where the majority of black bears call home, and you will find this scenario to be true. Are rifle hunters being discriminated against? Maybe, maybe not.  

There are a few factors that come to mind. I have known bears to become uncomfortable when they see you sitting in a treestand only 15-20 yards away. I have also seen plenty of times when they completely ignore me. This is especially true of bears who are more mature and have been around baits enough to realize that there can be limits to their safety in these situations.  

I have also seen bears, usually younger bears, who just ignore the fact that you are up in a tree nearby. In fact, I believe it is the main factor behind the myth that bears have poor vision. Many people have had a bear look right at them and not spook, so it’s natural to assume that he just didn’t see you. But, I am also convinced that when bears see you in a treestand, they see you in a position of submission. Remember, what do subordinate bears do when a larger bear threatens them? One of the first things they do is head up the nearest tree. When a bear sees you up there, he lowers his guard because you are in a subordinate position and they don’t feel as threatened.  

I can see significant advantages to getting farther back away from the bait if you are hunting with a scoped rifle. While the issue of the bear seeing you is a small one, the issue of a bear smelling you and avoiding the bait site because of your presence is quite a bit more impactful. It can make or break your hunt.  

There’s no doubt in my mind that the advantages of backing way off when using a rifle far outweigh the disadvantages. Let’s face it: if you can’t make an accurate 60-yard shot with a scoped rifle, you’d better hang up the gun and take up knitting. So, why don’t we do it? 

Two reasons come to mind. The first one comes from the fact, which may surprise some of you, that far more black bears are killed while hunting with an outfitter than by hunters doing it on their own. And outfitters set the stage for what is normal.  

Outfitters have all kinds of people on their hunts, and they know that the bowhunters want to be close. And while they know there may be advantages to having a stand some distance away from the bait, they also know that they may have a bowhunter on stand one day and a gun hunter on the same stand a few days later. It’s a tradeoff they must make. It can be really complicated for any outfitter who has some gun hunters and some bow hunters in camp to figure out who’s going to which stand when some stands are rifle distance and some are bow distance. It’s far better to have them all about the same so anyone can go to any of the stands.  

The second and probably even more important influencer that causes stands to be set up close to the baits is the amount of cover in which these baits are located. Good bait sites are in thick cover where the bears will be comfortable approaching the bait during legal shooting hours. Bears simply do not like to walk through open areas during daylight when approaching a situation where there is risk. This thicker cover is the main disqualifier of placing a stand farther away. I have often considered looking for a spot where I could place a stand 50-60 yards away from a bait, and every time I have done so I looked at the number of trees and bushes I would have to cut to create a shooting lane and decided against it. It would have been way too much disturbance to the area, which would have lowered the bears’ comfort levels. In some cases, it wouldn’t even be legal or ethical.  

Having said all that, if you can find a spot that’s a great bait site location which has the cover, water, approach lanes, and all the other things that makes for a good bait site location, and you can back off 50-60 yards and have a clear shot without disturbing the area too much, I say go for it. I don’t feel confident shooting my bow at a bear from that distance, so I’ll just keep it up close and personal as long as I can keep flinging arrows at bears.