Mountain View Sporting Camp

Bear Hunting & Trapping in Maine

We have thousands and thousands of square miles of vast wilderness with the interesting dirt roads, you can literally drive hundreds of miles west of here and never cross a tar road and this area is all open to Hunting, Fishing and Trapping. We have 100 registered bait sites that are spread out over hundreds of square miles exclusive to us only. By having this we can manage the bear population ourselves, and no competition from other hunters.

Maine's black bear population is estimated at 22,000 - 23,000 (MIFW '98), for more info about Maine's 2010 black bear season click here (PDF).

Hunters will need a Maine big game hunting license, with a bear permit.

Trappers will need a Maine trapping license, with a bear permit. We are glad to help with the licensing process.

Bear hunts are 6 days 7 nights.

Arrive on Sunday afternoon and get settled in, we hunt Monday-Saturday.

What to expect
The guides start the morning at about 5 getting bait ready and heading into the woods to visit the sites to check for activity. The majority of our regular tree stands with climbing sticks. At about 12-15 feet off the ground, with a 8-20 yard shot. After everyone is dropped off and in place, we do a drive by about every 2 hours to see if anyone has a bear down. Most of the area we hunt does not have cell phone reception so if you have one down, usually you walk the trail to the road and wait for us. We finish up the day by picking you up at dark and tracking down bears. Once that is done, everyone meets back at the shop to talk about the days events, and to take pictures of the bears that are taken.

Then everyone either goes their separate ways or we go down to Deans restaurant and lounge and have something to eat (or drink). You will certainly want to come by at least one night and enjoy the humor and antics of the locals, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat and make you laugh until your stomach hurts. A good time is had by all.

Each one of our stands is carefully tended to and set up according to either traditional bow hunters, compound bow hunters, firearm hunters or bear trappers specific needs. We literally spend hundreds of hours locating and maintaining our hunting sites, to provide you with the best opportunity for the hunt of a lifetime. We spend an enormous amount of time well before the season to provide you with an abundance of active bait sites.

Many of our bait sites have been in use for 30 or more years, the trails coming to them look more like highways!

If you are in to predator hunting we have lots of coyotes in the area, the mornings are great times to go out and do some calling so bring your gear.
After the first day we are usually skinning and quartering the bears from the previous day, so feel free to stop in and see how its done. We will skin your bear to your taxidermists specifications, quarter the meat and freeze it in bags for your trip home.

Bear Hunting is done during the month of September.
Traditionally in the beginning o the season we have warm days in the 70’s and cool nights in the 50’s. By the End of the month we have days in the 60’s and cool nights down to 40’s. Depending on your time here, please bring the appropriate clothing. We spend a lot of time setting up our bait sites and like to keep them scent free so we require everyone going to the bait sites to wear rubber boots. This includes walking to and from your bait site. We hunt rain or shine and typically have 1 or 2 days of rain during your hunt, so bring comfortable, quiet rain gear.

For bear you should bring 1 large cooler to bring your trophy home with you and we will taxidermy skin and quarter your bear and freeze everything for your ride home.

We ask that you bring your own safety harness to use while in the tree stand, please make sure that it fits you comfortably over your hunting clothes. A head bug net is always a good idea as sometimes the bugs can get a little ferocious at dark.
A flashlight is always a good idea for your bear hunt when you have a bear down in the evening and we are tracking it in the dark.