We are currently booking for the 2010-11 seasons

Black Bear over Bait: $1,200/week all inclusive package.

Never tried a black bear hunt? Prepare yourself for an adrenaline rush and a hunt that you will never forget! Our references will attest to this!

 This includes meals and lodging, all local transportation to and from stands, bait, tracking and retrieval of your bear, skinning to your taxidermy needs, and cooler service.

Want big bears? Yeah we've got that!

After the unbelievable season we have had in 2009 we are booking very quickly...don't miss out on the hunt of a lifetime!

     We start baiting a full 30 days before the season opens, so the bears have already come to feed, and have made the bait sites part of their feeding routine. Many times several bears will hit the bait, and compete for the best feed, often encouraging them to hit the bait earlier in the day, with the most productive times between 3 p.m. until last legal shooting light.

      The effectiveness of the bait will be affected by natural food sources available-if there is a great berry crop or good mast crop of beechnuts or acorns the bears will not be as eager to hit the bait consistently. We anticipate this and strategically place bait sites close to available food sources when possible to maximize bear traffic, and to also draw in “new” bears. We also utilize grease pads around our bait sites, so as a bear comes and goes, he leaves a long scent trail thru the woods attracting more bears right to the site. Their trails soon become well defined. If the spring and summer have been dry, or the berry and mast crops are limited, the baits will be hit like never before!

     Either way you can rest assured that you will be hunting only over an active bait, and in a new stand that has not been hunted from this season. If a bear has been taken from a stand, that bait site is “retired” for the season. This ensures a great hunt and your best chances to see and shoot a bear. It also promotes a sustainable harvest without putting too much pressure on an area.

     We offer 12-15 foot ladder stands, tree stands, and ground blinds. We will place stands to accommodate firearms or bow, and right or left handed shooters, as well as two person stands for hunting with a child.

Orion Outfitters is a year round guide service.

This is what we do!

A day at bear camp…

     You will awaken to hot coffee and a hearty breakfast with your fellow hunters. You will have the morning to spend fishing, sight seeing,  or just relaxing in the hammock or around the camp. Our canoes are available for use on the areas rivers and ponds, and the fishing is excellent for trout or bass. The Upper Androscoggin River holds some beautiful Rainbow and Brown Trout, as well as Smallmouth Bass. There are also many trout ponds close by. We are only a few minutes walk to the West Branch of the Pleasant River where there’s good fly fishing for Brook Trout. You will truly enjoy being able to hunt and fish in Maine, and get away from it all!

     A hearty lunch is served, and then you will prepare for the afternoon hunt. You will take your stand around 1-2 p.m. and hunt until dark. A guide will take you to your stand, and return after legal shooting ends to pick you up. {one half hour after sunset} After all hunters are picked up, any bear shot will be transported back to camp, and any wounded bears will be tracked. You will return to camp to a hearty dinner, and enjoy a campfire to share your days hunt with your fellow hunters, and  enjoy another great night in the Maine woods!

     If you shoot a bear early in the week, you will have full use of our canoes and fishing gear, or you may spend time coyote hunting on your own. We are located about 15 minutes from the small mountain village of Bethel, Maine, and about 25 minutes from Gorham, NH. We are in the heart of Maine’s portion of the White Mountain National Forest, and are between Evans Notch, the Mahoosucs, and Grafton Notch. Some of the other activities include wildlife watching, {moose in particular} hiking, mountain biking, and more.