Honey Burns

HONEY BURNS - SMALL BURNS GET BIG RESULTS

Here’s a sure-fire fool-proof way to make a perfect “Big Bear Teaser” honey burn. I know there’s other ways but if you want to save yourself a lot of aggravation, then try this.
I’m totally amazed when I see the various attempts that some guys go through trying to get scent into the air. Secret recipes, magic concoctions, eye of newt, wing of bat, propane torches, Coleman stoves, open fires, etc, etc. Some guys set the honey on fire, others the bush on fire! Guys climb down and stomp out the fire! DUH! WTF! The bears must be watching this from a distance and just shake their heads in amazement. What is truly amazing is that some of these guys actually kill some bears. What a great sport this bear hunting is. You just never know! Another misconception in around the campfire is that MORE is always better. Excess is the rule. If a little works then use 5x’s as much. More food, more grease, more smoke, more, more, more!! Guaranteed success right! WRONG!
Before you attempt to make a honey burn, ask yourself a few questions. What am I trying to accomplish here? Do I want a subtle burn just to let a downwind circling bear know there’s something new at the bait? Or do I want an atomic bomb cloud to travel for miles? How long do I want it to burn? Make sure you’ve thought out what the reaction will be before you proceed to the action. We’ve all heard stories or actually seen stupid bears walk right in and shove their heads into an active honey burn. Good bet these bears are young and small and I did mention stupid. If this is not the size of bear that you’d like to tag then bear with me and read on.
The time to experiment with honey burns is when you’re at home, not while you’re hunting. Measure out your honey and fuel and chart your burn/smoke times. Go sit in a farm field with a few beers and make a few burns. Work out the problems. You’re now on your way to becoming a better bear hunter. I use methyl hydrate as a fuel because it’s available at any hardware, burns clean, hot and intense, and is virtually odorless. I can control the volume and the burn. Also it’s cheap which works for me! I also stick to just pure honey in the pot. I tried all kinds of other additives but it’s pretty hard to beat nice natural honey. Sometimes the more additive added will only add more liquid and your burn will turn into a boil and create more steam as opposed to the burn cloud that you’d get with pure honey. The trick with honey is not to exceed ½” in depth. I use 4oz containers and pre fill these with methyl and honey. They pack in real easy and there’s no guessing.
Big bears are old bears and make no mistake here, they are also smart! They’ve been shot at by small game and big game hunters, farmers, cottage owners, and have been stealing bait from bait sites for years. A big honey burn when opening a bait site for the first time will never hurt you BUT once the bait is active a big burn will actually hurt you if your goal is BIG. Cut back and make smaller burns, 20 to 30 minutes MAX.

OPENING A BAIT

  This is the time, and the only time, when I try to create that atomic bomb type of burn. This initial burn requires more methyl hydrate and more honey and a larger can. I’m trying to get as much scent out as possible and get it to drift for as far away as I can get it to go. What you need. 8oz methyl hydrate, 8 oz honey, 1 large tomato can (8” in diameter and 10” tall is perfect), 1 apple juice can 4” in dia. (cut down to 3” high). Position the upper can on 2 or 3 flat rocks or on a grate and get the upper can about 2” above the lower can. Dig it in if need be. Add your fuel and honey and fire it up. You may need a wind blocker rock on the upwind side if it’s windy out. This will put out a real nice honey burn for about ½ hour. Goal here is to get bears on the bait as soon as possible.

REBAITING AND HUNTING

 This is the burn I use on active baits. Each and every time I visit the site I light this burn. It’s the subtle approach. What you need. 4oz methyl hydrate, 4 oz honey, 1 apple juice can 4” dia. 6” high. 1 pop or beer can cut in half for fuel. Position the juice can on/between 2 or 3 flat rocks and get the upper can about 2” above the ½ pop can. A little piece of metal grating also works wonders. Add your honey and methyl. Fire it up and get in your tree. The fuel will burn approx. 20-25 minutes. It takes about 5 minutes to start smoking and lasts about 15 minutes and burns up all the honey completely. It will put out a nice teaser burn. Hint: Set up your burn away from the barrel or the feeding area. I hate it when I go in to hunt only to find that a bear stepped all over the empty burn cans and crushed them. For this very reason I always have a few extra cans stashed close by.
I hope this helps out all the aspiring bear hunters and maybe even getting some of the veteran bear busters to think about their approach to using honey burns. If the big ones are eluding you I hope this helps and if you’re getting the big ones then please, please, reply and let me know how you get’er done!

Skeeter

Maybe some of you guys can remember this design submitted by one of the members on the old BEA site.

called the ultimate burner by the creator.  He was using about 2" of fryer grease in the upper barrel.

His plan was to hoist it up 12' off the ground and let'er run.  Never, ever, heard back any results.

I gave him an A+ for effort and workmanship!

WOW!

Feb 1, 2017 12:38:01 GMT -4 tuketu said:

Great advice Skeeter ! ...Thanks !

This is all I've using. Just a apple juice can with a soup can suspended inside.
tuk
d 1

how the heck does that work .. you make a fire inside with twigs and warm up soup?

I wonder about you at times.    ketawa2 2

Just kidding   ...   explain it a bit more please