PA Bear hunt

[blackdirtdiaries]

any PA guys wanna help out a first responder? COVID killed my spring trip to Idaho and my fall trip to New Brunswick. Im 6 hours from PA and would love to get the chance at a PA giant. Ive worked over 1400 hours since all this craziness kicked off in march and really need some time in the woods to unwind!

 

[ArcherAdam]

Pm inbound.

Most bears are shot in drives if you are ok with that.

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[RS3579]

Following

 

[MallardSX2]

I hunted in solid bear country for the entire 3 day season from daylight to dark for 13 years before I killed a bear in PA. There isnt a bear behind every tree and they are very nocturnal.

Best advice I can give you is go to northcentral PA and find the food sources. Also dont forget that bear season overlaps rifle deer season in many areas. I would be taking advantage of that as well if I still lived there.

I will extend an olive branch to you and tell you that if you are hunting and there is snow, never and I mean never leave that track......unless you find a gut pile at the end of it....

While tracking, if you encounter private ground and you cannot continue. Stand on that track until dark 50 yards back form the property line...

This is the most solid advice anyone will ever give you about PA bear hunting. I promise.

 

[PMcGee]

Success rates are very low. A friend of mine hunted over 50yrs in prime bear country until he shot his first one last year. As was mentioned before most are shot on drives. I hunted for 3 days last year in archery in a spot I know holds bear only to see one Sunday (can’t hunt)on my way down the mountain. I’ve seen more bear on drives then any other way. My buddy has killed a few and he stand hunts but he’s 90% sure the ones he killed were pushed to him by groups driving. If you can find somewhere with standing corn during the season that’s a good starting spot. My brother had a bear in his corn all last fall. Most of the big bear you hear of being shot are local bear that people feed. The average bear we kill is 150/200lbs. Bear camp is one of my favorite weeks of the year.


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[chaosonezero]

Success rates are very low. A friend of mine hunted over 50yrs in prime bear country until he shot his first one last year. As was mentioned before most are shot on drives. I hunted for 3 days last year in archery in a spot I know holds bear only to see one Sunday (can’t hunt)on my way down the mountain. I’ve seen more bear on drives then any other way. My buddy has killed a few and he stand hunts but he’s 90% sure the ones he killed were pushed to him by groups driving. If you can find somewhere with standing corn during the season that’s a good starting spot. My brother had a bear in his corn all last fall. Most of the big bear you hear of being shot are local bear that people feed. The average bear we kill is 150/200lbs. Bear camp is one of my favorite weeks of the year.


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Little late here, but agreed. Bear hunting in PA is my favorite hunt of the year, mainly due to the experience.

Finding and killing bears spot and stalk in PA is tough, but agree with PMcGee, find areas with standing corn or plentiful berries. Areas around seasonal recreational areas - lake resorts, campgrounds, etc - are usually a good bet, too, assuming they hold some sort of feed year round. I’ve killed two, my brother has killed 6-8, same with my father, and dozens of others across our crew (we drive/push exclusively). Most were around 150-250, with an outlier or two around 400+.

Edit: my dad hunted bears every year for 25+ yrs before killing his first.

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[Bärenjäger]

Best in my profile pic is PA bear from 2019. Got him still hunting in an area packed with acorns during opening day of muzzleloader. Called him in with screaming rabbit call. Had another bear walk up on me that night as I was quartering him to pack out.

That was my second season, but now I'm 3 seasons in and those are my only two encounters. I've hunted 2 rifle seasons, 1 archery, 1 muzzy. I think the new muzzy season is where it's at. Statewide rifle numbers are down and my uneducated opinion is that muzzleloader season drives to a more nocturnal pattern and maybe even dens them early.

Still a great hunt. I do drives every year too. Seems like they're always successful when I'm not there! But definitely your highest odds at connecting.

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[lycoflyfisher]

Baiting is not allowed in Pa, however the bear population is at an all time high and with the new muzzledloader season, extended archery seasons and in some areas additional opportunities during the firearms deer season there has never been more opportunities to harvest a PA Black Bear. With that said, success rates are still very low. The early muzzleloader and archery season presents a unique opportunity if you can find an established food source. The larger bear almost always come from big agricultural areas or near housing developments and lake vacation/ retirement communities. If you can find a farmer with standing corn who will let you hunt the early season, that is likely your high percentage opportunity.

Otherwise in the big woods, find the steepest and nastiest cover you can find near acorns and you will have a chance.

 

[Bärenjäger]

Otherwise in the big woods, find the steepest and nastiest cover you can find near acorns and you will have a chance.

My experience is anecdotal, but that is exactly how my successful hunt played out.

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[lycoflyfisher]

I was able to get my first PA black bear in archery season in a similar manner 3 years ago. I have rifle hunted in groups doing drives and on my own for 15 years and have yet to fire a shot at a bear. I saw one just as another member of our group shot it and the only other bear I have seen in an open gun season had 5 small cubs with it and I passed. Otherwise I have seen a lot of bear throughout archery deer season.

 

[PMcGee]

I was able to get my first PA black bear in archery season in a similar manner 3 years ago. I have rifle hunted in groups doing drives and on my own for 15 years and have yet to fire a shot at a bear. I saw one just as another member of our group shot it and the only other bear I have seen in an open gun season had 5 small cubs with it and I passed. Otherwise I have seen a lot of bear throughout archery deer season.

I wish they would open bear up for the whole archery season.


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[lycoflyfisher]

I think three weeks including a week long muzzleloader is long enough atleast in NCPA. There are quite a few groups doing organized drives in muzzleloader and archery season. It has really changed the later parts of archery deer season and rifle season as well. I am all for expanded bear hunting opportunities in agricultural areas though.

 

[Carr84]

I hunted Idaho for 15 years, saw plenty of bears.... the size of the tracks I found in snow "near" wallenpaupack two years ago demolishes any thing I've seen in Idaho. Haven't seen anything seen... still praying he has been taken.