PA bear hunting

[Pa.Frank]

I've hunted and seen Bears in Monroe county Pa and one in Bradford county. Monroe county has some pretty good sized bears, but I was never lucky enough to see one during the hunting season.
In contrast, Maine has a ton of bears! and I mean a TON.. All the outfitters up there are legally baiting, and I mean baiting.. Its more like a junk food buffet.. I went twice. What I learned, and not from the outfitter, was that the average weight of a bear taken in Maine is about 100 pounds. I did see a few bears in the 250 pound range but most were small. One guy shot on that was only about 35 pounds.. Winnie-the-poh.. I would not have shot it and didn't shoot anything on either trip. If you absolutely MUST have a bear, Maine is probably the place to go but you should know that your gonna spend every day your there in a stand staring at a bucket of donuts 30-40 yards out waiting for one to show up. I wouldn't do it again.. its not hunting.

 

[rharfo]

I've hunted and seen Bears in Monroe county Pa and one in Bradford county. Monroe county has some pretty good sized bears, but I was never lucky enough to see one during the hunting season.
In contrast, Maine has a ton of bears! and I mean a TON.. All the outfitters up there are legally baiting, and I mean baiting.. Its more like a junk food buffet.. I went twice. What I learned, and not from the outfitter, was that the average weight of a bear taken in Maine is about 100 pounds. I did see a few bears in the 250 pound range but most were small. One guy shot on that was only about 35 pounds.. Winnie-the-poh.. I would not have shot it and didn't shoot anything on either trip. If you absolutely MUST have a bear, Maine is probably the place to go but you should know that your gonna spend every day your there in a stand staring at a bucket of donuts 30-40 yards out waiting for one to show up. I wouldn't do it again.. its not hunting.

This is so true . In contrast I have a great outfitter in New Mexico for spot and stalk color phase bears.
And New Mexico runs dogs if you wanna try that.

 

[birddog 68]

Maine is probably the place to go but you should know that your gonna spend every day your there in a stand staring at a bucket of donuts 30-40 yards out waiting for one to show up.

I wouldn't care to sit in a stand waiting for a hundred pound bear but to each their own.
After hunting western states it's even tough for me to sit in a stand all day waiting for a decent buck!

This is so true . In contrast I have a great outfitter in New Mexico for spot and stalk color phase bears.
And New Mexico runs dogs if you wanna try that.

Now this spot and stalk for bear sounds like a great bear hunt!

 

[Len729]

I would head to Somerset and hit the larger gamelands and just slip along the ridges … there will be people doing drives or used to be and you just move slow and quiet … most the older bears get around the drives with ease … the biggest issue hunting by yourself is how do you get it out of the woods … can't use any motorized vehicles on game lands … I've passed on bears during the archery season the last 3 years because I have no way to get it out of the woods … if you go good luck and hope you bag a big one

 

[CMP70306]

Also to those of you hunting bear check your regulations this year, I just happened to notice that they cancelled the extended bear season in our WMU along with several others so you can't shoot bears the opening week of deer season.

 

[birddog 68]

I would head to Somerset and hit the larger gamelands and just slip along the ridges … there will be people doing drives or used to be and you just move slow and quiet … most the older bears get around the drives with ease … the biggest issue hunting by yourself is how do you get it out of the woods … can't use any motorized vehicles on game lands … I've passed on bears during the archery season the last 3 years because I have no way to get it out of the woods … if you go good luck and hope you bag a big one

Me and a buddy are going to try a gamelands in Venango county. We scouted it a couple weeks ago and it has some super thickets that were clear cut a while ago along with a couple corn fields nearby which may or may not be picked by season.
Come to find out my friends uncle lives in Centre county and invited us to stay at their house while hunting but with time restraints with work kept us from going to scout but will be a great option for next year.
Good luck to everyone heading out and I would love to see some pictures if successful!

 

[rharfo]

I would head to Somerset and hit the larger gamelands and just slip along the ridges … there will be people doing drives or used to be and you just move slow and quiet … most the older bears get around the drives with ease … the biggest issue hunting by yourself is how do you get it out of the woods … can't use any motorized vehicles on game lands … I've passed on bears during the archery season the last 3 years because I have no way to get it out of the woods … if you go good luck and hope you bag a big one

Call your local game warden and ask for help. The ones in Fayette county have treated us great.

 

[hesse]

I've hunted and seen Bears in Monroe county Pa and one in Bradford county. Monroe county has some pretty good sized bears, but I was never lucky enough to see one during the hunting season.
In contrast, Maine has a ton of bears! and I mean a TON.. All the outfitters up there are legally baiting, and I mean baiting.. Its more like a junk food buffet.. I went twice. What I learned, and not from the outfitter, was that the average weight of a bear taken in Maine is about 100 pounds. I did see a few bears in the 250 pound range but most were small. One guy shot on that was only about 35 pounds.. Winnie-the-poh.. I would not have shot it and didn't shoot anything on either trip. If you absolutely MUST have a bear, Maine is probably the place to go but you should know that your gonna spend every day your there in a stand staring at a bucket of donuts 30-40 yards out waiting for one to show up. I wouldn't do it again.. its not hunting.

I agree with that you turn them into dumpster bears in my opinion. Now using hounds Is fun and you can pull the dogs if it is not the bear you want. Also it makes them a little nervous around dogs and people

 

[hicountry1]

Best chance is doing drives with a group of hunters that know where the bears are.

That said, a lot of bears have moved into farm country from the mountains.

Here's a couple that were hanging around my brother's house in Northampton County....

 

[hicountry1]

And one more..

This one was taken in rifle season, on opening day, on a local farm.

 

[rharfo]

And one more..

This one was taken in rifle season, on opening day, on a local farm.
View attachment 509080

food is key. No acorns, corn or other food source , no bear.
We had great acorns one year and did 5 drives on game lands killing 4 bears. Following year no acorns so we didn't hunt.

 

[birddog 68]

No bears for us. Heard some shooting in the distance and two pretty close. While walking back to the truck mid afternoon we could hear the corn picker working a nearby field and sure enough they have hunters posted around the field being picked. There's 5-6 corn fields nearby and we're assuming that's where the closest shot's were from. I guess it's good to be friends with the farmer!
Did anyone have any luck?

 

[Greta06]

It was a busy year for me, hardly had any time to hunt. We still have all next week for bears here in eastern pa, hoping to hit the woods hard next week. Good luck to all!