bears population....
 

my local news paper had a thing on how bear population is rising quickly in my local area, it said even though we dont have as many bears then alot of other usa states they are growing at a high rate, i live in virginia and ive never seen a bear in my life, EVER! im a huge hunter of deer and turkey, and if i do deside to bear hunt this spring (and put my .300 ultra mag to use) were do i go to find one? hilly places? fields? dense forest?...is there some needed traveling because va isnt home to many bears?
a population map would be nice if some one has one!

Start scouting. Bear do like low, dark area's. It keeps them cool In the hot summer and fall days.

Ridge Runner is correct, there's no spring bear season in VA. And he's close on which area you'll have the best chances killing a bear. Most all of the counties that border Shenandoah National Park has good bear numbers also. There's a few Wildlife Management Areas and a good amount of National Forest land in these areas also.

There are three ways to kill a bear from my point of view. I have killed two with a bow over bait. You can run them down with a good drive and healthy runners (and snow). You can go to were they eat and wait for them (bait, dump, farm crops, water, etc...) Or just be lucky. I had to hunt over bait because after 30+ years in the woods for deer, gun and archery I never saw a bear on stand in WI. or Pa. Plenty showed up at the dumps though.

Well, we can't use bait here :) We have to rely on diligent scouting and massive amounts of luck. Hound hunting is another option available, which accounts for roughly 45-48% of the firearms kill total.

More info on bear hunting in Virginia. Read more...