Looking for a black bear guide (PA,WV,VA,NC or TN)
12-09-2019, 03:28 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 3
Looking for a black bear guide (PA,WV,VA,NC or TN)
I知 looking to plan a black bear hunt next year and I知 looking for recommendations for a guided hunt or semi guided hunt. My budget is $1000 max but I壇 prefer to stay in the $800 range. I would prefer a 2-3 day hunt. I am a gun hunter.
12-10-2019, 07:59 AM
#2
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
Boy, I don't hunt that area, but your budget is low. I take guided bear hunts in Maine every fall. The floor I'm seeing is about $2,000, but those are generally 5-6 day hunts. There is one camp selling a "self-guided" hunt for $1,000, but that is rare. I'm hoping you can do better in these other states. (Let me know - maybe I'll try it out too!)
Also consider that if you're going out of state, you'll likely pay about $200 for the licenses.
Also consider that if you're going out of state, you'll likely pay about $200 for the licenses.
12-10-2019, 08:26 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
are you looking for spring hunts or fall
as that might be a big deal
as I don't even know if any of the states you listed have a spring time bear hunt
and secondly,. I don;t think many of these states allow baited hunted, so if your NOT hunting over bait, your really taking a lot of the odds away from you,
as bearing hunting NOT Over bait and not in places where spot and stalk(like out west) is possible
bear hunts come down to a LOT of LUCK IMO
a GOOD outfitter MIGHT be able to help you get on to lands like farms and or likes that have a food supply that teh states DON"T consider BAITING< and that will up your odds a bunch
but due to the way things are in NON bait allowed states, you don;'t find many bear guides, just due to the low success rates they would have
I am sure there are many guided deer hunts that will also sell you bear hunt, all the more so now bear seasons here in PA< overlap with Deer season, which might be your best bet
as this way you can hunt for both deer and bears, and come rifle deer season, there are TONS of hunters about increasing the odds of moving a bear past you!
Pa just set a state record on bear kills this past season, so, MIGHT want to skip PA next yr LOL
I am pretty sure they put a BIG dent in the bear population this yr
I know for a FACT, in my area, I normally loose about 2-3 bears a yr, and average about 20 a yr in my yard here, (over a fe decades on average) and this yr, I had 16 different bears, and I know of 12 of them having been killed this yr by local hunters, cheaters and vehicles!
which is HUGE amount over my normal numbers of kills here!
and also know of a lot of this in like area's
so might be lower bear numbers yr next yr! sure still plenty, but just not as many as there used to be!
as that might be a big deal
as I don't even know if any of the states you listed have a spring time bear hunt
and secondly,. I don;t think many of these states allow baited hunted, so if your NOT hunting over bait, your really taking a lot of the odds away from you,
as bearing hunting NOT Over bait and not in places where spot and stalk(like out west) is possible
bear hunts come down to a LOT of LUCK IMO
a GOOD outfitter MIGHT be able to help you get on to lands like farms and or likes that have a food supply that teh states DON"T consider BAITING< and that will up your odds a bunch
but due to the way things are in NON bait allowed states, you don;'t find many bear guides, just due to the low success rates they would have
I am sure there are many guided deer hunts that will also sell you bear hunt, all the more so now bear seasons here in PA< overlap with Deer season, which might be your best bet
as this way you can hunt for both deer and bears, and come rifle deer season, there are TONS of hunters about increasing the odds of moving a bear past you!
Pa just set a state record on bear kills this past season, so, MIGHT want to skip PA next yr LOL
I am pretty sure they put a BIG dent in the bear population this yr
I know for a FACT, in my area, I normally loose about 2-3 bears a yr, and average about 20 a yr in my yard here, (over a fe decades on average) and this yr, I had 16 different bears, and I know of 12 of them having been killed this yr by local hunters, cheaters and vehicles!
which is HUGE amount over my normal numbers of kills here!
and also know of a lot of this in like area's
so might be lower bear numbers yr next yr! sure still plenty, but just not as many as there used to be!
12-10-2019, 10:27 AM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,745
Well fd let's put it this way. I've been hunting bear in PA for close to 55 years now and in that time I've only ever taken 4. And these were in the past 30 years in a decent area. In PA its stand hunt, still hunt or putting on drives. These are the only methods allowed. You can't use bait or dogs so there is a lot of luck involved. Driving with a big group is usually the most productive. And in the north central region in the mountains its more like work then hunting.
Now you here of some monsters being shot in PA every year (this year one was taken over 800 lb). But the average weight is about 150 -200 lb. - some smaller and some bigger.
Now you here of some monsters being shot in PA every year (this year one was taken over 800 lb). But the average weight is about 150 -200 lb. - some smaller and some bigger.
12-10-2019, 11:50 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
That's saying a lot, bronko. I've been hunting bears for seven seasons, and I've taken six. Make no mistake, I have no doubt you're a much better hunter than I am. Difference is, here we allow bait AND hounds.
fdbeast, if you want to take a bear, go somewhere that allows hounds or baiting. We get a decent number of bears taken by "still hunters", so people think its easy. Problem is, 95% of those hunters are deer hunters who happen across a bear. Similarly, I've met 30+ year deer hunters who have yet to take an incidental bear.
fdbeast, if you want to take a bear, go somewhere that allows hounds or baiting. We get a decent number of bears taken by "still hunters", so people think its easy. Problem is, 95% of those hunters are deer hunters who happen across a bear. Similarly, I've met 30+ year deer hunters who have yet to take an incidental bear.
