Was interested to know if anyone has had a bear climb your tree while on stand. There was some talk in PA about bowhunters leaving their lunch in the truck because bears were coming up the tree from the smell of the food. I'm going to be hunting up north in PA and was wondering if this was necessary, or a myth.

livbucks,be very careful with those bears in pa.They have been known to climb trees and drag men to the ground,eat them and there lunch.
naaaa---just kiddin with ya bud.I have seen alot of bears in the bush and i'v never heard of a bear climbing a tree to get someones lunch especially with someone in it-----its just a myth-------nothing to worry about i promise

I don't think that in my case that would work out very well for the bear[&:]

I had a bear climb the tree I was in while hunting in Canada. Scared the sh!t out of me. He was directly beneth my platform, so I couldn't shoot. He eventually got to the base of my stand and stuck him in the nose with a broadhead and yelled and he climbed down and eased off, jaws popping.

livbucks,

I live in Northeastern PA, and we have many bears around. They are attracted to garbage, and food left out, coolers, hanging deer, nice smells coming from barbacues but your lunch, no. I would say that they are very afraid of you. They only get aggressive when you get between momma and the cubs.

If you left open food in you stand and climbed down to hit the head, than maybe they would climb up, but I wouldn't worry about the bears.

If I were you, I would worry more about the mountain lions, just kidding. Although, New York has them and they like to go south for the winter, ha ha.

T

I think that is where it started. They were finding dead bears in the woods with arrows in them. Then word came around that bears were harrassing bowhunters for their lunch near Tionesta. I definetly would have an advantage over the bear, just isn't what I want to do when hunting Mr. Bigbuck. Now if they make it legal to hunt bears in bow season........

livbucks,

I wouldn't kill one indescriminantly but I wouldn't advise one to go climbing in the stand with me either. I would try to warn it or shew it first, but if that didn't work I would explain my postion in terms that can be understood universally

A close friend and rancher had a black bear climb the tree he was in also, using the same foot pegs. He was elk, and or, deer hunting and tried to get the bear to piss off but when it started poppin and kept comin he put arrow in, didn't manage to recover though...felt he didn't have any other choice. He thought the shot would have been fatal as he was positive his was in the 'bib' but maybe just off the edge and closer to shoulder...the fletch burried close to the fur...maybe was just hard to track but he didn't recover the bear.

Don't take them for granted, maybe just pick up a small bearspray and put it in your pack just in case...either that or just buy a tag(surefire way you'll lesson your chances of running into one).

B

It never ceases to amaze me how afraid some people are of bears. I'm not saying to recklessly do foolish things around them, but you really have to provoke a black bear before they will become agressive. By provoking I mean getting on into a corner, messing with cubs etc. Occasionally you'll catch one by suprise in very close quarters and you'll have to do some fancy talking to get them calmed down. I can't tell you how many times I watched a bear feeding in front of me unaware of my presence until they caught a wiff of me. 99% of the time they don't even look up and turn the other way doing 90mph outta there.

Don't worry about the bears getting your food. If they know you are there, they aren't coming close.

As for the Canadian strain? I'm really wondering there. I have read and heard countless numbers of people come back saying how agressive the blackies are there. Must be something in the water.

We were turkey hunting in the Allegheny National Forest. My brother told me later that a bear circled him, working closer. The bear came in close and stood there staring at him. He took out a sandwich and threw it at the bear (dumb). The bear ate the sandwich, wrapper and all. It stood staring at him some more. He yelled at it, it did nothing. When he lit a smoke, the bear took off, never to be seen again. In bear season a guy who hunts in the area tagged the bear. He said that it circled him and came in close, staring at him. Where bears are hunted, that kind of behavior gets rewarded in the end with lead, thus eliminating the behavior from the gene pool. A bear that acts that way won't last long. Knowing this firsthand, it's not a stretch to imagine one climbing my tree for a handout.
I wonder if some bowhunters were starting bad habits in the bears by throwing their sandwiches at some.