PA Bear
 

Anyone hear of any Bear being shot in PA yet?

RE: PA Bear
 

I'm in for lunch then heading back out but our gang shot a Cub and Hit a bigger bear but after looking into the night couldn't find her yesterday. Also know another guy who shot one about 5 miles from us.

RE: PA Bear
 

I miss going to the check station up near penn state to see what all was shot that day....

RE: PA Bear
 

missed a running coyote and seen 3 deer, no bear. hardly any shots heard.

RE: PA Bear
 

I heard from a guy near our camp that they got one 500+ lbs dressed weight in the Sullivan/Luzerne/Columbia County area. The other guy passed up three (sow with two young cubs). The weather is perfect for it.

RE: PA Bear
 

I went out for the opener in 3D and I didn't see any bear or hunters. I'm kind of glad I didn't see anything as I was by myself but I didn't hear one shot all day. I think most of 3D uses the first week of dear season to hunt bearsto save taking days offfrom work (which makes sense). The weather is perfect though.

RE: PA Bear
 

Looks like they had a good first day.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=170593&A=11

RE: PA Bear
 

I heard of 2 shot not far from here. One guy shot a 100 lb bear and another shot a 50lb cub. I'm sorry, but why would anyone shoot a cub?

RE: PA Bear
 

I'd like to think that I would never shoot a cub but I know every time I see a bear in the woods I think, "wow look at that bear", it takes a good minute for me to realize that maybe this bear ain't that big. I worked the bear check station on 423 when I was in high school and after two days I was pretty good at judging a bear, but alas that was 21 years ago. I'm a little out of practice but whenI see a bearI always remind myself to take 50-100 lbs off my initial reaction.

RE: PA Bear
 

I hunted in Lycoming Co on MOn and half a day Tues with 22 other guys and not one bear was seen. In fact I didnt even hear a shot the entire time I was in the woods.

RE: PA Bear
 

my buddy shot one today. est. live weight was 200lb female.
sorry about the pic but at night w/ my cell phone about the best its going to get.

RE: PA Bear
 

Nice bear!! Congrats to your buddy!

RE: PA Bear
 

where did he shoot it? near altoona? My girlfriends family lives out near ashville....let me know...

RE: PA Bear
 

he shot it up near the Snowshoe area.

RE: PA Bear
 

I'm with Mossy on this one. He was up at my camp and this had to be the worst year for us on record. We ALWAYS get at least one bear and most times around three bear. We also hear a lot of shots on opening day and know what camps usually have bear hanging. Well, I didn't even see a single bear hanging at any of the local "bear camps". They had bear traps set up all year long up and down the valley. I'm beginning to wonder if they're trapping them out. Something was definitely different this year.

RE: PA Bear
 

There were a lot of bears around this area all summer and fall but the hunters didn’t find or harvest as many bears this year as what they did last year.

I think the biggest difference is that last year we had a good mast crop that kept the bears from being denned early. This year we had almost no mast and I feel confident more then the normal number of the bears are already denned.

Dick Bodenhorn

RE: PA Bear
 

I'm sorry, but people who shoot cubs sicken me. I just don't understand how someone can mistaken a cub for an adult. Spend enough time in the woods and see bear and you'll know the difference. The gait when they walk or if its running, watch it, it sure don't resemble a full sized bear going through the woods. The is the reason why I'm an advocate of allowing baiting and making it illegal to shoot cubs.

On a lighter note, our camp didn't see a bear all week. Lots of deer and turkeys, thats about it.

RE: PA Bear
 

I guess there was a 693 pounder shot in Potter County on Monday. Dont know any more details

RE: PA Bear
 

Muzzy I agree with you. Why kill cubs? Anyway it looks like the 2 day harvest numbers are about 690 bears fewer this year than last. The PGC has not yet posted day 3 or the Archery numbers, but I think they'll be way down.

RE: PA Bear
 

We hunted two days out of our camp in northern Clearfield Co., and none of us (six hunters) saw a bear. I've seen them around camp all summer, but no luck Mon. or Tues. Several of our guys hunted around the tornado area off Shaggers Inn Rd. That place was a real hotspot for several years, but has beenmgetting poorer as time goes on. One of our guys talked to another hunter there, and he saw one, but never got a shot. He said it was a nice-sized one. The mast crop was pretty good at camp and over by the tornado area this year, but has been spotty other places. The chestnut oaks on my property at home never bore this year, but the red oaks right beside them had a nice crop. Go figure. Lots of beechnuts too. Tues. late P.M. I took a ride over to the check station at S.B. Elliott State Park, and they had 77 bear in there Mon. The biggest I saw logged in was one at 469 or 489 lbs. live weight. Must have been some groanin' going on getting that one out of the woods. The shooting was about normal, but I think the coyotes are getting whacked at too. Sure couldn't complain about the weather............

RE: PA Bear
 

i think they checked in over 100 bear in clinton county first day..below last year..i saw bear today ,looked like around 300 pds..

lots of feed here in clinton/potter county, acorns all over..bears are still out roaming..

too many cubs being killed, some were 39 pds,disgusting..then hunters wonder why they did not kill many big bears..

they are not given chance to grow up..lots of hunters are complaining about the archery bear season last week.. they say hunters are baiting in bears to camps etc and shooting them with bow..

i would like to see us go back to the way it was, no cubs are allowed to be shot..a friend i saw at the elderly thanksgiving dinner said he saw bear in his yard early today also.. he said it went over 300 pds also..

every year after season 1 or 2 big bears are in my yard..last year, 1 was over 300 i feel and had limp ,other was 500 pds,head as big as basketball..reason is i dont allow bear hunting on my land..the bears hide in my yard..

you should see the damage they have done to the dcnr trees they planted 4 years ago.. they ripped the trees out of tubes, thousands of them are destroyed..

i wonder if they will blame deer for that??

RE: PA Bear
 

I don't like the idea of shooting cubs either. I also feel like shooting a sow ( with cubs) shouldn't be allowed.

A buddy of mine went bear hunting several years ago. He heard a couple shots and then a a bunch of yelling back and forth. Then a few more shots.

It seems, that a guy shot a big sow with cubs. The guy was yelling for his buddies to come over to him because the 2 cubs climbed a tree. The buddies came over and shot the small cubs right out of the tree.

My buddy said it made hime sick and said the cubs were really small, maybe 30 or 40lbs.

I too feel that baiting should be legalized and cubs and sows with cubs off limits.

I was good to read the post on here of the guy that passed on the sow with cubs. The guy deserves a pat on the back for being a true sportsman.

RE: PA Bear
 

Didnt there used to be a law where you couldnt shoot a bear cub or a bear under a 100 pounds?

RE: PA Bear
 

i passed i would say at least 6 mother bears with cubs in 60s to 70s..you were only allowed to shoot 1 bear per crew..NO CUBS..very few cubs were illegally shot and ones that were all were over 100pds..

a 39 pd cub looks like a porcupine ..yes, many cubs are shot with mother.almost all..hunters know this, they say they could not tell..BULL#*@*..

most cubs will stay there with mother after she is shot, some will lay on her side or go up a tree..

to shoot a cubs while laying there or up tree is lowest i think a person can get..is it done,YOU BET IT IS AND MOST TIMES THE SAME HUNTER THAT SHOT MOTHER,SHOOTS CUBS AND CALLS ON RADIO TO BRING DOWN TAGS orCALLS TO HAVE ANOTHER PERSON IN CREW COME SHOOT CUBS..

t

RE: PA Bear
 

I never saw it personally because I knew what was going on, but I heard a mother and three cubs being shot at the same time in a draw about 150 yds. from me three years ago. The bawling was something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I never want to hear that again. I never went over to look, but one of our party did. He said it almost made him quit bear hunting. Oh, yes... it was all pefectly legal...a group of hunters standing around when the sow and cubs bounded into them. One shot the sow, and while she was dying, she treed the cubs and the rest of the group shot them. Great sport, huh............

RE: PA Bear
 

Just reading that makes me cringe. Pretty sad.

RE: PA Bear
 

RE: PA Bear
 

You know, reading these accounts really makes me wonder. I cringe every year when the gun toting rejects hit the woods. Honestly, I hunt mostly with bow but do take the gun out as well. I have nothing against gun hunters....until I hear this. I would be so ashamed to take a 40lb cub to a check station.

People just don't give a #$@! anymore about the animals they hunt. A lot have no respect for the land or the quarry they persue. Shoot first, ask later. Honestly, I can't blame the animal rights people from screaming.

RE: PA Bear
 

I think they changed it because they were finding cubs left laying in the woods. I'm not 100% on that though.

RE: PA Bear
 

the rules were changed on bear hunting cubs NOT because of a cub being shot and left lay..it was changed because it was good business for pgc..look at how many licenses were sold in 1970 when we left cubs walk..look at how many are sold now..

i can tell you for a fact, not many ,if any cubs were being shot and left lay in 60s or 70s..i was there and maybe, they would find 1 or 2 shot..the wco then was very close friend of our family..i drank beer with him and camping with him..

hunters then were much better SPORTSMAN,they took care of animals..today, i never in my life see so many goofy acting and nasty people in woods..

i was out on wednesday, 4 bear, yes 4 bear came out to my friend..he saw that 1 bear had 2 cubs running with her, he left her and cubs go..1 hr later a301 pd bear came out and he shot it..

now, thats a hunter in my book..

solution to this maddness is too allow baiting only like canada does or go back the way it was when i hunted with dad..

i get so mad when i hear hunter say,OH I THOUGHT BEAR WAS BIGGER GOING THRU LAURAL..his bear weighted 39 pds..that size of a big raccoon..

trust me, this archery season for bear is going to be bigger than the regular bear season..why not, if you think that hunters are sitting in tree doing it legal for bear, i got bridge to sell you..most of those bear will be archery shot right next to HOMES, CAMPS,GARBAGE CONTAINERS,BAIT..

a bow makes no noise and crossbow is deadly on bear....sadly, there are hunters playing by rules on archery bear days but they are few in number..

RE: PA Bear
 

Sproulman, I totally agree with you. My father just told me about the days when it was illegal to shoot cubs. Seemed most hunters had more sense and showed a little more sportsmanship in the woods. Now, its a free for all out there. And I'm not just talking about bear, its everything, deer especially. I realize the bear population shows no signs of decline even with being allowed to shoot the cubs. But c'mon, you got to be a real low life individual to knowingly shoot a cub.

RE: PA Bear
 

To be honest, I even have a problem with someone shooting a sow that has cubs with it. I know that fawn deer will be ok without mom but I think a small cub would have a hard time making it with out its mom.

I believe they stay with their mom for about 2 years.

I think if baiting were made legal and sows with cubs off limits that would be a whole lot better than the way the PGC does it now.

People think that by allowing baiting hunters would kill too many, but if cubs and sows with cubs were off limits then they wouldn't put such a hurting on the population. Similar to how point restrictions on deer are helping increase the number of bucks.

RE: PA Bear
 

I believe that is why your allowed cubs.You shoot the mother and what are the chances of the small ones to survive?Better to put out of misery now so they don't suffer from starve or freeze to death. Baiting,You know what the SGL would look like if was allowed to bait them? What a mess at the least.

RE: PA Bear
 

Cmon guys atleast let me get my 50pd cub for my full body mount before we go changing all the laws!! If it's legal to do so why bash someone who wants to kill a cub if they choose to do so? Remember no one is telling you that you must shoot a cub or that you don't have to, but I will say this 90% of bear hunters who have hunted 20 yrs w/out seein a bear are certainly not going to let a mom and her cubs walk by w/out shooting. Sorry to burst everyones bubble but thats just how it is.

RE: PA Bear
 

here in new york it IS illegal to shot a bear if there is more than one in a group reason being that way you can't shoot a sow with cubs by "accident " in my opinion if you want a 50 #bear you are just out to kill something and not a hunter

RE: PA Bear
 

tky, I understand what you're saying, but it does not have to be like that. People who will willingly shoot a cub are not hunters, sportsman or anything of the such in my opinion. They are just ignorant individuals who portray themselves as "hunters" for a couple weeks each year.

The problem is, hunting is supposed to be a recreational sport, not blood sport. But too many people have to justify their existance by shooting a cub just so they can tell their buddies they shot a "bear". Three years ago, I let a sow with two cubs go the second day of bear season. I had no desire dragging a mother from her cubs or carrying a 50lb cub out of the woods. I feel like I'm the better person for it. If someone else ends up slaughtering the family, its not going to ride on my conscious.

There has been a lot of studies that showed that even without the mother, most cubs will survive the winter if it isn't particularly harsh.

Bottom line for me is, I have absolutely no time or respect for someone who shoots a cub, then goes around bragging about it. If its an honest accident, thats one thing. If you want a 50lb bear, Wal-Mart has lots of stuffed ones.

RE: PA Bear
 

you are a pathetic loser who gives hunters a bad name. please kill yourself.

RE: PA Bear
 

you dad is right.. i was out today getting my stand ready for buck hunting..i waited this long so if the hunters i met came in i would not have my stand insame area..i hunted this area for 47 years,same SPOT..

well, i had hunter tell me, SPROUL DIDNT YOU SEE MY ORANGE THINGS FLAPPING IN WIND..I SAID, YES, WELL HE SAID, THAT MEANS THIS IS MY SPOT..he even said he been hunting there for last 3 years..

i could have put my stand up on wednesday but i was being nice..i had my stand up at 1 pm,along comes him at 2PMand says, thats my spot,DIDNT YOU SEE ORANGE RIBBONS ALL OVER WOODS and he put his stand up..i said, if you help me ,i will move mine 100 yds away, remember, this is stateforestland and i was being nice!!

he said,NO.. now we have 2 stands 20 yds apart..THIS IS NEW HUNTER..they take out orange strips, hang them all over woods and then say,THIS IS MY SPOT..

what are some hunters turning into..truthfully, i think there should be law passed that hunter cant INTIMDATE OR HARRASS other hunters..i am getting sick of these hunters who think they own woods, they dont..hell, i dont like a bunch of hunters in my spot that i hunted for 47 years, but sproul knows this is stateforestland and i have no rights to say, YOU ONLY HAVE 3 YEARS HERE , I HAVE 47..

it should not come to that..i see and hear it every year..hunters come in and take over area that local hunter has hunted for 50 years..

its PUBLICLAND and no one has right, including me, to say what what said to me today,SPROUL MOVE YOUR STAND, MY ORANGE RIBBONS WERE HERE FIRST AND YOU KNOW I HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 3 YEARS..

RE: PA Bear
 

LOL, Is that what those orange flags are for? Well someone goanna be pissed off.I seen a few of them weds on trees on the private property I hunt.I am real close friends of the family who owns the land.I put my stand on one of those trees. Should be quite interesting in about 4 and a half hrs from now if thats what they was for.I will just tell them go get bent if they show up there and say anything sarcastic.The owner will stand my side against anyone other on their property. This is why people should become close friends of private land owners and help them with chores as much as possible on the off season other than just come up and hunt during season.There are benifets to this that are well worth it.You can pretty much tell anyone who you don't know to take a hike.

RE: PA Bear
 

I went to Pa for bear season and we saw 3 bears, Well my little brother saw 3 bears. It was a mom with 2cubs. He said the cubs were big but he didnt shoot at them because they were still with their mother. That was monday. We didnt see a bear the other 2 days. It was the first time in 4 years that we didnt get a bear. I was proud of my brother because he is the only one of us who has never shot a bear but he used good judgement and passed up on those 3.